Freedom byDesignTechnologies Review

As a long-standing partner, ByDesign has been good to support us. We have a good relationship of partnering on new functionality where they evaluate if it is something that is unique to our business or if it is something that can be utilized across their customer base. When they see reusability across their clients, they add it to their internal roadmaps for development.

Pros

Over the 12 years that we have been customers of ByDesign, we have seen many improvements to their base software. They have improved the user interface for both customer service and customers and expanded the offering to better support us as a global business in more than 60 countries around the world. We are able to run commissions weekly and monthly and pay our business partners on time.

Cons

The software was originally designed to take advantage of functionality unique to Internet Explorer. They have been working to make the software completely cross-browser. There are still a few areas in the software that rely on Internet Explorer to function correctly, but it is becoming more cross-browser with each incremental update.

Best Software for Multi-Level Marketing Companies

ByDesign is great. We have had the opportunity to work with several MLM software providers. ByDesign is cutting edge in comparison to the other providers we have used. Their price is one of the best comparatively speaking based on the tools and resources available. Their mobile responsive back office with the Pro upgrade leaves nothing to want Distributors to be 100% successful in monitoring and tracking their downlines success. Customer service is a pleasant experience that always provides quick and professional responses. The bottom line is if you are looking for a cheaper option there are out there, but if you are looking for a software partner that you will never have to switch from then, ByDesign truly is your best option. It's is great for start-ups as well and multi-million dollar industry giants.

Pros

There are several features about ByDesign, and honestly, that is the power behind the software there is so much customization that can be made to my environment without having to do custom programming. Some of the more useful features are the promotions engine for running sales and promotions and auto-shipment. The ease of use the software is excellent; we launched live with them, and within 1-2 weeks, my customer service was pretty confident.

Cons

As of right now, the thing I like least is the shopping cart. It is miles above their competition as many MLM software companies still run on outdated themes that provide a poor user experience. ByDesign has made massive improvements, but it still lacks behind Shopify, Big Commerce, 3D cart, and ext. I know they have additional updates planned, but as it stands, it is a little behind the market.

ByeDesign!! So glad they're gone

I am an independent consultant for a company which recently employed ByDesign to upgrade their e-systems. Some things we did not have at the time (support tickets, link the warehouse inventory to the ordering system) were fun. But after a year and a half of development, they still gave us an incomplete product at go time. We could not even close a party for nearly a month -- alienating our hosts. After a few months of very little improvement, our company went back to its proprietary software. We were ALL glad to say #ByeDesign.

Pros

A few different functionalities we didn't have before.

Cons

It didn't ever work well.

A True Partner in Business

From start to finish, they were great to work with. The sales process was more of an education than a sales pitch. I know our whole team had a better understanding of the Direct Selling industry after just one call. Support has been great and our clients could not be happier.

Pros

I think the best aspect of Freedom is exactly what the name says. It gives you the freedom to customize and make the final product your own. It is adaptable and integrates very well with our products to give our clients a full suite of tools to build their Direct Selling/Party Plan businesses. The ByDesign team is focused on long-term relationships and it shows.

Cons

There was not really much to not like. When a hurdle approached both teams just put their heads together and we figured out a sustainable solution to the issue and moved on.

Freedom has been the perfect fit for our business

Pros

Freedom has been the perfect fit for our business, with so many features out of the box it was an easy process to switch from our old provider to Freedom. The system has been very reliable and allow us to grow the business without spending much time on system maintenance. Some of our favorite features are: 1. Easy to use. The software is designed where you get the most relevant information is a nicely formatted screen and it is easy to drill down for detail information. 2. Plenty of reports. When we need some new piece of information, we usually find a report that will give us exactly what we need. We like the feature where we can export to Excel. 3. Many built in interfaces. It was easy to interface our credit card gateway, shipping, and paying vendors. 4. I use the data warehouse feature. It allows for custom reports and custom applications. 5. Support. It is very nice to know that if we call support a person will answer the phone and help us. Although they have a ticketing system the human touch is very much appreciated. 6. The back office and shopping cart are easy to maintain and easy for the Distributors to use, also easy access from Freedom to the back office. 7. Software releases happen often, and new features are made available to us. 8. There is a lot help documentation and videos on the system. I have found many answers to my questions by watching videos and in the process learning about new features.

Cons

I really don't have any cons about Freedom

Simply the most practical and dependable software for the marketplace.

I am certain that we would not have been able to, and still would not be experiencing insane growth in our industry - if ByDesign didn't do their part so well. No CEO or COO wants to have to babysit, or even think about this provider solution once installed - we want to grow our companies. This company is literally responsible for allowing my home office team and Rep team to perform at their best with 100% confidence that everything provided will be delivered at all times. The Capterra form has hard-coated in that we are an Accounting firm - which is incorrect. We are a direct sales organization with 100+ at HQ and thousands of reps in the field at one company (listed) alone.

Pros

Dependable, affordable, accurate - which is incredibly critical. Very simple to implement, and use on a daily basis. We would not have been able to concentrate on scaling up without it. We have gone from start up to extraordinary growth in just a few years - very blessed - and ByDesign is able to keep up and keep us up and running! BeDesign also stands behind their work. Customer service is incredible and the customization we needed was completed completely 100% as requested. Customer service here - is what it should be with all companies. ByDesign does what they say, and much more. Their solutions work, and more. They are available, and eager to please. The product is up and running 99.9% of the time without any hiccups. I am getting what I pay for and much more. What else can anyone ask?

