If you’re a business owner, your CRM and business platform isn’t just software. 

It’s your digital headquarters, the heart of your entire business.

Choose the wrong one, and your business could end up in cardiac arrest.

But HOW do you know which CRM platform is the RIGHT one???!

In a booming tech market full of platform choices, white-label software resellers, hype-driven affiliate marketers, and pretty pastel ‘Insta’ dashboards with zero infrastructure behind them; this article gives you the RED-FLAG LIST of things to audit before you choose any software for your business to protect your operations, your money, your reputation and your future.

It also gives you the MUST-CHECK ‘GREEN FLAGS’ to look for when picking your platform too.

I’ve been in business as an ed-tech and business tech consultant for 20 years, and seen too many amazing business owners get scammed or let down by shiny platforms that lure in business owners with insta-pretty ads and one-time pricing offers – BUT which have absolutely NO infrastructure, security, support or expertise behind it all.

Please take the time to do your due diligence and check the following critical items against the CRM and course platforms platforms you are considering BEFORE you jump on any sales calls with anyone.

This isn’t a sales pitch. 

This is your founder-to-founder warning, a battle cry to shop smarter, and a checklist that should be used as your safety net to pick a platform that can actually support your business and your customers long into the future.

The RED FLAGS To Look For When Picking a CRM or Business Platform

For the safety, security and success of your business – here are x serious red flag WARNINGS that you need to look out for when picking a platform to run your business.

???? RED FLAG 1: It’s a Start-up Business (less than 3 years old)

Everyone has to start somewhere, but when it comes to YOUR business security, pick a tech company that has made it through the brutal start-up stage. 

In most countries, this means more than 3 years of trading.

Over 90% of businesses fail to make it through the first 3 years, and in the tech industry, over 63% of businesses don’t even make it through the first year.  

Therefore, it is CRITICAL that you choose a tech platform provider that has proven to have what it takes to not only survive beyond the test of the ‘3-year start-up phase’, but who has actually seen growth and market domination in that time too. 

If the platform you are considering is run by a ‘I quit my day job and started a tech company in my maternity leave’, babe – YOUR business is at risk.  

Because there’s absolutely no historical proof of infrastructural strength, long-term expertise or sustained success to safely support your business. 

GREEN FLAGS: 

✅ They have been legally trading for 3 years or more 

✅ In that time, they have seen year-on-year growth.  Do they have reputable awards that formally verify income and user numbers? Do they have a public user community group that gives you an indication of their user numbers? 

✅ Tekmatix started publicly trading in 2022 as evidenced on ASIC, and has consistently won awards for growth and service in rigorous assessments that require CPA accountant-approved financial verification checks such as The Telstra Business Awards; and has won a GHL SaaSpreneur award every year since its inception, which is awarded based on GHL verifying the number of active subscribers inside the Agency. Tekmatix is collecting the GHL Diamond Award in 2025. 

???? RED FLAG 2: They Are Not Formally GDPR Data Protected

Wanna get sued for mishandling your clients’ private data?

No, didn’t think so. That’s why this tech-check is non-negotiable…

When you’re choosing software to run your business – whether it’s for managing clients, storing customer information, sending marketing emails, hosting your online courses, or processing payments – you need to ask a critical question:

“How is my data being protected – and does this platform meet the GDPR standard for data security and privacy?”

This is ESPECIALLY important if the platform you are choosing is a reseller of another software, or built on a third-party platform.  

Eg many SaaS softwares today are built on top of SaaS platforms like ‘GHL’ and use generic phrasing like ‘The platform we are built on adheres to this’ – but this is not enough. 

You MUST also ask:

“Has YOUR version of the platform under your company name, got a legally signed contractual Agreement, with YOUR company name on it, that shows that you have a process for managing customer data in alignment with GDPR requirements?”.

If the answer is no, your business, and your reputation, could be exposed to massive legal risk.

GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is a strict privacy law from the European Union designed to protect personal data. 

Even if your business is based in Australia (or anywhere outside of Europe), GDPR still applies if you collect or store data from anyone in the EU or UK in your account.

More importantly, GDPR has set the global standard for how personal information should be handled, so using a platform that has considered this is a critical step in your platform selection process.

Here’s the kicker: if the platform you’re using or considering mismanages customer data, it’s not just their problem – you’re legally responsible too.

