Wix is an Israeli company best known for developing a website builder. The main Wix platform allows anyone to create a personal or business website without having deep programming knowledge. It’s a drag-and-drop builder that a technical layman can understand. You can use it to build portfolio websites, school websites, membership websites, online stores, etc.
Wix got into point-of-sale systems much later than many competitors. The company unveiled its point-of-sale system in 2021 by partnering with Stripe, a payments processor, and HP, a hardware manufacturer. Businesses can use the solution to charge customers’ cards and collect payments with ease. However, it’s only available in the U.S. and Canada currently.
Wix POS offers a wide range of point of sale, e-commerce and website pricing plans (Image Credit: Wix) (Image credit: Wix)
The main fees to consider in any point-of-sale system are hardware fees, software fees, and payment processing fees.
Hardware fees are what you’ll pay upfront for the hardware required to process payments. A full suite of POS hardware includes a card reader or payment terminal, tablet, charging dock, barcode scanner, receipt printer, and cash drawer. Some of these items aren’t compulsory, e.g., the cash drawer and charging dock, but they make it easier to process payments.
The good thing about choosing Wix is that the company offers bundles of hardware made by HP and Stripe, including
The Complete Retail POS Package: This includes a 14-inch HP tablet for customer display, a cash drawer, a barcode scanner, a receipt printer, and a Stripe card reader and charging dock. The bundle costs $850, which is cheaper than ordering the items individually.
Your Retail Essentials: This includes the HP tablet and Stripe card reader and charging dock. It costs $630.
A Stripe Card Reader + Dock for $98.
You can also order a cash drawer individually for $78, USB Terminal Scanner for $95, and a Terminal Receipt Printer for $130, all made by HP.
Unlike many other platforms, Wix does not charge additional monthly fees for its point-of-sale software. However, you will need to subscribe to a Wix Premium account to receive payments, and you can choose from one of three plans;
- Business Basic for $17 per month
- Business Unlimited for $26 per month
- Business VIP for $35 per month
You’ll also pay a fee on every in-person transaction facilitated by Wix; 2.6% + 0 USD for American users and 2.7% + 0 CAD for Canadian users. Canadian businesses can also use Interac e-Transfer to accept payments and pay a flat 0.15 CAD per transaction.
(Image credit: Wix)
Wix POS: Features
Hardware
A good thing about Wix is that it offers a hardware bundle, so users don’t need to stress about choosing the necessary hardware to receive payments. The hardware bundle includes
Stripe Card Reader M2
The Reader M2 is a card reader made by Stripe, a popular payments processing company. This card reader is compact and easy to handle. You can use it to charge customers' cards with ease; they can either insert, swipe, or authorize their cards to authorize the payment.
This card reader works with all major credit cards and comes with end-to-end encryption to protect customer information. It's battery-powered, and a full charge can last you a whole business day.
Wix offers a 14-inch display tablet made by HP, a well-known computing manufacturer. This tablet is where you'll display information about purchases to the customer. You can select the items they want to buy and automatically calculate the price. Then, customers can confirm the price and pay easily through their cards.
Barcode Scanner
Wix also offers a barcode scanner built by HP. This scanner translates barcodes into numbers and letters, so you can use the scanner to retrieve the prices of items automatically. This process is far easier than typing into the software to detect the price of an item.
You can also purchase additional POS hardware if needed (Image Credit: Wix) (Image credit: Wix)
Payment Processing
Wix offers its own payment processing solution aptly called Wix Payments. This solution is what lets you collect money from customers’ cards and send it to your own account. It works with all major debit and credit cards such as Visa, Mastercard, Discover, etc. You can also integrate Klarna, a “buy now, pay later” app, to let customers split their purchases into multiple payments (but you receive the total amount upfront).
Of course, Wix takes a fee for using its payment processing solution.
(Image credit: Wix)
Wix POS: Interface and use
If there’s something that Wix is very good at, it’s user-friendliness. The original Wix platform was built to enable non-technical people to create websites, and user-friendliness wasn’t negotiable. Wix’s point-of-sale software has an intuitive and visually appealing interface that you’ll likely find enjoyable.
(Image credit: Wix)
Wix POS: Support
Wix offers direct customer care through email, live chat, and telephone. You can log into your account and file a complaint, and support personnel will get back to you through email or telephone. Live chat is available in some regions and in many languages including English, French, Dutch, Italian, Hebrew, etc.
Wix POS hardware can be used in a variety of business types (Image Credit: Wix) (Image credit: Wix)
Wix POS: The competition
Lightspeed and Shopify POS are two main competitors to Wix’s point-of-sale solution. Both of them offer more features than Wix and are more suitable solutions for large-volume retailers. Wix is a smarter choice for smaller retailers because it’s more affordable, but it has limited features outside of processing payments, unlike Lightspeed and Shopify.
Wix POS: Final verdict
Wix is an okay point-of-sale solution. It does one job and does it well; processing payments. But, if you’re the type that needs many complementary features such as inventory management and customer loyalty tools, then you’ll be best served by other point-of-sale software.
Many software packages and services let you design the perfect house, complete with plumbing, electrics, furniture, and more. Some even go further and expand their canvas to allow you to design the surrounding landscape.
Idea Spectrum Realtime Landscaping Pro 2025 does things differently, focussing primarily on the landscape itself, and its features and quite impressive. it's easily one of the best landscape design software tools around - as long as you own a Windows PC, the only platform it supports.
You can download Realtime Landscaping Pro from Idea Spectrum by clicking here.
Realtime Landscaping Pro 2025: Pricing and plans
Fine tune your design with numerous changeable parameters (Image credit: Idea Spectrum )
Far from the cheapest landscaping software out there, but at least you own it outright: no subscription deals, plus you can download a trial version to check it out
Idea Spectrum deserves praise for not treating their software as a service they can let out. Instead, you need to purchase Realtime Landscaping Pro outright - the old fashioned way - for $279. This is quite refreshing in this day and age. Yes, you have to pay more upfront, but that’s one less rental you have to deal with every month.
Additionally, you can upgrade from a previous version: Pro owners of versions 2011 to 2023 can do so for $129, whereas Plus owners from 2011 to 2025 have to pay $149 to get the latest version of Pro.
If you wish to try the software out for yourself, you can also download a free trial which limits some of the features, but will give you a good feel for what’s on offer.
Score: 3.5/5
Realtime Landscaping Pro 2025: Interface
Design your home in minutes thanks to the help of one of Realtime Landscaping Pro’s handy wizards (Image credit: Idea Spectrum )
A clean, easy to understand interface, with multiple views and handy wizards to speed up the design process
Realtime Landscaping Pro is designed for you to work in a 3D environment. Should you prefer to focus on a 2D space, Idea Spectrum also offers ‘Realtime Landscaping Photo’ as an alternative.
The interface is very standard: all your tools can be found on a sidebar to the left, with all the objects you can add being located at the top, broken down by category, such as Terrain, Water Features, Utilities, and Building (yes, you can add buildings to your design; you just can’t venture into them). The left side of the interface is your Inspector, showing all of a selected object’s changeable parameters.
Since you can’t explore the inside of the house, you’d be forgiven for thinking the options available for designing the outside might be limited. Although a lot is automated for you, you have a heck of a lot of customisation capabilities. From setting up the structure, to adding windows, guttering, lights, it’s pretty much all there. Plus you can change the types of material, their colour, the wall heights, the pitch of the roof, etc. Everything you need to make a building look great - from the outside. You also have the ability to add ‘window facades’ that make it seem like your house has an interior when looking through the windows.
There are three separate views at your disposal, all accessible via buttons, lower left of the interface: ‘Plan’ is a top-down view - selected by default; ’Perspective’, allows you to see elevation and work in a 3D environment, which we found helped us design better. The third view is called ‘Walkthrough’, and is really there for you to peruse your creation using your mouse and keyboard. As the project is rendered in high quality, there is no way to alter it in that view.
On the whole, the interface is clear, and easy to understand, giving you a large canvas in the centre of the interface to design your project. Should you feel at a loss, Idea Spectrum offers a series of online tutorials to help you familiarise yourself with what’s on offer.
In order to facilitate the design process further, Realtime Landscaping Pro comes with various wizards. One is used for creating houses, as mentioned above, but others are also available to quickly create landscapes, decks, ponds, accents and swimming pools. The concept is very simple: choose a template, place it onto your project and more often than not, you’re done. These templates are fully customisable of course, to help them blend in more perfectly with your landscape.
Score: 4/5
Realtime Landscaping Pro 2025: Planting
You’ve got over 6,000 plants to choose from, and customize to suit your needs (Image credit: Idea Spectrum )
An unbelievable inventory of plants which you can customise, choose their size, and set their look. You also have control over the time of day, and season. Your customisation options are as impressive as the number of plants available
Software designed to recreate an outdoor environment should be well stocked when it comes to flora, and this is exactly what Realtime Landscaping Pro offers. You have at your disposal over 6,000 plants, subdivided by category such as Annuals, Succulent, Tropical, etc, to make it easier to find what you’re after. But with so many to choose from, you’ll be grateful for that handy search field as well!
But that’s not all: you get to choose plants ideal for the geographical location you’re designing in - or not - the choice is completely up to you, as you add trees and shrubs that can look great together, but might not survive in the real world. You also get to choose each plant’s age, which mostly just alters their height, as well as the season you’re working in. This is set for your overall design, but you can also supersede that choice for each plant individually if you’re looking for an unusual and striking look, such as having plants displaying their spring appearance, next to others in the fall. Essentially, you can be as realistic and accurate as you please, or as fanciful as you desire.
