5 Online Tools to Make Running a Photography Business Easier
As professional photographers and creative entrepreneurs, we have expertise in all things photography – lighting, composition, camera equipment, photo editing software, and printing. But, if you’re like most photographers, the business side of things can be a little daunting. So let’s look at some online business tools for photographers.
As a business owner you have to ask the hard questions:
- What can I do Ito keep my clients information organized?
- What’s the best way to setup and manage appointments?
- How do I manage and deliver the final products?
- Most importantly – How do I get paid?
Today we’re going to review some online tools that will help ease the small business owners’ burden of running a photography business (so no self hosted tools).
From scheduling to invoicing to email marketing, these tools for photographers will save you time and money. So whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been in business for a while, be sure to check out these helpful online tools!
This article focuses exclusively on online tools for photography businesses. Allowing easy access from anywhere, these applications increase your ability to connect with customers and provide them with quality service no matter where you are, or what time it is. Many provide a free trial account so you can test out business tools and the services they provide. That way you can test how well they meet your business needs.
Studio Management Tools
Photography Studio Management tools provide a full workflow approach to running your business. From the first time your customer contacts you to the completed event, these tools for photographers provide a business workflow that will help you to stay organized and know what you need for each customer.
When it comes to running a successful photography business, having a solid studio management system is essential. These workflow organizing tools should help you keep track of your clients, appointments, products, and finances. Here are the best online tools that can help you with your studio management.
Sprout Studio
Best for a complete solution to run your photography business.
Sprout Studio includes tools for photographers to schedule appointments, invoicing, email marketing, and more. This application makes it very easy to manage your photography business online.
Sprout Studio lets you embed contact and email signup forms directly on your website. This way potential clients can contact you directly from your site.
From custom contracts to print lab integration, the features of this tool make Sprout Studios one of the best online business tools for photographers.
“Design stunning emails to market yourself while giving your clients an excellent buying experience with the online shop. Then, use Lab integration to automatically ship your orders. Sprout Assistant ensures you make the best decisions for your business, especially with built-in reports.”
Sprout Studios
Key Features (Pros)
- Built specifically for the Photography industry
- Support for Multiple Brands in the Same Account
- Client Management
- Billing & Invoicing
- Expense Tracking
- Contract Management
- Email & Invoice Templates
- Event Management
- Marketing Automation
- Manage Sales Presentations
- Order Management
- Project Management
- Proposal Management
- Customer Portal
- Gallery & Print Store
- Print Lab Integration
- Online Payment Integration with Stripe, PayPal, and Square
Missing Features (Cons)
- Missing Sales & Lead Tracking
Pricing (Jan 2022)
Summary
Sprout Studio is a great solution for fully automating your business. Their one big missing feature is Sales and Lead Tracking, but I suspect that with the rich features of this solution, it can’t be far away.
ShootQ
Best for the professional photographer that wants to automate their whole sales process.
ShootQ has great for photographers and other creative professionals that need a powerful web-based CRM system to manage workflow, appointments, new leads, sales.
No more keeping post-it notes around or using a shared spreadsheet to know who’s contacted you for what service. Automated workflows automatically send out contact emails to potential clients directing them to an online booking portal to keep the sales process working.
ShootQ also integrates directly with QuickBooks, so that all of your sales and expenses are updated directly in your accounting software. Having a connection to your bookkeeping system is really a winning feature when looking for online business tools for photographers.
“ShootQ Photography Studio Management Software organizes your entire business within a single platform. Whether you’re a veteran or just starting out, ShootQ gets your business running smoothly to save you time and help you grow your studio.”
ShootQ.com
Key Features (Pros)
- Built specifically for the Photography industry
- Free Plan
- Multiple Brands in the Same Account
- Sales and Lead Tracking
- Client Management
- Billing & Invoicing
- Contract Management
- Email & Invoice Templates
- Marketing Automation
- Order Management
- Project Management
- Proposal Management
- Customer Portal
- Gallery & Print Store
- Print Lab Integration
- QuickBooks Integration
- Online Payment Integration with Authorize.net, Braintree, PayPal Pro, Stripe, and Square
Missing Features (Cons)
- Booking Management is an additional fee
- Missing Expense Tracking
- No Galleries or Store
- Lacking Order Management
- Be nice to have Printing Lab Integrations
Pricing (Jan 2022)
Summary
ShootQ is a powerful tool to deal with the sales, marketing, and customer engagement parts of your photography business.
I like that there is an integration with QuickBooks so you can use your accounting software for revenue tracking.
There is a lack of any facility to allow customers to browse or order images (e.g. the final product), so it falls short of a full solution.
However, based on your needs, this can be the perfect solution.
