BrightSide Software has launched its beta version of Clienteq, described by company officials as a client service tool for professional services firms.

 

Clienteq is a Web-based, software-as-a-service (SaaS (News - Alert)) client service tool for professional services organizations, pitched mostly to consulting, legal, accounting, advertising, and research firms.

 

It's an open-to-clients collaborative environment enabling automation of typical client service workflows, such as status reports, meeting minutes, feedback/approval tracking and timesheets. It's designed to help professional services firms offer a more reliable and transparent service, spending less effort on daily routine procedures.

 

"The biggest pain for professional services firms is maintaining the high standards of day-to-day client service," said Dimitri Lisitski, co-founder of BrightSide. "That's why traditional CRM tools built around the sales automation concept failed for this vertical. We've turned CRM inside out, opening it to clients."

 

In Clienteq, Lisitski says, "your team and your client's team can share and discuss documents, track feedback and action items, publish meeting minutes, fill timesheets and track the billing process. We designed Clienteq to become the ultimate client service tool that raises the bar for client service standards."

 

Interested companies may apply to the early access program. The public release of Clienteq is planned for December 2008.

 

Using the product, "your client gets a portal with all inputs, outcomes and related discussions in one place. Status report is always up to date being created automatically and meeting minutes are instantly published with the next steps merged into the status report," BrightSide officials say.

 

"No client requests or feedback ever lost," the BrightSiders say, adding that the "temperature of relationship" feature alerts you before an angry client calls, and a client can check timesheets and billing every day -- "with no extra pain."