ByDesign Software Keeps Getting Better and Better!

As an Expert Legal Compliance Consultant (I set up, monitor and run Compliance Departments exclusively for Direct Selling), I have seen the ByDesign software in many companies. When a client tells me they have another software, I cringe knowing the importance of smooth-running software specifically for this industry. The ByDesign software is so functional and easy to use I have seen new employees jump right in with minimal training. Staff loves it!

Pros

The ByDesign Software for Direct Selling is the most advanced software for our industry I have ever had the pleasure of using. The Software provides not only the state-of-the-art genealogy tracking and commissions calculations, but as well, it offers so many marketing features that really give a new company a leg up on their competitors. What I like most about this software is that it works!

Cons

If I was going to make one change to the software it would be that it has more graphics on the back-office dashboard. More and more clients are sharing that they not only want it to work very well, but it has to look awesome too.

Rock Solid Software and Team

It runs our entire business. I never have to worry about commissions, tax calculations, genealogy - it does all the core functions. That part keeps me in business. It's all the other stuff they do that really promotes our growth. ByDesign is always adding more value to our business. Each month they add so many features I never knew I needed until I started using them. Now I don't know how we worked without them.

Pros

Thank you, as always, for your outstanding support! I can honestly say that you are one of the few partners who are always there when we need them and you are just as eager to help now as when we first purchased the software. We really appreciate your support you are just amazing!

Cons

The system is so robust and I want to know everything. The product roadmap is so far ahead of the industry it's giving me great insight into how to plan our growth. It would be great to have a users call or forum to learn how others are using the many features of the system.

Perfect Fit from Beginning to Growth

The Freedom staff have been very helpful in assessing our needs as we grew. Their support team is very patient when working through any issues. When "bugs" appeared, they pretty much were always user error and they were able to explain what the solution was to correct the situation. We have found ByDesign to be the perfect solution for Sweet Minerals as they are willing to listen to our opinions and needs and create the solutions for our growing company.

Pros

It was affordable for us when we reached the size to need backoffice software yet was buildable to our needs today when we could afford to add additional features.

Cons

Other reviewers - We were "warned" that ByDesign would "nickle and dime" us for everything. What we learned was that was not what they were doing. They were allowing us to purchase additional addons as we grew rather than forcing us to purchase all at the beginning when it was impossible for us to get a backoffice for our field at those costs.

Great company to partner with, they treat your business as if it were their own

The software manages a vital piece of our business and we depend on it to function properly.

Pros

It is easy to use, convenient, and accurate. When something is released it works. If for some reason something doesn't work it gets fixed very quickly. The stability and reliability are unmatched in any other software system I have ever used. When customization is requested it is handled in the same way as regular updates and fixes. When it is released it works just as reliably as the rest of the system. These are the main aspects that are required of this software and they definitely deliver.

Cons

Custom work can take longer to get done than many people want. It also can cost more than we expect to spend on some occasions. This drawback is dwarfed by the fact that when released it works.

Very good package

Freedom is a very stable platform that has fantastic customer support behind it.

Pros

The software gives us a lot of flexibility to configure it in many different ways. From the way items are displayed in the shopping cart to running different promotions.

Cons

We are a party plan company, and we feel the party plan module needs a fair amount of updating. It should be an intuitive process and currently it is not.

Smooth Implementation for a Startup and Reliable Core Functionality

Pros

I had two primary software concerns when launching our business. First was that we had a relatively untested concept and did not know how quickly our business might scale, so we needed to select a decently-priced solution that could still handle rapid growth when called upon. ByDesign had a good mix of small and large clients that eased this concern, and was competitively priced with others we evaluated. Second was that we did not have a lot of recent party-plan experience in-house from the past couple years so we needed a solution that had already thought through current industry processes and could deliver all the best practices. They are continually improving the product with additional features and are great at sharing the broader roadmap with us so we have a clear picture on how they view the future of the platform. If you want a solution that is time-tested and that can work with minimal setup out-of-the-box, you should really be talking to ByDesign.

Cons

Item management might be more cumbersome for a company with thousands of distinct inventoried SKUs.

This is where quality and value intersect for an overall exceptional experience!

Pros

I've always been impressed by the ease of use and level of detail. By Design has always provided an exceptional experience for their clients (companies) but they are also extremely sensitive to the experience of the end user (people in the field). They provide a level of transparency and detail that others fail to provide, making it quicker and easier for people to get the information they need to make strategic decisions quickly. Whether you are accessing the data from the corporate side or the field side, the experience is seamless and the data accurate and informative. I also appreciate their desire to always improve upon that experience, never being satisfied with status quo.

Cons

As a Mac-based user, I would like to be able to perform all functions from a browser other than Explorer.

Far exceeded my expectations which were high to begin with!

The integration with our vendors makes our business seamless and as effortless as possible.

Pros

We relied on ByDesign for the design & implementation of our website, back office, comp plan, vendor integration, & even advice for a number of business decisions.    In my opinion, the single most important operational decision a startup mlm company faces is the choice of a software platform. That platform, in essence, is the CPU of the entire enterprise.   Without a doubt, we could not have made a better choice than ByDesign Technologies.   Great businesses are built on partnerships as we must be more than just clients & vendors.   We at Baranta Health are looking forward to many, many years of a wonderful relationship with ByDesign.

Cons

I do not yet have the budget to do custom integrations and as my business grows I am looking forward to adding them to our platform.