What are Ecanvasser users saying about the software?

Don't Campiagn Without it!

Easy to use, if I could not figure out something their tech dept was a real help

Pros

I used this software and used list printed from Republican headquarters WHAT A TIME SAVER this software is. I went door to door for another campaign after losing in the primary. The other campaign did not use Ecanvasser Took me 3-4 times as long to cover the same area as it would have using Eanvasser!

Cons

A bit of a learning curve noth too difficult

E-canvasser has been gold.

My experience with e-canvasser so far has been gold. I haven't had any issues using the software, the apps, or other administrative features. It has been incredibly useful in the field too.

Pros

The software is extremely accessible and easy to use. I really admire the quickness of data syncing from cell phones and tablets.

Cons

I don't have any cons, but would enjoy a phone-banking software included with the canvassing service too.

Key functionalities for campaigns are missing

I only use ECanvasser because of the data modeling that comes with more expensive services like i360, Voter Gravity, etc. However, I know a number of consultants that absolutely hate ECanvasser, too, and just feel stuck with it. I haven't found a suitable replacement yet, but when I do, I'll never use ECanvasser again unless significant changes are made.

Pros

It's web-based, and the the app is fairly useful for canvassers in the field. The thing I like the most is that it sells the service of data storage and manipulation; it does not sell me datasets that are being statistically modeled by people I don't know.

Cons

The thing I absolutely, completely, utterly hate is data appending and voter matching. Nearly every other software I've used allows me to append data to voter records matching through VoterIDs, which are unique identifiers for voters and suitable for purposes of appending. It adds hours to data matching and outputs, especially for GOTV purposes. It's just simply ridiculous that cannot be done. I've asked, and the question has just been blown off. The customer support is also horrible. My database and app functionality went down on a weekend before election day once. It took me two days to hear back from someone because of the "weekend." They're selling political software, but it's more like they could care less about the value that political software provides to political campaigns. They approach customer service like software engineers, and it's horrible.

eCanvasser is an excellent tool for canvassing homes for political campaigns.

The greatest benefit is the ability to assign as many canvassers as we like, without additional licenses. Operationally, our teams have been able to move a lot quicker in canvassing voting districts. We also like the custom fields, allowing us to use this as our primary data source.

Pros

eCanvasser is focused on canvassing homes, instead of trying to be a be all end all of campaign operations. It is fairly easy to use. Hands down, customer service is outstanding. They respond quickly via email, and it is easy to talk to a live person. I like the control I have with the data, and unlimited custom fields I can create. The other big pro is their license model. I can assign as many volunteer canvassers as I want without an additional charge. All other services I found charge a license per user. This gives a budget tight campaign a lot of flexibility in using volunteers.

Cons

The data model needs some maturing. When creating groups, you have to select voters to put in that group. That's no biggy. But if you append the master database, the changes to a voters record do not aggregate to the record you placed within your groups. The Canvass Types are static. I would like to be able to create additional types, and select my own color. Canvassers also have to drill down too much to get to data they need at the door. Their are a few areas where it could be more intuitive. However, these are easily overcome with additional training. Overall, the product is great. We will continue using the product, and ensure our needs are input to developers for future enhancements.

Incredibly useful and easy to use software

I am a huge fan of ecanvasser/walk. It is so easy to choose which house you're at and which person you're speaking with. The questions/surveys are easy to set up on the desktop dashboard and even easier to answer when at the doors on the app. The amount of time you save from not having to enter in data from paper sheets has been a God send. As well, it's very handy that the app updates in real time. So if someone is joining your team while out and about they can see which doors you've hit and which are left to be done. There had been some hickups while using the app and some bugs we've found. But the dev team has been so helpful and responsive it hasn't negatively impacted our work. I highly recommend ecanvasser.

Pros

The the I like most about ecanvasser is its ease of use. It's incredibly intuitive and easy to learn. Both from an admin side, where you're setting things up from the desktop dashboard, and in practice at the doors side where it's super easy to enter accurate data.