You could face:

???? Data breaches that damage your brand and customer trust

???? Legal penalties if you’re found to be using non-compliant systems
???? Loss of clients who expect their personal information to be handled in alignment with global standards
???? Costly migrations down the track when you realise your current software doesn’t meet these standards

Basically, if your software isn’t protecting customer data properly, you are the one who pays the price – financially and reputationally.

❗Make Sure They Have a Data Protection Agreement in Place With Their Data Storage Provider

Getting GDPR Data Protection Agreements in place with primary infrastructure providers in tech is an expensive and rigorous process, which is why almost all CRM and software businesses don’t have it.  

But at Tekmatix, we went through the hard yards to obtain this essential Data Protection adminitration process, to align with global standards for Data Protection. 

Getting certified wasn’t just a box to tick. It involved:

• Extensive audits of our systems and processes
• Proof of how we protect, store, and manage personal data
• Documentation of how we respond to data requests or breaches
• Ongoing monitoring to ensure we stay compliant as rules evolve
  

We did this to give you complete confidence that when you’re using Tekmatix, your business is operating in line with the highest data protection standards in the world; and so that you can assure your customers that you are using a platform that takes care of their information. 

GREEN FLAGS: 

A platform that has gone through formal GDPR Data Protection contract execution with their data storage provider is VERY proud of it, and will happily show you the certification paper if they have it.  If they don’t, they havn’t got it, which is a red flag.

✅Ask to see their formal, legally signed GDPR Data Protection Agreement between them and the base platform that stores your data. Their own in-house ‘Policy’ is not sufficient. 

✅ Ensure that the formal agreement is between the company name of the software provider and the data storage company and signed by both parties.  If it doesn’t have THEIR registered company details on the Agreement, it’s not an Agreement and their operation is likely not sufficient.

✅ Tekmatix HAS executed a formal GDPR-aligned Data Protection Agreement (DPA) and Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) with our primary infrastructure provider (GHL). You can request a copy of our ‘GDPR Data Protection Agreement’ by emailing us on support@tekmatix.com 

If you want to confidently say: “I use a platform that aligns with the world’s highest data protection standards”, then you want to choose Tekmatix. 

When you’re using Tekmatix, you’re not just operating professionally, you’re reassuring your clients:

“Your data is safe with me. I take your privacy seriously. I run a professional, trustworthy business.”

That’s a message that builds loyalty, trust, and longevity.  We’ve got your back. 

*Note: While Tekmatix operates in alignment with GDPR infrastructure and processing, you remain responsible for your own compliance with privacy laws in your region. This article is not legal advice, and Tekmatix is not responsible for your own entity’s compliance. For specific compliance guidance, please consult a legal professional.

???? RED FLAG 3: The Founder(s) Lack Long-Term Tech, Automation and Business Development Experience 

If you can’t find at LEAST 5 YEARS of demonstrable expertise and experience of the Founder(s) in teaching, coaching and leading in the topic of tech, automation and business – you’re building your business on the back of an industry newbie, and that’s high-risk. 

You must ensure that the founder(s) have expertise, experience and evidence of long-term history in the tech, ed-tech, automation & business development industry if you want to be supported by a platform that understands you, and can provide real solutions and support for your growth.

Check the following:

• Can you verify who the founder is?
• Do they have a track record of delivering in this industry – or is this their latest or brand new online hustle?
• Go check their LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, website, and Google.
• How long have they been teaching or working in tech strategy, automation, CRM implementation, or business development?
• How many public pieces of content have they published on these topics and for how long do the posts and content go back?
• Do they have video proof of them teaching these topics to proove that they are experts that can help you?

If there’s no historical content… there’s probably no real expertise.

You want to choose a platform that is built on the leadership backbone of genuine expertise if you want to have the highest chance of success flowing into your business too.

GREEN FLAGS:  What Founder Expertise & History To Look For When Picking a CRM or Platform For Your Business

Ensure that in your research you can find ALL of the following before you pick a platform.

✅ At LEAST 5 years of first-hand experience and expertise running and leading businesses

✅ At least 5 years worth of demonstrable evidence that the founder is a true expert in the topics of business development, business tech, ed-tech, automation and marketing that can ONLY be proven via seeing multiple VIDEOS of them actually teaching and SHOWING their expertise and knowledge in a variety of topics in field so that you can see for yourself that they are a real leader that can serve you

✅ Tech and business-related blogs, articles, posts, and videos going back at least 5 YEARS 

✅ Actual educational content where they teach and explain – especially on the actual platform they are trying to sell to you

✅ Client results, real testimonials, reviews and feedback (that you can also get directly from their own user community) 

✅ Speaking events, podcasts, interviews, training footage of them demonstrating their knowledge and industry leadership in SaaS, tech, automation and business development

If you can’t see any history of them teaching, leading, coaching and consulting in tech, automation, ed-tech and business development – it doesn’t exist.