Studio Ninja
Best way to manage your business for the Photographer on the Go
Studio Ninja provides an excellent customer management experience and workflow solution.
With their highly-rated mobile app, you can log into Studio Ninja from anywhere and utilize all of our premium services at your fingertips. With one click on the App Store or Google Play Store today, you may operate your business from anywhere, at any time.
Quote “Studio Ninja allows you to convert enquiries into sales, manage and track them through a streamlined workflow system. For all website enquiries, you can automatically send a series of trigger emails. That means goodbye post-it notes, hello holidays.”
StudioNinja
Key Features (Pros)
- Built specifically for the Photography industry
- Support for Multiple Brands in the Same Account
- Client Management
- Contract Management
- Email & Invoice Templates
- Event Management
- Marketing Automation
- Order Management
- Manage Projects
- Proposal Management
- Customer Portal
- Billing & Invoicing
- Quickbooks Integration
- Google Calendar Sync
- Online Payment Integration with Stripe and PayPal
Missing Features (Cons)
- Sales & Lead Tracking missing
- No Expense Tracking
- Minimal Galleries or Store (3rd Party Integration)
- Lack of Order Management
- No Printing Lab Integrations
Pricing (Jan 2022)
Summary
Studio Ninja is first and foremost a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and one of the best online business tools for photographers. With its focus on mobile platforms users, it will be a great solution for getting and managing customers for anyone who is more web app based.
Additionally, the direct integration with QuickBooks is a great step forward in financial management for your business.
Táve
Best for tech-savvy photographers who need a customizable studio management solution.
Táve supplies everything you need to automate your studio business. Their platform focuses on automated customer (CRM) workflows for sales and marketing.
The power of Táve is realized by connecting the individual features together. The ability to create repeatable workflows will cut hours of repetitious manual work.
Additionally, Táve has workflows for billing and invoicing that will make getting paid easy.
Táve was acquired by ShootProof (review below) in 2019 to add to their software environment. So they have been able to focus on building out the system’s workflows and behind-the-scenes processes. If you need to have galleries and extended features, check out ShootProof for a combined solution.
“The virtual assistant you can’t shoot without, Táve helps photographers organize, optimize, and automate workflows, so you can focus on what matters most: your clients.”
Tave
Key Features (Pros)
- Built specifically for the Photography industry
- Support for Multiple Brands in the Same Account
- Client Management
- Billing & Invoicing
- Contract Management
- Customer Portal
- Email & Invoice Templates
- Event Management
- Marketing Automation
- Order Management
- Project Management
- Proposal Management
Missing Features (Cons)
- Missing Sales & Lead Tracking
- Lack of Order Management
- No Gallery & Print Store
- No Print Lab Integration
- Online Payment Integration missing
- No Support for Gallery & Print Store
- No Print Lab Integration
Pricing (Jan 2022)
Summary
So, Táve is really just a workflow provider and customer management tool. If you are looking to add incredible automation to your existing business, then Táve is the way to go.
Just a note, Táve is part of ShootProof. ShootProof uses Táve for its backed and provides all the customer-facing tools need to create a full solution. So check that out as well.
ShootProof
Best for photographers that focus on quality image delivery and full workflow automation.
ShootProof (as an extension of Táve shown above) provides full-featured online business tools for photographers. With workflow tools, online booking, and marketing tools, it is the perfect solution for a wedding photographer.
Adding on top of Táve, ShootProof’s main focus is showing your finished product. Using beautiful, private galleries you can work with your customers to proof, label, and favorite images from their event.
ShootProof also allows you to tag the images with the customer data and store that information in a customer database for later reference.
ShootProof also will increase your ability to market your services by creating an online portfolio for your Facebook page or website.
“Ready to turn your dream into a business? Or maybe you’re dreaming about taking your business to the next level? ShootProof gives you easy tools to start, grow, and manage your photography business. Discover how photographers just like you use ShootProof to empower their journey.”
ShootProof
Key Features (Pros)
- Built specifically for the Photography industry
- Free Plan (100 Photos)
- Client Management
- Billing & Invoicing
- Contract Management
- Email & Invoice Templates
- Sales & Lead Tracking
- Event Management
- Marketing Automation
- Order Management
- Project Management
- Proposal Management
- Customer Portal
- Private Galleries & Print Store
- Social Media Tools
- Print Lab Integration
- Online Payment Integration with ShootProof Pay, Braintree, PayPal, and Authorize.net
Missing Features (Cons)
- No Support for Multiple Brands in the Same Account
- Missing Expense Tracking
- No Accounting Integration (QuickBooks)
Pricing (Jan 2022)
Summary
ShootProof is a fully-featured solution for your business. From customer leads to printing and selling your final work, this tool has all the elements. As a photography business owner that wants to focus on creating a full customer experience, this is the best tool.
