REI Blackbook Compatibility

[Danny Overfield]

I am just entering the industry and appreciate any insight anyone can share. 

I have heard a lot about REI BlackBook and I am considering signing up but I am unable to find information on which operating systems it is compatible with.

I am currently using macOS but have considered switching to a Chromebook for it's versatility. Naturally, I want to use what will allow all essential programs to function optimally. Does anyone know what operating system will allow REI BlackBook, and any other "must have" programs to run without a hitch? I am also open to Windows if that means I'll have the least amount of issues.

Thanks in advance!

[Jason Pinkerton]

@Danny Overfield, I use REI BlackBook (REIBB) for my business. I was using it with just me and it worked well enough, but since they have rolled out the Team Tasks feature, I have found it useful as I develop a team to grow my business. I considered using Podio, but Podio takes a lot of time (or money) investment up front to set everything up. Podio just coordinates all the other systems to run together automatically. REIBB does much of the same thing. As for compatibility, I've had no issues with REIBB on my Mac. I use Safari and it runs smoothly. In some of the videos, they show REIBB running on Safari, Firefox, and Chrome in OS X so it should be good to go. I've also used REIBB on my Android phone a little and it appears to work well in mobile form, though I have not played with it much there (but will soon in the future).

REIBB does not have everything you need as a CRM in my opinion, but still quite a bit. It has a lot "out of the box" that comes standard and much more if you upgrade to the "small business" package of $197/mo. Once I took on team members, this was a no brainer. For the extra $100, I can have my team of 4 in there getting way more deals done and have everything automated. As far as a CRM goes, I wish it was more visual, displaying all the tasks and timelines how some other CRMs do, but given that everything is pre-built and you just activate it and set your own campaigns up, and all the how to videos are built into the system (vice searching Youtube endlessly), it's still pretty great. 

Podio is still good though if you either invest a weekend to set everything up or pay someone (I've seen most people charge around $1,500) to set it all up for you. But the most important thing (I think) is to pick one and if it works well enough, to stick with it and master it. Once you yourself have systematized your business, the "system" (aka people and processes) will run on any application. If you want a good book on building systems (again, people and processes, not apps), check out The E-Myth Revisted--it's mentioned on BiggerPockets many times. After you listen to or read it, go right back to the beginning and listen/read again, then take notes on how you are going to implement it.  Then as you implement it, listen/read it again. Why? Because you'll pick up on different things each time and perfect your system. And as I say this, I'm reminding myself I need to do it again as well as I'm updating my own system. 

I hope all this helps. If you ever want to talk privately about setting up your system, PM me and I'll tell you what I did--no sales gimmick, I just nerd out on this stuff :)

Cheers!