*** ATTENTION CHARITYLOG USERS: the June software release is on your test systems now! ***

Why settle for a CRM that's little more than a repurposed, rebranded sales tool?

Big software companies who make CRMs for the private sector really want to attract charities. It's certainly in their interest to package up a version of their product, hastily rebrand it as a ‘non-profit CRM’ and sell it cheap.

No one could blame a budget-conscious charity CEO for opting for a major commercial platform. After all, they’re reassuringly familiar names, and many offer tempting hook-in deals, like packages of free licences.

But if you’re considering going down this route, it’s wise to tread carefully.

A few of our clients switched to Charitylog from ‘non-profit’ CRMs originally designed as sales tools (including the one whose name rhymes with 'gale-force'...). When we asked about their experiences of using those systems in a charity context, what they told us was fascinating - and very worrying.

If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

"We got a cheap deal at first, but then had to pay for a lot of expensive customisations before we could use the CRM properly."

We’ve heard this from multiple clients: you may not pay much to begin with, but then you find that many of the more charity-specific features you need are available only as expensive add-ons.

If free licences are offered, these are likely to be read-only or have minimal functionality. In some cases, people found they had to pay to add bespoke features to each licence before they could use them in the way they wanted.

Contrast this with Charitylog, where there are no hidden costs and you get unlimited user licences with the standard plan.

"The interface was too complex – we were paying for things we’d never use."

According to some clients, the huge and confusing array of features (many irrelevant for charities) can feel overwhelming. Some found that even routine tasks, like recording a risk assessment, were needlessly cumbersome.

A good sector-specific CRM like Charitylog lets you focus your budget on tools that are actually relevant. This also means your staff can get up to speed faster – no wading through irrelevant dashboards, alien terminology or confusing menus.

"It took months, and a lot more money, to get it set up the way we needed."

Setting up workflows, monitoring outcomes, reporting impact, safeguarding considerations, strict access controls, multi-stakeholder relationships, compliance obligations, complex collaborative partnerships ... these things don’t fit neatly into a corporate-style account structure.

And local funders may ask you to use specific impact measurement tools and present your reports in a particular way – so flexibility is vital.

Then there’s staff working patterns and roles: unlike many charities, private companies generally don’t include volunteers, let alone people doing micro-volunteering, or staff with hybrid paid/volunteer status.

A CRM designed for charities from the ground up understands all these variations.

"Getting support was a nightmare, and when we finally got through, they didn’t understand how charities work."

During setup and training, or if you need advice or technical support, it’s much easier to talk to someone who understands your sector, terminology and ways of working.

But with most e-commerce CRM providers, you’re likely to get through to a generic support team or call centre, with advisors who have little understanding of your regulatory environment, reporting obligations, service model or charity status. You may waste valuable time having to explain the basics before your problem can be addressed.

In contrast, Charitylog employs UK-based, in-house experts who know the sector.  They’ve seen your challenges before. They understand the pressure points. And they’re more likely to offer pragmatic solutions grounded in the realities of non-profit work.

Conclusion

Your charity deserves more than to be an afterthought in someone else’s commercial-sector software.

A CRM that’s simply been adapted for charities will always feel, at least in part, like a compromise. Whereas a charity-specific CRM like Charitylog has your needs, your challenges and your impact at its core – as well as the personal touch.

It’s far more likely to save you time, money and frustration in the long run.

Home visit

Get more time to do the important things

Get in touch

Related blog posts

Measuring outcomes

Measurement and reporting

Impact measurement: what it is, why it’s important and how to get an edge

Volunteer learning software system

Volunteers

Save time and money: get your volunteers logging on

Two young women looking at a screen, one pointing

CRM benefits

Going digital: a necessity not a luxury for charities

Back to all blog posts