You’re trusting your business with them. 

Don’t do that based on pretty logos or a perfectly aesthetic Instagram ad.

Do it based on evidence of their experience, and proof of the Founders real expertise to be able to support you and your growth.

????RED FLAG 4: It’s Just a plain White-Label Software Being Re-Sold ‘As-Is’

The business selling the platform is just an ‘entrepreneur’ reselling an ‘as it comes’ Software, rather than a company that has heavily invested in development, customisation and hiring in-house support staff around that base software.

What is a white-label software?

As an increasingly common example, lots of individuals, marketers and small business owners are re-selling ‘GHL’, which is like the ‘Wordpress’ of the software world.  Essentially, they just put their own logo on the dashboard and sell it to you, with NOTHING else in or around it.

Essentially, its base features and dashboard behind the scenes all look very similar (just like the backend of all WordPress websites do), but NOT all businesses that use the same software, offer the same features, services, support and experience.  

Are two businesses that both use WordPress the same? No.

Are two businesses that both use ActiveCampaign the same? No. 

The back-end or base software under a company does NOT reflect the features, service, support or experience you will get.  

It’s the customisation, investment, leadership, in-house team, experience, add-ons, plug-ins, training, community, compliance, security and MUCH more that differentiates one business from another – not what tools it uses as part of its infrastructure. 

Therefore, there is nothing ‘wrong’ with buying anything through a reseller – you just need to check that you’ve picked the right reseller. Which is what this whole article is about. 

Choose the wrong reseller, and you could find yourself facing losses in more than just time and money.  

Instead, choose a platform that has built an entire agency around a software and invested significantly in providing you with more than JUST a plain tool that comes with nothing other than cuter colours.

GREEN FLAGS:

• ✅ There are custom-developed help resources, templates, videos and guides available to users that they have invested in creating (Tekmatix has in-app help guides, 24/7 customer support, a huge blog of help guides, hundreds of tutorials on YouTube, a free Tekmatix training course and daily free training calls)
• ✅ They have created custom-developed email templates, website templates, funnel templates, course templates and automation templates to help you succeed (here is an example of some of Tekmatix hundreds of templates).
• ✅ They have added in APIs or custom-created additional features that go above and beyond the whitelabel features (as one example, Tekmatix has added in Kanban Boards which replace ClickUp/Trello)
• ✅ They have turned on all of the available features on the base software
• ✅ They have an in-house team of employees, as well as 24-hour customer support.  This requires significant investment and shows you that they are operating a serious company capable of supporting you and your business. (Tekmatix has over 15 direct employees, and over 60 externally contracted help desk staff on our 24-hour a day live chat support). 

Remember – it’s not just about the tool, it’s about the infrastructure behind it and how it’s been developed upon in terms of support, service and add-ons that matter. 

???? RED FLAG 5: It Has Limited Customer Support

They don’t have 24-hour customer support, and they don’t have an in-house team of customer and tech support staff to take care of you. 

The last thing you want when you start on a new platform, is to be left to figure it all out on your own, or have nobody to help you when you get stuck.

With lots of small businesses and solopreneurs reselling white-label software – very few of them have the resources or infrastructure to hire support staff and provide you with support services.

GREEN FLAGS:  

• ✅ They have an in-house team of support staff, directly employed by themselves, who are dedicated to customer tech support 
• ✅ They have a 24/7 live chat support to get help, guidance and have your questions answered at any time of the day or night that you’re working on your business
• ✅ They have regular live, free customer training dedicated to answering your questions and teaching you how to use features.  At Tekmatix, we run live group training sessions for our users for free, EVERY day.
• ✅ They have employees that you can engage for extra support and services. At Tekmatix you can hire our staff and book support calls whenever you need extra support.
• ✅ You can engage them to provide done-for-you services 

???? RED FLAG 6: There Is No Onboarding When You Start

Getting started on a new software can feel overwhelming, and getting help with all of your initial account set up such as connecting your domains, connecting your emails, setting up your email sending, connecting and syncing calendars and getting your payment gateways working is something that you should NEVER have to do alone.  

