While customer relationship management (CRM) software is generally used for sales team collaboration and prospect data organization, the best CRMs for operations improve the sales productivity of business operations by streamlining sales processes with tools for communication, setting appointments, automating workflows, and managing documents.
Here are our picks for the six best CRMs for operations:
- Freshsales: Best overall CRM for operations and top choice for businesses wanting an operational CRM with a built-in phone system
- Pipedrive: Great choice for sales teams seeking low-cost, artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities in an operations CRM
- Bitrix24: Excellent option for teams looking for a CRM with built-in document control and management tools
- Insightly: Best for businesses that want to integrate an operational CRM with their favorite third-party e-signature or file-sharing applications
- Copper: Best for small businesses that want to manage their CRM from Google Workspace applications
- Salesforce: Best operations CRM for customer service and sales team collaboration
How We Evaluated the Best CRMs for Operations
To determine the best CRM software for operations, we evaluated product attributes necessary in an operational CRM system, such as workflow automation functionality, value-based pricing options, and built-in communication tools for sending emails or placing calls.
Overall, we found Freshsales is the best CRM for operations. It offers a free plan that includes a built-in business phone system to streamline sales team communication and offers an all-around solid user experience through easy-to-use tools and a user-friendly interface. Freshsales also has scalable pricing options that will grow as the needs and size of your sales operation ramps up.
The tabs below offer insight into our evaluation process for choosing the best CRMs for operations:
40% of Overall Score
Cost is typically among the most important criteria for any business, so it was the most heavily weighted when evaluating the best CRMs for operations. CRM pricing took into account free plan availability, scalable pricing options, and having options to pay monthly or save by paying annually.
20% of Overall Score
We looked at overall features we feel are necessities in an operational CRM system, such as integration options, reporting and customer relationship management (CRM) analytics tools, and a mobile application. We also evaluated features specific to making a sales operation more efficient, like built-in phone systems, document management tools, and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities and insights.
15% of Overall Score
The best CRMs for operations were also evaluated on platform usability. This was analyzed in terms of the expertise needed to set up an account, the learning curve for integrating the CRM with third-party applications, the skill required to operate the features, and the intuitiveness of navigating the system’s interface.
15% of Overall Score
Extensive support and service help prevent poor experiences and outcomes users may encounter while using any of these CRM systems. Help and support were evaluated in terms of customer service hours and the availability of support via phone, live chat, and email.
10% of Overall Score
In addition to firsthand experiences with the best operational CRMs, we evaluated what other users are saying about each product. These criteria consider how customers feel, based on their reviews, to gain insight on platform popularity, ease of use, and overall value for the price.
Freshsales: Best Overall CRM for Operations & Best CRM With Built-in Phone System
Freshsales
What We Like
- Free plan available
- Built-in phone system
- Deal management tools with rotten deals indicator based on lead scores
What's Missing
- No workflow automation on free plan
- Lacks AI features on lower-tiered plans
- Bulk emails and email sequences have limits on how many can be sent per user
Freshsales Pricing at a Glance*
- Free plan: $0 per user, per month
- Growth: $15 per user, per month
- Pro: $39 per user, per month
- Enterprise: $69 per user, per month
- Free trial: 21 days
Add-ons
- Additional workflows: $5 per flow
- Phone credits: Starts from $25
*Pricing based on annual billing; monthly billing is also available for a higher cost
Freshsales is the best CRM for operations thanks to features that help make sales teams more efficient, such as a built-in phone system, Freddy AI for insights, and workflow automation tools. The CRM also has deal management tools that automatically spot bad deals based on lead scores, allowing salespeople to avoid wasting time on leads that aren’t likely to convert.
Freshsales’ built-in cloud-based phone system increases efficiency by enabling salespeople to make calls directly through the CRM system from their computer or mobile application from a contact’s profile. During and after the call, reps can take notes and make updates to the lead and opportunity profiles, and managers can track the number of calls made by each sales rep.
While Freshsales does have some email capabilities, which include two-way syncing, sending automated sequences, team inboxes, and bulk personalized emails, it limits the number of sequences and bulk emails a user can send depending on the plan. For unlimited email deployment, check out Copper as a viable option Gmail users can use to send unlimited emails.