This level of control extends to the weather, time of day, season, and even the phase of the moon. All of this is available through the ‘Settings’ menu.
You’ll find that each category has a ‘Currently Used’ section, which allows you to reuse objects currently in your project, elsewhere. This only works on your current project though. Should you wish to use the same plants in multiple projects, that’s where the ‘Favourites’ section comes in, making it easy to locate items once, and use them again and again in future works.
Score: 5/5
Realtime Landscaping Pro 2025: Objects, people, and animation
Change the weather and time of day to suit your needs (Image credit: Idea Spectrum )
You also have a large list of materials, objects and people to further refine your design, and bring your creation to life with a few fun animations
Plants are but the start of your designing journey. Realtime Landscaping Pro also contains a generous library of 3D objects, from lawn furniture, to cars, as well as a wealth of materials you can use for your walls, driveways, and more.
But what we particularly enjoyed was how you can bring your design to life through animation. Water can shimmer, and fountains flow, for instance. But people - and even animals - can be animated as well. Some can walk, others jog, and a few even swim. Set a path for them to follow and they’ll repeat their action on a loop. Even those sitting or lying around will have some kind of animation set for them, like a head tilt, or a hand movement. All of these help your creation come to life when exploring it in Walkthrough.
Speaking of Walkthrough, you’re able to create movies meandering through your project, although you don’t actually control the movement through your keyboard and mouse, but rather by setting a path for the camera to follow. You can even connect it to an Oculus Rift.
As it stands, this software is very versatile with a wealth of features. It’s simple enough for casual users to have fun with, yet versatile enough for professional use, creating your dream garden, virtually, complete with seasons, and fun animations.
Score: 4/5
Should I buy Realtime Landscaping Pro?
Set up a video path around your project to create a movie of your design (Image credit: Idea Spectrum )
Buy it if...
You’re looking for a detailed landscaping tool with a wealth of features to help you design the project of your (or your clients’) dreams.
Don't buy it if...
You don’t fancy playing with so many features that you can get lost in the minutia, and you find the animations superfluous and creepy.
Using a password manager is crucial if you want to protect your important information and ensure that you’re covered if you forget one of those all-important codes. If you’re looking for the best password manager, consider 1Password. This app has a strong business pedigree, with companies like IBM, GitLab, and Slack trusting the software to keep passwords secure and consistent. With customers like that, it’s undeniably a top option for your family or organization.
Like any technology solution, 1Password has its mix of advantages and disadvantages. In this blog post, we'll explore the pros and cons of using 1Password to help you decide if it's the right password manager.
One of 1Password’s most significant advantages is its strong focus on security. It utilizes end-to-end encryption, meaning your data is encrypted before it leaves your device and can only be decrypted with your Master Password, which 1Password does not store or have access to. This approach minimizes the risk of data breaches and unauthorized access.
1Password boasts a sleek and intuitive interface that simplifies password management whether using the desktop app, browser extension, or mobile app, navigating through your data and accessing your passwords is straightforward and hassle-free.
With the increasing importance of two-factor authentication (2FA), 1Password's ability to generate and store one-time passwords (OTPs) is a significant plus. This feature enhances security and consolidates your login and 2FA data in one spot.
Another notable advantage of 1Password is the ability to securely share passwords and sensitive information with family members or team members. Depending on your subscription plan, you can control who can access specific items, ensuring that sensitive data is only shared with authorized individuals.
1Password supports various devices and platforms, including Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and Linux. It also offers extensions for popular web browsers, ensuring you can access your passwords no matter where or what device you're using.
Unlike some competitors offering a free version, 1Password operates on a subscription model. While there is a 14-day free trial, long-term use requires a subscription. This ongoing cost may be a drawback for users who prefer a one-time purchase or a free solution.
For users new to password managers, the array of features and settings with 1Password can be overwhelming at first. While user-friendly, there's a learning curve to utilize all its functionalities efficiently.
While 1Password's free trial allows users to explore its features, it could be more robust in functionality compared to the full version. This limitation might not provide a comprehensive user experience assessing the tool's capabilities.
For the highly security-conscious, storing sensitive information in the cloud (even with solid encryption) might be a concern due to the theoretical risks of cloud breaches. Although 1Password's security is top-notch, the very nature of cloud storage can be a deal-breaker for some.
Certain features of 1Password, such as accessing your password vault from a new device, require an internet connection. While you can view and use stored passwords offline, initial setup and synchronization across devices need the internet.
We’ve evaluated 1Password’s family and business plans to see if this app is worth using – or if you should seek out a competitor instead. And if you want to explore those alternatives, take a look at our roundup of the best business password managers.
(Image credit: 1Password)
1Password: Plans and pricing
1Password offers different plans tailored to fit individual and business needs. Let's take a closer look:
For Individuals and Families
* Individual Plan (from $2.99 per month): Designed for one person, this plan includes access to all devices, protection for your data, and around-the-clock email support.
* Family Plan ($4.99 per month for up to five): This plan is ideal for household use. It has all the features of the individual plan but allows you to share passwords, credit cards, secure notes, and more with family members.
For Teams and Businesses
* Teams Plan ($20 per month for up to 10 users): Built for collaboration, this plan provides features that help manage team access to shared vaults, with admin controls and secure document storage.
* Business Plan ($8 per user per month): Tailored for larger organizations, the business plan includes everything from the Teams plan and additional advanced tools for security audits, custom roles, and more.
1Password may also offer unique plans, typically discounted, targeted at specific users, such as students, educators, or non-profit organizations.
1Password: Setup
As a leading password manager that simplifies password management while bolstering security, setting up 1Password in a work environment is a strategic move towards enhancing your company's digital security posture. In this guide, we'll walk you through every step of the process.t
Before diving into the setup, it's crucial to understand why 1Password is an asset for any organization. It goes beyond storing passwords - 1Password can manage secure notes, documents, and credentials, ensuring that all sensitive information is kept within a tamper-proof digital vault. Additionally, it enhances productivity by streamlining the login process for various work tools and platforms, reducing the time employees spend managing their passwords.
Step 1: Sign Up and Create Your Account
Begin by visiting the 1Password website and signing up for the plan that best suits your organization's needs. During this process, you'll create an account that will serve as the main administrative hub for managing your team or business.
Step 2: Configure Your Vault
Upon setting up your account, the next step is to configure your vaults. Vaults are secure containers where items like passwords, notes, and documents are stored. You can create multiple vaults for different departments or projects to keep your organization's data organized and accessible to the right people.
Step 3: Adding Users and Groups
After your vaults are configured, you'll need to add your team members. This can be done individually or in bulk through an invitation link or email. Additionally, consider setting up groups for easier management, allowing you to assign vault access to entire teams rather than individual users manually.
Step 4: Establish Security Policies
One of the key benefits of 1Password is the ability to customize security policies. This includes enforcing Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), setting password strength requirements, and configuring other security settings tailored to your organization's security guidelines.
Step 5: Training and Support
With your 1Password setup complete, the final and crucial step is training your team. Ensure that everyone understands how to use 1Password effectively, including storing and managing passwords, using the browser extension, and accessing their vaults. Take advantage of the resources and support provided by 1Password for a smooth transition.
(Image credit: 1Password)
1Password: Interface and performance
1Password provides convenient access on virtually all devices. Along with mobile apps for iOS and Android, the platform also provides desktop apps for macOS, Windows, and Linux, plus a command-line tool and extensions for popular browsers including Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Brave, and Safari. There are also some more quirky options, like Apple Watch support.
It’s a very intuitive app. On the left-hand side, there’s a navigation column that allows users to access their private or shared vaults, tutorials, and their popular passwords. Here you’ll also find the Watchtower, which keeps track of security breaches and lets you know if your details have been compromised. In the main window, you can see all your passwords, messages or alerts, and the search box – which is extremely fast.
Adding new passwords is simple and comprehensive. You’re able to choose from more than two dozen security categories – from straightforward login and credit card details to medical records and passports – and each category collects different kinds of relevant information. It makes creating passwords easier – and speeds up categorization, too.
This is a highly responsive app, too, with changes on one device showing up on other devices almost instantaneously. We’re really fond of the small highlights than run across the top of the UI and throughout the experience, such as Wi-Fi passwords, medical records, identity information, and payment details.
Logging in online is a little more of a task than it is with other password managers. You still use your master password to get in, but you also need to authorize it by copying and pasting a so-called secret key to verify it’s you. We feel this could be handled a little easier, even if by manner of notification to the apps that are already signed in. Dashlane does something similar, and emails a one-time code to the account holder too, just for that extra layer of protection.
(Image credit: 1Password)
1Password: Security
1Password uses a wide range of tools to keep your information as secure as possible. Accounts are locked by a master password, which is never shared with 1Password or any third parties. Beyond that, you’ve got your Emergency Kit, which includes a secure key you’ll need to use when logging in.
1Password provides two-factor authentication with Authy and Microsoft Authenticator, and it comes with security breath alerts, protection against keyloggers, and AES 256-bit encryption. Your passwords are also protected with Secure Remote Password (SRP), which adds another layer of credential authentication.
(Image credit: 1Password)
1Password Business: Team and Admin Features
1Password for Business pitches itself as a robust enterprise password management platform that’s designed to meet the needs of businesses of all sizes. It offers a comprehensive set of features that help facilitate secure credential management, while streamlining administrative tasks, and can also integrate with your existing IT infrastructure.
Its shared vault system is particularly useful for use in a business setting. In the context of a password manager, think of a vault as a secure container that stores login credentials, as well as other secure information like credit card details.
