When we first reviewed ProsperWorks CRM in early 2017, it had recently changed its name from G Suite CRM because it's married rather closely to Google's productivity environment.
In July 2018, the company changed the product's name again, this time to "Copper." Regardless of the name, the product does a great job of taking the ease of a typical Google application and applying it to a customer relationship management (CRM) app that may be slightly feature-poor compared to some of the competition.
But it definitely gets the job done, especially for small to midsize businesses (SMBs), even going so far as to include lead management capabilities.
Honest, Objective Reviews
Daxdi.com is a leading authority on technology, delivering Labs-based, independent reviews of the latest products and services.
Our expert industry analysis and practical solutions help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.
Also, software in the "Google Recommended" program is fully vetted by Google to meet specific criteria across performance, security, and integration with G Suite.
In this case, the creators of Copper had G Suite integration in mind, and Google also happens to be a customer.
Copper is pretty seamlessly integrated with G Suite, even sharing the same material design—so much so that it's easy to mistake it for an actual Google product.
Like Less Annoying CRM (Free Trial at Less Annoying CRM) and Editors' Choice winner Zoho CRM, Copper prioritizes ease of use and doesn't bother with trendy features that most users don't need.
Pricing and Features
Like many CRM companies, Copper offers a fully featured free trial.
The trial lasts 14 days and doesn't require a credit card to register so there's no worrying about getting a surprise bill at the end.
However, to sign up, you need a Gmail account (either personal or corporate), and you'll need to provide basic contact details such as your company name and phone number.
If you have multiple Gmail accounts, then you'll get a prompt asking you to choose which one you'd like to connect.
Copper has three pricing plans.
The Basic plan allows up to five users at $19 per user per month, billed annually.
That price goes up to $24 per user per month if you choose to get billed monthly.
This plan accommodates up to 30,000 records, five custom fields, and 2 gigabytes (GB) of storage space.
All plans include email support.
The Professional plan costs $49 per user per month, billed annually ($64 per user per month when billed monthly).
It allows up to 100,000 records, 25 custom fields, and 200 GB worth of storage space.
This plan also includes email open tracking, integration with MailChimp ($10.00 at Mail Chimp) , task automation, activity reporting, custom user permissions, and access to the Copper application programming interface (API) in case you need to integrate the software with apps outside of Google G Suite.
Finally, the Business plan costs $119 per user per month, billed annually.
There's no option to pay monthly at this level.
Users of this plan get up to 500,000 records, 100 custom fields, and 500 GB of storage.
In addition to all of the Professional features, it also includes team and employee goals, leaderboards, lead and activity insights, a robust onboarding process, and a dedicated support specialist, and RingCentral (24.99 Per Month at RingCentral) Voice-over-IP (VoIP) integration.
The Business and Professional plans have no user cap.
G Suite Integration
Once your account is in order, you can access Copper right from Gmail or Inbox by Gmail as well as from the browser.
You can also log into Copper from any browser.
In Gmail and Inbox, Copper appears as a sidebar that can be hidden.
The first time you log in, you'll get a bunch of pop-up messages that explain various features available from within Gmail.
As you go through your email inbox, reading new emails and sending replies, Copper will suggest that you add those contacts to the CRM.
Once you do, you'll see a snapshot of the CRM entry in the sidebar.
Copper will even search email signatures to populate an entry and pull in LinkedIn profile information.
Each entry has three tabs: Details, Activity, and Related.
Details are self-explanatory.
Activity shows the number of interactions you've had with a contact and when you last communicated.
Scroll down and you can see the most recent emails, add notes, and log phone calls.
The Related tab shows any opportunities, tasks, events, etc., associated with a contact.
From the sidebar, you can also access a menu to navigate to companies, opportunities, tasks, and tracked emails.
There's also a link to Support and, if you're using the free trial, the number of days you have left.
Helpfully, Copper populates accounts with sample data so you can get a feel for the software.
You can manually add contacts, companies, and other entries from the email sidebar, too.
Copper integrates with Google Calendar; tasks added in Copper show up in a special Reminder section in the Calendar.
