How ABLE Measures Up
In each installment of our “How ABLE Measures Up” series, we compare ABLE to another CRM tool on the market. We evaluate each CRM by system, features, and pricing structure in order to give you a good idea of how it measures up against ABLE, our CRM for accountants.
A quick comparison between ABLE and HubSpot CRM appears below, followed by an in-depth, categorical analysis. We hope you find this comparison helpful as you seek the CRM that is the best fit for your accounting firm!
About HubSpot CRM
HubSpot is a software company that offers distinct products, or “hubs,” for marketing, sales, and customer management (the latter of which is currently unavailable but slated for release in 2018). The core of all three of these hubs is HubSpot’s CRM. HubSpot CRM is unique in that it is free! With sales professionals as its target user, HubSpot CRM’s capabilities include pipeline management, automatic sales activity logging, and lead information logging. While HubSpot CRM is free, it functions as something of a starting point—HubSpot encourages users to “stack” the product with one or more of their other hubs, which come with a price tag.
About ABLE
ABLE is a business development solution for CPA firms that simplifies contact and pipeline management. Because CPAs have a limited amount of time to dedicate to tracking business development activities, users can quickly add information regarding contacts and deals, assess the status of their relationships to determine necessary actions, and build their personal brands.
Conclusions of the CRM Comparison
While HubSpot’s advertisement of its CRM as 100% free is technically true, it’s not the whole picture. In order to be an effective tool for the marketers and salespeople who are HubSpot’s desired users, the free CRM must be stacked with one or more of HubSpots other hubs. Additionally, HubSpot’s pricing is complicated and quickly adds up to a larger bill than initially indicated.
ABLE’s functionality centers on the theme of ‘doing smart well.’ Its primary focus is developing the top client, referral source, and prospect relationships that grow a CPA firm. Every feature addition and enhancement—all of which are included in every ABLE subscription—builds on that theme. With ABLE, it is possible to complete the bulk of the training in two hours. ABLE is the ideal fit for CPA firms, When it comes to accounting CRMs.
In-Depth HubSpot CRM Comparison
Read on to learn more about how ABLE and HubSpot CRM measure up to one another when it comes to systems, features, and pricing structures.
System Comparison
Feature Comparison
To compare feature sets of the two platforms, we focused on four major components of successful business development: relationship management, internal collaboration, accountability tools, and content delivery.
Client Relationship Management
The core functionality of HubSpot CRM is pipeline management for sales professionals. The system allows users to manage their sales funnel via a visual dashboard. Users can sort and filter deals, log sales activity, and see all lead data aggregate in a single location.
ABLE focuses on facilitating rapport between users and their most important contacts. By nurturing these relationships, ABLE users secure additional ongoing engagements. ABLE’s CRoPs Tiles system ensures the continuous support of its users’ most important clients, referrals, and prospects. CRoPs Tiles guide users in effectively managing their relationships.
Internal Collaboration
Both systems offer strong tools for team synergy and collaboration. In both CRMs, teams can stay on top of customer/client relationships and pending deals.
Accountability
HubSpot CRM does not offer any type of survey functionality, nor is it available in any of HubSpot’s marketing or sales hub tiers.
With ABLE, everyone in the firm is aware of all pending tasks and deals, as well as who is responsible for them. This establishes a culture of responsibility, which drives action and growth. Additionally, users can assess client loyalty with the Net Promotor Score® Survey, benchmarking their progress, promoting high scores on future proposals, and uncovering any dissatisfaction before the relationship is lost. ABLE’s annual subscription includes this functionality. High NPS scores are useful to marketing teams in both promotions and future proposals. Additionally, the NPS survey helps users to uncover any customer dissatisfaction early on, giving them time to take steps in preserving relationships.
Content Delivery
The systems approach content delivery differently, largely due to the core intentions of the software (transactional vs. ongoing engagements).
HubSpot CRM allows users to create series of emails and schedule them for delivery. It offers document storage but no type of content library.
ABLE’s Thought Leadership enables users to send clients the right piece of content at the right time. Articles are added to ABLE’s Content Library weekly, and users can share their own content or articles if they wish. The articles and summaries are professionally curated, categorized, and tagged for easy access. Users need not integrate in order to leverage Thought Leadership.
Pricing
HubSpot advertises its CRM as completely free, but that is something of a gimmick. Without the addition of HubSpot’s marketing and/or sales hub, the software is quite barebones and not adequate for professional use. The following price comparison includes information on the marketing and sales hubs that HubSpot offers. Additionally, HubSpot offers a very large variety of add-ons and premium services, as well as an upcharge for additional contacts.
ABLE not only beats out HubSpot CRM as the best CRM for accountants, it also measures up well against other available tools. View our full CRM comparison to find out more.
Are you wondering if ABLE is the right CRM for your accounting firm? Schedule a demo today! Our team will show you how ABLE can make a difference in YOUR business.