Ask.
When a name could mean two people, Zyflow sends your AI the candidates and what tells them apart, and your AI asks you which one you mean.
For consultants
A CRM for consultants, kept up to date by the AI you already use
After a client call, tell Claude or ChatGPT2 what happened. Zyflow files it on the right client. Before the next meeting, one question brings back where things stand.
A CRM for consultants keeps each client’s history, next step and money owed in one place. Zyflow is a lightweight small-business CRM your AI app keeps up to date (Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT Business, any MCP app). Every AI change is labeled. Zyflow works with any AI app that supports MCP, the standard way AI apps connect to tools.
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Why do consultants stop updating their CRM?
Because the updating comes after the call, in forms, while the next call is already starting. Independent consultants describe spending 20 minutes updating three tools after every call. That’s CRM homework, and it’s why a CRM for independent consultants so often turns back into a spreadsheet you mean to update on Friday.
So you tell Claude or ChatGPT instead, and run into AI amnesia. Your AI forgets between chats, keeps its memory inside one app and reminds you of nothing the next day.
With Zyflow you keep talking to your AI, and what it saves goes into a record that lasts. Every AI app you connect can read it.
Say it once: the call, the facts and the follow-up, filed on the right client
Tell your AI what happened in a sentence or two, the way you’d brief a colleague after the call. Your AI logs the call on the client you already have, sets the follow-up and saves anything worth keeping as a fact. Then it reads the follow-up date back so you can check it.
Try saying:
- Had a call with Maya at Northwind. She wants the revised quote by Friday, and she prefers a fixed fee.
What lands in Zyflow:
- The call, on the Maya Chen record you already have at Northwind.
- A follow-up to send the revised quote, due Fri, 9 Oct.
- A fact, “prefers a fixed fee,” that every AI app you connect can read.
- A label on each change, such as “Claude logged a call with Maya Chen,” with an Undo.1
If you work with two Mayas, your AI asks which one you mean. On Friday morning, that client follow-up shows on Today with everything else that’s due.
Zyflow doesn’t read your inbox, calendar, calls or WhatsApp. Tell your AI, or paste the thread, and your AI files it after showing you what it found.
Prepare for a client meeting with one question
Ask your AI “What do we know about Northwind?” and Zyflow returns one brief: the client’s details, saved facts and preferences, open deals, follow-ups, money owed (marked overdue when it’s late), recent activity, linked files and a link to open the record. Your AI turns it into a summary you can read before you join the call.
In AI apps that support MCP prompts (ready-made requests, often shown as slash commands), the “Prepare for a meeting” prompt asks your AI for the last 3 interactions, anything personal worth mentioning and 3 talking points. Your AI writes the talking points from the record Zyflow keeps.
Every connected app gets the same brief, because they all read one record in Zyflow. Tell Claude a fact today, and Cursor or Claude Code can read it tomorrow.
Zyflow doesn’t decide what to remember. You or your AI do.
From agreed scope to quote to invoice, with Zyflow doing the math
Write your proposal however you like. Once the scope is agreed, tell your AI to quote it. Zyflow numbers the quote, works out the tax and totals, renders the PDF and files it on the client’s record. Your AI gets a link to the PDF that works for 7 days.
Try saying:
- Quote Northwind for 3 workshop days at $1,200 a day, plus 10% tax.
That becomes QT-0003: $3,600 plus $360 tax, $3,960 in all. When Maya says yes, tell your AI:
- Northwind accepted QT-0003. Turn it into an invoice.
Zyflow makes the invoice from the quote, with the same lines, currency and reference, and marks the quote accepted. Zyflow is a CRM with invoicing, so the quote, the invoice and the client’s history sit on one record and you don’t retype the scope into a separate tool. Hourly lines and other currencies work too. The heading follows your country: Quote in the US and Canada, Quotation elsewhere.
Unit prices come from what you or your AI enter; there’s no price list. Zyflow sends nothing to your customers; your AI drafts and you press send. Each line takes one tax rate, and prices are entered before tax. There’s no e-signature, recurring invoicing or time tracking.
Who owes you, and when they promised to pay
Tell your AI “Northwind owes $4,800 and will pay by the 15th.” Zyflow records the balance and the promise date and sets one collection reminder for Northwind. Your AI reads the date back as Thu, 15 Oct, so you can check it. When you or your AI record the payment, the reminder closes itself.
Unpaid invoices count toward the total you’re owed, and payments to chase come up in the morning list and the 8am email. Zyflow reminds you, never your client.
