What Monday.com Is - And What It Isn't.
The No-B.S. Guide
If you are trying to wrap your poor befuddled brain about what exactly this Monday.com thing is, what it can do and whether or not it's right for you, this simple No-B.S. Guide is the right place to start.
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What The Heck Is This Monday.com Thing Anyway?
Monday.com gets talked about a lot as a Project Management tool, a CRM, a nonprofit system and about seventeen other things – but spoiler alert: it’s actually none of those things.
At its core, Monday.com is a no-code platform that lets you build and customise your own pretty decent Project Management system or CRM. There are hundreds of templates and the whole thing is insanely customisable, so you can get very close to exactly what you want.
The catch? Building that dream setup takes time, brainpower, patience and, often, money. And even if you build a seriously kick‑ass “CRM” or “PM tool” in Monday, it still isn’t a purpose‑built CRM or project management product, which means some of the usual “of course it has that” features might be missing, clunky, or just not quite work the way you expected. (Example; there is no native recurring task functionality in Monday. Sure, you can build it in and it can actually be awesome - but many users will be stunned that they have to build their own recurring tasks functionality if they need it. And it's not easy or fast to set up if you're new to monday either BTW).
Digital Lego
Monday is a lot like digital Lego: on the surface it's just a bunch of simple, colourful blocks that don’t look like they can do much. Many people never get past this point and walk away thinking Monday is nothing more than a colourful Excel.
(Confession time; I trialled Monday twice and walked away both times thinking "What's the big deal? It's just an expensive Christmas edition of Excel". It was only when I tested it a third time and did more of a deep dive that I was blown away by what it could do).
Monday's 2 Super Powers are (1) it's ability to manage almost any data, process or workflow you can imagine and (2) it's ability to connect almost anything to anything - like Digital Lego - and automate it… just don’t expect putting it all together to be quick, effortless, or work exactly like those CRMs or PM tools you’re trying to replicate.
Fundamental Board Structure
Before you start building, it's super important that you map out the correct fundamental Board structure for your Monday system.
Think of your Boards in Monday as being the future rooms in a new house you are designing. (Or a rennovation I guess if you already have data and Boards you are using in Monday). It's super important that you design your floor plans well, you know how many rooms you are going to have and how they will connect to each other. Because, if you don't lay out your floor plans carefully, you are likely to end up with the toilet in the kitchen, a bedroom with no internal doors and a living room that for some reason is out in the yard. And at that point, it doesn't matter what wall paper you put up or how nice your lighting is, you are in for a world of hurt...
Rubix Cube
Once you have connected multiple Boards in Monday, it becomes a little bit like a Rubix Cube.
Once you have connected multiple Boards together in Monday, changing one connection between certain Boards can change a whole bunch of stuff everywhere else. Try as you might to get all the colours on the same side, each time you move one square to the right side, all the other squares move....
At this point, Monday becomes a game of 3D chess. But hopefully you think your fundamental Board structure out really well before you start building, you never have to change the way your Boards are connected and you never get to this point - because 3D chess is hard!
Monday.com isn't "Monday.com" any more.
I know I led with all this stuff about monday.com, but here’s the thing… there actually ISN’T a product called “monday.com” anymore. And we all (very much including me) need to stop saying “monday.com this” and “monday.com that” because it’s confusing the hell out of everybody.
These days, you’re really choosing between a few different “flavours” that all run on the same underlying no-code platform:
Which Monday Product & Pricing Plan is right for me?
First of all, a disclaimer.
I know a LOT about Monday Work Management and Monday CRM. Monday Dev and Monday Service? Not so much.
But, all the Monday products are built on the same no code platform and, apart from a few unique features, all work in the same way. So, a lot of the knowledge I have about Monday Work Management and Monday CRM will also be totally relevant for Monday Dev and Monday Service.
However, if you are seriously interested in those two products rather than Work Management or CRM, I would advise you to look for somebody who is an expert in the product you are interested in.
But, if you are interested in either Work Management or Monday CRM, keep reading because you are in the right place.
Which Product is right for me?
In my 5 years or so working with Monday, I have ALWAYS recommended Monday CRM over Work Management.
This is because Monday CRM has a tonne of powerful features that you don't get in Work Management. To make the decision even easier, Monday Work Management only has one feature that CRM users don't get access to - but that feature is only available on the Enterprise Plan ($$$).
In short, Monday CRM is more expensive per seat/paid user and doesn't have a free plan, but it can do all that Work Management can do - and then some!
In short, Monday CRM for the win every time - unless you are considering the Enterprise Plan and work in Project Management.
