15 Best Cloud Based CRM Software in 2024

Updated Jul 20, 2023.
cloud-based-crm-software

Need a hassle-free and user-friendly tool to help you and your team create amazing experiences for your customers? Cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) software is the answer. Usually, the best CRM software may come with additional tech expertise costs to set-up and maintain.

Choosing a cloud-based CRM software eliminates this with its simple plug-and-play approach. Just sign up, get onboarded in a few minutes and you’re ready to go. No extra costs or expertise needed! This makes it ideal for start-ups, solopreneurs and growing businesses.

In this article, we’ll look at some of the best cloud CRM options, their top features, and the kind of businesses they work best for.

Best Cloud-Based CRM Software

A cloud-based CRM basically helps you track, store and manage all prospect and customer-related interactions and data for easy retrieval and collaboration. It helps you and your team keep tabs on the customer journey from lead through to loyal fan.

Think of CRM software as a type of contact management system or software, but with super-advanced features. CRM also helps you integrate third-party apps that are part of your customer management workflow to improve your overall productivity and efficiency.

Let’s take a look at some of the top cloud-based CRM software based on their features below.

1. Monday.com CRM

Ideal Cloud-Based CRM for a Project Focused Workflow.

Monday.com is an Ideal Cloud Based CRM for a Project Focused Workflow

Monday is first a team collaboration tool before a CRM tool, but that doesn’t take away from its powerful CRM features. The tool allows you to build your dream CRM hub with its ready-made templates and easy drag-and-drop builder so you can customize any sales pipeline or workflow.

If your business runs ads on Facebook, you can collect leads and manage them directly in the CRM platform. Plus you can sync and manage your contacts and email campaigns all directly from your business or personal Gmail account.

Perks

  • Customization is easy thanks to its user-friendly drag-and-drop builder.
  • CRM and sales workflow templates are available
  • Make and receive calls and SMS from within the platform.
  • Offline mode that lets your team work even without the internet.

Cons

  • Not ideal for a sales-driven business

Pricing

Monday.com CRM offers a free 14-day trial so you can give its premium features a test run after which you’ll be moved to a paid plan. Paid plans start from $8 per user per month up to $16 per user per month.

There’s also a free plan that allows up to two free users as well as unlimited docs, boards, and 200+ templates. Paid plans include full mobile CRM, unlimited visual sales pipelines, sales forecasting and goals, and integration with third-party apps.

Sign up for Monday.com CRM for free now!

2. Freshsales

Best A.I Powered Sales CRM for Small Businesses.

Freshsales is the Best A.I Powered Sales CRM for Small Businesses

Freshsales is your go-to CRM solution if you want a bloat-free CRM solution that works great for small to medium-sized businesses. The platform is part of the Freshworks suite and offers context-driven sales with cutting-edge features like A.I chatbots and predictive contact scoring.

You’ll have a variety of customization options like multi-currency and multilingual support, custom fields, custom sales activities for your team, and even contact lifecycle stages. If you want something that’s easy to use and customize, Freshsales is for you.

Perks

  • Provides A.I powered lead-scoring
  • Builds contact profiles based on information on their public social media channels or company profiles.
  • Allows you to assign unique team tasks based on location, contact groups or sales targets.
  • Integrates with Freshworks suite of tools as well as other popular third-party apps.

Cons

  • May experience some lag especially when handling large data tasks
  • Potential for data mixups or loss in cases of data migration

Pricing

Freshsales has a free plan that offers basic features like contact and account management, chat, phone, and email support as well as mobile app functionality.

Paid plans start from $15 per user per month billed annually for its growth plan and go all the way to $69 per user per month on its Enterprise plan for large teams. There’s also a free 21-day trial so you can try out all its premium features.

Get started with Freshsales today.

3. Keap

Best CRM Solution with Largest Third-Party App Integration Support.

