// The situation

I'm looking for a, some sort of system to organize my business. We're in lighting. So we have an online system where quotes are collected so it's collected via our website, we have a parent company who also has website quotes for us as well. So it's a lot of emails, and then we have a quoting process that currently is being done on paper. All of our clients all of our documents everything is tracked on paper. So we're looking for an online system to kind of condense that all so that it's also accessible for all three owners, because right now it's like passing papers and texting and we just kind of all want it in one spot, but we want it to be able to sync with our accounting QuickBooks. Do quotes send out quotes, collect our website leads or whatever kind of have a pipeline organized thing that's easy to see maybe like a dashboard to just kind of have all our stuff in one spot. And our quotes need to have pictures attached to them

The verdict · Oct 3, 2026

Yes.

You need a simple CRM — but the right one depends on whether you install lighting or just sell it.

What's really going on

You have three lead sources (your site, the parent's site, walk-ins), three owners who need the same view, and a quoting step that lives on paper. That's not a CRM problem yet — it's a "one shared inbox and a shared pipeline" problem. The real risk isn't losing a quote; it's two owners quoting the same client at different prices, or a deposit chased twice. Photos on quotes and QuickBooks sync narrow the field fast.

What to do instead

  1. HubSpot Free CRM (free, unlimited users) — one shared pipeline all three owners see, with a native QuickBooks Online integration that works on the free plan. Best if you're a showroom/supplier.
  2. Jobber Core/Connect (~US$49–$139/mo, billed in USD even in Canada) — US$49 to US$499 a month in 2026, billed in US dollars, plus US$29 per extra user, with photo-on-quote built in and QuickBooks sync on the Connect plan. Best if you install, not just sell.
  3. Today, 30 minutes: forward both website quote inboxes (yours and the parent's) into one shared Gmail label called "Quotes – New." Stop printing. One owner, one browser tab, right now.

What you're being oversold

Any rep pitching Salesforce or HubSpot's paid Sales Hub to a three-owner lighting shop is selling a highway for a driveway — the catalog flags Salesforce as over-built for teams under ten, and Sales Hub escalates fast once you're hooked on the free tier. Pipedrive is fine but has a SyncQ QuickBooks add-on at about US$59/month for 3 users on top of seats, so your "simple CRM" quietly becomes US$100+/mo. The real cost of waiting isn't a lost sale — it's the first time two owners quote the same client different prices and one of you eats the gap.

When to revisit this

When you cross roughly 40 quotes a month, or when a fourth person (bookkeeper, designer, installer) needs in.

The part worth getting right

One question decides everything: do you install the lighting, or do you just supply it?

If you install — Jobber is built for exactly your workflow: photo quotes, deposits, scheduling, QuickBooks sync, made in Edmonton. HubSpot will frustrate you within a month.

If you only supply and design — Jobber's scheduling and crew features are weight you'll never lift, and HubSpot Free plus QuickBooks Online estimates (which take photo attachments natively) is the cheaper, cleaner answer.

Pick wrong and you'll migrate in a year, re-enter every client, and lose the quote history along the way.

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