ConnectWise PSA Reviews

Pros

Mobile iPhone app is A W E S O M E !!!
Your clients can use the customer portal
Constant Updates
Feature request bidding system.
24 hour support
online training videos
Application blueprints, telling you which modules interact with other modules.
Handles complicated and compounded agreements. If you can sell it, ConnectWise can do it.
QuickBooks integration is seamless. if you create a product in ConnectWise it will automatically create the product in QuickBooks when it syncs.
Mark invoices as paid in QuickBooks and sync to ConnectWise.
They are the biggest, so they integrate with everybody.
Go to a big IT conference and ask how many people use ConnectWise. The majority can't be wrong.

Cons

It can be overwhelming for small companies
The north american cloud can be slow sometimes, they know about it, they are rewriting the program so it operates faster but it's a big project. so they release bits and pieces at a time (weekly)
If it isn't in ConnectWise it didn't happen, yeah it adds a bunch of work to your day. Junk in junk out.
Each user needs their own account.
don't buy the on-premise edition, you won't be able to keep up with the updates.
They update so frequently I have to update my QuoteWerks frequently,

Pros

Comprehensive and easy to use once it is configured.

Cons

While it is extremely powerful it does take a fair amount of time to set up and configure.

Alternatives Considered

Syncro and NinjaOne

Reasons for Choosing ConnectWise PSA

Autotask is good but didnt have the tools and automation we needed to take us to the next level.

Switched From

Autotask PSA

Pros

- The ability to easily create recurring service tickets

Cons

-Workflows run on a 10-minute timer rather than constantly-Ticket templates can only be applied after creating tickets-Opportunity templates don’t exist-No way to standardize note creation that impact status and email CC-No way to standardize time entry creation using templates that impact status and email CC-Client’s e-mail address does not appear on opportunities-No way to add in-line pictures to opportunities. Only downloadable attachments-No way to add multiple resources to an opportunity’s activities-No standard approval function for approve and post process-No notify resource option for individual notes-No way to edit schedule entry descriptions-No way to add multiple tickets to a service call-No way to bookmark or favorite a client-No way to edit items added by exchange-No way to view a 5-day work week on the calendar-No way to add opportunity pods-Ticket automation regarding changing boards doesn’t allow for simply changing boards and keeping other settings on the ticket, such as status and work type-Services and products do not group under one invoice without creating an additonal invoice-To give a discount you must create a line item specifically for this.-Default billable rates changes when board changes-Can’t add more teams to the Dispatch Calendar list. (known issue)-Agreements and time/tickets can’t be invoiced together-No support for browser based predictive textNo characters for the additional 40 items on my list.

Alternatives Considered

Syncro

Reasons for Choosing ConnectWise PSA

Hoping for better integrations and a single pane of glass.

Switched From

Autotask PSA

Reasons for Switching to ConnectWise PSA

The sales people spoke of the great integrations between their products and how we would be using a single pane of glass rather than a bunch of different programs.

Pros

I love how much you can do in this software. I feel like everything you need is in connectwise manage and its a great way to keep an MSP's cost down by adding this to complete everything you need from sales to tickets to project portals.

Cons

The support can be a bit off most of the time its guesswork. Which is done by the IT person usually first but the chat option can be tiresome sometimes.

Pros

It's super customizable, with a very extensible API and integration capabilities, allowing us to centralize so many of our systems and daily tasks into one platform.

Cons

Initial customization and training of staff has taken some time, but and some staff still have issues with managing Internal vs. External communications.

Alternatives Considered

Zendesk Suite

Reasons for Choosing ConnectWise PSA

Our previous solution had become slower and much less responsive as it didn't scale well with the growth of the company.

Reasons for Switching to ConnectWise PSA

Customization and self-managed solution that can easily scale with our expected future growth.

Pros

I think the ability to have tools under one roof helps to establish the integrations and work processes. The consultation is definitely a must and and helped to aid us throught the transition.

Cons

The UI design is not great. It needs working on. They bought a lot of products and everything is always in development. I can see the potential, but it's a waiting game.

Pros

As an integrated PSA / Billing System / Ticketing System it functions great. In comparison to the other products in it's space it's light years beyond in functionality and usage.

Cons

ConnectWise support and account management leaves a lot to be desired, though there recently have been noticeable improvements and if they continue on this path they'll be a world class company once again. Manage really lacks at: CRM/Sales and a few other items. Dashboards require a third party add-on. It's base functionality is decent but everything else is a pay for me option.

Pros

The scope of features and works it covers. As an MSP it supports us quite well

Cons

The CRM function and lack of proper Marketing capabilities

Pros

Integration with different software is easy part. Creation of dashboard configuration is easy. Can create multiple workflows.

Cons

Biggest con is there Help Desk Support system. They does not provide support on Time.

Pros

Setup was straightforward, CW has a great implementation team that works with your schedule and dives into the areas important to your business.

Cons

Integration with other customers' ticketing system is not available natively and requires costly 3rd party tools.

Pros

There is a learning curve, mainly due to how much the software can do. That does mean it can be a little complex at times, but at the same time makes it extremely powerful and flexible to fit our needs. We are able to manage tickets across our client base, including project tickets. We can create and edit configurations and attach them to the tickets (example: a server or printer), and then go back and track down ongoing/consistent issues with specific pieces of hardware or software easily. Outlook calendar integration is nice (when it works as expected). We can send out mass email communications to our client base on demand. We utilize this software in so many ways, it can be daunting to a newcomer.