If the platform you are choosing doesn’t have onboarding support, you’re going to struggle to even get started.  

GREEN FLAGS:  

• ✅ They have FREE customer onboarding support.  At Tekmatix, all of our customers get TWO 60-minute Onboarding Calls for FREE to help them get their account up and running. These are Zoom calls with real people who take over your screen and do your basic account setup for you. 

???? RED FLAG 7: They Have No Public Customer Community

No community group for their users? Red flag. 

Business is already lonely enough. You don’t want to feel isolated in your tech too. 

Platforms that don’t have a public community are either trying to hide public conversation about their brand, hiding complaints (that users always share in the user communities first), or are trying to hide that they have embarrassingly low customer numbers. 

Platforms without a community group don’t care about your sense of belonging, open communication and peer support. 

Humans need a place to belong, and at Tekmatix we care deeply about you feeling supported, connected and able to be part of real-time open conversation.

GREEN FLAGS: 

• ✅ They have a public community group for their users to network, learn, collaborate and communicate with the platform
• ✅ The members are visible so you can get a rough idea of their user numbers and ask the group for feedback about the platform 

???? RED FLAG 8: They Don’t Have a Trademark

Trademarks are a critical part of business protection. If you want your business to survive, your providers need to be commercially bulletproof too.

If the software you are choosing to use does not have a registered trademark on the name of the brand itself – you could be setting yourself up on a platform that is legally unprotected.  If they get shutdown over a Trademark claim – so does your business.

GREEN FLAGS: 

• ✅ Check that the platform you are choosing has a legally registered Trademark. You can do that in Australia HERE. All other countries have public trademark registers too. 
• ✅ Tekmatix is currently Trademarked until 2033

???? RED FLAG 9: There’s No Training Course or Guided Education

If your provider hasn’t created their own educational content to support you – they don’t care about your success and don’t have the capacity to educate for your continued growth and development.

Paying for a tool you can’t use properly – because there’s no support, training course or daily education assistance – is fruitless. 

GREEN FLAGS: 

• ✅ There is a full training program to onboard you, your VA, your team. At Tekmatix, you get a full training course included inside your account.
• ✅ There are plenty of up-to-date YouTube tutorial videos that demonstrate the use of the platform, and the capability of the platform educators
• ✅ There are DAILY free training sessions that you can attend to learn how to use the features and get the most out of your platform 

???? RED FLAG 10: They Have Lock-in Period Contracts 

Nobody wants to get trapped into a subscription that they can’t cancel.  

If the platform you are choosing locks you into a fixed minimum term period that you have to ‘wait out’ if you want to leave – walk away.

GREEN FLAGS: 

• ✅ You can cancel your subscription any time, and stop being charged as soon as you cancel
• ✅ At Tekmatix, there are no lock-in time periods on your subscription, and you can cancel your account at any time

???? RED FLAG 11: They are offering a one-time payment lifetime deal

There is a very big tendency for business owners to chase the cheapest option, rather than the best option – and this results in having to re-do things, re-build things and re-start things all over again when they realise that the cheapest, usually means ‘the least effective’.

In the software market, there are a lot of ‘pop-up players’ who enter the market just to make a quick buck as fast as possible, then shut down and run with the cash before they have to deliver. 

Could you run your business 24 hours a day, without any money coming in to pay for your overheads? 

No. 

Neither can any other businesses.  So when you see software platforms offering a single, one-time-only payment, you have yourself a major red flag. Nobody can provide support services, maintain servers, cover operational costs and stay compliant when no money is coming in. 

What we’ve seen happen in this industry over the past 5 years, is new SaaS agencies open, offer one-time payment deals, limit the features to the absolute minimum and then shut down the company before they have to deliver any major services.  As a final insult to the innocent customers that thought they were getting a ‘deal’, the sham company then ‘sells’ the customers to another agency in return for ongoing monthly commission.  

If the platform you are looking at is offering a single-time-payment only lifetime deal, it’s highly likey that they don’t plan to be around for a lifetime. 