Cons

The one thing I don't like about the app is editing contact information for individuals at the doors. When in the android app it's difficult to find at first. Once you do find it, it can be incredibly frustrating to enter into the data. I also dislike that you have to press the confirm/check mark button to save any data you've entered into any field. If you aren't aware of that when you first get started it is very easy to think you're collecting data but layer find out none of it was saved.

A Software that is almost there

Ecanvasser has met most of my campaign needs.

Pros

The maps are good. The ease of access to features is good. Switching between campaigns is easy.

Cons

The clustering of houses into blocks is very frustrating. It seems that when I first started using Ecanvasser over a year ago that each house showed up separately on the map. Now, however, they are bunched together and in a very random order. Sometimes, the first house on the street shows up on the map very far past other houses on the map, because one might be odd and the other even. The biggest problem of all is that sometimes (often), one must enlarge the screen massively in order to uncover "hidden" blocks of houses. If Ecanvasser could undo these problems, which I do not recall from my campaign in fall 2017, I would really like it.

Good for selct usage, may not cover all campaign needs

I used it for a basic field campaign in a situation where VAN wasn't available. It served a limited purpose for sending out canvass teams, but overall there was too much difficulty keeping the data in Ecanvasser in sync with other data coming in from other sources. As things got busier, it ended up being less work to use paper lists and do manual entry into another system than it was to keep the program updated.

Pros

It was a pretty easy initial setup, getting lists loaded and assigning turfs to canvassers. The staff is very responsive as well, I always got quick answers from them whenever I reached out.

Cons

It does the job as a mobile canvassing device, but that's very rarely the only database function occurring on a campaign. It isn't set up for easy desktop list management, manual data entry, custom list exports, etc., and as such is limited in usefulness. It does what it says it will, but at this point can't really be used as a primary database for a full scale campaign. It needs some changes to its desktop functionality, or an easy interface with another program that adds that capacity. Right now it's only useful for one piece, which you can't really connect to everything else in a campaign that relies on an adaptive database.

A good solid program that gets the job done, without the unnecessary flash.

Pros

The software is easy to use after the initial set-up. You get your campaign up and running and you have very little issue getting your canvassers out and hitting the maximum amount of doors.

Cons

It is sometimes difficult to get help if you are not in the same time zone as the ECaanvasser, because they are located in Ireland. What are business hours on the west coast of the United States are not anywhere close to the hours in Ireland.

Great use for canvassing

Full on canavassing software with it easier to use the. Minivan

Pros

The ease to set it up and add the data, the script and my team and get them set up and going in the app is amazing,

Cons

They don't have a service (yet) for their own voter data. Nation builder just did and that would be a great service for them to off themselves and not having to do a third party, a one stop shop

We had issues with usability for our volunteers but the data import function worked nicely.

It was nice the amount of data that we were able to import. I liked how most of my data points were represented in the pre-defined data parameters.

Pros

It was nice the amount of data that we were able to import. I liked how most of my data points were represented in the pre-defined data parameters.

Cons

The usability for non-tech -savvy users was really bad. Most users had a difficult time signing up. They either didn't get the invite email or text or when they did it went to spam. Also, the iOS version of the app had some additional functionality that wasn't readily apparent in the Android version. It was also very frustrating when the houses on the map did not appear in the correct location. This lead to a lot of going over the same territory more than once to find a house. The canvas part of the app didn't work very well on Android but seemed to be a usable feature on iOS. When using the canvass list on an iOS device it seemed to work better and be more accurate vs the Android version. I went as far as to also import the GPS coordinates of the houses to improve the accuracy of the maps but that didn't seem to help. I would have also liked a quicker turnaround on the customer support.

Ecanvasser has been an incredibly useful tool for running campaigns effectively and efficiently.

Pros

Ecanvasser gives you powerful visuals of your voter universe, always ensuring that at any moment, you know exactly how you are doing and how much work you have left to do. Planning campaigns has never been easy because Ecanvasser puts all of the data points you need right at your fingertips.

Cons

I wish there was a better way of keeping campaign information cycle to cycle and some more useful export options. Information from previously completed campaigns can be extremely valuable and could be better incorporated into the software.

