An all-in-one CRM brings together in one tool what a small business usually spreads across several: contacts and sales, email and messaging, an online shop, bookings, invoicing and, in some cases, time tracking. The benefit is that each customer has one record with their full history. Flowgration is an all-in-one CRM for small businesses and online shops. It includes multichannel automation, a shared inbox, invoicing and time tracking.
What "all-in-one" should mean for a CRM
The phrase is used loosely, so it helps to be specific. In practice, an all-in-one CRM should cover four areas:
- Sales and customers. Contacts, companies, opportunities with stages, tasks and segments.
- Communication. Email, a shared inbox, and if you need them, SMS or WhatsApp inside automated flows.
- Operations. Orders, quotes, invoices, delivery notes and payments.
- Team. Time tracking, leave and documents, if you have employees.
Not every small business needs all four. A freelancer who only invoices and follows up can skip the fourth. A shop selling through WooCommerce or Shopify needs the first two tightly connected.
When an all-in-one tool is worth it
An all-in-one tool pays off when keeping separate tools costs more than running one. Three signs show it is time:
- You copy the same data into two or three programs: the customer in the CRM, the invoice somewhere else and the order in the shop.
- Your team loses time looking for which tool holds which information.
- A customer asks why their order does not appear in the system after a purchase.
There is a point where the all-in-one model stops being an advantage. If you need full accounting, payroll, bank reconciliation or a system for purchasing and stock, an ERP or your accountant's tools will be better. An all-in-one CRM does not replace those.
What a small business all-in-one CRM should have
- One record per customer, with orders, invoices, emails and tasks in the same place.
- A configurable pipeline, with stages you can change without asking support.
- Automation across channels, with triggers, waits and conditions.
- A connection to your shop if you sell online.
- Invoicing with VAT by country, with exports for your accountant.
- Permissions per user or per module, so each person sees what they need.
- Data export in open formats.
- Tools to meet GDPR requirements.
If a tool covers only two or three of these well, it may be a suite of separate parts rather than a true all-in-one for your needs.
How Flowgration fits the all-in-one model
Flowgration covers the four areas above:
| Area | What Flowgration includes |
|---|---|
| Sales and customers | Contacts and companies, several sales pipelines with forecast, notes with @mentions, follow-up tasks and segments |
| Communication | Journeys with email, SMS and WhatsApp; personal and shared inboxes with Gmail, Outlook or IMAP; email campaigns with scheduled sends and A/B tests |
| Operations | Invoices (with online payment), corrective invoices, proformas, quotes with e-signature, orders, delivery notes with signature and cash management |
| Online store | Orders and products synced from WooCommerce, Shopify and WordPress plugins |
| Team | Clock-in from a phone, leave with approval, team calendar and employee documents |
It also includes bookings, analytics, an AI assistant, an API and webhooks, role-based permissions and GDPR tools. There is a free plan. Paid plans and their limits are on the pricing page.
What Flowgration does not do: double-entry accounting, tax returns, bank connections, payroll, direct-debit files, point-of-sale and a native mobile app. It works as a web app that adapts to phones.
All-in-one versus separate tools
To decide, compare two setups with your own number of users:
- Separate tools: a sales CRM, an email tool, an invoicing program and a time-clock app. That means four bills, four databases and a sync someone has to maintain.
- One all-in-one tool: one bill, one database and one person responsible for setup.
The second option is not always cheaper on the monthly fee. What changes is the cost of coordination, which rarely shows up in the spreadsheet.
If you already invoice with Holded and want to move, the Holded alternative page explains what gets imported and what does not.
Who it is for and who it is not for
It fits you if:
- You run a small business or freelance practice that sells services or products and needs sales follow-up and invoicing.
- You have an online shop and want each customer to have one record that includes their orders.
- Your team has between one and fifteen people.
It is not for you if:
- You need double-entry accounting or tax filings from the same tool.
- Your priority is an ERP with purchasing, stock and production.
- You want a native mobile app or an integrated phone dialer. Confirm any feature that is not on this page before you decide.