Keap is the Best Best CRM Solution with Largest Third Party App Integration Support

Formerly known as Infusionsoft, Keap provides a centralized hub where you handle just about anything related to customer data and improving your customer experience.

Keap is the ideal small-business tool to help you automate sales, marketing, customer support and even payment collection from one hub. One of its most outstanding features is its support for over 2500 applications, both natively and using Zapier premium.

So no matter how many third-party tools you and your team use, you can be sure Keap will have an integration that works for you.

Perks

  • Ideal for teams with 6 employees or less
  • Lead scoring
  • Automated lead follow-up
  • Custom event-based campaign creation

Cons

  • Lacks in-depth reporting
  • Doesn’t integrate with social media channels
  • Landing page builders are a little too basic

Pricing

Keap offers three paid pricing plans, with its cheapest plan starting from $56 per month for the first 5 months. Pricing is for up to 500 contacts and 1 user.

Read more Keap pricing

Other plans cost $119 per user for the first five months and $140 per month each and offer advanced features like A/B testing, recurring bills and sales funnel. You can try Keap for free with their 14-day free trial.

4. Pipedrive

Best Sales-Focused CRM Software Solution for Small Businesses

Pipedrive is the Best Sales Focused CRM Software Solution for Small Businesses

If your business is built on driving sales for clients or commission-based products, then Pipedrive is the perfect solution. The tool offers advanced features like custom chatbots for your site, reporting, A.I powered sales tips and support plus much more.

In terms of ease of use, Pipedrive is as easy as it gets. The platform will have your team onboarded and running in just a couple of minutes. You’ll get a visual idea of your sales pipeline, stay on top of every part of your sales funnel and even create custom tasks.

Perks

  • In-depth sales forecasts and reporting
  • Workflow and sales follow-up automation
  • Built-in email marketing management
  • Supports deal management and sales conversions
  • Easy onboarding

Cons

  • Campaign planning feature is absent
  • Limited A/B testing feature
  • Limited social media integration

Pricing

Pipedrive offers four paid plans designed to fit businesses and teams of all sizes.

Read more Pipedrive pricing

Its basic plan, the Essential plan at $12.50 per user per month up to $99 per user per month on the Enterprise plan which includes workflow builder with triggered automations, group emailing, data imports/exports and document management.

You can also test Pipedrive with a free 14-day trial.

Get Pipedrive for free today!

5. SugarCRM

A CRM Solution for Streamlining and Automating The Workflow Process.

SugarCRM is a CRM Solution for Streamlining and Automating The Workflow Process

SugarCRM is the platform designed to do the “busy work” for you so you can get busy with the more important stuff, like closing sales. It aims to unify marketing, sales and service tasks in a hassle-free workflow that eliminates repetitive and mundane tasks.

Its marketing suite features SEO and SEM support for planning your content, email and social media campaigns. You’ll even get help with landing page SEO.

In terms of reporting, SugarCRM provides insights from multiple sales and business sources to help you make informed decisions. Plus, you can make sure your support team is tracking SLA fulfillment and resolving tickets quickly with its service console.

Perks

  • Easy set-up
  • Exporting data is seamless
  • Supports omni-channel seller to lead or prospect communication
  • Sales console offers in-depth details like purchase history, conversation history, interactions, industry, current pain point and more.

Cons

  • UI is not smooth and maybe a little clumsy
  • Dated A.I functionality

Pricing

SugarCRM’s cheapest plan is Sugar Professional which bills at $52 per user per month for a minimum of three users and includes features like support via Sugar’s CRM support portal and standard SLA support.

SugarCRM Pricing Plan

Other plans range from $85 per user per month up to $1000 per month for unlimited users, 10,000 contacts, and unlimited landing pages and emails.

Sign up for a free 7-day trial of SugarCRM.

6. Zoho CRM

Best Mix of Features and Customizations for Small Businesses.

Zoho CRM is the Best Mix of Features and Customizations for Small Businesses

Zoho is well known for its full suite of business tools for all major aspects of your business, from accounting to marketing to team collaboration. The platform is however well-known for its beginner-friendly CRM software suite.