We used Ecanvasser in a primary election and runoff election for a county wide judicial position

We were the top candidate in the primary election with 5 candidates with more than 2 votes to every 1 vote of the other 4 candidates.

Pros

I really liked the speed with which the system would convert individual voters to households and plot them on the map. For the most part, once I learned the time differences between Alabama and Ireland, the customer service was wonderful and the entire team was extremely helpful. In managing our door to door campaign with Ecanvasser we were able to lead a field of 5 candidates in the primary with 39% of the vote and the next closest opponent only getting 19%. The runoff election is tomorrow and we are anticipating a convincing victory due in large part to utilizing Ecanvasser.

Cons

The self help features could be more user friendly and there are still a few bugs where I could not get the system to do what I needed it to do. I wanted to be able to export a file of households rather than individual voters and was never able to do that unless they were part of a Group. I sometimes needed that info with different criteria (such as age, precinct #, etc). I was also never able to get the system to use the voter as the default when out canvasing and it always reverted back to anonymous canvassing even though I had checked all the right preference boxes. I simply resolved this issue as best I could with training of the canvassers to be sure to select the voter manually.

Excellent software that did everything we needed while out canvassing neighborhoods.

I made breaking into groups and canvassing neighborhoods simple and easy. We could all see who was where, the progress being made, and what areas we still needed to do. It gave you a sense of accomplishment to see all the gray triangles turning colors.

Pros

It was intuitive and easy to use. It was easy to find out the information about the house being canvassed and it was usually accurate. It was fast when using out in the neighborhoods. It was easy to see where other canvassers were so as not to overlap. It was easy to find who had already been talked to and what areas needed to be done. Zooming out, you can easily see neighborhoods and sections of town that might need more attention. I really liked having the talking points in the app so when someone asked me a question I had an idea of something to say.

Cons

You can't tell how many stars you have given a house after you have saved it in the app. There were several time we made the map 3D by accident but couldn't figure out how to fix it. The blue diamond for inaccessible, not at home, and call back was confusing when using the app. You can't tell if someone needs to go by again because the person was not home or if they want someone to call because they all are the same color.

Voter canvass

Voter canvass

Pros

Generally user friendly and intuitive. Predictive text is good when searching for street names.

Cons

The app crashed occasionally and some data was lost. I would like to see street addresses ordered by number by default and for the app to retain this stetting unless changed. As it stands it's necessary to change this every time. Also the app doesn't work unless the phone location/GPS. is on which is a big drain on the battery

Simple, transparent and easily has more features then the competition

10/10. Buy it. Don’t waste your time scheduling a million hour long demos with the competitors. If they’re not showing you there stuff from the start, you already know theirs an issue.

Pros

So easy, so comprehensive. No frills and very to the point with data management and what you get with your purchase. Customer service is top notch. Data management is incredibly simple. Nothing takes very long.

Cons

It could be simpler to select multiple people’s answers from a shared household. But it still works well.

Troublesome at best

Frustrating

Pros

If it were working properly, I like the fact that it's a paperless option for canvassing.

Cons

The app is slow, crashes (to the point where we've had multiple canvassers give up mid shift), the map shows houses in different areas of the street, often causing people to have to backtrack, you cannot filter results by "notes" so the ONLY way to find notes input is to click on each name one by one (no one has time to do this), there is no way to cut turf and assign it through the app, when you try to print a paper list, there is no way to filter by "uncanvassed" or otherwise, and then the paper list asks for age and job, instead of the important results such as issues, email, requests window sign, volunteer, etc. When asking ecanvasser for help, all they can tell us is it seems to be working fine on their end. We've sent videos of the issues to no avail. We are not software engineers, we are trying to run an effective field program and this app is holding us back to our detriment.

Excellent Product and Support

Pros

This has made it so easy for us to track and get value from our canvassing efforts. It's been easy to train end users on how to use the app, even if they aren't really tech savvy. There have been great strides forward in stability and speed, and the customer service is top notch.

