In our SMB we went with Nutshell CRM [0]. The starter version has all the features minus sales automation. The UI is fine, they have well written docs [1] and their security docs is actually insightful [2]. Things like an well written API and an actual, live and up-to-date status page etc. make it look like a decent run SaaS business imho.

[0] - https://www.nutshell.com/pricing/ [1] - https://www.nutshell.com/security/

Hey thanks! I'm a cofounder at Nutshell. Always great to hear from other hackers getting value from what we're building.

Happy to see that this comment has reached you in person. Please pass on my compliments to your team. It looks like they are doing a good job.

Nutshell looks great. Wasn't on my radar at all, but I'm going to start evaluating it next week. Good job Andy!

Pipedrive. Its not perfect and there are many situation where I would recommend differently, but it will meet you needs.

I confirm - Pipedrive is pretty good for SMB.

Would you be willing to briefly elaborate?

Too many items to elaborate over HN. Here's three easy issues:

1. Estonia company creates some issues for corporate clients. 2. Form fields jammed together & tiny & harder for older users. 3. Not much going on in terms of automation, A.I. or triggers based on contact activity.

Again, much to say, but those are few.

Pipedrive does have workflow automation though.

What would you be looking for in a less bloated CRM? I have considered writing one as a starter for clients but not sure what features to include.

Well, they need to track orders, send newsletters to their customers, some help preparing physical newsletters, track inventory, etc. The basics. However, they do it all with Excel right now, so some intelligence from a CRM would be nice: forecasting? When and how much inventory should I have for next season? etc.

What e-commerce platform are they on? For example on Shopify, you can install a wide range of apps to get access to different functionality (like Klaviyo for sending out newsletters).

You mentioned they need to track inventory! Are they looking to do that across multiple sales channels?

I built Trunk[1] which would centralize their inventory and sync it in real-time across everywhere they sell (e.g. Etsy, Shopify, Faire, eBay, Amazon, Square, Squarespace, etc.). If they also need to track their bundles/kits, Trunk can do that too.

Feel free to visit the website and chat with me (bottom right icon)!

1. https://www.trunkinventory.com

What you are looking for is as much ERP as CRM. You might have a look at Unleashed for inventory and Zapier integration to something like close.io for the outreach & CRM portion.

Precisely. This is a niche: ERP/CRM mix for mom and pop shops, so they can afford the software and not get swamped in integrations/complex docs.