Guides for small business owners.
Plain-English guides to winning work, quoting, looking after customers and running a tidy business. Written for Australian small businesses, whether or not you use NovaSoft One.
CRM basics
What a CRM is, how to choose one and how to move your customer list across without the mess.
What is a CRM? A plain guide for small businesses
What CRM software is, what it does day to day, and how a small business can tell whether it needs one. With a worked example from enquiry to repeat customer.
CRM basicsHow to choose a CRM for your small business
A practical way to compare CRM software: the jobs to test, the costs to add up, the questions to ask about data and the trial that tells you most.
CRM basicsFree CRM for small business: what you get and when to pay
What a free CRM plan usually includes, the limits to watch for, and the signs that a small business is ready to move to a paid plan.
CRM basicsCRM vs spreadsheet: when it’s time to switch
Spreadsheets are a fine start for a customer list. Here is where they break down for a growing team, and how to tell when a CRM will save more time than it costs.
CRM basicsHow to move your customer list from spreadsheets into a CRM
A step-by-step plan for importing contacts and companies into a CRM: cleaning the list, mapping columns, testing a sample and checking the result.
CRM basicsHow to switch CRMs without losing your customer list
A practical plan for leaving one CRM for another: exporting your records, deciding what to bring, importing in the right order and cutting over cleanly.
CRM basicsHow to get your team to actually use the CRM
Why CRM rollouts stall in small businesses, and the simple habits, rules and routines that make a new system part of the working week.
CRM basicsCRM glossary: the terms explained in plain English
Plain-English definitions of the CRM terms you’ll come across, from leads and pipelines to SLAs and customer portals, for small business owners.
Leads and sales
Answer enquiries faster, follow up without nagging and keep a pipeline you can trust.
Sales pipeline stages for small businesses, with examples
How to design sales pipeline stages that match how you really win work, with example pipelines for trades, consultants and product businesses.
Leads and salesHow to follow up with leads without being pushy
A practical follow-up plan for small businesses: when to call, what to say, how many times to try and when to let a lead go.
Leads and salesHow to respond to enquiries faster
Practical ways for small teams to cut response times: one inbox for enquiries, clear ownership, ready-made replies and a visible target.
Leads and salesHow to qualify leads: a simple checklist for small businesses
Spend your time on enquiries you can win. A short qualification checklist covering need, fit, timing, budget and decision-maker, with example questions.
Leads and salesSales forecasting for small businesses
A simple, honest way to forecast sales from your pipeline: deal values, close dates, stage probabilities and a monthly check against what really happened.
Leads and salesHow to run a 30-minute weekly pipeline meeting
A short, repeatable agenda for reviewing your sales pipeline each week: what to look at, what to ask and how to keep it to half an hour.
Leads and salesWebsite enquiry forms that bring in better leads
How to design a website enquiry form that people finish: which fields to ask for, how to cut spam, and how to route each enquiry to the right person.
Leads and salesOnline booking for service businesses: a setup guide
How to offer online bookings without double-booking: types of appointment, availability rules, buffer time, shared resources and reminders.
Quotes and money
Quoting, GST, approvals and getting paid, explained for Australian businesses.
How to write a quote customers say yes to
What to include in a quote, how to present options and prices clearly, and the small details that make a quote easier for a customer to accept.
Quotes and moneyGST on quotes and invoices: a plain-English guide
When a small business must register for GST, how to show GST on quotes, and what a valid tax invoice must include, in plain English with ATO links.
Quotes and moneyFollowing up on a quote: what to say and when
A simple schedule and ready-to-adapt wording for following up quotes, plus how to find out why a quote stalled and when to close it out.
Quotes and moneyDiscounts and approvals: protecting your margin
How small businesses can let staff negotiate without giving away margin: discount limits, simple approval rules and keeping a record of every decision.
Quotes and moneyHow to build a price list for a service business
Turn your services into a clear price list: fixed items, hourly rates, packages and call-out fees, set up once so every quote is quick and consistent.
Quotes and moneyService agreements and renewals: never miss a renewal date
How to keep track of ongoing service agreements, maintenance contracts and subscriptions so renewals are raised on time and customers are not surprised.
Quotes and moneyChasing overdue invoices without damaging the relationship
A friendly, firm process for chasing overdue invoices in a small business: clear terms, a reminder schedule, wording that works and when to escalate.