Freshsales Plan Summary
Free | Growth | Pro | Enterprise | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Tasks, Appointments, and Notes | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Built-in Phone System | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Deal Management | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Two-way Email Sync | N/A | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Sales Sequences (per User) | N/A | 5 | 10 | 25 |
Workflow Automation | N/A | 20 flows | 50 flows | 100 flows |
AI Lead Generation Bot | N/A | N/A | ✔ | ✔ |
Advanced Caller Queues to Transfer Callers if the Line Is Busy | N/A | N/A | ✔ | ✔ |
Auto-profile Enrichment | N/A | N/A | N/A | ✔ |
Freshsales Features
- Built-in phone system that allows users to make calls directly from contact profiles while in the web application or mobile app
- Freddy AI feature for auto-generating leads and answering default questions
- Workflow automation to auto-complete repetitive tasks, such as assigning new leads, inputting data into the CRM system, and emailing personalized follow-ups to leads
- Call queues for inbound callers in virtual waiting queue if lines are busy
- Team email inbox so any sales rep can view and respond
Freshsales phone system (Source: Freshsales)
Freshsales Freddy AI tool for insights (Source: Freshsales)
Want more information to see if Freshsales is the best CRM option for your business? Our Freshsales review can provide you with all of the information that you will need to make a sound purchase decision, including CRM features, plan comparisons, and product usability.
Pipedrive: Best Operations CRM With Low-cost AI Capabilities
Pipedrive
What We Like
- Built-in meeting scheduler
- AI sales assistant available on all plans
- Customizable products catalog
What's Missing
- Doesn’t have a free plan
- Lacks workflow automation on Essentials plan
- No document management features on low-tiered plans
Pipedrive Pricing at a Glance*
- Essentials: $12.50 per user, per month
- Advanced: $24.90 per user, per month
- Professional: $49.90 per user, per month
- Enterprise: $99 per user, per month
- Free trial: 14 days
Add-ons
- LeadBooster: Starts at $32.50 per month
- Website Visitors: Starts at $41 per month
*Pricing based on annual billing; monthly billing is also available for a higher cost
Even though Pipedrive doesn’t offer a free plan, it’s relatively inexpensive considering what’s included in the Essentials plan. Sales teams can streamline their operations with deal management tools, customizable pipelines, and most notably, the artificial intelligence (AI) sales assistant. The AI bot acts as a mentor, giving you sales tips to boost performance and recommendations on workflow automation.
Pro tip: CRM artificial intelligence (AI) tools automate tasks such as chatbots that converse with customers via live chat or pop-ups that provide coaching tips to sales reps in real time while they’re on the phone with customers. AI can also generate insights based on analytics to identify sales data trends or where additional workflow automation can be set up to streamline business operations through a CRM’s features or integrations.
Unfortunately, Pipedrive doesn’t offer a free-forever plan to its users. If you’re looking for a robust operational CRM with a free plan, we recommend Bitrix24 or Freshsales.
Pipedrive Plan Summary
Essentials | Advanced | Professional | Enterprise | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Deal and Lead Management | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Customizable Pipelines | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Products Catalog | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
AI Sales Assistant | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Workflow Automation | N/A | 30 | 60 | 100 |
Two-way Email Syncing | N/A | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Meeting Scheduler | N/A | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Smart Docs for Sending Invoices, Proposals, and Quotes | N/A | N/A | ✔ | ✔ |
E-signatures | N/A | N/A | ✔ | ✔ |
Organizing Sales Reps Into Teams for Monitoring Performance | N/A | N/A | 3 teams | Unlimited |
Pipedrive Features
- AI assistant for insights and sales tips to increase sales performance
- Document management features for sending proposals, contracts, and invoices, as well as attaining e-signatures
- Workflow automation for recurring tasks like sending personalized email follow-ups and updating contact data based on public information acquired online
- Built-in meeting scheduler with video conferencing option
- Deal, lead, and sales pipeline management capabilities
Did you know that in addition to being an excellent operational CRM, Pipedrive is one of the best CRM systems for pipeline visualization, email management, and CRM mobility? By taking a look at our Pipedrive review, you can learn all about its CRM capabilities and why it works best for certain scenarios compared to others.
Bitrix24: Best CRM for Operations With Document Control & Management Tools
Bitrix24
What We Like
- Free for unlimited users
- Task delegation capabilities for assigning or reassigning tasks
- Built-in project management tools
What's Missing
- No automation features on lower-priced plans
- Can be difficult to operate features
- Lacks phone support for customer service
Bitrix24 Pricing at a Glance*
- Free: $0 per month for unlimited users
- Basic: $39 per month for up to five users
- Standard: $79 per month for up to 50 users
- Professional: $159 per month for unlimited users
- Free trial: 30 days
*Pricing based on annual billing; monthly billing is available for a higher cost or pay every two years for the lowest cost
One of the key ways Bitrix24 increases sales team productivity and the feature that puts them on the map as one of the best operational CRM systems is document management functionality. Users can generate business proposals or invoices directly from a deal in the CRM and easily set up recurring invoices. You can also assign access rights to specific documents or templates based on a user’s role or seniority level.
Compared to the other operational CRMs on this list, Bitrix24 is the most difficult platform to use in terms of operating the features and navigating the interface. For a CRM that’s both easy to use and has high-level sales operations tools, we recommend Pipedrive or Freshsales.