With Zoho CRM, you can build the platform to your preference, starting with the basic features and adding on more advanced features as you go along. You can automate repetitive tasks with its pre-programmed A.I tool Zia and even create custom macros.

Real-time notifications let you know whenever your contacts are trying to reach or engage with your business across multiple channels and devices. Assigning roles and restricting data-access based on roles is made simple too.

Small businesses will also benefit with its pipeline-driven Bigin option, which has a free plan for just one user, three workflows and up to 500 contact records making it ideal if you’re just beginning to experiment with CRM. You’ll still have access to its other apps like Zoho Desk and Campaigns

Pricing

Zoho’s offers four paid plans ranging from $12 per user per month on its Standard plan to $35 per user per month on its Enterprise plan for users who want the A.I feature.

Its ultimate plan bills at $52 per user per month and offers advanced features like mobile SDK, advanced BI- bundle with Zoho analytics and more.

All paid plans include custom dashboards, 25+ workflows and integration with Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 as well as Zoho’s own suite of business tools. It does offer a free plan that allows up to three users and is ideal for home businesses or solopreneurs.

Perks

  • A.I tool allows automation of repetitive tasks
  • Custom dashboards
  • Real- time notifications of contact engagements across different channels
  • Assignable roles supports collaboration
  • Responsive mobile app

Cons

  • Importing contacts from email or web browsers isn’t smooth.

Sign up for Zoho CRM for free today!

7. HubSpot CRM

Most Scalable All-In-One CRM Solution for Small Businesses.

HubSpot CRM is the Most Scalable All In One CRM Solution for Small Businesses

HubSpot has built its reputation as the go-to online resource for inbound marketing. This expertise is seen in HubSpot’s entire online marketing suite which is designed to help you generate more leads, convert more sales and get more repeat business overall.

The platform boasts of a large database of 20 million+ businesses globally from which it digs up further data about your contacts. If your team needs to share information, updates, reports and other sales material, HubSpot’s library builder makes it easy to organize and analyze such data.

Again, if you need to create business plans, invoices, blogs or email signatures, you can use its template generator to simplify the entire process. HubSpot’s CRM can also double as a great helpdesk and ticketing software thanks to its ticketing and live chat features. This makes it easy to provide personalized customer service.

Pricing

HubSpot’s CRM is free and comes with basic CRM features like contact management, contact website, email dashboard and management, reporting, ticketing, Gmail and Outlook integration, custom support fields, third-party app integrations and much more.

You can store up to 1 million contacts and companies. The only catch is any marketing material created on the platform like emails and landing pages will have the HubSpot watermark.

Also if you’re looking for advanced sales and marketing features like custom ticketing and branded materials, advanced reporting, its Marketing hub plan for 1000 contacts, Sales Hub for 5 users and Service hub for 5 users all start from $30 per month.

Read more Hubspot pricing

Professional plans start from $800 for 1,000 contacts on Marketing Hub, while 5 users on the Sales Hub costs $300 and $240 on Service Hub respectively.

Perks

  • Completely free to use with unlimited users and up to 1 million contacts
  • Supports team collaboration and sharing
  • Template generators help with automating repetitive tasks
  • Integration with multiple third party apps
  • Built-in customer support and helpdesk features.

Cons

  • Software limits bulk actions, notifications and document uploads on free plan.

Try HubSpot CRM for free today.

8. Agile CRM

Fastest and Most Inclusive Cloud-Based CRM Solution for Small Businesses.

Agile CRM is the Fastest and Most Inclusive Cloud Based CRM Solution for Small Businesses

Agile CRM aims to help small to medium-sized businesses sell and market themselves like a Fortune 500 company. Agile CRM’s main selling point is its speed, easy implementation and integration with over 500 third-party apps.

The platform splits its features into the major aspects of running a business, including sales, marketing, productivity as well as other advanced functions like HR, support and developer tasks for larger companies.