The vaults in 1Password Business provide granular access control with over a dozen distinct permissions, which allow you as admins to control who can view, edit, copy, share, or export items within the vaults.
You can also choose which apps can be used to access this vault. For instance, if you aren’t using 1Password Business’ developer features, you can disable access to the vaults from the CLI tool. Similarly, if you only want your users to access the vault through the browser extensions, and the Android and iOS apps, you can disable access through its Windows, macOS, and Linux apps.
The platform also has an interesting Travel Mode feature that allows your users to temporarily remove access to all but certain vaults that have been marked as Safe for Travel. This helps protect sensitive business credentials and data from potential exposure during travel, especially during border inspections or other security checks.
Like all its peers, you can also use 1Password Business to create custom groups based on the departments, or projects in your organization. You can then assign specific permissions and responsibilities to these groups, such as the ability to invite, and remove people, create vaults, recover accounts, and more, facilitating efficient delegation and management.
Setting permissions at the group level allows for scalable permissioning. You can then assign vault access once to the group instead of each user.
In addition to regular users, 1Password Business also has a concept of guest users. These are individuals who are granted limited access to specific shared vaults. They don't have their own private vault, nor can they access all the shared vaults within the organization. Instead they can only access a designated vault that you’ve earmarked for them. A guest user can be a freelancer, a contractor, or anyone who needs limited access to specific information, like project-related passwords or client-specific details.
(Image credit: 1Password)
The platform also lets you define various security policies. The authentication policy helps create rules to manage how your users authenticate with, and log into the platform. You can use these to require strong master passwords, and select a two-factor authentication (2FA) mechanism. 1Password Business supports multiple 2FA options including the use of an authenticator app, security keys, and the Duo authentication service. You can also choose to make 2FA mandatory for all users.
Then there are sharing and permissions policies, where you create rules for features like credentials sharing. For instance, if you don’t want your users to share items with anyone, you can restrict them to only share items with someone who uses an email from an approved domain. You can also define the expiration settings for the shares, and more.
Finally, there are the firewall policies that you can use to restrict access to the platform, based on country, continent, or IP address.
1Password Business backs it all up with extensive logging and reporting mechanisms that provides a comprehensive trail of all actions within the 1Password account, including who accessed or modified what items and when.
1Password Business: Integrations and Compatibility
Your users can access their credentials from various devices and platforms as 1Password offers apps for all the popular desktop and mobile operating systems including Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android, along with browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge.
1Password Business also integrates with all the major identity providers (IdPs) such as Google Workspace, Microsoft Entra ID, Okta, OneLogin, JumpCloud, and Rippling through the SCIM Bridge. This helps streamline user management as it allows for automated provisioning and deprovisioning of users and groups.
The platform also integrates with leading Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) tools such as Splunk, Sentinel, Elastic, Sumo Logic, Panther, and several others. Thanks to this, the platform can stream activity to the SIEM tools for more detailed auditing and security analysis.
1Password Business also offers a robust set of developer tools that can help integrate secret management into various stages of the software development lifecycle. For instance, developers can generate, import, and store their SSH keys directly within 1Password, and also help it integrate with Git workflows.
Then there’s the 1Password CLI that allows developers to securely access items stored in 1Password directly from the terminal. 1Password Business can also integrate with popular CI/CD platforms like GitHub Actions, CircleCI, and Jenkins, and Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools like Kubernetes, and Terraform.
1Password also provides an open source Software Development Kits (SDKs) for popular programming languages like Python, and JavaScript, and also offers an extension for the Visual Studio Code IDE.
1Password Business: Ease of Use and Deployment
Deploying 1Password Business is relatively straightforward. The initial setup, as outlined earlier, can be completed quickly, and the user onboarding process is intuitive enough.
From an administrative standpoint, the interface is clean and neatly arranged. Most of the regular admin tasks can be completed without too much mucking about the interface, and don’t require extensive technical knowledge. That said, you’ll need to have IT chops to tackle more advanced tasks like IdP integration.
(Image credit: 1Password)
1Password Business’s web-based admin interface provides an overview of user activity, vault access, security insights, and policy compliance. There’s also an activity log that can help you track events like vault access, user logins, sharing activities, policy changes, and more. All activity is timestamped, and the log can be easily filtered.
(Image credit: 1Password)
The platform also has various reports, like breach report, and business watchtower. After you’ve verified the domain controlled by your company, the breach report will flag accounts, information, and employees that have been exposed in data breaches. Then there’s the business watchtower report that identifies security issues like weak passwords, across all your vaults.
(Image credit: 1Password)
Besides these, you also get detailed usage reports, adoption reports, team reports, devices reports, and more. Then there’s the insights dashboard that offers analytics on data breaches, password health, and team usage.
All things considered, the 1Password Business admin interface strikes a good balance between power and simplicity, and works well for all sized organizations.
1Password: Support
With 1Password, you’ll have access to 24/7 support via email. The website states that Business users get VIP support, but it doesn’t explain the difference between regular and VIP—just that help is available “whenever you need it.” As mentioned above, Enterprise subscriptions come with a dedicated account manager and onboard engineer.
The 1Password site also provides helpful articles covering a variety of support topics. These are a great place to start if you run into technical issues or want to learn more about the service’s features. Users can also access security white papers if they’d like a deeper dive into how the service works.
1Password: The competition
Lastpass, one of the most popular password managers, comes with some notable pros and cons compared to 1Password. Unlike 1Password, Lastpass offers a surprisingly robust free plan that enables users to store and share passwords across all their devices.
Furthermore, Lastpass Emergency makes it easy to configure a digital will that automatically transfers your information in case of an emergency or death. The only way to set this process up on 1Password is to pay for a family or team plan and create multiple admins or organizers. That said, Lastpass and 1Password come with many of the same features, and their pricing is mostly similar aside from the Lastpass free plan.
If you’re after more than a password manager, Dashlane and Proton Pass are among the handful that offer VPN connections for certain plans, all in a bid to keep your identity protected.
1Password: Final verdict
1Password offers everything individuals and businesses need to store and share passwords and other sensitive pieces of information. The spread of pricing options means it’s a low-cost way to keep your data safe.
In addition to mobile apps, the service is also compatible with macOS, Windows, and Linux along with several browsers. Its flexibility, affordability, and ease of use make it a great option for companies and home users.
In today's world, where digital security breaches are not just common but expected, the importance of robust password management cannot be overstated. Password managers have become essential tools for individuals and businesses striving to secure their digital realms. However, with many market options, it can be challenging to know what features to prioritize when selecting a password manager. Here's a curated checklist to guide your choice.
Non-Negotiable Features
Encryption is the foundation of a password manager's security. Choose a service offering strong encryption, such as 256-bit encryption — the standard governments and militaries use worldwide. This encryption level ensures that even if data gets intercepted, it remains indecipherable without the unique key.
A zero-knowledge protocol means the service provider does not know your data. Your passwords and sensitive information are encrypted locally on your device before syncing with the server. Ensure your chosen password manager offers end-to-end encryption, with decryption only possible on your device.
Two-factor authentication (2FA)
Two-factor authentication adds an extra layer of security by requiring a second form of verification beyond just the master password. This could be a biometric scan, a security key, or a code generated by an authenticator app. A password manager that supports 2FA significantly enhances your protection against unauthorized access.
Important Usability Features
Your digital life isn't confined to one device, so your password manager shouldn't be either. Cross-platform compatibility ensures you can access your passwords on a PC, Mac, Android, or iOS device. Check for seamless integration with various operating systems and browsers for a smooth experience.
One of the main benefits of a password manager is convenience. Look for features like autofill and auto-login that save time and prevent the risk of typing errors. This facilitates a smoother and faster login process without compromising security.
Strong, unique passwords are essential for secure accounts. A built-in password generator that can create complex passwords enhances security by eliminating the human tendency to reuse passwords or choose easy-to-guess options.
Additional Considerations
A simple, intuitive interface makes a big difference, especially for teams or individuals less familiar with tech. Ease of use encourages adoption and regular use, which is critical for maintaining security practices.
Consider recovering access to your account in case of a forgotten master password. Options like account recovery using a trusted device or emergency access for trusted contacts can be life-saving without compromising the security of your data.
Evaluate the cost relative to the features offered. Many password managers offer a basic level of service for free, with premium features available for a fee. Consider what features are must-haves for you and whether the cost of a premium plan justifies its benefits.
Choosing the right password manager is a balancing act between security features and usability. The ideal tool secures your digital life from threats while seamlessly integrating into your daily routine. You can select a password manager that protects your information and enhances your online experience by focusing on solid encryption, zero-knowledge architecture, and essential usability features. Remember, in the quest for digital security, your password manager becomes your closest ally.
Toast has an interesting history. It was founded in 2012 initially as a consumer app for mobile payments, discounts, product promotions, etc. However, the team later pivoted to building a point-of-sale system for restaurants. The POS system saw huge success and was adopted by thousands of restaurants across the U.S. Later on, Toast added complementary software to help restaurateurs run their operations in addition to collecting payments.
Toast raised hundreds of millions of dollars as a private company before a successful public listing on the New York Stock Exchange in 2021. The money helped the company expand across the United States and a few European countries. Though designed for restaurants, Toast’s POS system is also used by other hospitality providers such as hotels and lounges.
Toast POS: Plans and pricing
(Image credit: Toast)
The first cost to note is the upfront price of the point-of-sale hardware. Toast offers its own hardware to customers; you can choose the Flex, Go, Tap, or Kiosk. There’s no fixed price because the hardware comes in different forms and versions. For example, there are different Flex terminals for the restaurateur, customer, and kitchen, and you’ll need three of them to run a full-fledged operation. Generally, the hardware you’ll need to get starts from $899 and about $499 for installation, which is costly.