It can also connect with Dropbox ($12.50 Per User Per Month at Dropbox Business) and Google Drive.
My only complaint here is with the Email Open tracker.
Copper will alert you when an email you've sent has been viewed if you have the Chrome extension (called "CRM for Gmail") installed.
However, to me, it didn't look much different from a new email alert and I found it rather distracting.
You can turn off web notifications by visiting your Chrome extension settings.
The web app dashboard has a getting Started section with options to connect to Gmail, add suggested contacts, and import your data.
As I said, the Copper user interface (UI) mirror's Google's UI, so the experience within your inbox and in the browser is consistent.
Copper also has mobile apps for Android and iOS.
You can import contacts, companies, and opportunities from other CRMs, such as Base CRM and Salesforce or via spreadsheet and CSV file (up to 3 MB each).
While you can't create a lead capture form for your website in Copper, the software is compatible with Google Forms and similar tools should you prefer them; it also integrates with Zapier to help pull in data from forms and social networks.
The software has many reporting tools to track revenue, sales by person, and missed opportunities, and to set goals for employees.
By using this data, you can create a leaderboard to get an at-a-glance view of the company's successes and roadblocks as well as an easy way to see the performance of each of your employees.
Copper offers custom onboarding that consists of three meetings: setup, customize, train—for a fee.
Larger clients are assigned a dedicated manager.
Email support is also available, with a guaranteed response within 24 hours.
Lead Management
The Gmail UI is mainly about managing contacts while the web app lets you dig into opportunities, the sales pipeline, and lead management.
From the dashboard, you can build custom pipelines and stages that match your company's sales process and workflows.
Lead management is optional and is turned off by default.
Enabling lead management lets users create and nurture leads that hopefully end up as customers.
You can manually add leads or import them, not only in formats such as Microsoft Excel and CSV but from a wide variety of other software, including not just big names such as LinkedIn and Salesforce but also up-and-comers such as Insightly CRM ($29.00 Per Month Per User at Insightly) and Pipedrive.
Lead statuses can also be customized as can the default status for a new lead.
To help, you can create triggers in Copper that automatically create and assign tasks.
For example, you can set up reminders to follow up with inactive contacts or trigger an onboarding task if a lead becomes a customer.
In addition, you can use the Gmail UI to add new contacts to either your People list or your Leads list by using a simple toggle on the sidebar, making it easy to distinguish between the two.
The fact that Copper then immediately auto-populates the lead listing with any company, social networking, or web information that it can scrape makes it easier to hone in on whether this is a lead you want to proceed with.
Besides simply logging calls, Copper lets you create new leads or contacts from new incoming calls, which is another useful tool.
Converted leads (and there is a large "Convert lead" button on the details sidebar for each entry) will automatically move into the sales pipeline, which can be found in Copper's Opportunities section.
(Pipelines cannot contain unqualified leads.) You can also view a progression report here, which offers a general view of how things are going along your pipeline.
Starting with the Professional plan, you can also enable automated actions to, say, trigger a notification to the lead owner that it's time to follow up on an inactive lead.
There are a number of useful reports for lead management, including a lead conversions summary, leads by source, and conversions by source.
Finally, for even more information and automation, Copper integrates with MailChimp and Zapier.
Copper offers a complete set of features that your sales team can use to convert uncertain prospects into longtime customers.
If you already use Google's suite of productivity software, then you'll find Copper easy to learn.
With full email integration, lead management, and workflow automation packaged into a simple UI at a midrange price, Copper is a good choice for a Google-driven business.
For a less expensive solution, consider Apptivo CRM (Visit Site at Apptivo) , one of our Editors' Choice award winners.
If your business isn't a Google one, then Zoho CRM, another Editors' Choice, is also worth a look.
Pros
Full integration with Gmail, Google Calendar, and other G Suite products.
Many features are directly accessible from Gmail or Inbox.
Can pull new leads from email directly into lead management listing.
Can enable automated actions.
View More
The Bottom Line
Recently rebranded, Copper (formerly ProsperWorks CRM) maintains its focus on extreme ease of use for folks needing CRM who have also standardized on Google's productivity environment.