Bitrix24 Plan Summary
Free | Basic | Standard | Professional | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Project Management Tools | Unlimited projects | Unlimited projects | Unlimited projects | Unlimited projects |
File Duplicate Detection | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Appointment Booking | N/A | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Creating a Deal From an Email | N/A | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Task Delegation | N/A | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Invoice Generation | N/A | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Quote Generation | N/A | N/A | ✔ | ✔ |
Efficiency KPI | N/A | N/A | ✔ | ✔ |
Task Automation | N/A | N/A | N/A | ✔ |
Bitrix24 Features
- Efficiency key performance indicator (KPI) evaluates how well tasks get completed by employees
- Lead, contact, company, deal, and duplicate detection to find records that may need to be deleted or merged
- Invoices and quotes can be generated from a deal or opportunity
- Collaborate on documents or restrict access based on role or seniority
- Ability to manage recurring deals for subscription or renewal-based business
- Appointment booking within the CRM system
Bitrix24 invoice generation from deal
Bitrix24 document access permissions (Source: Bitrix24)
Ever wondered what business circumstances Bitrix24 would be the best for? Then check out our Bitrix24 CRM review to learn about its features, pricing, usability, and what other users of Bitrix24 are saying about its platform.
Insightly: Best Operational CRM With File Sharing & E-signature Integrations
Insightly
What We Like
- Free for up to two users for basic project management and contact management features
- Tons of third-party integration options for team collaboration, file sharing, and productivity apps
- Custom dashboard reporting with drag-and-drop layouts
What's Missing
- Phone system incurs an additional cost and is only available on higher-priced plans
- Lacks workflow automation on low-tiered plans
- No quote generation or products catalog on lower-tiered plans
Insightly Pricing at a Glance*
- Free: Up to two users
- Plus: $29 per user, per month
- Professional: $49 per user, per month
- Enterprise: $99 per user, per month
- Free trial: 14 days
*Pricing based on annual billing; monthly billing is also available for a higher cost
The best operational CRMs offer integration capabilities with tools your business already loves using. Insightly offers more than 250 integrations with third-party providers, of which file-sharing tools are the most notable. Whether it’s sending a form, survey, contract, proposal, or any other document, Insightly pairs easily with file sharing and e-signature platforms like Google Drive, DocuSign, and Box.
Pro tip: CRM integrations allow businesses to use their favorite productivity, collaboration, and management apps in conjunction with their CRM. This allows data from each system to always be in sync so that users can complete tasks using one centralized system instead of going back and forth between screens.
Insightly offers an integrated telephone system through its native Insight Voice platform; however, the phone system costs an additional $35 per user, per month. If your business wants a phone system to improve operational efficiency that is included at no extra cost in your CRM plan, Freshsales is the best option.
Insightly Plan Summary
Free | Plus | Professional | Enterprise | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Integrated Project Management | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Contact Management | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Mass Emailing | N/A | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
File Attachment From Google Drive, Dropbox, and Box | N/A | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Calendar and Contact Sync | N/A | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Auto-profile Enrichment | N/A | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Workflow Automation | N/A | N/A | ✔ | ✔ |
Insightly Voice Phone Integration | N/A | N/A | $35 per user, per month | $35 per user, per month |
Quote Generation | N/A | N/A | N/A | ✔ |
Insightly Features
- Built-in project management features allow businesses, particularly project-based businesses such as web developers, videographers, and software developers, to convert sales deals into new projects from the CRM system
- File-sharing integrations with popular providers like Box, DocuSign, Dropbox, Google Drive, HelloSign, and PandaDoc
- Auto-profile enrichment using online data to ensure profiles are up to date
- Customizable CRM dashboards for performance and business intelligence (BI) reporting
- Contact and lead relationship mapping tools
Insightly PandaDoc integration (Source: PandaDoc)
For more detailed information about Insightly’s CRM platform, check out our Insightly CRM review. Here we go over everything you need to know about its features, best-for scenarios, pricing, and what other users think about the product.
Copper: Best CRM for Operations for Google Workspace Users
Copper
What We Like
- Chrome extension add-on enables you to manage Google Gmail, Calendar, Drive, and the Copper CRM from one tab
- Built-in project management tools
- Unlimited bulk email sends
What's Missing
- No free plan
- Lacks integration options on low-priced plan
- Three-user maximum on entry-level plan
Copper Pricing at a Glance*
- Basic: $25 per user, per month
- Professional: $59 per user, per month
- Business: $119 per user, per month
- Free trial: 14 days
*Pricing based on annual billing; monthly billing is also available for a higher cost
One way to improve productivity for sales operations is by enabling them to perform tasks from multiple, commonly used applications in a centralized location. This can be done in Copper with the Google Chrome Extension add-on.