Toast plans and pricing
After buying the hardware, you’ll also need to pay a recurring subscription fee to use Toast’s software. You can choose from these plans;
Starter Kit: This is a free package that gives you access to the point-of-sale software package for a single location.
Point of Sale: $69 per month. You can run Toast’s POS system at multiple locations if you choose this package, and it also includes custom hardware configuration.
Essentials: $165 per month. This gives you access to complimentary software tools like online ordering and delivery management.
Custom: There’s no standard pricing for this plan (you have to contact Toast’s sales team for a quote). With this plan, you can go as far as managing your payroll right from Toast's platform. It also includes integrations with over 100 restaurant tools.
Transaction fees are charged separately and depend on if you pay for your hardware upfront or use a monthly plan. If it's a monthly payment plan, the fee is 2.99% + 15 cents for every card payment. If you pay upfront, it comes down to 2.4% + 15 cents.
Toast POS: Features
Hardware
Various hardware options that Toast offers include
Toast Flex
Flex is a full-service payment terminal that includes a 14-inch screen, 16GB flash memory, and WiFi & Bluetooth connectivity. The screen is spill-proof, which is much needed in a restaurant where there's a high risk of food and beverage spills. It helps you organize and manage your orders with ease.
You can’t use this screen alone to run your restaurant. You’ll also need to buy separate hardware to accept payments from customers’ cards, which we’ll mention below. Note that Flex isn’t the only terminal you can choose, but it’s the best to use.
Toast Tap
Toast Tap is a compact device that allows you to charge customers. Your customers can swipe, insert, or tap their cards to pay seamlessly. It accepts payments from all major debit and credit cards or payment apps such as Apple Pay and Google Pay.
You can place this device on your counter or mount it to the side of the Flex terminal for easy use.
Toast Go
Go is handheld POS hardware that’s easy to carry around. You can use this to charge customers at their tables instead of them walking to the counter to pay. Just like Toast tap, this device supports swiping, tapping, or insertion for card payments.
Toast terminal bundle (Image Credit: Toast)
Payment Processing
Toast offers a software solution to let you accept payments from customers. Without this software, then the hardware you bought is futile. The pricing is simple; 2.99% + 15 cents if you are on a monthly hardware payment plan or 2.4% + 15 cents if you pay for your hardware upfront.
Toast does not let customers use any other payment processor except its own. This is a slight disadvantage because there are many rival processors that charge lower transaction fees.
Toast features (Image Credit: Toast)
Toast POS: Interface and use
Toast’s point-of-sale software comes with an intuitive interface that you’d likely find easy to navigate. The company’s designers and developers put a lot of noticeable effort into building a modern interface that makes navigation as easy as possible. You’d often find Toast customers praising the user-friendly interface in reviews.
Tablet running Toast with card reader (Image Credit: Toast)
Toast POS: Support
Toast offers direct customer support via email, live chat, and telephone. The company has a dedicated support email that you can message at any time and expect a response within 24 hours. Likewise, you can get connected with live support agents on the website or dial the telephone support line mentioned on the website. There's also a support portal that includes answers to frequently asked questions, user guides, and articles concerning all aspects of using Toast.
(Image credit: Toast)
Toast POS: The competition
Lightspeed and Clover are two popular competitors to Toast’s point-of-sale system. Unlike Toast, Lightspeed does not have its own special hardware; you can choose from one of several generic options. The company focuses on the software part, with fees of 2.6% + 10¢ for every successful card transaction.
Clover has expensive hardware just like Toast, and you can either pay upfront or sign a monthly payment plan. Its transaction fees go as low as 2.3% + $0.10 depending on the plan you choose.
Toast's mobile reporting running on an iPhone
Toast POS: Final verdict
Toast is a very good point-of-sale system for restaurateurs and hospitality service providers. It offers features that’ll make it easy to accept payments from customers and run your business seamlessly. The disadvantage is that it’s a pretty expensive solution to adopt, both in the cost of hardware, transaction fees, and recurring subscription.
Wellfound, previously known as AngelList, has been around since 2010, so it’s one of the newer names on the scene when it comes to the big job sites. It’s also one of the most interesting job-hunting projects around, because it’s one of the few job sites that’s dedicated to the startup scene.
It makes perfect sense for a job site to focus on startups. There have never been so many nimble, successful and fast-growing tech firms, and there have never been more people who want to work at them – and all of those people will be perfectly versed at finding jobs online.
Post Your First Job in Minutes with ZipRecruiter Find qualified candidates and get distribution on at least 100 job sites with one click. Start your 4-day free trial today and then pay as low as $16/day after that.
Wellfound allows you to speak directly to founders and hiring managers and shows you salary and stock options before you apply (Image credit: AngelList)
Wellfound: Features
Wellfound’s mission is to make startup hiring fairer and more equitable. That’s refreshing, because too often the startup scene relies on nepotism and networking rather than talent and experience.
Many of the world's top startups have used Wellfound to build out their staff (Image credit: AngelList)
At the time of writing there are more than 130,000 jobs on the site, and those positions are obviously found in startup companies and tech firms – and the firm’s database includes big companies like Revolut, Mozilla and Squarespace.
That’s no surprise considering Wellfound's focus on these markets, and it does mean that Wellfound has a great database of relevant jobs at top-notch companies. Negatively, though, this site doesn’t have the millions of job openings listed by some rivals, like LinkedIn Jobs or Monster, and it’s not much good if you don’t want to work in a tech company or at a startup.
Wellfound shows a lot more information about the companies posting positions when compared to other job sites. (Image credit: AngelList)
There are other areas where Wellfound makes up for its lack of a huge jobs database. The site places a big emphasis on transparency, which means that job listings have salaries and equity options displayed up-front. That’s not the only helpful information you’ll see on job listings, either: Wellfound displays how much investment a company has raised, information about the company culture, the size of the company and the markets where it operates. Work from home options are shown if applicable, and the site lists if companies are willing to sponsor visas.
The tags under each job listing can tell you a lot about a company 's culture and its recent growth (Image credit: AngelList)
Job listings have tags that show if companies are hiring, if they’ve been recently funded and if they share any investors with other big-name startups. Other tags illustrate if a company is highly rated by the site’s users, or if it has good scores for leadership and work/life balance. The transparency continues elsewhere – you can see profiles of staff members and see who’ll read your application if you apply.
It’s possible to use your Wellfound profile as your resume, and there are sections to add your relevant history, skills and education. You can also list your website and social profiles. You can list what roles you’re interested in, add a small biography and indicate if you’re currently open to job offers.
Elsewhere, many of the profile options are unsurprisingly startup-focused. There are questions about VISA sponsorship and the size of companies you’d like to consider, and you can link your GitHub profile. The Culture section of your profile allows users to set out their ideal workplace, which is handy for finding an environment where you’re more likely to be happy.
Skill assessments allow you to show businesses areas in which you excel (Image credit: AngelList)
Wellfound also has other handy features and innovative additions on the rest of its site. You can specify if you’re looking for full-time work, contract positions, or an internship, and there’s an extensive quiz where you can match your preferred work environment and career goals to suitable workplaces. There are also skills assessments, like on most other job sites.
There’s a lot to like about Wellfound, but in other areas the site is potentially divisive. It has a straightforward interface that presents job openings like search results, but those results are a bit busy and filled with potentially unhelpful information like news articles.
It doesn’t have as many features as LinkedIn Jobs and Glassdoor – you won’t find learning resources, interview prep modules or proper social networking here. And, of course, Wellfound's focus on startups means that it doesn’t have the breadth of opportunities you’ll find on mainstream sites.
Wellfound: Final verdict
Wellfound has thought of everything when it comes to startup recruitment. That makes it the best tool available if you want to work in the startup scene, and especially if you want a position at a tech company. If that sounds like you, then this should be your first port of call.
It’s undoubtedly excellent for startups, and it’s got some good features – but if you want a broader look at the job market, you’d be better off looking elsewhere.
Freshdesk is a customer support platform from Freshworks. This CRM offers a helpdesk, messaging center, and call center all in one. In our Freshdesk review, we help you decide if this is the best CRM software for your business.
Freshdesk is designed specifically for customer engagement, and is one of a series of Freshworks CRMs with different focuses – including Freshmarketer for marketing, Freshsales for sales management, and Freshservice for IT support.
If you're looking for an all-in-one CRM that combines sales and marketing, we recommend Freshsales Suite.
Freshdesk review: Snapshot
Freshdesk is a capable CRM that enables your business to offer outstanding customer support. The platform helps you manage email ticketing, live chat support, and a call center, and it’s much simpler to use than competing CRMs like Zendesk.
It offers a number of useful tools for team collaboration, including shared inboxes and tools for automating the organization of incoming requests. The software also includes highly advanced reporting features, although using them involves a steep learning curve.
Freshdesk is one of the more expensive support center platforms we have reviewed, so it may not be suitable for businesses on a tight budget. However, if you can handle the software’s cost, it’s one of the top CRM platforms for customer support.
Score: 4.5/5
Read on for the full review.
5 reasons why small businesses need a CRM
Freshdesk competitors
Freshdesk: Key features
Freshdesk is split into three modules: Support Center, Messaging, and Contact Center.
The Support Center module handles customer support tickets. You can set up ticketing across multiple platforms, including your website, an app, social media, and more. New tickets can go not only to an individual but also to shared inboxes to enable collaboration. Teams can share tickets with other teams, as well as split up tasks to speed up answering complex requests.