When we first reviewed ProsperWorks CRM in early 2017, it had recently changed its name from G Suite CRM because it's married rather closely to Google's productivity environment.
In July 2018, the company changed the product's name again, this time to "Copper." Regardless of the name, the product does a great job of taking the ease of a typical Google application and applying it to a customer relationship management (CRM) app that may be slightly feature-poor compared to some of the competition.
But it definitely gets the job done, especially for small to midsize businesses (SMBs), even going so far as to include lead management capabilities.
Honest, Objective Reviews
Daxdi.com is a leading authority on technology, delivering Labs-based, independent reviews of the latest products and services.
Our expert industry analysis and practical solutions help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.
Also, software in the "Google Recommended" program is fully vetted by Google to meet specific criteria across performance, security, and integration with G Suite.
In this case, the creators of Copper had G Suite integration in mind, and Google also happens to be a customer.
Copper is pretty seamlessly integrated with G Suite, even sharing the same material design—so much so that it's easy to mistake it for an actual Google product.
Like Less Annoying CRM (Free Trial at Less Annoying CRM) and Editors' Choice winner Zoho CRM, Copper prioritizes ease of use and doesn't bother with trendy features that most users don't need.
Pricing and Features
Like many CRM companies, Copper offers a fully featured free trial.
The trial lasts 14 days and doesn't require a credit card to register so there's no worrying about getting a surprise bill at the end.
However, to sign up, you need a Gmail account (either personal or corporate), and you'll need to provide basic contact details such as your company name and phone number.
If you have multiple Gmail accounts, then you'll get a prompt asking you to choose which one you'd like to connect.
Copper has three pricing plans.
The Basic plan allows up to five users at $19 per user per month, billed annually.
That price goes up to $24 per user per month if you choose to get billed monthly.
This plan accommodates up to 30,000 records, five custom fields, and 2 gigabytes (GB) of storage space.
All plans include email support.
The Professional plan costs $49 per user per month, billed annually ($64 per user per month when billed monthly).
It allows up to 100,000 records, 25 custom fields, and 200 GB worth of storage space.
This plan also includes email open tracking, integration with MailChimp ($10.00 at Mail Chimp) , task automation, activity reporting, custom user permissions, and access to the Copper application programming interface (API) in case you need to integrate the software with apps outside of Google G Suite.
Finally, the Business plan costs $119 per user per month, billed annually.
There's no option to pay monthly at this level.
Users of this plan get up to 500,000 records, 100 custom fields, and 500 GB of storage.
In addition to all of the Professional features, it also includes team and employee goals, leaderboards, lead and activity insights, a robust onboarding process, and a dedicated support specialist, and RingCentral (24.99 Per Month at RingCentral) Voice-over-IP (VoIP) integration.
The Business and Professional plans have no user cap.
G Suite Integration
Once your account is in order, you can access Copper right from Gmail or Inbox by Gmail as well as from the browser.
You can also log into Copper from any browser.
In Gmail and Inbox, Copper appears as a sidebar that can be hidden.
The first time you log in, you'll get a bunch of pop-up messages that explain various features available from within Gmail.
As you go through your email inbox, reading new emails and sending replies, Copper will suggest that you add those contacts to the CRM.
Once you do, you'll see a snapshot of the CRM entry in the sidebar.
Copper will even search email signatures to populate an entry and pull in LinkedIn profile information.
Each entry has three tabs: Details, Activity, and Related.
Details are self-explanatory.
Activity shows the number of interactions you've had with a contact and when you last communicated.
Scroll down and you can see the most recent emails, add notes, and log phone calls.
The Related tab shows any opportunities, tasks, events, etc., associated with a contact.
From the sidebar, you can also access a menu to navigate to companies, opportunities, tasks, and tracked emails.
There's also a link to Support and, if you're using the free trial, the number of days you have left.
Helpfully, Copper populates accounts with sample data so you can get a feel for the software.
You can manually add contacts, companies, and other entries from the email sidebar, too.
Copper integrates with Google Calendar; tasks added in Copper show up in a special Reminder section in the Calendar.
