How do you choose a CRM for a service business?
Start with the jobs the system must do each day, not its feature list: record a new inquiry, remind you to follow up, track a quote, book the job, mark it done and ask for a review. Shortlist two, run a real week of leads through a trial of each, test the connections you need and a full export, then set who can see what. Some service businesses may find job software with a CRM built in is enough.
Start with the daily jobs
Write down what the system has to do in a normal week. The related answer on what a CRM is covers what a record holds, when a spreadsheet is enough and what to look for; this page is about the steps of choosing.
- Record each new inquiry with where it came from.
- Remind someone to follow up, with a date.
- Track a quote from sent to accepted or lost.
- Show what is booked and what is done.
- Ask for a review, and ask every customer, with no reward.
Five steps to a decision
Take the steps in order. A tool that fails an early step may not need the later ones.
| Step | What to do | What to look for |
|---|---|---|
| Shortlist two | Pick two that cover your list of jobs, using each vendor's own pages. | Two real trials can be easier to judge than six |
| Run a real week | Enter every real inquiry for a week, then compare. | Whether people use it without being reminded |
| Test the connections | Try the ones you need: web forms, calendar, accounting and logging of phone calls. | Whether each link works on the plan you would use, and carries the source |
| Test a full export | Export everything during the trial and open the file. | Whether notes, history and sources come out |
| Set roles | Decide who can edit, view, export and delete before real data goes in. | Only the access each job needs; the related answer on who should have access to your CRM covers roles |
CRM or job software?
If your harder problem is quotes, scheduling and invoices, job software that includes customer records may fit better than a stand-alone CRM. The related answer on field service software like Jobber or Housecall Pro compares two such products and what to check before signing.
How to judge the trial
After the week, these questions usually say more than a feature comparison.
- Did everyone enter their own inquiries?
- Did every record get a source and a next-step date?
- Did every new job this week have its source recorded?
- Was anything awkward enough that people started keeping notes elsewhere?
Related answers
- What is a CRM, and does a small business need one?
- Who in your business should have access to your CRM and customer records?
- Is field service software like Jobber or Housecall Pro worth it for a small service business?
Business systems and integrations
Many businesses already pay for the right tools. They just do not talk to each other, so details get typed twice and things fall through. We set them up properly and connect them.