Amazing CRM and More! Affordable called MARKATE

Management & Operations
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I recently have been involved with the uamcc and we were trying to find a CRM that works for us and we found a amazing software that I would love to any startup business that needs to find the right software. The name of the software is Markate. This software gives you the ability to do things that no other software can and it is extremely affordable it’s $180 a year or around $28 a month. That includes all of your CRM estimates invoicing marketing virtual estimator and so much more it’s really honestly a game changer. Keep track of expenses and if you have employees you can download a technician app for them and he is really really cool here is the link if anybody wants to check it out they give out a free 14-day subscription. If anybody else uses it please let me know your thoughts I think this is an amazing app and does great things and the people that work there are extremely helpful.

If anybody else used it please let me know your thoughts.

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We get enough spam here without members bringing that crap over

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What are you talking about

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Just trying to help some new business owners and don’t need to get the answer from you every time I put something on the board I don’t understand why would it affect anything and how would you answer my topic that way

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I stand by my remark. The fact that it is in anyway associated with the uamcc means that it is bad for this industry. You brought spam here. Don’t use profanity on this forum. Do feel free to use some punctuation.

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Isn’t this the same as squids post about bidslot?

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@squidskc didn’t bring in the uamcc to the forum of another org. Rowdy didn’t use bad math and unintelligible ramblings. If you think it is something good, start over. Leave Ron’s mess out of it. Give readable info and see if anyone has interest.

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I’m guessing you probably weren’t aware of the bad blood between the UAMCC and some other orgs. Or more specifically, between Ron M and 80% of pw contractors who know him. He’s right up there with Jim G*mble in the number of people he’s ticked off or rubbed the wrong way.

Also, your original post comes across as very spammy in the way it is written. If this was your first or second post to the forum, I would’ve flagged it as spam.

I checked out the markate website. Looks very promising. We’ll have to demo it along with a few others when I get some time. We’ll be saying goodbye to HCP before my wife takes over all of the office tasks. She can’t stand HCP, and I can’t really blame her.

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I’m just speaking for my self but, I really like customer factor

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I just finished testing this CRM for about two hours. I like everything about it. It sends out an initial appointment confirmation via sms and/or email. Then a reminder set at your preference (I like 24hrs). Then the invoice is generated and sent. There’s and option for internal work orders if you have employees. Upon integrated payment a receipt is sent, and optionally a review request by sms/email. The only thing I have left to test is the postcard integration. It’s pretty neat. It’s basically sendjim but without the monthly membership fee and it’s integrated into the system. It is a bit more per post (vs sendjim) card at .80c per card, but for my purposes of sending out thank you cards and yearly service reminders to current customers(about 300) its a good price. I’ll continue to do my own mass mailing myself with eddm as its way cheaper at .24c.

At only 24/monthly or 19/month(paid per year).

There are some options that are added on at $5 per option. Review request being one of them.
Some other $5 addon options are integrated in your own website booking form, contact form plugins. There also an option for a dedicated virtual line.

I have no affiliation with this crm company nor UMACC. I just seen this post and decided to look into it.

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I’ve been using it for a few months and really like it. One of the main things I like is the customer service they give. They have a member facebook page and if you have something that you would like to see added to the program just ask. I’ve seen where they have added several things from the facebook posts. I’ve been very pleased with it. Just sent out my first mass email using them and it was very simple and turned out great. Haven’t used the postcard yet, but they just redesigned it and looks like it will be nice. CRM and accounting with it as well. I’m using both of those as well.

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Yep, so far so good. Good price point as well

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I downloaded the trial about 5 days ago. Love it. Even had a response on some questions I had this morning on a Sunday. Seems like they are trying to make it better every day too.

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Their customer service is great. They respond very quickly and it seems like they are improving it weekly. The facebook page is a great resource so be sure and check it out.

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I’m looking at using Markate for the Christmas light company since it’s only $225 for the year if you pay annually.

I’ve been looking at Housecall Pro, which I absolutely love, but I think I got caught up in the Superpro thing and I’m paying for stuff I don’t really care about like Instapay and the email system which I can set up better and cheaper with Mailchimp.

I think I’m going to drop my HCP back since I’m paying $123/month and no longer really care for their online booking system and Instapay. I don’t need to pay 1% to get paid right away when I can wait 1 or 2 days.

Instapay cost me an additional $1400 this year (last year it would’ve cost $1800) and they’ve also been promising a credit line option based on deposits which has never come to fruition. So this next year I’m going to use Square since they offer a credit line based on deposits.

I spent this weekend looking at my monthly budget and areas where things aren’t really earning their keep.

Sadly… my shop rent is breaking even overall with the calls I get from the sign and my house is 2 blocks away so if I left the shop I could save around $20k annually after utilities and not really lose anything from my map listing.

In 2019, I’m a lot more interested in investing in one of my trucks, employees, and marketing than I am the shop which is kinda heartbreaking because I love having the shop space, but with 2 employees working 2/3rds as hard as I do that could reasonably bring another $200k as long as the marketing keeps up.

Another $200k means next year I could buy a plot of land and build a shop with cash and pay less in taxes on the $200k.

Long story short, looking at cost control, if Markate works as good or better than HCP and I can find a better way to book online and take payment through Square in a streamlined way I’ll leave HCP and with the combined savings I get from other cost controlling I’ll build a shop in a year.

Oh and I’ll buy a bucket truck. :slight_smile:

Thanks for the feedback on Markate. I’ve been looking at it recently, just haven’t had the time to test it.

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I tried Markate for about a month. I didn’t care for it compared to The Customer Factor. To me the customer factor is easier and more user friendly. I just went back to it and don’t think I’ll experiment with anything else. I love the reports. Markate seems heck bent on wanting to email customers. Most of mine I give the invoice to the customer in person and the same with estimates. I don’t like having to create a job order and all that. I like just being able to create an invoice if I want to without going through a lot of steps

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Shop cost can hurt the bank. But with employees/or looking to hire employees it’s nice to have a legit place and not a house.

Also my SH distributors won’t deliver to my house…because my garage is attached to my house. I usually go through 225 gallons a week, the amount I save, pays my rent. If this wasn’t the case I’d probably still be running out of my house

My shops not like yours though… it’s 1300-1600 sq for (not sure) has a bathroom and running water but that’s it. It’s zoned for storage, so no signage or anything. Only runs me $365 a month

HCP can be expensive, I haven’t upgraded yet though… you wouldn’t recommend it @squidskc? Only thing I’m interested in is setting up a rule for follow emails to go out 5 days after an estimate if the job isn’t scheduled. I do this manually now and hate it. Also the texting the quote.

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I think joist is now offering financing options.

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I’m sure they each have their own perks just like each of us have different needs and wants. Nothing is going to work for everyone. Markate is definitely a cloud based system and it does rely heavily on email. In my market and for my business, that works well for me. I could see where it wouldn’t for some areas or even some of you guys. I hate you didn’t like it @Kps0410 after I suggested it. Its working well for me and I really like the price point compared to some of the others. But hey, its all about finding what works well for you and your business. If you find something that works, kudos to ya! I hope all you guys find a system(s) that work and kill it in 2019!

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@Patriotspwashing with Markate you can automate a lot of things. Follow up emails, ask for reviews, all kinds of stuff. I’m not utilizing everything they offer. I called Julia (Julia Markate - on facebook) and talked to her for probably an hour and a half before I signed up. Had a list of questions and she took the time to go through my list and make sure all my questions were answered. Again, back to the customer service they offer, its top notch. Oh, and it also handles your financials IF you want that. So its kind of an all in one if you ask me. Anyway, give Julia a call if you have any questions.

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