The Best CRM for Engineering Firms | Nutshell
Engineering Firm CRM, Simplified.
Visual pursuit pipeline
See every active pursuit, stage, and next step at a glance.
Complete client profiles
Full relationship history, ready before every client conversation.
Team collaboration
BD, marketing, and PMs—finally working from the same playbook
Reporting & capture rates
Real-time pipeline health, win rates, and revenue by client sector
Never lose track of a pursuit again
When a new RFP lands or a principal reaches out to a long-term client, your team should already know the full history. Nutshell keeps every past project, proposal, and interaction on one record—so nobody’s starting from scratch or forwarding old email chains.
- Complete client timelines: Every email, call, meeting, and note logged automatically.
- Project & pursuit notes: Store RFP details, SOQs, and go/no-go decisions on each record.
- Pinned intel: Surface the most important details for every client at a glance.
Learn more about contact management
Keep every pursuit moving forward
Long BD cycles mean follow-ups get missed and pursuits go cold. Nutshell’s automation keeps your pipeline moving—sending follow-ups, assigning tasks, and advancing opportunities when milestones are hit—without adding admin burden to your team.
- Automated follow-up sequences: Drip emails that stop automatically when a prospect responds.
- Custom pursuit pipelines: Build stages that match your firm’s real BD process.
- Task automation: Assign next steps and advance pursuits forward automatically.
Learn more about sales automation
Know your capture rate. Win the right work.
Nutshell’s reporting gives BD leaders real-time visibility into pipeline health, win rates, and which client sectors and lead sources are driving your most profitable projects—so you can make go/no-go decisions based on data, not gut instinct.
- Win/loss reporting: Understand where you’re winning and where you fall short.
- Pipeline forecasting: See projected revenue across all active pursuits.
- Lead attribution: Know which referrals, events, or campaigns bring in the best work.
Align your BD, marketing, and project teams
Principals, BD managers, marketing coordinators, and seller-doer PMs all touch the same pursuits. Nutshell gives everyone shared visibility into client history and pipeline status—so opportunities don’t fall through the cracks between teams.
- Shared client records: No more forwarding emails or hunting down contact details.
- @mentions and notifications: Keep teammates in the loop without switching apps.
- Role-based access: Control who can see and edit what across your firm.
Learn more about team collaboration
Connect with the tools your firm already uses
Engineering firms rely on a mix of document, accounting, and communication tools to run their business. Nutshell integrates with them so your client data stays synced without manual re-entry across systems.
- Contracts & proposals: Connect proposal tools so client records and signed documents stay in sync
- Email & calendar: Two-way sync with Outlook and Google Workspace logs every touchpoint automatically
- Collaboration: Keep BD, marketing, and project teams aligned via Slack and Microsoft Teams
- Accounting: Sync client and project data with QuickBooks and other accounting tools
Live customer support
Award-winning support here for when you need us.
- Free for everyone: Live chat support is available to all trials and active customers
- Helpful support articles: Our knowledge base is filled with “how-tos” and guides to help with all of your questions
- Monthly webinars: Covering how to set up and use specific features or processes in Nutshell
Learn more about our award-winning support
See Nutshell in action!
Try Nutshell free for 14 days or let us show you around before you dive in.
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FAQs
1. Our team tracks pursuits in spreadsheets and email right now. How hard is it to switch to Nutshell?
Much easier than you’d expect. Most teams get up and running in just a few days. Nutshell’s clean interface is built for business people, not IT teams—so your BD managers, marketing coordinators, and principals can adopt it quickly without technical training. We offer free white-glove data migration to bring your existing contacts and pursuit history into Nutshell, and our live support team is available to every customer at no extra cost.
If your firm has struggled with CRM adoption before, Nutshell’s simplicity is exactly why firms switch to us from more complex tools.
2. Can Nutshell be configured to track engineering pursuits instead of standard sales deals?
Absolutely. Nutshell’s custom pipeline builder lets you create pursuit stages that reflect how your firm actually wins work—from Initial Inquiry and Go/No-Go through RFP Submission, Shortlist, and Contract Award. You can build separate pipelines for different project types, such as public-sector bids versus private-sector pursuits, and set up automation that advances opportunities and assigns follow-up tasks when each stage milestone is met.
The result is a BD process your whole team will actually use—without the complexity or cost of a niche AEC tool.
3. How does Nutshell handle technical project specifications and document organization?
Nutshell acts as a central hub for all client and project data. Beyond standard contact info, you can store and pin project specifications, notes, and partner communications directly to a lead or company record.
Through our integrations with tools like Google Drive, Dropbox, and Microsoft 365, your team can access essential technical documents and blueprints directly from the CRM, keeping everyone aligned on the project details.
4. Can Nutshell integrate with the tools our engineering firm already uses—like QuickBooks, Outlook, or Procore?
Yes. Nutshell offers native two-way sync with both Microsoft Outlook and Google Workspace, so every email and meeting is logged automatically to the correct client record without any manual entry. QuickBooks integration keeps your client and financial data connected.
For specialized tools like Procore or project management platforms your firm relies on, Nutshell’s App Marketplace and open API give you flexible options to build the connections you need—without hiring a consultant to configure them.
5. How does Nutshell help us track the ROI of our business development and marketing efforts?
Nutshell’s advanced reporting and lead attribution features show you exactly which channels—like industry conferences, referrals, or digital ads—are bringing in your most lucrative projects.
You can run reports by sales rep, lead source, or project type to see where your firm is winning and identify areas for process improvement, helping you make data-driven decisions for your firm’s future.
6. How does Nutshell help principals and BD directors track capture rates and pipeline health?
Nutshell’s reporting suite gives BD leadership a real-time view of everything that matters: open pursuits by stage, projected revenue across your pipeline, win/loss rates by project type or client sector, and which lead sources—referrals, conferences, digital campaigns—are generating your most profitable work.
You can build and save custom reports around any metric your firm tracks and share dashboards with your leadership team. It’s the kind of BD intelligence most firms currently piece together from spreadsheets, finally in one place.