Agile CRM’s speed is taken directly from Google, as the platform is hosted on Google cloud. This means you’ll be getting Google Cloud’s high end data encryption plus its lightning fast speeds.

Pricing

Agile CRM has a free plan for up to 10 users with 50,000 contacts and companies. You’ll also get unlimited deals, tasks and documents, appointment scheduling, email tracking and 2-way telephony.

Agile CRM Pricing Plan

Paid plans start from $8.99 per user per month billed if you subscribe for two years and include a form builder, landing page builder, social listening and social media management, marketing automation and contact level analytics.

Its most advanced plan costs $47.99 per user per month billed biennially and includes Shopify and Stripe sync, 50+ plugins, canned responses and labels.

Perks

  • Unlimited deals, tasks and documents on the free plan.
  • Two-way telephony and email integration
  • Integrations with over 500 third-party apps
  • Social listening and social media management support.

Cons

  • Mobile app doesn’t run smoothly sometimes
  • Updates can be time-consuming

Get started with Agile CRM for free today.

9. Really Simple Systems

Best B2B CRM for Teams and Small Businesses.

Really Simple Systems is the Best B2B CRM for Teams and Small Businesses

As its name implies, Really Simple Systems CRM is about simplifying the entire CRM process for small businesses in the B2B space. The platform is easy to install and set up and you can be up and running in just a few clicks.

The tool provides an easy-to-use centralized hub complete with a marketing tool that you can integrate with other third-party apps. You’ll find running email and other marketing campaigns from the tool a cinch. No need to pay for a separate email marketing product.

Its sales CRM is easily customizable and exists with all its other tools within the same dashboard which is ideal for teamwork. It's fully customizable and comes with many self-service options as well. From the start, you will find that support is there when you need it.

Pricing

Really Simple Systems CRM has a free plan that allows up to two users, unlimited contacts, 100 company records, 100MB document storage, contact and sales pipeline management.

Paid plans start from $14 per user per month for the Starter plan, $30 per user/month for the Professional plan, and $46 per user per month for the Enterprise plan, all billed annually.

All paid plans come with advanced sales and marketing features including custom reporting and email campaign customization.

Perks

  • Easy to use and implement
  • Readily customizable customer data entry fields
  • Integrates with multiple third-party apps
  • Unlimited contacts on the free plan

Cons

  • The user interface feels a bit dated.

Get started with Really Simple Systems CRM for free today.

10. NetSuite CRM

An Enterprise Cloud-Based CRM for Large and Fast-Growing Businesses.

NetSuite CRM is an Enterprise Cloud Based CRM for Large and Fast Growing Businesses

NetSuite CRM comes from tech-powerhouse Oracle’s suite of business tools. Oracle is well-known for its cutting-edge technology and experience in computing, and it brings that same expertise to its business software.

The CRM platform covers everything you’ll need along the customer lifecycle, from lead acquisition to nurturing, order fulfillment, and remarketing. So whether you need to cross-sell, upsell or just provide customer support, NetSuite CRM has a feature for you.

It provides sales force and marketing automation, as well as customer service management, all rolled into one.

So you can monitor your sales pipeline and stay in the loop with opportunities to close deals as well as get forecasts or simply log into its cloud-based customer portal to follow up on customer tickets and update profiles.

Pricing

To get started on NetSuite’s CRM, you’ll have to book a call after taking a free product tour. Then a customer representative will help you create a custom CRM solution based on your needs with the platform’s customizable modules.

Perks

  • Built-in sales force and marketing automation
  • Cloud-based customer management portal
  • Supports both internal team collaboration and external third-party collaboration, for example with an external marketing firm.
  • Mobile app and device support for both iOS and Android including graph reporting, scorecards and KPI display.

Cons

  • The platform can be a bit slow and lags with several requests by multiple users being issued at a time.

Contact NetSuite for a price quote today.

