On the surface, ConnectWise is a full featured business management suite. It boasts features such as a support ticket system, project management tracking and client billing with integrated time-tracking. The wide-array of features bundled in the ConnectWise software allows the business user to accomplish practically any business management function in multiple ways.
After using many of the features that ConnectWise offers for approximately 6 months in a business environment, the persistent bugs and .NET errors make this application highly unusable. Although there are multiple ways to accomplish any business management function- this adds to the complicated nature of the program. By not streamlining business processes within the application, the end user is left spending countless hours trying to figure out the best way to use the software.
“There is a huge learning curve and it needs far better documentation.” -Doug Renner
Permission based user account controls add additional difficulty to the administration of ConnectWise. Lack of permissions can cause numerous business down-times. Project management capabilities are overly-complicated typically taking the administrative user multiple trial-and-error attempts during the planning phase to implement the project plan.
The layout and appearance of the graphical user interface leaves a lot to be desired. The vertical menu is styled with icons straight out of the 1990′s. It seems that the user-interface designer couldn’t decide if they wanted the menus to span vertical or horizontal thus adding to the confusion. Primary navigation is a vertical menu while secondary navigation is a horizontal spanning menu.
When submitting tickets to the ConnectWise product support department an initial response normally occurred within one or two business days. Resolution of any issues could take up to a week if ever. In one instance better product documentation could have provided an answer but waiting for one week to get a response from the support department in order to explain how to use a feature was unacceptable. In another instance there was no solution for a Windows 7 compatibility issue. The “canned” responses were typical but didn’t provide any resolution.
In conclusion, ConnectWise can probably streamline the majority of business management. However the overly-complicated graphical user interface and lack of documentation drastically diminishes any positive features included in this business management software. Final verdict, pass on this product!
*Update: On 8/17/2010 a ConnectWise employee, posing as a customer, tried to post a comment about their product on this blog. At the time I found it very unethical and didn’t approve the comment. Regardless, here is a screenshot of the comment and link back to their I.P. address.
Any suggestions as a replacement?
It depends on your industry but I would recommend WHM Complete Solution for anything related to web design or hosting. I’ve been using WHMCS for about six months and haven’t regretted it for a second. It has a nice support ticket system too! If you’re looking for project management software I would recommend using Redmine.
I concur with this review of ConnectWise. The product is very cumbersome. There seems to be a lot of duplication of effort within the system. I used the service desk, sales and ordering, scheduling, and timesheet portions of this product. Sales and Ordering alone caused the girl primarily responsible for that area to break down in tears at work. I did have a better experience when it was necessary to contact support. But again I agree with the lack of documentation. It wouldn’t have been necessary to contact support on several occassions if the documentation was better.
Kudos on this article. We’ve been using CW for 9 months and only now feel like the software is working for us.
Honestly if we didn’t use kaseya and sonicwalls I wouldn’t have even looked twice at it.
We’ve been using Connectwise since late 2006 and have finally given up on it and are looking for a replacement.
Thanks for your review of this product. It’s so easy to get sucked into a nice looking website that says it can do everything you need it to, even before you tell it what you need it to do. The thoughts here about cumbersome processes and too-generic / too-rigid rules are exactly what I was looking for.
Thanks again.
Stay away from ConnectWise. What a sham. The Cloud version of their PSA is riddled with Bugs and Errors. Really unusable.
I think after the learning curve, it has helped us recover thousands of dollars of time, and I begrudgingly admit it has gotten better and better. The scheduling and agreement handling alone pay for the software and arnies endless marketing pitches.
Thanks for the review. Although the software has some great benefits, these are overshadowed by difficulty of use and rampant bugs which are ignored. Software developer seems unable to handle simple bug fixes. There has been a display bug w/ certain screen resolutions for over a year. The developer was notified, they still haven’t fixed it. Outlook integration is a joke. If you are considering purchasing this software, keep shopping.
How long did it take before it started getting better?
Any reviews from 2012? I am curious if anything is better or the same as the 2010 and 11 reviews?
It’s hard to tell if they’ve actually improved their product. The ConnectWise website doesn’t give any screenshots although you can register for an ‘Interactive Demo’. A simple Google Image Search displays screenshots that look exactly like the same program I unfortunately had to use in 2009-2010.
On a side note: Back on 8/17/2010 a ConnectWise employee, posing as a customer, tried to post a positive comment about their product on this blog. At the time I found it very unethical and didn’t approve the comment. I’ve updated the post now with a screenshot of the comment and link back to the author’s I.P. address.
Yes…..how long? I am vaguely impressed with this software. Too busy.