Blog written by: Certified Dubsado Specialist Martine Cousineau Pouliot
So you’re sold on Dubsado because you know exactly how it will set boundaries with clients, reclaim more time in your week, and elevate your entire client experience. But there’s still that tricky issue of ensuring your Dubsado setup is operating smoothly and without any errors.
Don’t worry, you’re not alone.
Over and over again I see entrepreneurs make the same errors when setting up their Dubsado. So today, we’ll explore the 12 most common Dubsado mistakes out there. Plus, I’ll give you expert tips on how to overcome these errors!
Let’s get started!
Although Dubsado is a powerful tool, it can also be overwhelming. Many business owners overlook its features, such as a robust calendar for scheduling appointments, integrated payment processes, and automated emails.
By neglecting these features, you miss out on opportunities to improve client interactions, automate tasks, and ultimately save time and effort.
Tip: Leave no stone unturned. Explore and leverage the full potential of Dubsado’s features to optimize your workflows.
Creating a professional and consistent image is important for your business, and branding plays a big role in that. While entrepreneurs often think about their website and social media for branding, they sometimes forget to use Dubsado to strengthen their brand identity.
Tip: Incorporate your brand colors, logo, and images into Dubsado’s settings and your forms for a consistent brand appearance.
Your onboarding experience is the first impression a potential client has of your business so it needs to be effortless, professional, and supportive. Your clients may choose to hire another company if booking a discovery call or receiving a proposal from you is tedious.
Tip: Download the freebie Automate Your Inquiry Process for an easy-to-follow tutorial on how to set up your inquiry workflow.
Writing the same emails over and over (and over) is a time-consuming task. Just ask brand and web designer Samara! Instead of wasting time on repetitive email writing, imagine a library of pre-written emails at your fingertips for every client interaction.
Tip: Write canned emails for common client interactions like inquiries, follow-ups, testimonial requests, and reminders.
Take a look at your current proposal process. Do you find yourself sending a proposal, waiting for a response, then sending a contract, waiting for another response, and finally sending an invoice?
This not only demands constant email monitoring on your part but also places a burden on your client to frequently check their inbox. This can result in confusion, missed forms, and unnecessary delays.
Tip: Use Dubsado’s proposal feature to bundle your proposal, contract, and invoice together in one cohesive package for an efficient onboarding process.
Creating proposals and questionnaires from scratch for each service or project is exhausting and leads to mistakes. Templates give you a strong starting point that you can then customize - saving you time and leaving space for personal touches, branding, and other details.
Tip: Check out the Dubsado Template Shop for beautifully-branded templates you can upload to your Dubsado with just one click.
Speaking of time-consuming tasks…how often do you need to send reminders to clients to pay an invoice, complete a questionnaire, or provide feedback? And how many times does a project fall behind schedule because you have to send those reminders?
Now, imagine Dubsado taking care of those for you without you having to lift a finger (or tap a button) because you created automated reminders.
Tip: Set up automatic email reminders for questionnaires, payments, and proposals.
Dubsado has a handy scheduler feature that lets inquiries and clients book appointments directly, eliminating back-and-forth email exchanges. However, setting up the scheduler, deciding when you're available, customizing time slots, and connecting it to projects can be tricky and confusing.
Tip: Dedicate time to configuring and integrating your scheduler for all your meetings.
Over and over again I see entrepreneurs build out one looooooooong workflow for each service they offer. They will include inquiry, onboarding, project work, feedback, and offboarding in one workflow. But if a project needs to be customized (like changing deadlines, deliverables, calls, or payment plans), the entire workflow needs to be modified leading to huge headaches.
Tip: Create distinct workflows for each service you offer AND each stage of your service. I recommend having at least an inquiry, onboarding, project work, and offboarding workflow.
To-do’s are powerful tools within Dubsado workflows that act as reminders, help you stay organized, and ensure nothing falls through the cracks. If you skip out on to-do’s, you’re likely relying on your memory to move your projects along which can lead to incomplete work and a disorganized process.
Tip: Use to-do’s to give yourself reminders about what work to complete next and what customizations need to be done.
Triggers are events that initiate automated actions in your workflow. For example, if you want to send a reminder to a client to complete a questionnaire, the trigger could be set as ‘client has not completed the questionnaire within 3 days’. By setting up these triggers, you’ll streamline your entire Dubsado workflow.
Tip: Break down the exact steps you want to happen in your workflows and when you want them to happen to identify triggers.
The client portal holds all communication, forms, payments, and appointments. But unfortunately, it’s one of the most overlooked Dubsado features. By not using the client portal, you miss out on the chance to give your clients a well-organized and easily accessible hub of information.
Tip: Set up and customize your client portal for any larger projects that need questionnaires, appointments, payment plans, and extra documents.
Don’t let these common Dubsado mistakes hinder your business growth, productivity, and client experience. Using all of Dubsado’s features, automating your processes, and creating workflows are just a few ways to ensure your system is working to its full potential.
But if you need more help in setting up your Dubsado, don't hesitate to download the "Automate Your Inquiry Process" freebie. This resource provides you with step-by-step tutorial videos to streamline your onboarding process and set you on the path to success.
Download Automate Your Inquiry Process
Ready to put these tips into practice? Log in now to get started.
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I’m Martine! Certified Dubsado Specialist & Client Experience Expert. I help brand & web designers and copywriters gain more time and financial freedom with personalized systems coaching and Dubsado VIP Weeks.
What makes me different? My VIP Dubsado setups start with 1:1 coaching so we can streamline your processes AND build a seamless client experience. After your custom Dubsado setup, you’ll also walk away with personalized training videos so you can confidently use your new workflows.
If you’re still running most of your business manually, it's time to take somethings off of your plate - that is what I do best. A Dubsado system setup just for you + in under ONE WEEK.