CRM activities can be managed in Gmail, Calendar, and Google Drive. Likewise, Google Workspace users can also manage emails, calendars, and file-sharing tasks in the Copper CRM system.
Copper does not have a free plan, and the lowest-tiered option is capped at three users maximum. For operational CRMs with a free plan and higher user availability, check out Bitrix24 and Freshsales as solid options.
Copper Plan Summary
Basic | Professional | Business | |
|---|---|---|---|
Users | Up to three | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Gmail Sync | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Chrome Extension and Google Workspace Add-on | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Contact Enrichment | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Workflow Automation | N/A | ✔ | ✔ |
Bulk Email With Templates | N/A | Unlimited sends | Unlimited sends |
Email Sequences | N/A | N/A | ✔ |
Goal Tracking | N/A | N/A | ✔ |
Insights on Sales and Leads | N/A | N/A | ✔ |
Copper Features
- Chrome extension add-on to manage and sync CRM activities from Gmail, Drive, and Calendar apps, and vice versa
- Workflow automation for repetitive tasks like creating a new task, updating contact data, and changing the status of a deal.
- Automatic data enrichment of contact profiles from online information
- Unlimited bulk email sends
- CRM reporting tools, including sales forecasting
As you can see, Copper has more features than just integrations with Google Workspace applications. Learn more about Copper’s pricing, tools, usability, and best-for scenarios by reading our Copper CRM review.
Salesforce: Best Operations CRM for Sales & Customer Service Collaboration
Salesforce
What We Like
- Robust mobile app that includes task automation and AI analytics
- Features for routing customer service cases to the sales team for cross-selling
- Advanced AI tools for business analytics and insights
What's Missing
- Lacks low-cost plans, and higher-tier plans get expensive
- No proposal and quote generation on lower-priced Essentials plan
- Can be challenging to operate and navigate the platform
Salesforce Pricing at a Glance*
- Essentials: $25 per user, per month
- Professional: $75 per user, per month
- Enterprise: $150 per user, per month
- Unlimited: $300 per user, per month
- Free trial: 30 days
Add-ons
- Configure, Price, Quote (CPQ) & Billing: $75 per user, per month for quote and price configuration (included in Professional plan)
- Sales Cloud Einstein: $50 per user, per month for AI tools (included in Enterprise plan)
- Pardot: Starts at $1,250 per month for advanced marketing tools
*Pricing based on annual billing; monthly billing is also available for a higher cost for Essentials Plan only.
Where Salesforce stands out as an operations CRM is when a business needs departmental collaboration between customer service and sales teams for cross-selling opportunities or product inquiries. Salesforce allows you to easily route customer service cases to other departments, including the sales department, from within the case system.
Salesforce Essentials is specifically designed to be the small business option for Salesforce products. The Essentials plan is, however, lacking in tools for generating quotes and contact proposals as well as AI, which only come in higher plans or as fairly expensive add-ons. Pipedrive is an excellent lower-cost alternative with an AI assistant included at every level that allows users to send quotes and proposals from the CRM platform.
Pro tip: Did you know that a CRM can be used for more than just sales activities? Because it stores customer information and communication tools to assist customers, you can use a CRM to improve your customer service operations.
Salesforce Plan Summary
Essentials | Professional | Enterprise | Unlimited | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Lead Assignment and Routing | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Duplicate Blocking | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Mass Emailing With Prebuilt Templates | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Custom Reports and Dashboards | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Case Management Auto-routing | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Rule-based Lead Scoring | N/A | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Quote, Contract, Order, and Price Books Generation | $75 per user, per month | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Lightning Flow Process Automation | Five processes | Five processes | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Data Sync to Calendar | N/A | N/A | ✔ | ✔ |
Sales Einstein AI | $50 per user, per month | $50 per user, per month | ✔ | ✔ |
Salesforce Features
- Unlimited workflow automation processes like email notifications for deal changes, auto-task assignment, and automatic approvals for business requests such as deal discounts and travel expenses (higher plans only)
- Lead scoring tools based on preconfigured rules
- Case management tools for routing customer service cases to appropriate channels such as a sales team
- Mass emailing capabilities
- Advanced mobile application with all CRM features as well as AI insights, automation, and analytics tools
Salesforce case routing through omnichannel (Source: Salesforce)
Salesforce mobile Einstein AI assistant (Source: Salesforce)
Salesforce Essentials is the Salesforce solution designed specifically for small businesses. For details and insights on what this CRM can do for your business, including information on its features and integrations, check out our Salesforce Essentials review.
Want to learn more about CRMs designed specifically for small businesses? Check out our picks for the best small business CRMs for 2021. We provide insights on features, plan options, and product usability best suited for smaller organizations.