11. Copper

Ideal Google Workspace Integration Option for Small Businesses.

Copper is an Ideal Google Workspace Integration Option for Small Businesses

Copper is your go-to cloud-based CRM if your business uses a lot of Google tools. The platform is designed to work seamlessly with Google’s business suite from Gmail to Calendar and more.

So you’ll still get standard CRM functionality like contact management, deal pipelines, basic automation and reporting. Plus, Copper puts in extra effort to make sure your data is secure independent third-party data audits and security expertise from professionals.

Your contact profiles will benefit from Copper’s in-depth data mining via social media profiles, company pages and other publicly available contact details. In terms of integrations, Copper syncs easily with most popular business tools like Slack, MailChimp,Quickbooks and Zendesk.

Pricing

Copper offers three paid plans and a free trial. Paid plans start from $25 per user per month with a 3-seat limit billed annually for its Starter plan.

Copper Pricing Plan

If you want team collaboration, the Professional plan bills at $59 per user/month annually and for large businesses that want customization and use lots of email marketing, the Business plan bills at $119 per per month annually.

Perks

  • Google Workspace integration available even on basic plan
  • Integrates with most popular business tools and apps
  • Very user-friendly with a responsive interface.
  • Built-in data mining to enrich contact profiles

Cons

  • You may need to refresh your Gmail inbox frequently to update details on the platform
  • Set up may be time-consuming

Get started with a 14-day free trial from Copper!

12. EngageBay

Ideal All-In-One CRM Solution for Sales, Marketing and Customer Support.

EngageBay is the Ideal All In One CRM Solution for Sales, Marketing and Customer Support

If you’re looking for a simple, fluff-free, all-in-one CRM solution, EngageBay combines all the basics of CRM in an efficient and result-driven manner. Access your sales pipeline plus contacts, manage customer service and run paid marketing campaigns all from a single unified hub.

EngageBay helps you write and track emails, make and receive calls from customers, accept and book appointments with prospects efficiently to keep your team at maximum productivity. You’ll get a bird’s eye view of customer details and other business insights.

In terms of integration, EngageBay integrates with business apps like SendGrid, Zapier and MailGun to further streamline your email marketing and automation needs.

Pricing

EngageBay offers a free plan for up to 15 users. The free plan provides contact management, 360 degree contact view, email tracking, appointment scheduling and Google suite integration.

NetSuite CRM Pricing Plan

Paid plans start from $12.29 per user per month and include third party integrations, multiple deal tracking and a tag manager.

The Growth plan starts from $40.99/user/month billed annually and offers multi currency billing and proposals. Its premium plan bills at $65.59 per user per month and includes custom dialing and a conversational inbox.

Perks

  • Basic CRM, Sales Bay plus CRM and All-in-one packages available
  • Integration with G suite
  • Live chat feature
  • Free migration of contacts from your existing platform
  • Free plan available

Cons

  • Automations aren’t seamless
  • UI feels a little dated

13. Bitrix24

Bitrix24 is the Best Comprehensive Featured, Free Cloud Based CRM Software

Bitrix24 is the ultimate choice if you’re looking for a truly free CRM software with a premium feel. It offers all-inclusive features that include finance tools for budgeting and calculating ROI, tools for scheduling social media and email marketing campaigns plus even live customer support features.

The platform allows you to build a limitless database of customers, be they prospects, existing customers or past customers. Know when who bought what, all in one click and segment your clients based on how much they’ve spent with your business.

In terms of lead generation, Bitrix24 supports you to generate leads for your business from social media and via email campaigns too. Discover where most of your paying customers are coming from, how they averagely spend and how long it takes to get the sale in one glance.

Pricing

Bitrix24 is completely free to get started on and for an unlimited number of users, deals and contacts with a 5GB data limit.

Bitrix24 Pricing Plan

Its paid plans start from $39 per month for 5 users and unlimited invoices to $79 per month for 50 users and $159 per month for unlimited users all billed annually.