Cons

There is a more recent track record of updates breaking crucial things, such as Outlook calendar integration. Our on-prem instance (not cloud) of CW Manage ceased to function some months ago due to an Amazon Web Services outage, which should not have been an issue with an on-prem server instance. Level 1 support can be laughably bad at times. The company seems to be making a serious effort to improve on these things, but they still appear to have a ways to go until they are at that point of having a consistent and stable product (especially when updates are involved).

Pros

At the end of the day CW manage does what we need it to do. It's strong suits are ticketing, configuration tracking, and large of integrations. CW is one of the largest PSAs out there in the MSP world and they are stil here for a reason. Tight integration with their RMM automate is a big plus as well.

Cons

To me being a long time user I woudl like to see greater progress with updates and improving the user interface. CW from 10 years ago doesn't look much different than CW of today. While features trump usability at some point it starts to weigh you down. Especially when comparing to other platforms that seem to be up to speed with the modern age.

Alternatives Considered

Autotask PSA

Pros

Clearly this software was developed by people who do what we do. It actually demands you follow best practices in regards to workflow management around the tech services business. Also it can become the single pane of glass that everyone talks about.

Cons

The reporting function could be much better. There are some standard reports, and there is a report writer option, but it is not easy to get the report you want unless it happens to be one of the few canned ones. Was always surprised that the reporting is so weak compared to the rest of the funtions of the product that are so strong.

Pros

We use Connectwise Manage to run all of the aspect of our daily operations. Its ticket and issue management functionalities work very well for an IT service and support organization and they have thought of many of the challenges that we encounter every day

Cons

Reporting from ConnectWise can be challenging. The canned reported often lack some piece of information that we would like and they are not formatted properly to download and manipulate in Excel. We complement this using custom data sets in BrightGauge and create reports and download from there but it is time consuming and resource intensive to create these with the limited knowledge of the database that we have.

Pros

It is a decent CRM, but working with their customer support is a nightmare.

Cons

If you have a billing question or issue, nobody there takes responsibility for it.

Pros

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. The work-station installation is pretty easy and only requires .NET and Internet Explorer running in a Windows environment.

Cons

Persistent bugs and .NET errors make ConnectWise highly unusable. By not streamlining application features the end user is left spending countless hours trying to figure out the best way to use the software.

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.

Tickets submitted to the ConnectWise product support department gained an initial response within one or two business days. Resolution could take up to a week. In one instance better product documentation could have provided an answer but waiting for one week to get a response from the support department 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.

Pros

I like how ConnectWise integrates other systems and applications to help keep lots of things in less windows. Between RMM and the ticketing system, we use ConnectWise daily and some use it all day long.

Cons

Sometimes the features don’t work as well as we’d like it to or we wish there could be more features to make our job easier, but sometimes you have to stick with what works well and wait for the devs to work out the kinks before it’s released.

Pros

It changed my business. Thanks to the organization the software provided, I was able to build the business to the point at which we sold 5 years ago and I'm now working at another small business which is building up its Managed Services practice.

Cons

The lack of feature enhancements the last few years is noted. Since the sale of CW to Toma Bravo I don't believe the software has been moving forward by any other means other than acquisition in a meaningful way.

Pros

CWM meets our needs in so many ways. It's designed to be used by businesses like ours and meets nearly all our requirements without needing to be heavy upfront development to become functional.

Cons

There are limitations and customizations you'll wish for that it just cannot accommodate. There is a "right" way to use it that most companies will not likely align with 100%.

Pros

Feature Set
Integration/API’s
Strong community support

Cons

Inconsistent Support
No phone support
Bugs

Alternatives Considered

Autotask PSA

Reasons for Switching to ConnectWise PSA

Reputation

Pros

Pretty much the defact IT PSA. Allows inventory and integration into various 3rd party utilities to provide a central location for storing all your documentation and configuration information.

Built in invoicing, billing and sales functionality makes this a fully integrated piece of software.

Cons

Because of the amount of data stored in the database finding specific pieces are very difficult if you dont know exactly what you are looking for, searching for something can be extremely difficult (which is why third party software vendors have come up with their solutions that ties into this product that make this easier)

Pros

Tons of features, regular updates, and improvements multiple times per year.

Cons

Performance is horrible
Support is poor
Used car like sales experience
There are arbitrary limitations to what can be done through the interface and API. The data is there but you cannot automate or take action on it without manual intervention.
Requires third party software to get meaningful performance metrics

Pros

CW Manage inmediately catches you with the various tasks you can perform and how you can configure it, from entering it in the sales area, marketing, support services, project, management, among others.

Cons

Each update delays its entry but its service is sustainable, but for some it turns out to be a complex system that ends up abandonning it to be able to work in which you must have experience.

Pros

After customizing fields, statuses and boards, this CRM is very easy to navigate. Adjusting the view to whichever I prefer is great too!

Cons

I don't care for the difficult process in which to make a company inactive, or remove a user. Also, changing old templates and status boards. It would be ideal to be able to edit them, rather than having to create new ones. It is a hassle having to update old tickets with the new status or board. It would be great to be able to remove a resource from a ticket using the Actions tab on the service board list.

Pros

ConnectWise Manage is by far my favorite IT ticking software out there currently. It has helped provide much higher levels of accountability within the IT department and it constantly receiving great new features.

Cons

The implementation period takes a long time but it is very understandable once you get into it as they have a lot more to offer compared to other helpdesk systems.