Insightly

Insightly is a CRM platform that uniquely combines customer relationship management with project management capabilities, making it valuable for service businesses that need to track both client relationships and project delivery. The platform bridges the gap between winning deals and executing work by linking opportunities in the sales pipeline directly to project tasks, timelines, and deliverables. This unified approach eliminates the common disconnect between sales and delivery teams.

Best For

Insightly works best for professional services firms, agencies, and consultancies (5-50 people) that sell and deliver project-based work. It's particularly valuable for businesses where a sales opportunity transforms into a multi-phase project requiring task management, team collaboration, and milestone tracking. Marketing agencies, IT consultancies, architectural firms, and consulting practices find value in managing the complete client lifecycle from lead to project completion in one platform.

Teams that previously juggled separate tools for CRM and project management benefit most from Insightly's integrated approach.

Common Questions

How does Insightly's project management work with the CRM?
When you win a deal in the CRM, you can automatically create a project linked to that customer with predefined tasks, milestones, and timelines. Team members can track time, collaborate on deliverables, and manage project progress while maintaining visibility into the client relationship. This connection means sales and delivery teams share context automatically.

Does Insightly replace dedicated project management tools?
For basic project management needs (task lists, milestones, dependencies, time tracking), Insightly can replace simpler tools like Trello or basic project tracking. However, teams needing advanced PM features like Gantt charts, resource management, or detailed capacity planning may still need dedicated tools like Asana or Monday.com alongside Insightly.

Can I customize Insightly for industry-specific workflows?
Yes, Insightly offers custom fields, custom modules (called "objects"), custom page layouts, and workflow automation. Professional services firms can track billable hours, agencies can manage campaigns as projects, and consulting firms can link multiple projects to a single client account. The flexibility supports varied service business models.

How does Insightly integrate with other business tools?
Insightly integrates with 200+ applications including email (Gmail, Outlook), accounting (QuickBooks, Xero), marketing (Mailchimp, Constant Contact), file storage (Google Drive, Dropbox, Box), and collaboration (Slack, Microsoft Teams). It also offers Zapier integration and a REST API for custom connections.

Pricing & Plans

Free: Up to 2 users - 2,500 records, contact and opportunity management, email integration, mobile apps, basic reporting

Plus: $29/user/month - Workflow automation, custom branding, mass email, advanced reporting, integrations, project management

Professional: $49/user/month - Advanced customization, lead assignment, web-to-lead forms, validation rules, business card scanning

Enterprise: $99/user/month - Advanced security, role-based permissions, sandbox environment, premier support, custom onboarding

Pricing is per user per month, billed annually. All paid plans include unlimited records and email tracking.

Getting Started

Sign up for a free account at insightly.com supporting up to 2 users. Import contacts and organizations from spreadsheets, Google Contacts, Salesforce, or other CRMs. Set up your sales pipeline stages and define project templates for your common service deliveries. Connect email (Gmail or Outlook) to track conversations automatically.

Limitations

• Free tier limited to 2 users (smallest among major CRMs)
• Project management features less advanced than dedicated PM tools
• No built-in phone system (requires third-party integration)
• Workflow automation only on Plus tier ($29/user) and above
• Advanced customization requires Professional tier ($49/user)
• Some users find the interface less intuitive than competitors
• Mobile app functionality limited compared to desktop
• Email marketing features basic compared to dedicated platforms