Perks

  • Free plan offers comprehensive features for marketing and sales
  • Provides custom rules to streamline sales pipeline process
  • Useful finance tools for estimating ROI, tracking expenses and budgeting included
  • Schedule all outreach posts from one dashboard for both email and social media.
  • Handle customer interactions from one hub

Cons

  • Mobile app is not as responsive
  • Platform may feel overloaded with features

Get started with Bitrix 24 for free today.

14. Less Annoying CRM

Best Simple and Effective Small CRM Solution for Beginners.

Less Annoying CRM is the Best Simple and Effective Small CRM Solution for Beginners

Less Annoying CRM (LACRM) stands out because its main selling point is helping you manage your contacts, follow up efficiently and track deals without the overwhelm or “getting annoyed”.

The platform is designed to be the ultimate small business CRM software of choice that makes the entire CRM process simple and hassle-free. No more paying for a ton of features that you may probably never use, LACRM has streamlined all its features so you have only the features you absolutely need.

Improve your team’s productivity, delight your customers with responsive customer service features and store each customer’s details including upcoming deals and events in one profile. You can also integrate LACRM with your Google or Outlook account and even with MailChimp too.

Pricing

LACRM has a single paid plan of $15 per user per month to access all its features. There is a 30-day free trial you can get started with to fully test out the tool before signing up, just in case you’re unsure.

Less Annoying CRM Pricing Plan

You can even try out the software with a free mock account that doesn’t require signing up so you know exactly what you’re getting prior to a free trial.

Perks

  • Single paid plan makes pricing straightforward
  • Free mock account without signup available just for product tour
  • Both budget and user-friendly
  • Offers decent customization options with full automatic data backup
  • Responsive and free customer support even for unpaid users.

Cons

  • No dedicated mobile app
  • Missing collaborative functions like team notes sharing and contact edits.

15. Salesforce

Best Sales Focused Customizable CRM for SMEs.

Salesforce is the Best Sales Focused Customizable CRM for SMEs

Salesforce is one of the leading names in sales CRM software. The platform makes it easy for your sales team to get more done in less time. Get more leads, send out more proposals and quotes as well as automate your bills and track revenue. 

The CRM tool also comes with A.I capabilities that provide in-depth analytics which can influence major business and marketing decisions.

Gain deeper insights with predictive scoring, forecasts and A.I powered automations that together help you set your business on the path to success.

Customization is a breeze with Salesforce thanks to its flow builder, a drag-and-drop builder which lets you create custom workflows for putting repetitive tasks on autopilot. You’ll also get features like collaborative forecasting, auto captivity capture and third-party app integrations.

Pricing

Salesforce offers unique paid plans for businesses of different sizes and in different niches.

For small businesses, paid plans start from $25 per user per month billed annually for up to 10 users and $75 per user per month.

All plans come with account, lead and opportunity management.

Perks

  • Automations to save time on repetitive tasks
  • A.I powered insights to guide business decisions
  • Mobile app support available
  • Supports team collaboration

Cons

  • Software features may be a little overwhelming and too sales focused for beginners.

Benefits of Using Cloud-Based CRM Systems

Business today is rapidly evolving. With stiff competition both online and offline, the only way any business can survive is if it keeps delighting its existing customers. Using the best CRM software is one way to help you ensure you provide the best customer experience possible.

Cloud-based CRM tools help you stay organized and keep your team focused and on track to make customers their priority while nurturing relationships with them.

Benefits of Using Cloud Based CRM Systems
Source: Tech.co

They’ll help save time through automations and integrations with other business tools you use so your team can dedicate more time to following up on leads and closing more deals.

Let’s take a closer look at some major benefits you can get from deploying cloud-based CRM software in your business.

1. Saves Money and Time

From a business perspective, time is money. The more productive you can get your team to be in terms of money-making activity, the more profitable your business will be.

