A look at three companies that offer wedding and event planning software developed specifically for florists—by florists.
By Andrew Joseph
Until about 25 years ago, keeping track of one’s inventory, revenue and expenses was all done by hand, written on accounting balances, and hoping it all worked out in the end. Today, computer software takes care of all those mundane tasks—and more—and it also provides you with more time to be your creative self and work with customers and employees. There are even software programs specifically for wedding and other event planning.
Being a Pro About It
True Client Pro is the developer of an all-in-one event management CRM (customer relationship management) software, also named True Client Pro. The company provides a fully customizable software solution for floral retailers.
Florists’ Review chatted with the company’s very upbeat founder and CEO, Mayuri Parikh, to discover what True Client Pro is all about. BTW, Parikh has owned Mayuri’s Floral Design, an event planning business in Garnerville, N.Y., for nearly 30 years, so she is acutely aware of the challenges of the business.
“We offer three plans under the same brand name of True Client Pro: the ‘Florist Basic’ plan,’ which costs $19.99 a month when billed annually; the ‘Events’ plan, at $39.99 per month when billed annually; and the ‘Premium’ plan, which is $149.99 per month when billed annually,” Parikh explains. “We also offer month-to-month plans at $39, $59 and $175 per month, respectively.”
Mutual features in all three plans include:
• a five-step lead capture form with automatic reminders;
• advanced colors and elements;
• auto suggest items for recipes from your product library;
• built-in questionnaires;
• calendar view;
• flexible proposals with a custom cover page and a color-picker for each page;
• dedicated location and time page;
• design board;
• photo gallery and storage;
• multiple options to share information with clients, vendors and venues; and,
• task assignment.
Each plan has a set number of projects per year (10 each with the “Florist Basic” and “Events” plans, and 150 with the “Premium” plan) as well as a prescribed number of users per subscriptions (one, three and six, respectively). “All three plans are large, robust software solutions that have a lot of thought put into them,” Parikh notes. For a full list of features with each plan, visit trueclientpro.com/pricing.
Parikh adds that True Client Pro provides regular free software updates to subscribers, “to ensure optimal performance and to incorporate new features based on user feedback and industry trends.” Updates are usually delivered via the company’s Cloud.
We asked Parikh what separates True Client Pro’s software from others. “Key differentiators pertain to our patented technology. We own patents on many different software features found in our plans,” she informs, some of which include:
• Built-in Automation and Project Flow—“True Client Pro incorporates automation into project workflows, streamlines processes and saves time.”
• Lead Capture Form with Automatic Reminders—“Our lead capture form spans five stages, accompanied by automatic reminders to gather essential information from leads, ensuring seamless communication and thorough data collection.”
• Live Client Portal and Built-in Client Chat—“We provide a live portal for real-time updates and communication and an integrated chat feature for quick and efficient client interactions.”
• Customizable User Access Rights—“True Client Pro allows users to assign different access rights, such as admin, manager or designer, ensuring that team members see only what pertains to them, enhancing security and efficiency.”
• Proposal Templates and Invoice Templates—“We offer a variety of templates, including invoice templates with recipes tailored for florists, simplifying billing and inventory management processes. All plans come with free, unlimited proposal templates. No other floral and event software that we know of offers unlimited templates for free.”
• Built-in Gallery and Dedicated Client Photos—“Our software includes a built-in gallery and dedicated photo storage for clients. This provides a centralized location for visual references, eliminating the need to search through emails or external sources.”
• Document and File Storage—“We offer comprehensive document and file storage capabilities, ensuring all necessary resources are readily accessible within the platform.”
• Extensive Venue Directory—“The software includes an extensive venue directory, which users can access to create venue details and streamline event planning processes.”
• Robust Inventory Management—“Our inventory management feature simplifies training processes by allowing business owners to document procedures for handling specific items, such as flowers or rental items, minimizing errors and ensuring consistency in execution.”
• Customizable Worksheets—“With True Client Pro, designers can create custom worksheets for each project, including instructions, client notes, item lists with images, quantities and any additional client questions, facilitating efficient project management and communication.”
It’s All in the Details
Details Flowers Software is applicable to all flower-related events, but its primary focus is on weddings, according to founder and CEO Corrine Heck, PFCI. Before launching the software solutions business in 2015, Heck owned a thriving weddings and events business in central Florida, so she, too, is familiar with the terrain.
Even though Heck operated a successful weddings and events business, there were some business challenges she encountered around florist processes and procedures that she knew could be improved upon. She was determined to resolve these challenges and created Details Flowers Software to ensure all the little details that make up an event were met. It’s why this software enables florists “to connect directly to the industry’s first-rate suppliers while designing weddings and events with ease and creating proposals that win.”
Curate: The Presentation of Organization
Another well-known and popular software for retail florists and event professionals is Curate. Ryan O’Neil, PFCI, is Curate’s founder and CEO, and he and his wife Rachael are also the founders of Twisted Willow Design in St. Louis, Mo. With knowledge of the flower business, Ryan developed Curate because Rachael, a creative talent, hated spending hours manually curating every piece of an event.
Today, the software has evolved into a timesaving and profit-driving tool for florists and event professionals, with various features that help manage costs, track expenses, stop overbooking rental items—and much more. “Curate provides everything florists need to automate their businesses and manage the unique workflows and pain points of florists,” O’Neil explains. He adds that the company is currently focusing on the concept of proposal flow.
O’Neil elaborates that the software “makes it easy for florists to instantly create beautiful proposals, process payments, manage complicated supply chains, and optimize communication with customers and suppliers.” He also offers insight on a few of the features that makes Curate unique:
• Flexible event properties—“We can set custom properties that matter to your business, like guest counts.”
• Automated email templates—“Send the right messages to customers at the right time.”
• A media library—“Store all of your photos in one place. Drag and drop from Pinterest to save time on photo assembly.”
Tips for Making the Right Decision
As with any capital expenditure, it behooves you to do your due diligence in determining which wedding and event software solution will provide your business with the features you need and gives you the best bang for your buck. Any decision should not be based solely on which company or product has more Facebook likes and comments or which is the least expensive or most expensive. Yes, pricing plays a huge factor, and, ultimately, you should spend only what you can afford, but there is much more to consider.
You must be sure that the software you choose is capable of doing what you need it to do, and many of the software companies offer demos, so try them out. Experiment a bit, and see if the efficiency and flow of your day-to-day business does, indeed, get better.
While you’re researching wedding and event software options, also investigate the software options from the following companies.
• Aisle Planner
aisleplanner.com
• FloraNext BloomsBy
floranext.com/bloomsby-wedding-floral-management-software
• FloraNext Floral Wedding Manager
floranext.com/florist-wedding-software
• Hana
hanafloristpos.com/florist-wedding-software
• HoneyBook
honeybook.com/industry-florists
• QuickFlora eVenta
quickflora.com/event-and-wedding-manager
• Trellis Event Software
trelliseventsoftware.com