Messaging, formerly known as Freshchat, is Freshdesk’s chatbot service. You can deploy automated chatbots across your website, mobile app, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Telegram, and Apple Messages. As for support tickets, incoming messages can be directed to a shared inbox to promote collaboration within support teams.
Freshdesk: Highlights
Image 1 of 4
Freshdesk Support Center sends new tickets to a shared inbox for collaboration (Image credit: Freshworks)
Image 2 of 4
Freshdesk Messaging enables you to build automated chatbots for live chat requests (Image credit: Freshworks)
Image 3 of 4
Freshdesk Contact Center enables you to take incoming support calls and coordinate agents across more than 90 countries (Image credit: Freshworks)
Image 4 of 4
Freshdesk tracks all current and past tickets for all of your customers, plus keeps transcripts of past chat sessions and phone calls (Image credit: Freshworks)
Contact Center, formerly called Freshcaller, is a voice-over-IP (VoIP) service that lets your business answer incoming phone calls from customers. It supports agents in more than 90 countries and lets you bring your own carrier if you already have one. Contact Center automatically records and transcribes calls, and agents can even switch a phone call to live chat.
Freshdesk tracks all support interactions between your company and your customers, giving you detailed insights into everything that’s happened on a customer’s account in the past. For any contact, you can see current tickets, archived tickets, agent notes, transcripts of past chat and phone conversations, and more.
You can also tag and segment contacts to organize your database, and offer priority support to some customers.
Freshdesk: What’s new?
Since we last reviewed Freshdesk, the platform has added a few important features. First, teams can now share ownership of tickets with other teams or with third parties outside your company. That opens more opportunities for collaboration.
Freshdesk also added more functionality for scheduling agents, including tracking vacation time. That way, the software can automatically route tickets and messages to agents who are working when a new request comes in.
In addition, Freshdesk introduced a quality coach tool. This enables you to create scorecards for your agents’ interactions with customers. You can also quickly analyze scorecards to find your top support agents.
Freshdesk: Pricing
Freshdesk offers four Support Desk plans, which don’t include Messaging and Call Center, and three Omnichannel plans, which do. You can try out any plan for 21 days before committing to a subscription. Freshdesk lets you pay monthly or annually, and annual subscribers save 17%.
Testing Freshdesk
We tested out Freshdesk to see how easy the platform is to use, and how it handles reporting. The reporting test is particularly important, because if the data Freshdesk collects isn’t helping your company improve customer service, then the software isn’t doing its job.
How easy is it to use Freshdesk?
Freshdesk’s dashboard displays a summary of new support requests and customer satisfaction (Image credit: Freshworks)
We were impressed with how simple it felt to use Freshdesk, especially given the breadth of tools included in the platform. The Support Desk, Messaging, and Contact Center modules are neatly organized into a left-hand menu along with your contact database, reporting center, and administrative settings.
A right-hand sidebar displays customization options as you navigate through Freshdesk, so you don’t have to deal with pop-ups or buried pages.
When you first log into Freshdesk, an overview dashboard gives agents a clear look at everything that’s on their plates. There’s a summary of new, unresolved, and due today tickets, plus a to-do list based on what tasks you or team members have been assigned. The dashboard also shows the results of customer satisfaction surveys, which helps agents keep track of how they’re doing.
We especially liked the layout of Freshdesk’s Support Center, which is set up like an email inbox. A tag makes it easy to identify new support tickets, and every ticket can be assigned a priority level. Plus, you can filter all tickets in your inbox based on what agent or team they’re assigned to, what priority level they have, or when the next response is due.
How good is Freshdesk’s reporting?
Freshdesk’s pre-made reports let you quickly analyze support ticket load and agent performance (Image credit: Freshworks)
Freshdesk offers built-in reports and analysis tools to help you constantly improve the quality of your customer service. We thought the platform did a great job with its pre-made reports, which offer customizable charts for support ticket load, agent and team productivity, and customer satisfaction surveys. You can filter these reports by agent, team, or support type, and it’s simple to export them to a PDF.
If you want more detailed analytics, Freshdesk gets a lot more complicated quickly. The platform’s custom report builder lets you drag and drop analysis widgets onto a page to create your own dashboards. There are some templates to get you started, but for the most part, you’ll add blank charts and tables, and then select what data to display. You can also add images and text boxes, customize the fonts and colors for each graph, and more.
The flexibility this offers is hard to beat, especially if you want to create a professional-looking report for a big meeting. However, the learning curve is quite steep when building your first few reports, and it takes a lot of time to work through all the customization options.
Alternatives to Freshdesk
Freshdesk isn’t the only CRM focused on helping you offer exceptional customer support. Zendesk and LiveAgent are two competing software platforms that give you tools for ticketing, live chat, and phone support.
We found Zendesk to be extremely versatile. It offers more than 1,000 apps and integrations, and includes automation features at a cheaper price point than Freshdesk. Plus, it has an internal help desk, which is a great tool for larger companies.
The downside to Zendesk is that it’s not as user-friendly as Freshdesk. For small companies that want to get a support center up and running quickly, that could be an important reason to choose the latter.
LiveAgent is more affordable than Freshdesk, but we found that this platform doesn’t offer nearly the same depth of features. Ticketing takes a backseat to live chat support within the platform, which means that there are fewer reporting options and automations for ticketing. It also doesn’t offer phone support at all.
So, LiveAgent can be a good option if you primarily want to set up chat support, but it’s not as powerful as Freshdesk for creating a complete support center.
Freshdesk: Final verdict
Freshdesk is high-quality CRM software that can help your company set up a comprehensive customer support center. It supports email ticketing, live chat, and phone support, and works across all the channels your company operates on. Plus, Freshdesk includes automations and chatbots with its higher-tier plans.
Despite the large number of tools and features that Freshdesk brings to the table, we found the software to be surprisingly easy to use. It’s well organized, and makes it easy to start answering tickets and chats right away. The only area where we found friction was in the advanced reporting tools, which are so advanced that they can be difficult to master.
The only real downside to Freshdesk is its cost. Features like workflow automation are pricey, and you’ll need an expensive Omnichannel subscription if you want to add live chat or phone capabilities to your support center. Zendesk offers a similar set of features at a significantly lower price, but it’s not as easy to use. So if your company has a large enough budget, we’d recommend sticking with Freshdesk.
Freshsales is a sales customer relationship management (CRM) software from Freshworks that helps sales teams streamline their processes, close deals faster, and gain greater insight into their customers.
Before we start, it’s worth noting that Freshsales is designed specifically for the needs of sales teams, and is one of a series of Freshworks CRMs with different focuses – including Freshmarketer for marketing, Freshservice for IT support, and Freshdesk for customer engagement.
In this Freshsales review, we'll evaluate its pros and cons, and see how it compares to the best CRM software out there. If you're looking for an all-in-one CRM that combines sales and marketing, we recommend Freshsales Suite instead.
Freshsales deal for TechRadar Pro readers
Get Freshworks CRM solutions from $15 per user/mo Freshsales is just one of a suite of CRM solutions offered by Freshworks, which combine phone, email, and messaging. Each solution is intuitive, user-friendly interface and boasts strong sales features; all reasons why our editors recommend Freshworks for small businesses. View Deal
It’s ideal for ambitious sales teams in small and medium-sized businesses looking to reach their prospects more strategically. Freshsales’ intuitive, customizable interface makes it a good choice for those new to CRM software and means that it doesn’t require extensive team training to set up.
Built-in phone and email capabilities enable you to communicate directly with contacts from the CRM, while the mobile app allows you to capture data on the go.
Freshsales does require an upgrade to access its lead generation tools, and the range of third-party integrations is limited. If you’re looking for a CRM with more integrations available, Insightly may be a better choice.
Overall, Freshsales is an affordable and comprehensive CRM that offers all of the standard functionality you need to drive your sales team forwards.
Score: 4.5/5
Read on for the full review.
5 reasons why small businesses need a CRM
Freshsales’ competitors
Freshsales: Key features
Freshsales is an affordable CRM that makes contact management simple. With its beginner-friendly interface and powerful AI system, it makes for a great starter CRM for small businesses, though it also boasts enough advanced features to appeal to small- and mid-sized enterprises.
To start with, we were impressed by Freshsales' level of customization. Every aspect of the interface, including the main navigation menu, can be customized to your needs. You have the option to choose from hundreds of different currencies and over 10 languages, as well as create custom fields, modules, sales activities, and more. So, the software can be molded to suit the needs of virtually any business.
With Freshsales you can customize appointments, alerts, reminders, and activities to keep your team organized. (Image credit: Freshsales )
Image 3 of 4
Sales pipelines can be viewed on a single dashboard, giving you an overview of your team’s success in closing deals. (Image credit: Freshsales )
Image 4 of 4
Freshsales offers a limited range of third-party integrations (Image credit: Freshsales )
Freshsales offers comprehensive contact and account management tools. You can view an activity timeline of a contact's engagement with your brand, enabling you to target them more strategically with sales calls and follow-ups. The AI-powered contact scoring system prioritizes top leads based on a prospect's engagement, helping you close deals faster.
Freshsales also offers you tools you need to communicate with contacts, with in-built phone and email functionality and a mobile app. You can even set up live chat on your website schedule, and join Zoom meetings from the CRM software.
In addition, Freshsales enables you to automatically assign leads to sales reps based on specific criteria, as well as customize appointments, alerts, reminders, and activities to keep your team organized. Automated workflows help cut down on the manual work involved in nurturing leads, and streamline sales processes so that you can focus on closing deals.
Additional integrations with third-party project management apps are also available, though the range of integrations offered is quite limited.
Freshsales features: What’s new?
