Beating pay-per-seat CRMs with Bubble

Sometimes, the out-of-the-box features you get from No-Code tools aren’t enough. While we’re among the biggest advocates of No-Code and Bubble, even we can recognize the shortcomings.

Reputatiefabriek, a Dutch white-label SEO agency, used a No-Code tool called Google AppSheet to manage several internal and external aspects of their business. Above all, they liked using spreadsheet-based data to fuel their CRM (Client Relationship Management Platform).

However, when they came to us to build a new customer portal layer for their CRM, we agreed that AppSheet was insufficient in two regards. Firstly, it’s a fairly basic tool as it lacks branding and design features that would really give the portal its own unique feel. Secondly, it requires you to pay per seat, meaning that accommodating a large client base was rather costly for Reputatiefabriek.

Being a white-label agency, Reputatiefabriek wanted to create a white-label experience. That’s why we built them a new customer portal on top of their current AppSheet CRM using Bubble. With our openBuild framework, setting up a great-looking interface took little effort.

Combining AppSheet and Bubble

Frankly, when Reputatiefabriek saw how difficult it was to give AppSheet a “custom” feel for their clients, it would have been easy for them to say “OK, let’s pull the trigger on a new CRM.”

But with Bubble’s integration capabilities, that sort of reactive thinking is unnecessary.

We extended AppSheet and built Reputatiefabriek a new customer portal in only 2 weeks. As a result, they retained all the data and project management functionality they had spent years building.

As we mentioned, our openBuild framework was a major factor in this. We already have processes that allow us to create portals at lightning speed. The only complexity in the project was that we needed to leverage AppSheet’s API.

Using the API enabled us to add views for multiple different user types within the customer portal. For instance, a project might involve several collaborators from an outside organization, and a content manager might require different views from an executive.

Of course, the API also allowed us to populate the new portal with existing customer data. Maintaining the data in AppSheet allows Reputatiefabriek and its clients to comply with EU data protection regulations without any sacrifices.

On the back end, we built Bubble infrastructure that allows Reputatiefabriek to create new client portals for their customers automatically, allowing them to deliver the degree of personalization they require. The platform automatically takes care of inviting the users and onboarding them into their portal.

Getting the best of both worlds

Nowadays, Reputatiefabriek and its clients have the best of both Bubble and AppSheet. The AppSheet API fetches client data instantly, and using our Bubble-built interface, customers have critical project data at their fingertips, all in a single branded portal. Reputatiefabriek no longer needs to pay for every single user they add to the CRM either.

If there’s one thing you can take away from this story, it’s that if the software you’re using doesn’t have the features you need, you can always extend it with Bubble. With our no-code expertise and working speed, custom solutions are within reach. No need to jump ship!