As a bonus, there is a free version, with limited photos, making it easy to try out the basic feature set.
Business Management Tools
The following project management tools are not strictly focused on creative businesses. However, they can be used as online business tools for photographers.
These options are a little less expensive than the studio tools listed above and have a lot of neat feature sets that will help you manage your business.
HoneyBook
Best for small businesses and solopreneurs
While HoneyBook is not specifically oriented towards creative professionals, it has all the bells and whistles you need to manage a small business. With powerful client and team management tools, you are able to easily know who needs to be where when.
The powerful project management system helps you plan out a shoot by keeping all the information about the client in one place. Using this section of the application, you plan out the complete timeline. You can also add team members to the project and make sure they stay organized as well.
Another great feature of HoneyBook is the control it gives you over your billing and payments. A complex bookkeeping system will follow every invoice you’ve sent out so you know who’s paid. It also eases that process by allowing your clients to quickly pay your invoices online.
HoneyBook streamlines everything you need to manage your business into one place. Paper, spreadsheets and apps be gone! Now peace of mind comes with just one login.
Honeybook
Key Features (Pros)
- Client Management
- Billing & Invoicing
- Sales & Lead Tracking
- Contract Management
- Custom Email & Invoice Templates
- Event Management
- Marketing Automation
- Order Management
- Project Management
- Proposal Management
- Customer Portal
- Online Payment Integration through HoneyBook
Missing Features (Cons)
- Not specifically for the Photography industry
- No support for Multiple Brands in the Same Account
- No Gallery & Print Store
- Missing Print Lab Integration
Pricing (Jan 2022)
Summary
HoneyBook is a great solution for fully automating your business.
17hats
Best for Solouenurs who want to have an all-in-one solution for automating their business processes.
17hats is designed to help you manage your customers, calendar, billing, and more. They claim that their service is even better than cloning yourself.
This tool is designed for small businesses and has a feature set that is oriented towards running a photography business but is not dedicated to the studio workflow. For instance, 17hats does have a client portal but lacks any kind of gallery or image ordering facility.
However, if you are looking to automate everything from sales to billing, this is a great solution.
An Automated Business is a Stress-less Business. Automation can be simple or complex. No matter the level, automation is necessary for you to have a successful, reliable, and exciting business.
17hats.com
Key Features (Pros)
- Client Management
- Billing & Invoicing
- Sales & Lead Tracking
- Contract Management
- Email & Invoice Templates
- Event Management
- Marketing Automation
- Order Management
- Project Management
- Proposal Management
- Customer Portal
- Online Payment Integration with Stripe, Square, or PayPal
Missing Features (Cons)
- Not built specifically for the Photography industry
- No Support for Multiple Brands in the Same Account
- Missing Gallery & Print Store
- No Print Lab Integration
Pricing (Jan 2022)
Summary
17hats is a great solution for fully automating your business.
Questions
What is Customer Relationship Management (CRM)?
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a system that helps you keep track of your customers. It can help you keep track of their contact information, what products they have bought from you, and when they last contacted you. This way, you can stay organized and keep in touch with your customers more easily.
What is Studio Management Software?
Studio management software is used by many professional photo studios. This software can help you keep track of your clients, appointments, products, and finances. It’s an essential tool for any business that wants to stay organized and efficient.
Make sure that the software you use has the ability to schedule appointments and to create a calendar for the studio. You absolutely need to know when you need to meet with a client and what for what kind of appointment.
Another important aspect of running a photography business is keeping track of your expenses. This will help you stay on budget and make sure your business is profitable.
What is the best Photography Studio Management Software?
My favorite for a full solution has got to be ShootProof followed closely by Sprout Studio. ShootProof only wins out because of its excellent sales and lead tracking module. But truly any of the above solutions are a great business tool to help you be successful without pulling your hair out.
Wrap Up
Running a photography business can be difficult, but online tools can make it easier.
Photographers who want to focus on their craft and aren’t interested in dealing with the business side of things should be excited about these solutions. Any of these tools are a great step forward in helping photographers manage customer leads, invoicing, billing, and more. This way they can create a full experience for clients without having to worry about all the details.
In the area of non-photography-oriented tools, I find them both to be evenly matched. HoneyBook is an online tool that helps you automate your business processes, from client management to billing and marketing. 17hats is another online tool that helps you automate your business, from sales and lead tracking to project management and proposal management. These online tools can help you stay organized and efficient, which is essential for any successful business.
If you liked this article, check out more of my educational posts in the Guides section.
