What Is 17hats? A Complete Guide for Service-Based Businesses
What Is 17hats?
Running a service-based business means wearing a lot of hats. You're responsible for finding clients, responding to inquiries, sending proposals, creating contracts, scheduling appointments, invoicing, collecting payments, managing projects, and keeping track of your finances.
Many business owners start by using separate tools for each of these tasks. One app stores contacts, another handles scheduling, another creates invoices, and spreadsheets often fill the gaps. While this approach works in the beginning, it can quickly become overwhelming as your business grows.
That's where 17hats comes in.
17hats is an all-in-one business management platform designed specifically for service based businesses. It combines customer relationship management (CRM), workflow automation, project management, scheduling, invoicing, bookkeeping, and client communication into one centralized system.
Instead of spending your day switching between multiple applications, 17hats helps you manage your entire client journey from one dashboard.
What Does 17hats Do?
At its core, 17hats helps you organize your business and automate repetitive administrative tasks.
Rather than replacing the personal relationships you build with your clients, it handles the behind-the-scenes work so you can spend more time doing what you do best.
With 17hats, you can:
- Manage leads and clients
- Track every client interaction
- Create proposals and contracts
- Send questionnaires
- Schedule appointments
- Send invoices
- Accept online payments
- Automate email communication
- Manage projects
- Track business finances
- Generate reports
Everything is connected, creating a seamless workflow from the moment a potential client contacts you until long after the project is complete.
Who Is 17hats Designed For?
17hats was built with service-based businesses in mind.
It works especially well for professionals who manage clients, appointments, and projects, including:
- Professional Speakers
- Consultants
- Coaches
- Photographers
- Home Stagers
- Interior Designers
- Wedding Professionals
- Event Planners
- Marketing Agencies
- Creative Professionals
- Virtual Assistants
- Online Business Managers
- Freelancers
If your business revolves around serving clients rather than selling physical products, 17hats is worth considering.
Key Features of 17hats
Contact Management
Every client has a complete record that includes:
- Contact information
- Phone numbers
- Email addresses
- Notes
- Project history
- Contracts
- Invoices
- Email conversations
Instead of searching through multiple systems, everything is stored in one place.
Sales Pipeline
The pipeline gives you a visual overview of where every client is in your sales process.
You can easily see:
- New inquiries
- Consultations
- Proposals sent
- Contracts signed
- Active projects
- Completed work
This helps you stay organized and ensures opportunities don't get overlooked.
Workflow Automation
Automation is one of the biggest reasons businesses choose 17hats.
Instead of manually repeating the same tasks for every client, workflows automatically guide them through your process.
For example, when someone submits an inquiry, 17hats can automatically:
- Send a welcome email
- Deliver a questionnaire
- Schedule a consultation
- Create a proposal
- Generate a contract
- Send an invoice
- Remind you to follow up
This saves time while creating a consistent client experience.
Proposals, Contracts & Questionnaires
17hats allows you to create professional client documents without using multiple applications.
You can build reusable templates for:
- Proposals
- Contracts
- Questionnaires
- Quotes
These documents can be customized for each client while maintaining a consistent brand experience.
Scheduling
The built-in scheduler allows clients to book appointments based on your availability.
Calendar synchronization helps prevent double bookings while reducing the time spent coordinating appointments.
Client Portal
Every client receives access to their own secure portal.
From one location they can:
- Review proposals
- Sign contracts
- Complete questionnaires
- View invoices
- Make payments
- Access project documents
This creates a professional and organized experience from beginning to end.
Email Integration
17hats connects with your email account, automatically linking conversations to each client record.
Instead of searching your inbox, you can see your communication history directly inside the CRM.
Custom Fields
Every business has different processes.
17hats allows you to customize your CRM using Custom Fields so you can track information unique to your business.
Examples include:
- Referral source
- Property address
- Speaking topic
- Event date
- Consultation type
- Project category
- Inventory location
This flexibility allows the system to work the way your business works.