Freshworks is continuously improving the features of the Freshsales software. Since 2019, the company has added the option to customize your main navigation sidebar, with custom fields and improved workflow automation so that you can now automate an action based on a defined trigger.
Freshworks has also added the capability to group users into ‘teams’ to improve collaboration and introduced weighted sales pipelines. These display a sales forecast that’s weighted by the likelihood that deals will close.
The company has also added new features to the Freshsales app, helping sales reps close deals on the go. You can now record voice notes on the app and attach them to a record, make calls directly from the app, and check in at your location on the app.
Freshsales: Pricing
Freshsales offers four pricing plans, including an Enterprise plan that offers advanced AI features, more storage data, and a higher limit for the number of sales teams, workflows and sequences you can create. Plans are billed monthly or annually, with discounts for annual billing, and the cost scales with the number of end-user licenses you need.
Freshsales is notable for offering a free plan, which many of its competitors, such as Salesforce, do not. The free plan offers a basic level of contact management, but it doesn’t include access to reporting - an important feature for any CRM.
Testing Freshsales
In order to better review Freshsales' CRM offering, we ran through a series of its main features and tools, testing them and establishing how each can be used.
How does Freshsales' contact management work?
Freshsales helps you gain greater visibility into your customers and build relationships in more strategic ways. (Image credit: Freshsales)
Contact and account management is a key area where Freshsales excels.
The CRM enables you to see a comprehensive timeline of a prospect's engagements with your brand through website, email, and other channels, helping you gain greater visibility into your customers and build relationships in more strategic ways.
The AI-driven contact scoring system ranks prospects based on their engagement, helping you prioritize the leads most likely to convert. Freshsales also offers a host of workflow management features, enabling you to set up tasks, appointments, activities, reminders, and alerts for your whole team to help you stay on track.
This feature is particularly useful for sales teams collaborating across different geographies and time zones.
In addition to contact management, Freshsales offers several methods for communicating with prospects.
There’s a built-in phone with call recording as well as an email client integration that enables you to email contacts in bulk. Freshsales also includes email templates so you can launch basic campaigns without ever leaving the CRM.
While Freshsales does offer some lead generation tools, these are only available with costly upgrades. For example, a feature that populates records with publicly listed information about contacts is only available on the Enterprise plan, even though this is a standard feature on Insightly’s CRM software.
How does Freshsales' workflow automation work?
Freshsales enables you to create automated workflows to streamline sales processes (Image credit: Freshsales)
Freshsales improves the efficiency of sales reps by automating time-consuming tasks, freeing them up to close more deals.
You can set up rules that will automatically assign leads to sales reps according to criteria like region, language, area of expertise, and more.
You can also design sales sequences that automate repetitive and manual tasks such as following up with leads, sending welcome emails, or sending contract renewal reminders.
Once you've set the conditional actions and triggers, these sequences run in the background. As a result, it takes minimal ongoing effort to keep contacts engaged with your company.
To expand existing functionality, Freshsales also offers integrations with project management apps including Zapier, QuickBooks, and Xero, among others. Freshsales has announced plans to add more integrations in the future.
However, it currently falls short on integrations when compared to Insightly, which boasts a library of more than 500 business apps.
What is Freshsales' Freddy AI?
Freddy AI learns from your data to deliver personalised insights and recommendations (Image credit: Freshsales)
Freddy AI is Freshsales' advanced AI system that operates behind the scenes, learning from historical data to deliver personalized insights, predictions, and recommendations.
This AI ensures that sales reps are making educated decisions based on existing data and helps them decide how to move a lead further down the path to conversion.
Freddy AI also helps forecast sales by predicting how likely deals are to go through and displaying a sales pipeline that’s weighted by deal likelihood. Deal likelihood and weighted forecasts are visible on a single dashboard, giving managers a better overview of how the whole sales team is performing and what kind of numbers they can expect to achieve.
The full functionality of Freddy AI is only available with an Enterprise plan.
How does Freshsales' mobile app work?
Freshsales offers a mobile app that enables you to stay connected to the CRM while on the go (Image credit: Freshsales)
Alongside the online software, Freshsales offers a mobile app that enables you to stay connected to the CRM while on the go.
Whether you're traveling for work or meeting a prospect for lunch, the app enables you to access data about your contact from anywhere. You can even download and store information for offline access.
The app offers an impressive level of functionality. You can record voice notes, send emails, make calls, book Ubers, and even scan documents using your phone’s camera. You can also attach tasks, notes, and activities to contact records, which makes it easy to keep your database up to date.
Finally, the app enables you to check in to a location to let others in your team know where you are.
Alternatives to Freshsales
Freshsales with a Basic plan is an affordable CRM solution with all of the features that a small business sales team might need. You get contact management tools, predictive contact scoring, 20 workflow automations, deal management tools, visual sales pipelines, and more.
In comparison, its competitor Insightly offers fewer workflow automations with its basic plan. However, it does automatically import publicly available data about contacts, a feature that Freshsales only offers with its Enterprise plan.
HubSpot, another Freshsales competitor, is more limited with its basic plan than Freshsales. You’ll need to upgrade to access the same level of functionality that Freshsales offers, though the price quoted does cover two paid users rather than one.
When comparing more advanced plans, it’s clear that HubSpot is better suited for large enterprises and the price reflects that.
While Freshsales offers a maximum of 10 deal pipelines, 100 automated workflows, 25 sales sequences per user, and 100GB of storage per user with its Enterprise plan, HubSpot offers up to 100 deal pipelines and 1,000 workflows.
Is Freshsales right for your business?
Freshsales is well-suited for small- to medium-sized businesses looking for an affordable CRM that covers all the essentials that sales teams need, plus includes some advanced features like workflow automation and AI insights.
For those working collaboratively on the go, the Freshsales app offers live data-syncing and note-taking options.
Freshsales’ phone and email integrations are also valuable tools that enable you to reach out to contacts without ever leaving the CRM, while also ensuring that all of your communication records are in one place.
While Freshsales offers a free plan with basic contact and account management functionality, the free plan does not include reports, which hampers its usefulness. Freshsales also does not offer lead generation tools on its Basic plan, requiring you to upgrade to access these features.
While Freshsales offers good native integrations with other Freshworks apps, its range of third-party integrations is limited. If the integrations you’re looking for aren’t available for Freshsales, it may not be the right CRM for your business.
Further reading on CRMs
Looking to learn more about CRM software? Then try out these articles. Here, we list the best contact management software, and you can read our in-depth Salesforce review as well as our overall Freshworks review to get an insight into leading services in the CRM sector.
Zettle is a Swedish payment technology. It was founded in 2010 as iZettle by two entrepreneurs; Jacob de Geer and Magnus Nilsson. The company launched its app and a chip card reader in 2011 to enable businesses to do payment processing simply and easily. The original name, "iZettle", comes from the expression of "settling a debt".
iZettle launched to fanfare in 2011 and its chip card reader was adopted by many European businesses. It grew rapidly and added many POS products and services over the years, including a mobile app, QR code payments, point-of-sale, small business loans, etc.
In 2018, PayPal, the American fintech giant, acquired iZettle for $2.2 billion. In February 2021, the company changed its formal name to "Zettle By PayPal".
In this review, we'll see if Zettle really is one of the best POS systems.
Zettle has developed a full suite of POS products (Image credit: iZettle)
Zettle POS: Plans and pricing
The first thing to consider for any point-of-sale system is the hardware cost. Zettle offers two main hardware; Terminal and Card Reader. The Terminal is an all-in-one system that lets you manage your inventory, charge customers' cards, and print their receipts. It costs $199 one-time or $239 if you want the version with an in-built scanner.
The Card Reader is significantly cheaper, as it’s a less sophisticated device. You need to connect it to your mobile device to start selling, unlike the Terminal which needs no external hardware. Zettle offers the first card reader for $29 and every additional card reader for $79. You can also buy a charging dock for the device for $49; this dock locks the card reader into place and charges it all day long even as you use it to collect payments.
Zettle also takes a commission on every transaction facilitated by its software. The company charges 2.29% + $0.09 for every in-person card transaction. If you enter the card details manually, the fee rises to 3.49% + $0.09. QR code transactions cost 2.29% + $0.09.
Zettle also offers hardware bundles that provide all you need to accept payments. They include:
Store Kit Mini: This bundle includes a card reader, a charging dock, a stand, and an optional iPad. It costs $249 normally or an extra $459 if you include the iPad.
Store Kit Standard: This bundle includes a card reader, charging dock, device stand, smart printer, and thermal rolls for the smart printer. It costs $499 normally or an extra $459 if you include the iPad.
Store Kit Plus: This includes everything in the Standard bundle plus a barcode scanner. It costs $699 normally or an extra $459 with the iPad.
Store Kit Portable: This bundle includes a card reader, portable printer, and thermal rolls for the portable printer. It costs $339.
Zettle offers a range of quick and easy payment options (Image credit: iZettle)
Zettle POS: Features
Hardware
Zettle offers hardware that makes it easy to accept payments from customers and run your business, including:
Zettle Terminal: This is a handheld device that point-of-sale and payments. You can use the POS software to manage your inventory and automatically calculate the price when a customer orders multiple items. Customers can pay by swiping, tapping, or inserting their cards. The money will be collated at the end of each business day and wired to your bank account in 2 to 3 days.
Zettle Reader 2: This is the card reader that Zettle offers. Customers can pay you by swiping, tapping, or inserting their cards just as they’d do with the terminal. But, this device does not come with its built-in POS software. Instead, you’ll download the Zettle mobile app and link it with the card reader to manage your payments.
