Hello ladies and gentlemen. I’m letting you in to the “back office”, letting you know about the software I use to generate proposals. This software is called, Bidsketch.
I’ve known of this software for a couple of years now, and have been waiting for just the right scenario to begin using it. I’ve worked for myself off and on for twelve years, and have now begun the venture again. The difference between then and now; however, is that I now understand what it takes to be profitable.
There are a handful of ingredients that make a successful enterprise, and certainly, having a paying customer is on the top of the list. This is why I wanted to use Bidsketch. I’ve read numerous quotes about how many designer’s proposals have been accepted-one even saying how Bidsketch helped the person secure their largest deal ever. That’s right. Ever. Armed with that insight, I signed up and gave the 14 Day Free Trial a whirl. The following is what I’ve discovered.
Firstly, it works! The first client I submitted a proposal to accepted. Wow. That pretty much made me a believer 
I think different people’s results may vary, though. A large part of it has to do with my solution but Bidsketch helped me to organize my thoughts in a way that was catered to my client’s needs. With that said, here are 4 areas that of Bidsketch that stood out to me:
- Ease of Use
- White-labeling
- Professionalism
- Price
Ease of Use
The Good:
It’s easy to use! When I first started using it, there was certainly a period of cognitive load. What does this button do? What’s this section for? After some banging around, and drafting a temporary proposal, I got the hang of it. I love how the sections of a new proposal are pre-populated with “starter” text, helping me to formulate my thoughts. The integration of RightSignature and FreshBook invoices are brilliant.
Room for Improvement:
The way the clients area is set-up is simple. Almost too simple. There’s a “Deleted” filter under the Client List that I assumed would display deleted Client profiles. Apparently I misunderstood what that meant because I clicked on a “Delete” link next to what I thought was an already deleted Client profile. Unfortunately, I was wrong and lost not only my client profile but the proposal I had attached to it, as well. Bummer. I contacted Ruben about it but unfortunately, the records were already dropped in the database. It would be nice if the software had some sort of “restore” or “rescue” from trash. Or maybe the Delete functionality be clearer but I’ll say that this was my fault, as well. I shouldn’t have clicked Delete.
White-labeling
This is a term that means a piece of software can be branded to look like it is made by one author when it is really made by another.
The Good:
Bidsketch allows me to customize my url.
So instead of having mydomainname.bidsketch.com, I now have mybidsketchdomain.averysmith.pro.
Ruben cleverly implemented this via a DNS Record setting that he instructs you to set up on your server. I was also able to customize the colors and header logo of the software, making it look completely like a part of my website. And when proposals are sent out, my clients get a link that has my domain, along with page that has my sites colors on it. And the embedded proposal file can also have a custom template complete with your own layout. Very nice. Makes everything look real official.
Room for Improvement:
The white-labeling seems to cover everything but the software’s favicon. I cannot figure out a way to remove the Bidsketch favicon, and display my website’s favicon. I think that should also be a part of the white-labeling, since the goal is to make the software look like it’s a proprietary system.
Professionalism
The Good:
I’m a very tedious person, and therefore like the items that I present to people, especially proposals to clients, be polished, clean, and thoughtful. Bidsketch handles this with flying colors. I love how I get an email whenever a proposal is interacted with. I also have the option of exporting to pdf, which makes delivery of my proposal very flexible. And when Bidsketch sends an email, it does so with my email address. This is a very good system to handle volumes of proposals.
Room for Improvement:
None! I think he nailed it.
Price
The Good:
I think that the price for an active freelancer, at $19 a month, is well worth the price, although you only get the custom url when you move up to the next plan at $29 a month.
Room for Improvement:
I think the price is good, although it would be nice to white-label under any plan, seeing as though they all are being paid for. That’s a peccadillo, though, and can be argued either way.
All in all, I think Bidsketch is a great software, well worth the price of admission. It is time saver and money maker, so you can’t really go wrong.