Zyflow records payments; it doesn’t collect them. There are no card payment links. A reminder needs a promise date, and each client has one running balance in your business’s currency.
A CRM for fractional executives: one workspace per client business
If you manage a client’s own customers or pipeline as their fractional executive, give that business its own workspace. A workspace is one business, with its own plan, currency, time zone, AI connections and data. Your own practice stays one workspace, with your clients as companies in it.
One login can own up to 10 workspaces, and a menu in the web app switches between them. When an AI app connects, you sign in and approve one workspace, and the connection reaches only that workspace. A connection you approve for Kestrel’s workspace can’t see your own practice’s clients.
Ownership can pass to the client, with you staying on as admin and History showing who changed what. Handing over needs you both in the workspace, and Free is for one person, so it needs a paid plan.
People you invite to a client’s workspace count toward that workspace’s plan. Every member, and every member’s AI, can see and edit every customer. There are no per-person permissions yet.
Tell every AI app how you work, once
Notes for your AI are standing instructions you write once in Zyflow. Each AI app receives them when it connects, labeled as the owner’s instructions, so Claude and Cursor get the same house rules. For example:
- We quote before tax.
- Fixed fee unless the client asks for a day rate.
Only owners and admins can edit them. About 1,500 characters reach each app; whether a model follows them depends on the model.
Let your AI write. Keep the final say.
Four guardrails sit on every AI write: Ask. Match. Label. Undo.
Match.
Saves land on the record you already have, not a new copy. Similar names are flagged, never merged automatically.
Label.
Every change carries the name of the app that made it: “Added by Claude via MCP”.
Undo.
Each thing your AI does is one change, and one click undoes it, even 40 contacts edited at once.1
Your AI will get things wrong sometimes. Plan for that.
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Free plan. No card.
Best CRM for consultants: who each option suits
The best CRM for consultants depends on how many people share it and whether you already do your work in an AI app. HubSpot Free is a fair deal for 2 people who want marketing tools and email sync. Attio Free covers up to 3 people. Zyflow suits consultants who already work in Claude or ChatGPT2 every day and want quotes, invoices and money owed on the same client record.
| Option | Free plan | Entry paid plan, annual billing | How its own AI is charged | Claude and ChatGPT access | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HubSpot | 2 users, 1,000 contacts | Starter from $7 a seat a month for new customers ($20 billed monthly); Sales Pro $90 a seat plus a $1,500 onboarding fee | HubSpot Credits: 500, 3,000 or 5,000 a month by tier, then $0.01 each, no rollover | Read-write MCP on all accounts, including Free (since Apr 13, 2026) | 2 people who want marketing tools and email sync, free |
| Attio | Up to 3 seats, 50,000 records | Plus $35 a seat a month ($44 monthly) | Seat and workspace credits | MCP on every plan, including Free | Up to 3 people, free; funded B2B sales teams |
| Pipedrive | None (14-day trial) | Lite $14 a seat a month | Nova AI included on Lite | Native MCP on all plans (since Jun 30, 2026) | Consultants who run a visual sales pipeline |
| folk CRM | None (account blocked after the 14-day trial) | Standard $24 a seat a month ($30 monthly) | Message caps | MCP reads and writes contacts, notes, fields and deals | Small sales and partnership teams |
| Zyflow | 1 person, 5,000 records, no time limit | Solo $120 a year ($10 a month) for up to 3 people | Runs no AI. Your AI’s calls are never billed | Claude on any plan; ChatGPT writes on Business, Enterprise or Edu;2 Cursor and any MCP app | Consultants who work in Claude or ChatGPT daily and want quotes, invoices and money owed on one record |
Prices in US$. Zoho CRM is also free, for up to 3 users and 5,000 records. Zyflow Free is for one person.
What you plus two helpers pay a month, on annual billing: Attio $0 (Free) · Zoho CRM $0 (Free) · HubSpot Starter $21 (new-customer price) · Pipedrive Lite $42 · folk CRM Standard $72 · Zyflow Solo $10.
Choose Zyflow if you want every AI change labeled with an Undo,1 quotes, invoices and money owed on the client record, and one price for the whole team when an assistant or associate joins. Choose HubSpot Free, Attio Free or Zoho CRM Free if free seats for 2 or 3 people matter most.
We check every competitor fact against the vendor’s own page and date it. Where a competitor does something better, we say so. Spot an error? Tell us, and we’ll fix it.
Which Zyflow plan fits a consulting practice?
