What people are really asking
When someone searches for a free CRM with voice AI and a client portal, they usually mean three things at once: they do not want to pay extra for the portal, they do not want a trial that strips out the features they want to test, and they want the voice AI to be something they can actually try. This post goes through what is free, what is not, and how to judge any trial, ours included.
Three kinds of “free”
| Kind | What it is | What to watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Free trial | Time-limited use of the product | Which plan and which features the trial actually covers |
| Permanent free level | Never expires, but is limited | The limit that matters to you, such as users, storage or the AI |
| Feature-gated trial | Time-limited, with some features switched off | Whether the feature you came for is one of the ones switched off |
Ask each vendor which of the three they mean, and read the details on their own pricing page.
What our fifteen days cover
- Fifteen days, no credit card, on the plan you pick. The default is Essentials. It is not a trial of full Professional.
- Professional lets you try Nova, Fleet, Field operations and Payroll in that time.
- HR, Bookkeeping and Vera are set up with you on a call. They are not self-serve trials.
- After the trial you choose a plan. If you do not, your company moves to a free state: your data is kept and the AI is switched off. After 60 days an unpaid company is deleted.
Plans are $79 (Essentials) and $129 (Professional) per person a month, billed in US dollars, with Enterprise on request. Services are separate and priced on their own.
The client portal
The client portal comes with every plan, and portal users are free: your clients do not pay per login. In the portal a client can see their projects, jobs, photos and invoices, sign documents, approve extra work, book visits, join meetings and rate the work. Card payments are not available yet; a client who has sent a cheque or transfer records it in the portal, and it waits for you to confirm. You choose which projects each client can see, and you can preview the portal as any client.
Voice AI, in plain words
A chatbot answers typed messages. A voice agent speaks and listens on a call. Operations Link has two voice agents, and neither is the one most people picture.
Vera answers your existing customers on your phone line and in your client portal. She checks who is calling with a code word and a texted code, then answers about that customer’s own jobs, invoices, quotes, payments, documents, meetings and messages. She can accept or reject a quote after asking the customer to confirm, and she hands the call to a person when asked. She does not book appointments, take messages or qualify new leads. She speaks English, phone numbers are Canadian today, and she is a service you arrange with our team, not part of a plan.
Luna is the agent on operations-link.com. She answers our visitors and books a call with our team. She is not offered for your own website.
How to judge any trial in five steps
- Test the voice agent with a real call. Ring it as a customer who already has a job. Does it check who you are? Does it refuse to share another customer’s details?
- Set up a test client in the portal. Invite a colleague as a client. Can they see only what you chose to show, record a payment, sign and message?
- Follow a record across the product. Change a project status and see whether the portal and the invoice follow without anyone re-typing.
- Find what the trial leaves out. Ask which services, features and limits are off during the trial.
- Work out the real cost after the trial. Add the plan, any services you need and any other tools you would still keep.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a CRM with voice AI built in that I can try free?
You can try Operations Link free, but not forever. It gives you fifteen days free with no credit card. Vera, the voice agent for your customers, is a service arranged with our team and is not part of the trial.
Which CRM has free client portals?
In Operations Link the client portal comes with every plan and portal users are free. For other products, check their own pricing and feature pages for what a portal login costs and which plan it needs.
Can I get voice AI, client portals and CRM in one platform?
Yes, with a caveat. The CRM and the client portal come with every plan. Vera works on your phone line and in the portal as a service, and Nova, the in-app assistant, is another service with fifteen days free.
How much does a CRM with voice AI cost after the trial?
Operations Link plans are $79 (Essentials) and $129 (Professional) per person a month, billed in US dollars. Vera and the other services are priced on their own, so talk to us about the mix you need.
What is the difference between a CRM chatbot and CRM voice AI?
A chatbot works on typed messages. Voice AI speaks and listens on a call. What matters more than the channel is what the agent may do and how it checks who it is talking to.
Do I need separate tools for voice AI and client portals?
Not with Operations Link: the portal comes with every plan, and Vera works in the portal and on your phone line. With other products, ask whether the portal and the voice agent are separate purchases.
Related reading: CRM with a built-in client portal · Does any CRM have voice AI? · Vera and Luna · How Operations Link compares