NovaSoft One buying guide
Choosing a CRM for an Australian trade business
If quote requests live in one person’s inbox and the next person cannot see what was agreed, start by testing the customer handover. A CRM may help, but it should earn its place in a normal working week.
CRM, a personal client app or job-management software?
Scroll sideways to compare all columns.
| Main need | Route to evaluate | What your trial should prove |
|---|---|---|
| One person’s clients, reminders and invoices | A personal client app such as UPly | Can you find the client and the next follow-up on your iPhone? |
| Shared enquiries, quotes and customer handovers | A shared CRM such as One | Can the next person understand the customer and continue the work? |
| Dispatch, routing, materials, field evidence or payroll | Evaluate a job-management or specialist system against those requirements | Demonstrate those specific jobs; do not assume a CRM includes them. |
Several tools may have a role. Write down which system owns the customer record, which owns the job and which owns the financial record. Then check how information moves between them. A proposed integration is not a substitute for a demonstrated handover.
Run one fictional enquiry all the way through
Use a made-up customer, Alex, asking for a quote for a small maintenance job. Sam takes the enquiry. Jordan prepares the quote and another colleague needs the accepted scope. This is an illustrative test, not a customer result or a claim about a particular trade’s compliance requirements.
- Record Alex’s contact details and the request. Give the follow-up a named owner and next action.
- Prepare the quote using the product catalogue and quote tools. Check which details the colleague can see.
- Record the response and any changed scope. Ask the next person to explain what was agreed without calling Sam.
- If delivery needs project or service tools, demonstrate the required paid-plan workflow before relying on it.
- Practise a cancellation, a duplicate enquiry and an absent staff member. The awkward cases reveal more than a clean demo.
One’s core CRM, catalogue and quotes provide a starting point. Its service, project and automation capabilities depend on the plan. The worked team pilot gives you a record and handover to adapt.
Budget for the people using it
For example, three active users on One Starter cost A$45 per month excluding GST at the published rate. That is the CRM subscription calculation, not a quote for implementation, migration, custom development or a separate job-management product.
Start with the current One plan and billing comparison. Count the people who need shared access, identify the feature that justifies the tier and include training and data preparation in the rollout budget. Keep the existing tools until the pilot has established a reliable replacement workflow.
Where website enquiries fit
A website can collect the initial request; someone still needs to act on it. Set an owner for incoming enquiries and decide how you will check that nothing is missed.
The proposed One + Sites offer includes one hosted website per One workspace, including Free, a free Sites subdomain and a dedicated enquiry box. It is coming soon and unavailable today. It does not unlock ordinary CRM Forms or booking features on Free. Read the planned website-to-CRM workflow before building it into your requirements.
Ask for a demonstration of the work that matters
- How will an office colleague hand an accepted quote to the person doing the work?
- Which plan supports the exact project or service functions you need?
- Can the required photos, attachments and job details be handled in your proposed workflow?
- What device, connection and access requirements apply while someone is on site?
- How will invoices and financial records reach the accounting system? Confirm any connection separately.
- Who owns support, data preparation, training and the first month of checking the process?
Bring one representative job and the current spreadsheet or inbox process, using fictional or authorised records. A useful demonstration should show the whole handover and its exceptions, not just the dashboard.
Make the decision after a working week
Record whether each person could find the right customer, identify the next action and complete the handover. List the manual copying that remains and the features still unproven. Choose the system that meets those requirements within a clear scope.
For an individual workflow, read UPly versus NovaSoft One. For shared customer work, use One’s product tour and a small pilot. For a specialist workflow or migration, scope the implementation before arranging a full rollout.
Related guides
Continue with the next decision
Talk to NovaSoft
Want help choosing?
Tell us what you need to keep track of, who’s involved and what you use today.