Top 8 client management software for consultants

According to the Global Management Consulting Market research, the consulting market was worth $332.69 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach $511.88 billion by 2028. large statistics may mean huge sales, but they may also mean enormous burnout due to many factors.

On a daily basis, we meet consultants who often juggle multiple tools to manage client interactions, track payments, handle projects, and communicate effectively. This disorganized way of doing things slows things down and makes it possible to miss important details.

The ideal client management software for consultants should be a consolidated platform, eliminating the need to switch between tools and ensuring all client-related data is synchronized and easily accessible.

In this guide, the Workee team rated the top 8 client management software specifically for consultants. Each solution has a list of features, pros, and cons to help you make the right choice.

What does client management software mean?

Client management software is a tool professionals, freelancers, and businesses use to automate and manage all aspects of their client interactions. This type of software centralizes various components of client interactions, making tracking, managing, and optimizing relationships easier, enhancing customer satisfaction, and ultimately driving more business success. Client management software typically encompasses the following: client information, communication tracking, project management, invoicing and billing, appointment scheduling, reporting, and integration.

Top 8 client management software for consultants

Here are the eight client management software every consultant should know in 2023:

1. Workee

Workee is an all-in-one business management solution that helps consultants and other independent professionals run their businesses and manage client interactions. Workee comprises an intelligent set of features that help automate administrative tasks, making it easy to manage customers.

Workee has two plans. The Starter Plan is free with 5% transaction fees, and the Pro Plan starts from $29 per month and $290 a year. Compare both plans on the Workee Pricing Page.

Features

Client management: Workee enables you to keep detailed contact information for all your clients in one place. It automatically records and organizes every interaction with your clients, ensuring you have a detailed history of schedules, calls, meetings, and notes.

Appointments & Scheduling: Clients can schedule appointments directly through the app, syncing with your calendar.

Integration capabilities: Workee integrates well with various tools and platforms you might already use, like Gmail Auth, Google Suites, Zoom, PayPal, Stripe, etc. This feature ensures a seamless client management experience without constantly switching between applications.

Customer support: Workee includes an adequate support team and knowledge base platform to help you provide exceptional support to your clients, solving their issues efficiently and increasing overall satisfaction.

Website builder: Workee offers professional website templates and SEO optimization to boost your online presence.

AI-powered assistant: Workee AI helps automate your work process, such as meeting notes generation.

Marketplace: Workee features an online digital marketplace called Workee Space where professionals can engage, sell their jobs and services, and attract new clients.

Pros

1. Comprehensive client management tool that allows consultants to centralize all client-related tasks on a singular platform.

2. Streamline tracking and management for all projects.

3. Generate meeting agendas seamlessly with AI integration.

4. Easily handle invoices, process payments, and manage taxes.

Cons

1. The Workee Starter plan only offers basic functionality. You'll need to upgrade to Workee Pro to access advanced features.

2. Hubspot

Hubspot is the most popular on the entire Internet in the CRM category. Hubspot pricing ranges from free (limited functionality) to $45-$3200 monthly. This software is a great CRM for consultants, covering essential CRM tasks done by consultants and other services. 

Features

1. Contact Management: Users can create and manage detailed contact records, making it easy to organize and track all the information about leads and customers in one accessible place.

2. Deal Pipeline: The deal pipeline provides a visual interface to manage and track the stages of various sales opportunities. Businesses can customize deal stages, add, assign, and edit deal records, and forecast revenue.

3. Task & Activities: HubSpot enables users to create tasks for themselves or other team members, schedule meetings, and set reminders, ensuring important activities related to lead or customer follow-up don't fall through the cracks.

4. Email Tracking & Notifications: This feature allows users to track email opens and clicks to know when a lead engages with their communications.

5. Reporting Dashboards: HubSpot includes reporting dashboards that provide quick insights into sales performance and activities.

Pros

1. Excellent user experience.

2. Very easy to use.

3. Provides sales, marketing, client support, etc.

Cons

1. The pro plan may be too expensive for consultants starting their online business.

2. Technical support attracts a fee.

3. Capsule

Meet Capsule, an easy-to-use CRM for consultants. Compared to Hubspot, Capsule is more affordable, starting at just $18 per month. Capsule's interface is simple and easy to use by anyone, especially people who are not computer savvy. 

Features

1. Contact Management: Capsule allows for detailed records of customers, helping businesses track all past interactions, social media posts, emails, and documents sent or received, providing a comprehensive view of your business's relationship with each client.

2. Task Management: Users can assign tasks to themselves or team members, set deadlines, and share them with co-workers. This feature helps ensure timely follow-ups and that no customer is neglected.

3. Sales Pipeline: Capsule enables users to track bids, deals, and proposals, giving a visual overview of the sales pipeline. This aids in forecasting and focusing on the right deals.

4. Customization: Businesses can customize the fields in their contacts, sales pipelines, and more to fit their specific needs, ensuring the CRM aligns with their industry requirements.

5. Integration: Capsule offers integration with popular applications like Google Workspace, Mailchimp, and more, allowing for a more streamlined workflow.

Pros

1. Excellent user experience.

2. Comparably cheaper.

3. Integrates with other platforms easily to get the job done.

Cons

1. Does not support live chats.

2. Lacks marketing features.

3. Provides a limited report and analysis.

4. Zoho

Zoho is good for client management software for consultants. Zoho can help you enhance your client relationships and boost productivity. Zoho's subscription plan for each user is from $14 to $52 per month.