Cons

The interface could be a bit more intuitive, but generally it's easy to use. Getting your data set up exactly as you want it can take a little time, but once you do, it's smooth sailing.

Used this tool for campainging but then made it a business lead devleoper

Pros

I used this product with my local candidate for city council only to then use it for business development. Great way to indentify leads and track interactions! Very versatile

Cons

Still buggy, and needs some love to make it fast and easy to use.

Simple and effective way to track support

Simple. We're using it to identify voter support for our Candidate in our local area. The data is easy to enter right at the source and easy to pull and analyze after.

Pros

Simple and intuitive to learn and use. Data can be entered right at the source without handling the information twice. Even those who aren't very confident with technology find it easy to navigate.

Cons

Some small tech glitches when not on wifi

ECanvasser may be the best I've found, but there's room for improvement

Y'all have a great app. The customer support team (in particular) is excellent. Even all the way here in the States I felt my campaigns got the attention they needed. You should think about integrating phone-banking, would basically conquer the world.

Pros

Ease of use. Simple for anyone to download the app and get going. Many different ways to cut turf (or not) and organize walks.

Cons

Billing is difficult. As a consultant, I wish I could charge multiple accounts on multiple different cards, rather than having to set different owners for every account. Additionally, there are some kinks that need to be worked out regarding canvasses at the household or individual level. Regardless of where the data goes, it shouldn't affect functionality of the backend as much as it does.

Great for Campaigns

I have had great experience with Ecanvasser so far.

Pros

The ease of use on the back end of thee software is amazing! I have used Ecanvasser on a few campaigns now and the data manipulation is fantastic.

Cons

The biggest problem I have is with the groups and maps. Neither works together well. I would like to see when I put a group together and click on the map that it only shows that group and not everything assigned to me or another canvasser.

Mid size town, local office political candidate.

Pros

The technical ability of the software and the App are very broad. For my own personal campaign, it gives me a good tracking tool that helps keep my campaign moving. The map function is great.

Cons

As a small town candidate with out a campaign manager and using the software, I don't have the time and expertise to really take advantage of the full functionality. Using the app is pretty energy intensive while I'm out, it will kill my battery in about 4 hours. A few tweaks to the information I'd like to have as I approach someone's door would be helpful. I just don't know how to do it. Possibly a little quicker navigation to that info would be helpful when canvassing.

Ecanvasser is Great

Customer service has been amazing as well as the learning center.

Pros

The ease of use for my team is unlike any other software that we have used in the past. Adding and matching voters and addresses is also very easy.

Cons

Certain signup process aspects are frustrating but once you get the hang of it becomse less noticeable.

An excellent product

Pros

I liked the ability to doorknock and know what doors I have been to. The ability to customize the fields for questions and surveys was also an awesome tool during the 2019 provincial election.

Cons

I wish that I could play around more with the statistics.

More Work Needed

I enjoyed learning something new but the interface needs a lot of work to make key use cases simpler and more intuitive--both for canvassers and administrators.

Pros

The concept is great and the fact that it eliminates the post-canvass data entry bottleneck is hugely valuable because canvassers can stay out as long as they want--or canvass over a number of days--without worrying about getting the data back to a data entry person on time.

Cons

Assigning new canvassers to a canvass was time consuming and painful. I spent the first half hour of most of our canvassing sessions getting people to respond to the email, download the app, and assigning them to a canvass. While the version canvassers use on their phones is relatively simply to use, there are some annoying glitches. For example, there's no way to record whether a person has moved--or to take the name of the person now living at the address. Meanwhile, using the web version was painful. The process of cutting turfs isn't very intuitive. There's also no way to know how many doors are in the turf until you cut it and save it. If there are too many, you can delete it and try again--but there's no way to modify it otherwise. It would also be good to have a fast way to process people via the web version who unexpectedly show up to canvass. Something else that could be clearer is the process for printing out paper turfs. Many older canvassers preferred to record their data on paper--and then enter them into their phones afterwards. But trying to dope out how to do this was maddening. The printouts also lacked relevant data points, forcing people to take handwritten notes.