What features should a contractor CRM actually have?

A contractor CRM shouldn't simply be a database of customers. For a small trade business, the most useful features are the ones that help move someone from lead, to quote, to follow-up, to job, to review.

The ten features worth paying attention to

1. Lead tracking. Every lead should have a clear place in your pipeline.
2. Quote tracking. You should see every open estimate and its value.
3. Follow-up reminders. The system should tell you who needs attention today.
4. Automated follow-up. For repetitive follow-up, automation prevents good leads from going cold.
5. AI message generation. AI can draft messages so contractors don't have to become copywriters.
6. Review requests. A completed job shouldn't be the end of the customer relationship.
7. Mobile access. Contractors work on job sites, not in offices.
8. Simple pricing. Small businesses shouldn't need to decode five pricing tiers.
9. Import and export. You should be able to bring existing leads in and take your data out.
10. Revenue visibility. The CRM should answer: how much work is currently sitting in my pipeline?

What isn't necessarily important?

You probably don't need 300 custom fields, enterprise permissions, six dashboards, complicated workflow builders, months of onboarding, or features designed for a 500-person sales department.

For many small contractors, simplicity is a feature. A CRM you actually update every day beats a powerful one you abandon in week three.

Where FollowUpDesk fits

FollowUpDesk focuses specifically on lead tracking, quotes, follow-up, reviews and mobile access, rather than trying to become a full field-service management platform. It's $29/month with unlimited leads and no per-user pricing.