It can also connect with Dropbox ($12.50 Per User Per Month at Dropbox Business) and Google Drive.
My only complaint here is with the Email Open tracker.
Copper will alert you when an email you've sent has been viewed if you have the Chrome extension (called "CRM for Gmail") installed.
However, to me, it didn't look much different from a new email alert and I found it rather distracting.
You can turn off web notifications by visiting your Chrome extension settings.
The web app dashboard has a getting Started section with options to connect to Gmail, add suggested contacts, and import your data.
As I said, the Copper user interface (UI) mirror's Google's UI, so the experience within your inbox and in the browser is consistent.
Copper also has mobile apps for Android and iOS.
You can import contacts, companies, and opportunities from other CRMs, such as Base CRM and Salesforce or via spreadsheet and CSV file (up to 3 MB each).
While you can't create a lead capture form for your website in Copper, the software is compatible with Google Forms and similar tools should you prefer them; it also integrates with Zapier to help pull in data from forms and social networks.
The software has many reporting tools to track revenue, sales by person, and missed opportunities, and to set goals for employees.
By using this data, you can create a leaderboard to get an at-a-glance view of the company's successes and roadblocks as well as an easy way to see the performance of each of your employees.
Copper offers custom onboarding that consists of three meetings: setup, customize, train—for a fee.
Larger clients are assigned a dedicated manager.
Email support is also available, with a guaranteed response within 24 hours.
Lead Management
The Gmail UI is mainly about managing contacts while the web app lets you dig into opportunities, the sales pipeline, and lead management.
From the dashboard, you can build custom pipelines and stages that match your company's sales process and workflows.
Lead management is optional and is turned off by default.
Enabling lead management lets users create and nurture leads that hopefully end up as customers.
You can manually add leads or import them, not only in formats such as Microsoft Excel and CSV but from a wide variety of other software, including not just big names such as LinkedIn and Salesforce but also up-and-comers such as Insightly CRM ($29.00 Per Month Per User at Insightly) and Pipedrive.
Lead statuses can also be customized as can the default status for a new lead.
To help, you can create triggers in Copper that automatically create and assign tasks.
For example, you can set up reminders to follow up with inactive contacts or trigger an onboarding task if a lead becomes a customer.
In addition, you can use the Gmail UI to add new contacts to either your People list or your Leads list by using a simple toggle on the sidebar, making it easy to distinguish between the two.
The fact that Copper then immediately auto-populates the lead listing with any company, social networking, or web information that it can scrape makes it easier to hone in on whether this is a lead you want to proceed with.
Besides simply logging calls, Copper lets you create new leads or contacts from new incoming calls, which is another useful tool.
Converted leads (and there is a large "Convert lead" button on the details sidebar for each entry) will automatically move into the sales pipeline, which can be found in Copper's Opportunities section.
(Pipelines cannot contain unqualified leads.) You can also view a progression report here, which offers a general view of how things are going along your pipeline.
Starting with the Professional plan, you can also enable automated actions to, say, trigger a notification to the lead owner that it's time to follow up on an inactive lead.
There are a number of useful reports for lead management, including a lead conversions summary, leads by source, and conversions by source.
Finally, for even more information and automation, Copper integrates with MailChimp and Zapier.
Copper offers a complete set of features that your sales team can use to convert uncertain prospects into longtime customers.
If you already use Google's suite of productivity software, then you'll find Copper easy to learn.
With full email integration, lead management, and workflow automation packaged into a simple UI at a midrange price, Copper is a good choice for a Google-driven business.
For a less expensive solution, consider Apptivo CRM (Visit Site at Apptivo) , one of our Editors' Choice award winners.
If your business isn't a Google one, then Zoho CRM, another Editors' Choice, is also worth a look.
Pros
Full integration with Gmail, Google Calendar, and other G Suite products.
Many features are directly accessible from Gmail or Inbox.
Can pull new leads from email directly into lead management listing.
Can enable automated actions.
View More
The Bottom Line
Recently rebranded, Copper (formerly ProsperWorks CRM) maintains its focus on extreme ease of use for folks needing CRM who have also standardized on Google's productivity environment.