If you work alone, start on Free. Solo covers you and up to two others, such as an assistant and a bookkeeper. If you’re picking a CRM for a small consulting business with associates, Team covers up to 10 people. Every feature we offer today is on every plan.
Free for one person. Solo covers up to 3 people for $12 a month ($10 billed yearly), Team up to 10 for $30 ($25 billed yearly) and Pro up to 30 for $90 ($75 billed yearly). One price for the whole team, and your AI’s calls are never billed.
Not a fit if...
Zyflow isn’t a fit yet if you need email or calendar sync, card payment collection, SSO or two-factor sign-in, a home for regulated data such as patient records, or more than 30 people. It also isn’t built for time tracking, retainer or recurring invoices, e-signature or a client portal.
Questions consultants ask
Do independent consultants need a CRM?
Yes, once you have more live clients than you can keep in your head. In the public threads we read, owners put that point at about 30 to 40 contacts, or more than 2 people touching the client data.
Is there a free CRM for consultants?
Yes. Zyflow Free is for one person, with no card and no time limit. It includes invoices, quotes, files, memory and 5,000 contacts, companies and deals. HubSpot Free covers 2 users and Attio Free up to 3 seats (checked Oct 2, 2026).
Can’t I just use Claude or ChatGPT as my CRM?
Not on its own. Chat memory stays in one app or project, nothing reminds you tomorrow and nothing can be reviewed or undone. Zyflow gives your AI a record that lasts, and every AI app you connect reads the same one. Our guide shows how to use Claude as a CRM.
Which AI plan do I need? Does it work with ChatGPT Plus?
Claude works on every plan; Claude Free allows one custom connector. Writing to Zyflow from ChatGPT needs developer mode on Business, Enterprise or Edu.2 On ChatGPT Plus, connect Claude instead.
Does Zyflow read my email or calendar?
No. Zyflow doesn’t read your inbox, calendar, calls or WhatsApp. Tell your AI, or paste the thread, and your AI files it after showing you what it found. If your AI app has its own Gmail connector, it can read a thread and log it to Zyflow.
What if my AI files something on the wrong client?
One click undoes it.1 Every change is labeled with the app that made it, so a wrong one is easy to spot. To make it rarer, your AI is told to ask you when a name could mean two people. Zyflow doesn’t fact-check what you or your AI say.
Is my client data safe, and is it used to train AI?
Zyflow runs no AI model and doesn’t train one on your data. Zyflow receives only what your AI app sends in its tool calls, not the rest of your chat. What your AI app does with what it reads is covered by your AI provider’s terms. Each AI connection reaches one workspace, and you can disconnect it any time. Zyflow doesn’t hold security certifications such as SOC 2 or ISO 27001 today, and doesn’t offer two-factor sign-in or SSO yet. You’re not alone in asking: half of small-business owners named data security as their single biggest hesitation about AI (Anthropic, May 2026, vendor survey).
Can I bill clients in their currency or by the hour?
Yes. Each quote or invoice can use any currency, and “12 hrs at $150” sets the quantity and the unit. There’s no currency conversion, the money-owed totals count only your business’s currency, and Zyflow doesn’t track time.
What happens when I’m not talking to my AI?
Zyflow keeps the list. Each morning, Today in the web app ranks who to call and who owes you. Reminders show on Today, in your AI and in the 8am email. Nothing is pushed to your phone.
I set up AI for clients. Can each client have their own workspace?
Yes. Make one workspace per client (one login can own up to 10) and connect their AI apps to it. On a paid plan, the client can take ownership while you stay on as admin, and they can export their records any time.
- 1 Undo works within your plan’s history window: 30 days on Free, up to 3 years on paid plans. Deleted items can be restored for 30 days on every plan. Settings changes, such as pipelines, custom fields and tag renames, are logged but can’t be undone.
- 2 Writing to Zyflow from ChatGPT needs developer mode on a ChatGPT Business, Enterprise or Edu plan. It’s in beta, on the web, and an admin switches it on. Claude works on every plan. Checked October 2026. ↩
- 3 Competitor prices are list prices in US dollars, per month on annual billing, from each vendor’s own pricing page, checked Oct 2, 2026. Prices and plans change often.
Last updated Oct 3, 2026
Your AI talks. Zyflow remembers.
Tell your AI what happened. Zyflow keeps the record.
If your AI gets something wrong, undo it.1 If Zyflow isn’t for you, export your records, documents and history.
Start free
Free plan. No card. Connect your AI in about two minutes.