Features

1. Sales Automation: Zoho CRM automates daily sales tasks, tracks sales, and optimizes your sales activities.

2. Multichannel Support: Interact with your customers via email, live chat, phone calls, and social media within Zoho's interface.

3. Advanced Analytics: Get detailed customer insights and forecast trends with custom reports and dashboards.

4. Customization: Tailor the CRM to your business needs, from modifying fields to customizing workflows and modules.

5. AI-Powered Assistant: Zia, Zoho's AI assistant, predicts sales trends, detects anomalies, and suggests the best time to contact a prospect.

Pros

1. Integrates with other (i.e., third-party) platforms easily.

2. Flexible in meeting specific demands. 

3. Zoho has all the major CRM capabilities. 

Cons 

1. The support is very slow. 

2. You need to pay to access advanced features. 

3. Requires a bit of a learning curve to master its many features. 

5. Freshsales

Freshsales has good features for efficient client management, like contact and deal management, sales reports, email integration, and cloud telephony. This software stands out for its unique relationship management capabilities and affordable pricing. Freshsales prices range from $15-$69 per month.

Features

1. AI-Based Lead Scoring: View the most promising leads based on their engagement and interaction with your company.

2. Built-in Phone & Email: Make calls, send emails, and view conversations from the CRM.

3. Visual Sales Pipeline: Manage your deals and track the stages of your sales process.

4. Detailed Customer Insights:

   Access detailed customer profiles with social media integration and key touchpoints.

5. Automation: Automate repetitive tasks in your sales process.

Pros

1. It's easy to use.

2. Has a robust mobile app. 

3. Pro features for sales, marketing, and contact management. 

Cons

1. Most times, the support is not working.

2. Customizing its report is challenging sometimes.  

6. Keap

Keap, formerly Infusionsoft, is a robust all-in-one CRM and marketing automation tool with a subscription plan of $169 to $249 monthly, depending on the number of contacts you have. Keap's many features include sales and marketing automation, CRM, text marketing, and sales pipeline management. 

Features

1. Client Management: Offers detailed individual client records that include contact info, order history, interactions, and documents.

2. Marketing Automation: Automate email campaigns based on customer behavior.

3. Sales Automation: Streamlines the sales process from follow-ups to payment collections.

4. Online Sales: Features a storefront, shopping cart, and order forms for online sales.

5. Appointments & Scheduling: Clients can schedule appointments directly through the app, syncing with your calendar.

Pros

1. Has many CRM features.

2. Gives excellent analytics and reporting. 

3. Helps with sales automation and marketing. 

Cons

1. Bad or confusing interface/UI.

2. Sluggish sometimes.

3. Has a steep learning curve.

7. Salesflare

Salesflare is an ideal CRM for consultants and small to medium-sized B2B businesses. This software subscription price ranges from $29 to $99 per month. Salesflare features include custom dashboards, automated data input, and personalized email campaigns.

Features

1. Automated Data Input: Salesflare gathers data from email, social media, company databases, and other sources, minimizing manual entry.

2. Timeline View: Visual timeline of interactions for each customer, providing a chronological overview of communications, meetings, and more.

3. Email Integration: Deep integration with your email system allows for tracking, sending emails directly from the CRM, and email campaign management.

4. Pipeline Management: Visual pipelines help you track deals and stages, with opportunities for team collaboration.

5. Insightful Reporting: Offers detailed reports and insights into sales performance, customer interaction, and team activities.

Pros

1. Has a user-friendly design.

2. Provides high customer support. 

3. Saves your time with its robust automation.

4. Gives deep insights into contacts activities.

Cons

1. Does not come with a free plan.

2. Has limited third-party integration.

8. Streak

Streak is a user-friendly CRM for consultants. This software is a good option for Gmail users and has different pricing tiers. As a Chrome extension, Streak effortlessly blends with Gmail. Streak has features like data import, pipeline, project management, mail merge, and custom workflows. However, Streak's price ranges from $15 to $129 monthly, with a free plan available.

1. Gmail Integration: Streak is designed to work inside Gmail, providing direct CRM access within your email inbox.

2. Pipeline Management: Customizable pipelines for various workflows, including sales, project management, and customer support.

3. Snippets & Mail Merge: Save and reuse pieces of content (snippets) and personalize mass emails (mail merge) to save time on communications.

4. Shared Contacts: Easy sharing of email contacts, files, and more within your team, ensuring everyone has access to the same information.

5. Task Management: Assign and track tasks within your team, set reminders, and schedule emails to manage workloads efficiently.

Pros

1. Seamlessly integrates with your Gmail inbox. 

2. Has a simple design and generates reports that look like a spreadsheet.

Cons

1. You can't use it without a Gmail account. 

2. You need a Streak Pro plan to access reports.

3. Lacks good tools for powerful marketing campaigns.

Streak is one of the best CRMs for professional services. It is ideal for individual or small firms with Gmail-based projects.

Conclusion

Statistics show that many companies saw an increase in customer retention rate after using client management software. If you're a consultant, client management software could be the tool that can take your business to the next level.

By streamlining operations, building stronger client relationships, and boosting productivity, you can save time and increase customer retention rates. Sign up on Workee now and spend less time with repetitive manual work processes and more time doing what you love.