Barcode Scanner: You can add products to your product library and scan them directly with the barcode scanner when it's time for payment. This way, you'll get the accurate prices of each item and sum them up for customers to pay. Note that this barcode scanner only works with the Zettle iOS mobile app and not the Android app.
Software
The PayPal Zettle mobile app makes it easy to accept payments and run your business. You can easily add products, set prices, and check stock levels from one app. When it's time to pay, just select the products the customer has chosen, and the total price will be calculated automatically. Then, the customer will pay with their card, and you'll confirm the payment in the app.
You can also track business metrics with the Zettle mobile app. For instance, you can identify the best-selling products in your store, manage staff schedules, and monitor sales activities.
Read next 💡
(Image credit: Vagaro)
Wondering what the best POS systems for restaurants, small businesses, and retail are?
The Zettle POS can work on a till-based system if needed (Image credit: iZettle)
Zettle POS: Interface and use
Zettle has the kind of interface you’d expect in a modern app. It’s intuitive, minimal, and uncluttered, which makes the platform easy to navigate. If you check through customer reviews, user-friendliness is a common highlight that you’d see.
Zettle's Pro app is perfect for the likes of bars and restaurants (Image credit: iZettle)
Zettle POS: Support
Zettle offers many support resources at your disposal. If you’re having an issue with the platform, you can visit the official help center which contains a collection of guides, user manuals, and answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs). If you’re not satisfied, then you can contact PayPal’s support staff directly via live chat or telephone. There’s also an online community where you can ask other experienced users for help.
The Zettle dashboard offers up all sorts of account management (Image credit: iZettle)
Zettle POS: The competition
Stripe and Wix POS are good point-of-sale alternatives to Zettle. Both of them offer a very user-friendly interface, with features that make it easy to accept payments and run your business. Zettle charges higher fees than Wix but lower fees than Stripe.
Zettle's app interface makes product management a breeze (Image credit: iZettle)
Zettle POS: Final Verdict
Zettle is a suitable point-of-sale system for businesses across Europe and the U.S. It makes collecting payments from customers as seamless as possible and provides other features to help you run your business. We’d recommend this point-of-sale system to every interested business.
Space Designer 3D is one of a growing number of online services aimed at helping you design any building right from a window in your web browser. Let’s see what it has to offer and how it compares to the best interior design software we've reviewed.
Space Designer 3D: Pricing & plans
Most items in the ‘Starter’ plan are restricted, severely limiting your design options (Image credit: Asynth SAS)
You don’t have to subscribe to gain access to Space Designer… but it helps. However, they do offer a free tier which can be used to explore how the service works and determine if it’s right for your needs.
Space Design 3D offers 3 distinct plans for individuals, with ‘Starter’ being completely free. You get to work on a single project, have access to a limited catalog (150 objects and 100 materials), are able to export your work in a handful of image formats, and have 10 credits for image renders. It is a very obviously restricted plan, like only being able to create a single level, but this is more than good enough to try the service out before investing any money into yet another subscription.
‘Premium’ will cost you $25 per month. This allows you to work on 25 projects, you get 20 credits per month for renders, access Space Designer’s full catalog (2,500 objects and 300 materials), and can export projects as a PDF.
Then there's ‘Ultimate’. $45 a month will remove any restrictions on the number of projects you can work on, have access to the ‘Pro Catalog’ (4,500 objects and 1,500 materials), import GLTF, OBJ, FBX files, export as a DXF (a vector-based file format used for sharing 2D and 3D projects between different Computer-Aided Design software), and have 40 credits per month.
There’s also a ‘Pro’ section, designed for people working in teams or businesses, and comes with user account options, and collaborative tools. The cheapest one is ‘Team’, for $75 a month. The other two tiers, ‘Business’ and ‘Enterprise’, offer more bespoke plans and as such the price will also be bespoke.
As always, the more you pay, the more you get, but at least, ‘Starter’ is there to make sure you have a chance to try before forking out some of your hard earned money on a monthly basis.
You can check out Space Designer 3D by clicking here.
Space Designer 3D: Interface
Designing your project is easy (Image credit: Asynth SAS)
A simple to use interface, with great responsiveness when working on your project. It works incredibly well, marred by severe object selection limitations if you’re on the ‘Starter’ plan.
Once you’ve created a new project, you’ll be graced with a clean and simple interface: all the tools you need are in a sidebar to the right. If you’ve worked with any other online home design service, it won’t take you long to understand this one. In fact, even with very minimal experience, you should be able to quickly start building your project, as the software is very responsive and is even designed to make it as easy for you to build a structure. It understands where walls meet, and fills in the gaps, as it were, to make sure walls that are close enough to meet but aren’t, join properly, for instance.
The entire process is simple to understand: scroll through the various categories, select the tool you require, then click on your canvas to add it - if you’re building a wall, clicking a second time elsewhere will create a wall between those two clicks.
If you need to resize a wall, window or door, click on the object and drag one of its handles. To reposition it, click on it to select it, and then drag it to its new location. It’s incredibly simple and very responsive.
Exploring the Starter tier however, you’ll instantly notice its limitations: you can only choose a couple of window designs out of nearly two dozen, or a couple of single doors, one double door, one sliding door, you get the picture. It’s enough to enable you to design something, especially since you can resize these objects anyway, while making you long for the versatility offered to paying customers.
Space Designer 3D: Decorations
All items’ dimensions and color are fully customizable (Image credit: Asynth SAS)
Space Designer 3D has a wealth of objects to choose from to decorate your project, and the fact you can alter their dimensions and colour, greatly enhances the service’s versatility.
Building a structure, no matter how easy your chosen service makes it, is one thing, but adding furniture is what brings a concept to life.
These objects are broken down by where they’re destined to go, such as ‘Living Room’, ‘Office’ or ‘Kitchen’, and by what they are, like ‘Plants and Trees’, ‘Lighting Fixtures’ or ‘Technical Systems’. Thankfully if you’re struggling to find what you’re looking for, there’s a handy search field at the top of the sidebar.
Once again though, you’ll come across severe limitations as to what you can choose in the ‘Starter’ plan, but just as for the windows and doors, you can resize any item to suit your needs, although this time, this has to be done through the Inspector panel that appears to the right of the interface when you select an object. By default, an item’s width, length and height are linked, meaning you alter one, and all the others will change to reflect the new size, preserving its aspect ratio.
But severing that link is just a click away, enabling you to customise the size of any item you add to your project. This is also where you can alter an item’s colour, or even change its elevation. You’ll find that some items automatically know when they should be put on a raised surface like a table, but others aren’t so accommodating, although who would display a chair on top of a table anyway? With the ‘elevation’ parameter, you can do exactly that.
Space Designer 3D: Working Environment
You can observe your project in ‘3D Model View’, while still being able to edit and decorate it (Image credit: Asynth SAS)
Three views to choose from, with 2D giving you the most tools to work with, but you can still decorate your rooms in 3D Model; 3D Immersive is simply there to walk around and observe.
By default your work environment is a top-down 2D space, which makes it very easy to construct a project, as it’s similar to what you would do when designing with a pen and paper. You’re able to customise and decorate your building as you’d expect, but to get that immersive feeling only computers can offer, you need to switch to a 3D view.
You’ve got two options: ‘3D Model View’, and ‘3D Immersive View’. The former lets you see your project from different angles and elevations, and still allows you to work on your design, like adding furniture, windows or doors (walls are reserved for the 2D view). The latter however is more of an exploration of your design, giving you the illusion of walking through your project and seeing it as if you were actually there. You can’t edit what you see: you’re unable to select any objects, and any attempt to add anything new will throw you back to the traditional 2D view. No matter which view was selected, we were impressed by how fluid the interface was, and didn’t experience any lag no matter how fast we travelled around the project.
Space Designer 3D: Sharing
Get have a few credits to ask the service to create renders for you (Image credit: Asynth SAS)
You have a couple of direct links to social media, can copy your project’s URL, and set up renders of set views. A good number of options.
When it comes to sharing your design, most of the process is done via the ‘Share’ menu, top right of the interface. You have direct links to Facebook and Twitter, an email option, or the ability to simply copy your project’s URL to add to any other document or social media platform.
You can also create digital renders of your work through the Renderings and Screenshots feature (one of the tools in the left sidebar). The more expensive monthly subscriptions also allow you to collaborate with others.
All in all, Space Designer 3D is an excellent online service which is so well integrated inside your favourite browser, you’ll forget you’re not running this on a dedicated app. It is smooth and responsive, and helps you work quickly and easily to create a project with ease. Definitely worth looking into.
Should I buy Space Designer 3D?
‘3D Immersive View’ removes all editing capabilities, and is there simply for you to enjoy your creation (Image credit: Asynth SAS)
Buy it if...
If you’re in the market for an online tool that allows you to design a building and decorate it, with a smooth and responsive interface.View Deal
Don't buy it if...
You just want to do this for fun - in which case the free ‘Starter’ plan should be more than you need, unless you’re after more options to decorate your design.View Deal
Bitrix24 is a comprehensive customer relationship management platform that goes beyond traditional CRM functionalities. It offers an extensive suite of tools for managing customer interactions, project collaboration, and internal communication.
At its core, Bitrix24 provides robust lead and deal management capabilities, making it one of the best CRM platforms on the market - but it doesn't stop there. The platform integrates project management features, time tracking, document handling, and even website building tools.
What caught my attention during my evaluation was Bitrix24's commitment to accessibility. The platform offers a generous free tier alongside paid plans, making it an attractive option for businesses of various sizes. However, this wide-ranging functionality comes with a trade-off — a steeper learning curve compared to more streamlined options.