CRM software helps with eliminating repetitive, time-sucking tasks and hence freeing up time for follow-ups, resolving customer issues and closing deals.

Also cloud-based CRM software isn't hardware and/or tech expertise heavy. You’ll not have to spend extra on getting equipment and hiring experts to maintain and fix them when.

Most cloud-based CRM are ready to use as soon as you pay your subscription fees and any maintenance needed is usually done by your service provider at no extra fee.

2. Easy-To-Use and Set- Up

Another major benefit of choosing cloud-based is how easy it is to get it set-up and in use. Cloud-based CRM is designed to be deployed easily. No need for special equipment, paid IT expertise or special paid onboarding sessions.

Cloud CRM software is meant for direct and often instant access by the end user with no special set-up. Thus most versions available are very beginner-friendly and come with an intuitive and easy to navigate user interface.

Most have a built-in knowledge base or self-help library with help videos and tutorials. Some service providers even offer personalized one-on-one training sessions to get your entire team up and running fast.

3. Supports Team Collaboration

Cloud technology has made collaboration and working simultaneously on projects a breeze. Cloud-based CRMs are no different. Most of such platforms are designed to be easy to sync with your favorite third-party business apps.

That means you can easily create custom workflows for your team to collaborate on tasks. You can share project status updates, reports and even contact information easily from one centralized hub that gets updated in real-time and is accessible to everyone no matter where.

For administrators, you can also grant and revoke access to information based on specific user roles.

4. Easy To Customize

With more and more options becoming available in the cloud based CRM space, it’s easy to find industry-specific options that work just for your niche or business size. Some CRMs give you the option to customize your platform based on modules or preferred features.

Cloud-based CRMs also give you the option to sync with your favorite work app based on which department(s) will be using it. You can also easily migrate to a new app altogether in case a company decides to pivot to a new service, without needing tech expertise or spending on hardware.

5. Promotes Quick Scalability

It’s one thing to start your business with the most budget-friendly options, but it’s always better to choose an option that can grow with you. An on-premise, full-featured CRM comes with lots of overheads and maintenance costs and should you need to upgrade, that may require more in terms of added spending for hardware.

Cloud-based CRMs save you from that hassle by being compact and lightweight. No need to spend extra on hardware for future use. Most cloud CRM software offer different packages with different features suited for businesses at all levels, from startups to large enterprises.

So if your business needs evolve, you can easily upgrade to a better suited package or customize your existing package to suit your needs.

Key Features of Cloud-Based CRM Software

With lots of great options available for cloud based CRMs, it can get confusing if you had to choose a service.

Key Features of Cloud Based CRM Software
Source: SelectHub

How do you know if a particular service is a good fit for your business? And what key features should you be looking out for?

Here are some key features to look out for when selecting a cloud-based CRM.

1. Worry-free data storage

Your customers are your most valuable business asset and so how you choose to store their information makes a big difference.

That’s the reason why cloud-based CRM software exists; to have one hub where all your customer records and data can be reliably accessed at any point in time.

Because the customer data is stored in the cloud, there’s little to no risk of data loss from damaged documents or equipment. On top of that, a good cloud-based CRM will offer timely data back ups so that the risk of data loss is even more minimal.

You and your team can always update customer records and have it synced in real-time.

2. Location-Independent Accessibility

Cloud-technology has made it possible for teams to work together no matter how far apart they are physically. Thus your cloud-based CRM software should offer instant and consistent access to your customer records, at fast speeds no matter where you or your teammates are located.

Make sure your service provider offers enough servers located in multiple locations close to your business. More servers also means you’re less likely to experience a drag or down-time no matter how many people are accessing the service at a time.

3. Third-party App Integrations

Online businesses today often work with a host of apps to handle different aspects of their business. Thus it's critical that your choice of cloud-based CRM software allows you to sync and integrate with apps you use in your workflow without needing to code.