Which Pricing Plan is right for me?
Unless you are a NonProfit (there is a special NonProfit plan), always start with the Pro Plan and, if you need to, consider upgrading to Enterprise later.
Why the Pro Plan?
If you're not automating anything in Monday, honestly don't waste your time. Consider another tool.
And if you are automating in Monday and you're on a cheaper plan, you don't get enough monthly automation and integration actions to automate your way out of a wet paper bag.
(Oh and FYI the free trial on any Monday Product is always at Pro Plan level - even if you clicked on a cheaper pricing plan to trial. So, you need Pro Plan to get access to the features you used during your free trial).
So, Pro Plan for the win every time, consider upgrading to Enterprise if you need more and have the budget.
Monday.com 1.0 vs Monday.com 2.0
Ok, so I'm telling you to go for Monday CRM on Pro Plan right out of the gate. But I also said that Monday CRM is being marketed as being for sales teams but that's "not entirely accurate". Here's what I meant by that.
Monday CRM is built on the same no-code platform as Monday Work Management. It is almost infinitely customisable and can do everything Work Management can do and then some (bar one Enterprise only WM feature).
So, the way I explain the difference between Work Management and Monday CRM to new users is like this;
Think of Monday Work Management as being "monday.com 1.0" and think of Monday CRM as being "monday.com 2.0". Monday CRM can do everything Work Management can do and then some. It's not just for sales teams. It's for anybody who wants monday.com with better features.
But there's a catch.
(This is where you say "I knew it!!").
Monday CRM by default comes with a collection of connected Boards known as the "Core" (AKA default) CRM Boards. These are Deals, Leads, Contacts, Accounts, Client Projects, Products & Services and Activities.
Many of these Boards are connected to each other and come with some automations built in. Out of the box, Monday CRM looks like a simple intuitive CRM and seems like you could be up and running with it in no time.
But...well there are a couple of "but"s you want to be aware of before you take the leap;
Limited functionality
The default Monday CRM setup is generic and that's ok - it has to be in order to provide a good foundation for the widest range of users.
But it comes with really limited functionality and is going to take quite a bit of work for most users to make it usable even as a super generic CRM.
Flawed Board Structure
Not only is the fundamental Board Structure in the default CRM Boards not suited to a lot of organisations, there are some fundamental flaws in how the boards are structured that can cause serious issues.
Latest features left out
The default CRM setup seems like it was built some time ago and doesn't make any use of some of Monday's most powerful and useful features (like Group By).
They are long overdue in updating the default setup.
Hard-wired limitations
There is some stuff going on behind the scenes to make the default Boards work the way they do and that "stuff" comes with some limitations. Like not being able to use certain Automations you can normally use with Connect Boards Columns. You can build these limitations out - but only if you know they are there.
So...um...what now?
I've told you that Monday CRM on Pro Plan is the best option for almost all users. But, I've also told you that the default setup in Monday CRM is limited in functionality, has a flawed board structure, doesn't include many of the latest features and comes with some limitations built into it.
So, if you do want to use Monday CRM, but want better functionality, less limitations, a solid fundamental board structure and access to the latest features, what are your options?
Well, I am working on a Monday CRM 2.0 Kitset that includes all the default boards but WITHOUT the limitations, WITH the latest and greatest features, a solid fundamental Board Structure and awesome functionality. I hope to have that live in a month or so, it will be a paid product but it will be a reasonable one time fee and the best bit is you can install the whole system in your account in under 5 minutes and get back to focusing on work and paying the bills.
In the meantime, your best bet is to join my MondayWiki Community as either a free or paid community member and follow the tips and posts I regularly share about things like the features I'm building into and the limitations I'm building out of my Monday CRM 2.0 Kitset. You can also hit me up with questions or share challenges you're facing and the community and I will do our best to answer them.
Free Community
Not just a community but a super searchable Monday knowledge base that is full of video guides, hacks and tips that will show you how to do things everybody else will tell you is impossible.
Just click the button above or here to check out the MondayWiki Community.
Monday Kitsets
I have already launched a couple of powerful plug-and-play Monday Kitsets that you can purchase and install in under 5 minutes to seriously reduce your setup time in monday and avoid default setup limitations and the issues down the road they cause.
Consulting
Yes, as well as running the MondayWiki Community, I am also a Monday.com consultant and authorised partner.
Coaching
If you would rather learn how to do it yourself than have me do it for you, I am an experienced monday coach and happy to help.
Most of my consulting clients sooner or later evolve into coaching clients so I am used to (and enjoy) the coaching process.