Bitrix24 core capabilties
(Image credit: Bitrix24)
Despite being an all-in-one platform, Bitrix24 offers a robust collection of core CRM capabilities. I was able to create and organize detailed profiles for both individual contacts and company accounts, complete with customizable fields to capture specific information relevant to my hypothetical business needs.
I could also effortlessly track prospects from initial contact through the entire sales process. The system allowed me to assign leads to team members, set follow-up tasks, and monitor the progress of each opportunity through customizable sales pipelines.
For sales forecasting, the visual pipeline view provided an intuitive representation of deals at various stages, allowing for quick assessment of the sales funnel. I found the ability to drag and drop deals between stages particularly useful for keeping the pipeline up to date. The forecasting tools, while not as advanced as dedicated forecasting software, offered solid projections based on historical data.
The platform offers a wide array of pre-built reports covering various aspects of sales performance, lead sources, and team productivity. I was able to generate custom reports with relative ease, though some of the more advanced reporting features were reserved for higher-tier plans. The visual representation of data through charts and graphs made it simple to glean insights at a glance, which would be invaluable for quick decision-making in a real-world scenario.
While testing Bitrix24’s mobile app, I found that it offered most of the core CRM functionalities available on the desktop version. I could access contact information, update deals, and even use the built-in communication tools while on the go. The app's interface, while not as polished as some standalone mobile CRMs, was functional and responsive.
I particularly liked Bitrix24's integration of communication tools directly within the CRM. The platform includes features like internal chat, video calls, and a social intranet, which could significantly streamline team collaboration. Any internal conversations about leads or deals can happen right alongside the relevant CRM data, making collaboration more secure and user-friendly.
Being an advanced platform, Bitrix24 offers a range of tools to streamline repetitive tasks. The system allows for the creation of custom workflows and triggers, which can automate actions like assigning tasks, sending emails, or updating deal stages based on specific criteria. While powerful, I did find that setting up complex automations required a bit of a learning curve.
The platform also includes features that extend beyond traditional CRM boundaries, such as project management tools, time tracking, and even some excellent website building capabilities. While this comprehensive approach could be advantageous for businesses looking to consolidate a software stack, it also means higher costs that won’t be feasible for those looking for a standalone CRM.
How easy is Bitrix24 CRM to use?
Logging into Bitrix24, I quickly realized that ease of use is a complex topic for this platform. While the customization options are extensive, this flexibility comes at the cost of initial complexity. For starters, Bitrix24’s dashboard presents a wealth of information, which can be daunting for new users. I found myself spending considerable time navigating through various menus and submenus to locate specific functions.
Personalizing the workspace required a deeper understanding of the system's structure, which might not be immediately intuitive for all users. The ability to create custom fields, workflows, and even modify the layout is powerful, but it also contributes to a steeper learning curve.
Still, Bitrix24's approach to user interface design has evolved over time. Recent updates have made strides in improving usability, with a more streamlined layout and clearer iconography. Despite these improvements, I found that the platform's all-in-one nature sometimes leads to a cluttered feel, with features from different modules intersecting in ways that can be confusing for newcomers.
Thankfully, there’s a wealth of self-service resources available for new users. During my research, I discovered an extensive library of video tutorials on the platform’s YouTube channel, as well as detailed online training courses specifically designed for administrators. These resources are comprehensive and cover a wide range of topics, from basic navigation to advanced feature utilization. Bitrix24 also offers weekly webinars that dive into different aspects of the platform, providing detailed use cases.
Ultimately, compared to some of its competitors, Bitrix24's learning curve is way steeper. Platforms like Freshworks, for instance, are noted for their user-friendly interfaces and ease of use. While this is partly explained by the wealth of features and customization choices available, the fact remains that there are competitors who do all of this while still retaining their intuitiveness, like Insightly.
Bitrix24 integrations
(Image credit: Bitrix24)
When it comes to integrations, I was impressed by the variety of options available in the Bitrix24 Marketplace. With over 300 apps in the catalog, including integrations with well-known services like Quickbooks, Google Sheets, PayPal, RingCentral, WhatsApp, and Miro, businesses can easily connect existing tools with the CRM.
For businesses looking to migrate data from other platforms, Bitrix24 also offers a range of migration apps for popular services like Jira, Asana, Trello, Zapier, Zoho, and Pipedrive. During CRM testing, I found these migration tools to be intuitive and efficient, allowing for a smooth transition without significant data loss or disruption.
Then there’s the Bitrix24 REST API, which allows developers to integrate the platform with external systems, import and export data, and even create custom widgets. It provides businesses with the flexibility to tailor the CRM to specific needs by ensuring smooth data synchronization with other tools in the software stack.
Bitrix24's commitment to integration extends beyond pre-built apps and API access. The platform also provides comprehensive documentation and resources for developers looking to create custom integrations. The detailed REST API guide, complete with examples and guidelines, empowers businesses to develop tailored solutions that address their unique requirements.
Moreover, Bitrix24 offers a range of low-code tools that allow users to solve specific problems without relying solely on the REST API. This approach democratizes integration capabilities, enabling even non-technical users to connect and automate processes involving other applications.
How good is Bitrix24 CRM customer support?
(Image credit: Bitrix24)
Looking into Bitrix24's customer support, I encountered a mixed bag of experiences and resources. The platform offers several support channels, but the level of assistance and response times varied depending on the plan and the complexity of the issue at hand.
Free accounts are limited to self-support resources such as product manuals, helpdesk articles, video tutorials, and free webinars. While these resources can be helpful for getting started and troubleshooting basic issues, they may not suffice for more complex or account-specific problems. But this is not unusual, since most platforms reserve live support options for paid customers only.
For paid users, Bitrix24 offers live support through chat and email. Chat support is usually responsive with average wait times of around 5-10 minutes. Support representatives are generally knowledgeable and helpful, although there are instances where more complex issues require escalation to higher-tier support agents, resulting in longer resolution times.
Email support, on the other hand, has slower response times. It often takes up to 24-48 hours to receive an initial response, which could be frustrating for users facing time-sensitive issues. However, once engaged, the email support team provides detailed and thorough assistance, often including step-by-step instructions and screenshots.
Beyond the live support options, the platform offers an extensive knowledge base with articles covering a wide range of topics, from basic setup and configuration to advanced customization and integrations. The articles are well-organized and searchable, making it easy to find relevant information quickly.
In addition to the knowledge base, Bitrix24 provides a comprehensive library of video tutorials and webinars. These resources offer visual guidance on various aspects of the platform, making it easier for users to learn and adopt the system. The webinars, in particular, are a valuable resource, as they provide live demonstrations and Q&A sessions with Bitrix24 experts.
Yet, some users on sites like G2 and Trustpilot have reported mixed experiences with Bitrix24's customer support. In online reviews, a few users expressed frustration with the support team's response times and the quality of assistance provided. Some felt that the support representatives were more focused on providing formal replies rather than solving problems, leaving customers to figure things out on their own.
It's also worth noting that Bitrix24 does not provide phone support as a standard channel. For users who prefer to discuss issues over the phone, this could be a drawback. However, the platform does offer a callback feature, where users can request a phone call from the support team at a scheduled time.
Bitrix24 CRM pricing and plans
Bitrix24 may just be one of the most flexible and affordable options in the CRM market. What immediately caught my attention was the platform's unique approach to pricing – instead of charging per user, it offers a flat fee for each plan with a base number of users, with the option to add more as you scale. This allows businesses to scale a user base without incurring as much expense.
Bitrix24 offers one of the best free CRM plans on the market with unlimited users and no time restrictions. It includes essential CRM features, task management, and document management capabilities, providing a solid foundation for businesses to get started with the platform - making it one of the best CRMs for start ups. While certain advanced features and paid support options aren’t available, it’s still a great option for those looking for an extended trial period.
For organizations requiring more advanced features, Bitrix24 offers four paid plans: Basic, Standard, Professional, and Enterprise. These plans range from $49/month for 5 users to $7,999/month for 10,000 users, with scaling levels of storage space and feature sets. What I found particularly impressive was the value Bitrix24 offers relative to its price. Compared to other CRM providers that charge per user, Bitrix24's flat-fee model can lead to significant cost savings for businesses with larger teams.
For all new users, Bitrix24 offers a 15-day free trial for the Professional plan. This trial allows businesses to test the platform's full range of features before committing to a paid subscription. During my experience with the trial, I found it to be a valuable way to explore Bitrix24's capabilities and determine if it was the right fit for my needs.
It's worth noting that while Bitrix24's pricing is generally straightforward, there are some limitations to keep in mind. For example, the free plan, while generous in terms of user count, does have restrictions on storage space and certain advanced features. Additionally, some features, such as the telephony functionality, require separate payment. But overall, I found Bitrix24's pricing model to be one of its strongest selling points.
Bitrix24 CRM review: Summary
Bitrix24 particularly excels in its core functionality, offering a comprehensive suite of features that cater to the needs of any business looking for a CRM. The platform's extensive customization options and powerful automation tools enable users to streamline workflows and adapt the system to unique requirements. However, this wealth of features does come with a learning curve, which may be steeper for users unfamiliar with all-in-one business management platforms.
The platform's unique flat-fee pricing model and feature-rich free plan make it an attractive option for businesses looking to get more out of their investment in a CRM. While the customer support experience may vary depending on the plan and the complexity of the issue, Bitrix24 offers a robust set of self-service resources that can help users navigate the platform effectively.
Overall, I’d say this is a powerful and versatile platform that offers a compelling blend of features, flexibility, and affordability. However, for users looking for a simple solution with great support, Bitrix24 may not be it.