Service and delivery
Support, projects and keeping customers informed after the sale.
Running customer support with a small team
How a small business can handle support requests without a dedicated help desk team: one queue, clear ownership, sensible targets and a record of every reply.
Service and deliverySetting response and resolution targets you can keep
How small businesses can set realistic first-response and resolution targets for support requests, account for business hours and track breaches.
Service and deliveryA client onboarding checklist for service businesses
A practical client onboarding checklist covering welcome, information gathering, kickoff, first delivery and the 30-day check-in, with a template to adapt.
Service and deliveryThe handover from sales to delivery: what to pass on
What the person who sold the work must pass to the people doing it, so the customer never has to repeat themselves and nothing promised is forgotten.
Service and deliveryCustomer portals: what to share with clients and what to keep internal
How to use a customer portal well: which updates, documents and tickets to share with clients, what to keep internal, and how to manage who has access.
Service and deliveryKeeping customers: account health and renewals
Simple ways a small business can spot customers at risk of leaving, look after its best accounts and turn renewals into a routine rather than a scramble.
Service and deliveryHow to build a small knowledge base your team will use
Start a useful knowledge base for staff and customers: what to write first, how to keep articles current and when to make them public.
Service and deliveryCustomer service email templates for Australian small businesses
Free customer service email templates for acknowledging requests and confirming work is done, written for 19 kinds of small business. Copy, adapt and send.
Service and deliveryHow to handle a customer complaint well
A calm, practical way for small businesses to handle customer complaints: listen, own it, fix it, follow up and learn from it, with wording you can use.
Running the business
Reports, permissions, privacy, automation and keeping your data clean.
NovaSoft One privacy, billing and support: the short version
Who runs NovaSoft One, where customer data is stored, how monthly billing, cancellation and refunds work, and how to get help. A plain summary of our terms.
Running the businessThe Privacy Act and your CRM: what Australian small businesses should know
Whether the Privacy Act applies to your small business, what the Australian Privacy Principles mean for customer records, and simple habits that reduce risk.
Running the businessEmail marketing and the Spam Act: a small business guide
The three rules of the Spam Act for marketing emails and texts: consent, identification and unsubscribe, with practical examples for Australian businesses.
Running the businessWho should see what: setting CRM permissions in a small business
How to decide CRM roles and permissions for owners, office staff, salespeople, field workers and contractors, with a simple starting table.
Running the businessKeeping your CRM data clean: a monthly routine
Duplicates, gaps and stale records quietly make a CRM less useful. A simple monthly routine and a few rules that keep your customer data trustworthy.
Running the businessWhat to automate first in a small business
Five low-risk automations that save small teams time each week, how to test a rule before trusting it, and what you should keep doing by hand.
Running the businessFive reports every small business owner should check each week
The handful of numbers worth checking every week: new enquiries by source, response time, pipeline and forecast, won and lost, and support backlog.
Running the businessAsset and equipment tracking for service businesses
How to keep track of tools, equipment and customer-site assets: tagging, who has what, service history, warranties and regular audits.
By industry
How different kinds of small business can set up a CRM around their own work.
CRM for tradies: winning more jobs and chasing fewer quotes
How trades and home service businesses can use a CRM to answer enquiries faster, follow up quotes, schedule work and keep customer history in one place.
By industryCRM for consultants and professional services firms
How consultants and professional services firms can use a CRM to manage referrals, proposals, engagements and client relationships without extra admin.
By industryCRM for creative and marketing agencies
How agencies can connect new business, client relationships, projects and approvals in one CRM, so briefs, retainers and renewals don’t fall through the cracks.
By industryCRM for real estate and property businesses
How property businesses can organise buyers, vendors, landlords and partners in a CRM, with follow-up views that keep every conversation moving.
By industryCRM and service desk for IT and managed service providers
How small IT providers and MSPs can run sales, service tickets, response targets and client agreements from one system, with assets linked to each client.
By industryCRM for accountants and bookkeepers
How accounting and bookkeeping practices can use a CRM for client requests, recurring work and workload, while keeping tax records in the right systems.
Put the guides into practice.
NovaSoft One is free for up to two people. Bring your customer list and try it on real work.