Pipedrive CRM system

Pipedrive is a CRM system focused on small and medium–sized businesses. Its functionality is a simple but effective tool for managing the sales process. The system is delivered as a cloud solution based on SaaS (software-as-a-service) services. The work can be organized from any computer or mobile device.

The main users of the CRM system are small groups or individual users. This determines the "specialization" of Pipedrive. The system is simple in settings. Functionality that is not required in the sales process is excluded from it.

The Pipedrive system has localization in several languages. You can use the trial version of the system in order to get started. The trial version is valid for 30 days. It is a fully functional CRM system. You need to purchase a subscription in order for Pipedrive to continue working after the trial period. Pricing is standard for information systems based on cloud solutions – the price is calculated per user per month.

Pipedrive functionality

The number of CRM system functions is not large, but they are all the most popular in small businesses. The functions relate to sales management, marketing, collaboration and reporting.

The number of the main functions of Pipedrive:

• overview of the sales channel – allows you to view information about the status of activities at all stages of sales. The overview is presented in the form of ongoing activities at each stage. This presentation identifies the most important activities (as opposed to the traditional presentation in the form of a to-do list).
• contact history - Pipedrive contains a history of interactions between sellers and potential customers. A simple search by name or organization name is organized for quick work with contacts. Just click on the entry in the contact history to start a new contact (make a call or send an email). It is possible to add notes for each contact.
• time scale – It is a tool for tracking sales over time. The tasks are arranged by the expected closing date of the transaction. It allows the seller to see all the activities that need to be executed to complete the sale.
• sales forecast – It provides planning and evaluation of expected financial results. You can track all tasks, emails and calls scheduled for the upcoming day, as well as those that are planned to be completed in the longer term when you use the Pipedrive sales forecast.
• sales reports - Pipedrive has developed a customizable reporting system that users can adapt to their needs. Additional indicators are easily added to the reports, including the number of calls made by individual users and the number of activities completed during a certain period of time. The reports information is divided by categories, products, services, or users.
• integration - Pipedrive integrates with third-party applications, including Dropbox, Google Services and Google Drive, Google Maps. In addition, the system has the ability to integrate with various applications via the API interface.
• data import and export - it is possible to import/export data for data exchange. Pipedrive allows you to import/export to spreadsheets, Zoho CRM, Salesforce, SugarCRM and many other CRM systems.
• multi-language support - It is possible of the system localization to work in different regions. Ten languages are supported to date.
• working with multiple currencies - You can choose the appropriate currency depending on the country of work. All sales information will be displayed in the currency in which the transaction is carried out.

Pipedrive advantages and disadvantages

The Pipedrive system cannot be compared in its functionality with CRM systems that provide support for a full sales cycle: from collecting initial information about a potential customer to after-sales service. Nevertheless, this solution is an effective and convenient tool in its segment. It has a number of important advantages that facilitate the work of small businesses.

Pipedrive advantages:

• ease of use - the interface and system settings are simple and intuitive for users. Most of the settings can be done by simply dragging objects across the work panel (drag-and-drop). All unnecessary or unused elements can be hidden, which reduces the information load on the user and increases the efficiency of his work.
• focus on sales - the specialization of this CRM system in sales allows you to focus the attention of specialists on the actions necessary to complete sales transactions. The presentation of events on the time line makes it possible to determine the most important actions from the point of view of the final result. This distinguishes Pipedrive from other systems that focus on managing activities without reference to the end result.
• cost - Pipedrive is a relatively cheap for its segment. The service is provided in a fully functional version. There are no hidden payment and commissions associated with the expansion of functionality or additional integration capabilities.
• data security - Pipedrive provides a fairly good level of user data security. Secure connections are used for work. All information is encrypted. Data safety is ensured by backup. It is carried out in real time on independent servers. In addition, the data of each organization is stored in a separate database.

The disadvantages of Pipedrive include:

• sales support functions - the service is focused on the sales process, but it does not provide documentary support for this process. There is no integration with accounting, which makes it difficult to issue invoices, maintain contracts and support agreements.
• data operations - the system has limited capabilities for data processing and management. Records can be duplicated, so data cleaning must be done manually.
• no support for current customer relationships - the service is focused on initial sales, but the functionality of the system provides very few opportunities to support existing customers.
• reporting - the reporting system is very limited. Its capabilities allow you to track only current activities and evaluate the sales forecast.

Pipedrive is a young, gradually developing CRM system. It does not have developed functionality, powerful analytics and reporting. Integration options are limited. However, such features are not needed for most users of the system. The main consumers of the service are small companies, startups, freelancers, businessman. This segment of users has a small number of contacts, contracts and interactions with customers. The main requirements of such users are: simplicity, convenience and intuitive principles of the CRM system. Pipedrive surpasses many of its competitors according to these indicators.