Getting Started with Markate and The Customer Factor
When you’re running a home service business, keeping track of your jobs, customers, and payments can be a lot. That’s where CRM software comes in to help. Two top tools in this space are Markate and The Customer Factor. These platforms help you stay organized, send out invoices, get paid, and keep your customers happy. They’re designed to help home service providers like cleaners, handymen, and contractors stay on top of their work.
Both Markate and The Customer Factor are used by thousands of people every day. They each have their own benefits and are known for helping businesses save time and avoid mistakes. But how do you know which one is right for your needs? Let’s take a closer look at each tool to find out how they compare.
What is Markate?
Markate is a CRM tool that focuses on helping small and mid-sized home service businesses. Their goal is to make business easier with tools for scheduling jobs, tracking invoices, and staying in touch with customers. It also works well on mobile phones, so you can check in on your business while on the go.
One of the things Markate offers is flexible pricing. You can choose what features you want and add more if needed. This helps you avoid paying for stuff you don’t use. Over 25,000 businesses trust Markate to organize their daily tasks. With its mobile app, online booking options, and customer reminders via email or text message, Markate helps you give your customers a better experience.
How the Job Management Features Compare
Job management tools keep your schedule running smoothly. Markate lets you easily drag and drop jobs onto a calendar. You can assign jobs to your team, send reminders, and even collect e-signatures from your customers. Job checklists, photos, and progress updates are also part of Markate’s Job Management add-on.
The Customer Factor also helps you assign and manage jobs, but its setup is more straightforward. Instead of adding on features, everything comes included for a flat rate. You can upload photos of job sites and attach them directly to customer records. This makes it easier to follow up, send proof of work, or handle any confusion later on.
Both tools let you plan your workdays, talk to your team, and avoid missed appointments. Markate gives you a bit more customization, while The Customer Factor keeps it simple with one price for everything.
Invoice and Payment Options
Getting paid correctly and on time is one of the most important parts of running a business. Markate comes with strong invoicing tools. It supports instant payouts, recurring invoices, and even credit card payments online. Customers can also choose from different payment options, including ACH transfers. You can connect it to QuickBooks, too, to keep your accounting clean.
The Customer Factor allows unlimited invoices and payments. You can track who has paid you and who still owes money. While it doesn’t have as many advanced payment options built-in like financing or ACH payments, it covers the basics well and gives you everything you need to collect money.
If you want more control over how customers pay and when, Markate may be a better fit. If you just want to send out a bill and get paid without much setup, The Customer Factor is super simple to use.
Marketing Features for Growing Your Business
Markate offers marketing tools that help you stay in touch with leads and customers. You can send texts, emails, and even ringless voicemail messages. You can also mail physical postcards when you have something special to offer. There’s a review tool to ask customers for feedback, and drip campaign features to follow up on leads automatically.
The Customer Factor doesn’t have separate marketing options, but it does let you send emails, upload documents, and save customer info for future messages. You can connect it to other tools using integrations like Twilio for texting, but it takes more setup and technical skill.
Markate’s system is more focused on helping you get new business through SMS blasts, review requests, and follow-ups. The Customer Factor keeps things basic but still gives you the tools to stay in touch with your customers.
Pricing and Flexibility
Markate’s pricing model is flexible, with two main plans and a bunch of add-ons. You can start small and build as you go. Their plans start at $39.95 per month for teams and $49.95 monthly for owner-operators. Each add-on, like lead management or advanced job tools, costs around $10 per month. While the total cost can add up, you only pay for what you need.
The Customer Factor, by contrast, has one flat rate: $44.95 per month. This includes everything — unlimited users, data, photos, and storage. There are no add-on charges, contracts, or hidden fees. You don’t have to worry about calculating extra costs because everything is already included.
If you like the idea of picking the features you want and skipping the rest, Markate gives you that control. If you’d rather have one monthly price and not think about extras, The Customer Factor keeps it nice and simple.
Setup and Ease of Use
Setting up a new CRM can be stressful if it takes too long to get started. Markate promises to get you up and running in about ten minutes. They offer easy data migration and have a team to help you move from another software to theirs. The mobile app also makes it easy to manage your business on the go right after setup.
The Customer Factor requires a bit more effort when it comes to setting up phone features, especially since it needs you to connect Twilio if you want to send texts or track calls. But once the system is running, day-to-day use is smooth. Everything you need is built right in and you won’t need to buy or install extra parts.
Markate’s fast setup and guided help make it easier for beginners. The Customer Factor has a learning curve for advanced features, but its flat pricing and simple layout make it easier in the long run for users who stick with it.
Customer Support and Help Options
If you run into problems, it’s comforting to know that you can reach someone for help. Markate offers U.S.-based support through chat, phone, and email. Their support hours are from 9 AM to 5 PM MST, Monday through Friday. They also offer how-to guides, demos, and a helpful onboarding team for new users.
The Customer Factor keeps things fairly simple. There’s no live chat, but most support questions are answered via email, and they have guides to help you learn the software. Since The Customer Factor doesn’t offer many bolt-on features, it’s less likely you’ll need extra help after setup.
Markate stands out for giving you more service if issues come up or if you’re new to using CRMs. The Customer Factor works well once it’s running but may ask you to figure more out on your own.
YacDaddy Integrations Make Managing Your CRM Easier
At YacDaddy, we make both Markate and The Customer Factor even better with our mobile app. With Markate, we help pull new job info into the YacDaddy app to save you time. We also send new website or Facebook leads into Markate automatically — so no more typing in customer names and numbers. When calls come in, we track which lead turned into paying jobs.
With The Customer Factor, we grab job and lead info to help you respond faster. We also pull in Twilio call recordings and turn them into helpful content that boosts your website’s SEO. Just like with Markate, we connect your jobs with customer details, saving you hours on manual updates.
Using YacDaddy with either CRM means less busywork and better tracking of where your money is coming from.
Our Final Take: Markate vs The Customer Factor
Both Markate and The Customer Factor help home service businesses stay on track. Markate gives you tons of useful tools and lets you customize how you use them. It’s great if you know exactly what you need and don’t mind adding features over time. Business owners who want better finance tools, SMS marketing, and advanced scheduling might appreciate what Markate offers.
The Customer Factor keeps things very basic but reliable. One flat price covers everything. If you’re looking for a low-cost solution that does most things well without too much setup, The Customer Factor might be your best bet.
Neither system is perfect — their designs aren’t very pretty, and setup can be harder than with more costly CRMs like Jobber or Housecall Pro. But both do the job and are trusted by thousands of service pros across the country.
If you’re already using Markate or The Customer Factor and want to get even more from your CRM, the YacDaddy app can speed things up, help create content, and even track revenue for you.
So which one should you pick? That depends on how you work. If you need lots of control and extra tools, go with Markate. If you like easy pricing and simple software, The Customer Factor might be the better fit. Either way, with YacDaddy at your side, you can turn those job photos into new leads and bigger sales without extra effort.