Thankfully a lot of cloud-based CRM software have built-in modules that can work with apps that handle every part of your business, from financial and accounting tools, social media tools, email marketing apps and even ERP software.

Whichever cloud-based CRM software you choose should also integrate with existing apps in your workflow. For example, if you’re already using a lot of Google workspace tools, it's better to go with an option like Copper CRM which is designed for smooth Google suite integration.

4. Mobile App Access

A big benefit of choosing a cloud-based CRM software is the quick mobile access. Your cloud CRM software of choice should have a responsive and intuitive mobile app that syncs with data changes in real-time.

It should eliminate the need to be behind your PC to follow up on a deal or update a customer’s records.

So whether you’re going into a meeting or need to confirm a few details prior to sending out an invoice, your CRM software of choice should have a responsive app to make it easy to fetch data.

5. High-end Security

Data privacy is always a requirement once you are handling people’s information. That means you’re bound by data privacy laws like the EU’s GDPR law and need to ensure you have up-to-date security to keep your customer’s data protected at all costs.

A good cloud-based CRM software offers cutting-edge data encryption technology to ensure your customer’s records are not prone to malicious attacks or accidental data loss. It would also constantly update you on security upgrades that are done on the platform to make sure your customer data is secure.

How to Choose the Right Cloud-Based CRM Software

Choosing the right cloud-based CRM software comes down to having a clear picture of what your business goals and needs are at the moment. Here are a few factors to consider when choosing the ideal cloud-based CRM for your business.

1. Business Size and Needs

At every point in your online business, your needs will evolve.

If spreadsheets aren’t cutting it anymore when it comes to storing customer data and you’re just starting out with CRM, chances are you don’t need something that has complex features. This is also true if you don’t have a large team handling customer service.

A lightweight, beginner-friendly cloud-based CRM would be your best bet.

Conversely, if your business already has quite a number of customer records, is already on CRM software or has a large team, you’re better off going for a platform that allows you to migrate records from free and syncs updates to records in real-time and seamlessly.

2. Record Volume and Fields

Most cloud-based CRM software offer different packages that include the number of contacts you can add to the platform and also have unique fields you can include with each record.

Knowing how much data you need to store on the platform will help you choose a platform that offers the most value for money based on the kind and number of records you need to store. You should also be able to include notes and even upload documents to specific records.

3. Team Size and Roles

Given that most cloud-based CRM software charge on a per user per month basis, you’ll need to consider your team size and the kind of roles they play before you choose a CRM software. Is your team rapidly growing? Do they have to handle customer calls and respond to chats?

Do they need to share customer contact updates and notes with each other? What about performance reviews? Keeping these in mind while you consider the features each platform offers will help you find something that offers the right functionality at the right price.

Which Cloud-Based CRM Software Should I Try?

Cloud-based CRM software is a great way to digitally store and keep track of your customer’s details and records, follow up on client enquiries and track deals. They also help you streamline repetitive and mundane tasks so you can focus on providing a great customer experience.

Your choice of cloud-based CRM software should be influenced by your unique business needs.

  • For businesses with large teams that collaborate on multiple customer-focused projects and need a streamlined workflow, Monday.com CRM is a great option.
  • If you need a cloud-based CRM solution with A.I powered chatbots and insights to drive more sales, Freshsales will help you reach your sales goals faster.
  • If you have a small team (6 or less employees) and are looking to automate all your sales and marketing tasks via a large variety of third-party apps, Keap is the ideal choice.
  • Finally, for solopreneurs and start-ups who are first-time CRM users will benefit from Bigin by Zoho or Less Annoying CRM thanks to their short learning curves and easy to navigate interfaces.

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Anastasia Belyh

Editor at FounderJar

Anastasia has been a professional blogger and researcher since 2014. She loves to perform in-depth software reviews to help software buyers make informed decisions when choosing project management software, CRM tools, website builders, and everything around growing a startup business.

Anastasia worked in management consulting and tech startups, so she has lots of experience in helping professionals choosing the right business software.