FollowThrough

Overview

FollowThrough is a customer-management and retention platform for owner-led small businesses that need a reliable way to move leads toward a next step and bring past customers back. It is strongest for a single-location service business that wants sales follow-up and loyalty tools in one system; the Free plan’s 25-contact ceiling makes it a narrow starting point.

Owners can begin with templates for new leads, missed calls, quotes, first visits or inactive customers, then add contacts manually or by CSV. Digital loyalty passes are sent by email, with progress tracking and QR-code check-ins. Email uses a connected verified sending domain when available, or a default sender otherwise.

Key features

• Pipeline and tasks: CRM and pipeline tracking keep opportunities and next steps together. Free covers pipeline and tasks, while Solo adds full pipeline management and unlimited tasks and reminders; that distinction matters once follow-up volume grows.
• Outreach: Solo includes outbound email, templates and 100 SMS messages per month. Growth raises SMS to unlimited and adds multi-step email sequences, a better fit for businesses running repeated campaigns rather than occasional reminders.
• Retention and operations: Growth adds loyalty and rewards plus booking and operations tools. Loyalty passes and QR check-ins support repeat-visit programs, while Square and Clover integrations are included with Solo.
• Reporting and AI: Solo includes retention and behavior reports and 15 AI summaries per day. Growth adds unlimited AI report summaries and a fuller AI suite; Business pools unlimited AI usage across the team.
• Import and setup: Templates cover common customer situations, and contacts can be imported from CSV or entered manually. This gives a small business a practical starting structure without requiring it to build every workflow from scratch.

Pricing

The Free plan costs nothing (billed $0/ forever) and supports one user with up to 25 contacts, pipeline and tasks, and email notifications. It is useful for trying the workflow with a very small list, but the contact cap and lack of the paid outreach features make it a limited long-term CRM.

Solo costs $29 a month (billed $29/ month). For one user and up to 500 contacts, it adds unlimited tasks and reminders, full pipeline management, outbound email and templates, 100 SMS messages monthly, Square and Clover integrations, retention and behavior reports, and 15 AI summaries per day. This is the sensible paid tier for a solo operator who wants more follow-up capacity without team tools.

Growth costs $69 a month (billed $69/ month). It supports one user and up to 2,500 contacts, includes Solo features, and adds a full AI suite, multi-step email sequences, unlimited AI report summaries, loyalty and rewards, booking and operations, unlimited SMS, and one branded sending domain. It suits a high-volume solo business that will use automation or loyalty; otherwise Solo is less costly and may be sufficient.

Business costs $149 a month (billed $149/ month). It allows up to 10 users and unlimited contacts, with Growth features plus a team dashboard and activity feed, role-based access control, shared templates and sequences, multiple branded sending domains, pooled unlimited AI use, and priority support. Its extra cost is justified for a team coordinating customer follow-up; the ten-user ceiling is a firm constraint for larger organizations.

Paid plans include a 14-day free trial, and no credit card is required. Businesses needing custom pricing should expect a custom pricing arrangement rather than a listed monthly tier.

Platforms

FollowThrough is available on Android, iOS and web, and provides an API. Public API access is included with Growth, so businesses that need API connectivity should account for that tier requirement.

Who it's for

FollowThrough is aimed at owner-led small businesses, including salons, car washes, restaurants, gyms and spas. It is a good match when the owner wants lead tracking, reminders and customer-retention campaigns together, and when the contact count fits within the chosen tier. Businesses seeking more than 10 users, or focused primarily on a different core workflow, should compare alternatives.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Follow-up and retention share one system: Pipeline, reminders, campaigns and loyalty tools cover both lead conversion and repeat visits.
• Useful upgrade path: Solo raises capacity to 500 contacts; Growth adds unlimited SMS, sequences, loyalty and booking tools as outreach needs expand.
• Small teams have controls: Business adds role-based access, shared workflows and a team activity view for up to 10 users.
• Trial without card details: The 14-day paid-plan trial lowers the commitment required to evaluate a paid tier.

Cons

• Free is tightly capped: One user and 25 contacts make it more suitable for a small trial than an established customer list.
• Solo remains single-user: A second staff member means moving to Business, since Growth also allows only one user.
• SMS allowance changes sharply by tier: Solo stops at 100 messages per month, while unlimited SMS requires Growth at $69 a month.
• Business tops out at 10 users: Larger teams may outgrow the stated seat limit.

Alternatives

For salon-specific options, browse Salon Marketing Software. Belliata is another freemium option with salon software, free email reminders and free support; consider it if those salon-oriented basics matter more than FollowThrough’s combined lead and loyalty workflow.

WellnessLiving has a paid Starter plan at $62 a month billed annually, with one staff member and class and appointment booking; choose it when that booking focus suits you better. SalonApp offers a free plan for up to 15 clients, 20 appointments monthly and one staff member, so it may fit a very small salon prioritizing appointment capacity.

Salonist has a free Marketplace Listing with 50 appointments per month, online booking, calendar and scheduling, and staff shift management; pick it if those scheduling functions are the priority. Tersavia offers a free booking and client-management plan with every location and no per-seat charge or contract, making it worth considering where those terms matter.

Demandforce is another paid option. Fresha is freemium and lists plans for one team member or unlimited team members, making it an alternative to compare when team size is central. Lumidara offers a Pro plan at $10 a month with unlimited clients, online self-booking, deposits, 500 custom campaign sends monthly, analytics and aftercare; it may suit businesses that need those appointment and campaign capabilities at that price.

Verdict

Choose FollowThrough if you run a small service business and want lead follow-up, customer campaigns and loyalty in one place, with a clear route from a small free list to team tools. The main reason to look elsewhere is its restrictive user and contact ceilings at lower tiers: Solo and Growth remain single-user, while teams needing more than 10 seats cannot fit Business.