Built-In Bookkeeping
One feature that sets 17hats apart from many CRMs is its built-in financial management tools.
While many business owners integrate 17hats with QuickBooks, many day-to-day financial tasks can also be managed directly within the platform.
Features include:
- Bank account connection
- Import transactions
- Export transactions
- Track income
- Track expenses
- Assign expenses to client projects
- Record payments
- Track sales tax
- Monitor receivables
Having your client information and financial records connected gives you a better understanding of the profitability of each project.
Business Reports
17hats also provides built-in reporting to help you monitor your business.
Available reports include:
- Profit & Loss
- Sales Tax
- Upcoming Receivables
- Aged Receivables
- Client Sales
- Product & Service Sales
Instead of building spreadsheets manually, you have access to real-time information that helps you make informed business decisions.
Integrations
17hats works well with many of the tools businesses already use.
Popular integrations include:
Google Calendar
Keep appointments synchronized across your calendar.
Zoom
Automatically generate meeting links for virtual consultations.
QuickBooks
Synchronize accounting information if you already use QuickBooks.
Zapier
Connect 17hats with thousands of other applications, including:
- Airtable
- Google Sheets
- Slack
- Mailchimp
- ActiveCampaign
- Dropbox
- Microsoft 365
- And many more
These integrations help eliminate repetitive work and connect your existing technology stack.
Why Business Owners Choose 17hats
Many businesses initially purchase 17hats because they need a CRM.
They continue using it because it becomes the operational hub of their business.
Instead of managing multiple disconnected systems, they can:
- Track clients
- Manage projects
- Automate communication
- Send invoices
- Accept payments
- Organize schedules
- Monitor finances
- Generate reports
All from one platform.
Is 17hats Easy to Use?
Yes—but like any powerful software, getting the most from 17hats requires thoughtful setup.
The platform is designed to be user-friendly, but its real value comes from configuring workflows, templates, custom fields, and automation to match your business processes.
A well-designed implementation can save hours each week by reducing manual work and creating a more consistent client experience.
Is 17hats Right for You?
17hats is an excellent choice if you:
- Run a service-based business
- Manage clients from inquiry to project completion
- Send proposals and contracts
- Schedule appointments
- Invoice clients
- Want to automate repetitive tasks
- Need better organization
- Want one platform instead of several disconnected tools
If you're looking for software that helps you manage both your clients and your business operations, 17hats is one of the most comprehensive solutions available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is 17hats a CRM?
Yes. 17hats includes CRM functionality along with project management, workflow automation, scheduling, invoicing, bookkeeping, and reporting.
Can 17hats replace QuickBooks?
For many small service businesses, 17hats includes enough bookkeeping functionality to manage day-to-day finances. Businesses with more complex accounting needs may choose to integrate it with QuickBooks.
Does 17hats automate emails?
Yes. Workflow automation can automatically send emails, questionnaires, proposals, contracts, invoices, and reminders based on actions your clients take.
Can I customize 17hats?
Absolutely. Custom Fields, workflows, templates, pipelines, and automation allow you to tailor the platform to your unique business processes.
Final Thoughts
17hats is more than a CRM—it's a complete business management platform built for service-based businesses.
Whether you're a consultant, home stager, photographer, speaker, coach, or creative entrepreneur, 17hats can help you centralize your operations, automate repetitive tasks, improve your client experience, and gain better visibility into the health of your business.
The software itself is powerful, but the greatest value comes from implementing it strategically. When your CRM reflects the way your business actually operates, it becomes more than a place to store contacts—it becomes the foundation for sustainable growth.
Ready to Try 17hats?
As a 17hats Ambassador and Business Systems Strategist, I help service-based businesses implement 17hats in a way that supports their unique workflows and client journey.
Start with a 7-day free trial and receive 50% off your first year.
Referral Code: YVA50
Or use my referral link to activate your exclusive discount.