GREEN FLAGS: 

• ✅ The platform has been trading for more than 3 years
• ✅ The owners/founders of the platform have been in business for at least 5 years (the longer the better) 
• ✅ The platform charges fair monthly fees (necessary to pay for ongoing support staff, servers and operational maintenance of the software long-term) 

???? RED FLAG 12: You Get Charged More As You Grow

Don’t get locked into price increases as your business grows, or platforms that have basic features restricted until you ‘upgrade’ or ‘add-on’ yet again.

First know that all platforms have to pay enormous server fees, email sending fees, AI usage credits, SMS and telephone costs – these are all expenses that cannot be controlled by any platform and have to be passed onto the user in some capacity.  

Don’t pick a platform that increases your monthly subscription fee as you get more contacts, publish more products or hire more staff.  Instead, choose one that keeps their subscription plans fixed, and only charges you fairly for your actual use of consumables on a ‘pay-what-you-use’ model.  This keeps your costs down, and only paying for what you actually use – not sharing the costs of everyone on the platform. 

GREEN FLAGS:

• ✅ Clear and detailed pricing plans on a publicly accessible pricing page, that clearly details the inclusions of each plan. (Make sure you carefully compare every feature that is included against any other platform you are considering). 
• ✅ Your monthly subscription fee stays the same no matter how many customers, contacts or products you create (and you only ‘pay-as-you-go’ for consumables that you actually use or choose to add on)
• ✅ You can upgrade or downgrade on plans as you wish

???? RED FLAG 13: They Don’t Have Any Done-For-You Tech or Migration Services

You don’t want to be left on your own trying to do big tech set-ups for a major launch or website build.  Worse – have to go through the long-winded process of hiring your own developers who over-charge, short-cut and ghost you.

Please choose a software provider that has the infrastructure and capability to support you with tech builds, tech projects, migrations and advanced tech-strategy advice from highly experienced tech experts.  

GREEN FLAGS: 

• ✅  You get basic free onboarding set up to help you get your account settings up and running (Tekmatix comes with 2 hours of FREE onboarding)
• ✅  You can get a formal quote and pricing schedule for personalised and customised tech services (Tekmatix services custom quotes available here)

Choose Experience, Infrastructure and Security Over Aesthetics.  

Choose Tekmatix.

Some CRM platforms are selling cuteness. Rounded corners. Pretty ‘bougie’ beige and pastel dashboards. 

The Glossy “girl boss” Instagram branding that is oh-so enticing, but does NOT in any way mean SAFE, SECURE, STRUCTURED and SCALABLE.

When you need support at 3am before a major launch? You better hope you have it.

When your business scales and needs solid infrastructure and lots more features to run? You don’t want to have to move everything to a new provider.

When you need strategic advice and guidance from experts, as well as the ‘how to’ and hands on help? Ensure you’ve got access to an entire team of highly experienced, business tech professionals who have demonstrable experience of their expertise.

When you need security, infrastructure and experience to hold up your business from a provider that has made it through ‘start up stage’ and has stood the test of time….  That pretty interface won’t help you. 

You need infrastructure. You need a team. You need experience.

You need Tekmatix.

We are owned by a tech and business training company that has been running for 20 years.

We’ve been the leading, and most-awarded all-in-one business platform in Australia for over 3 years.

We’ve helped thousands of business owners set-up and launch their business tech.

We’ve been awarded over $700,000 in Government grants to enhance and develop a unique and highly customised business platform, that goes above and beyond giving you all of the incredible features of GHL.

We are the largest GHL-based software platform in Australia.

We have over 15 full-time support staff employed to provide you with 24-hour customer support.

We have a 24/7 live chat support desk that is covered by over 60 part-time rostered tech support personnel so that you always have somebody to help you in-the-moment, around the clock. 

We’re here to help you build a business that lasts and scales fast.

Final Note

Please – whether you choose Tekmatix or not – make your CRM decision wisely.

Tekmatix came about to protect business owners from being left behind, overcharged, or unsupported. 

I’ve come from 20 YEARS of being the business owner, the course creator, the coach and consultant who had to tie endless tools together and keep paying more and more fees as my business grew – AND was left to figure it out alone with zero support.  

My team and I at Tekmatix are here to support you, train you, build for you, and grow with you.

Check everything. Trust the experts. Don’t get sucked in by style over substance.

Choose a CRM that supports your business like you’re part of the team – because with Tekmatix, it is.

Let’s build something that lasts.

DEMO VIDEO OF TEKMATIX FEATURES

Sarah x

— Sarah Cordiner

Director & CEO, Tekmatix