How we research software
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Two kinds of evidence — always labelled
- Desk research: we read the provider’s official pricing, product and integration pages and record the link and date. Visiting a pricing page is never described as testing.
- Hands-on tested: someone used the product against a written scenario. It can only be published with uploaded evidence (for example screenshots we took ourselves), and shows the date and scorecard. None are published yet.
Prices
We copy prices in the currency the official page shows, note whether VAT is included, whether it is per user or flat, the billing period, minimum users and any commitment. We never convert currencies or fill in missing fees; the cost estimator marks totals as incomplete instead.
Integrations
Marked native, marketplace app, third-party or API only when an official page names it. Otherwise it is “not verified” — which is not the same as “not available”.
Imported catalogue
Most of the catalogue comes from the existing SoftShop listings. These are labelled unreviewed until checked. Duplicate listings of the same product are grouped for browsing; original pages and addresses are kept.
Scenario scorecards for hands-on tests
CRM: a 5-person sales team
- Import 50 contacts from a CSV
- Create a pipeline with 5 stages and move a deal through it
- Log an email from Outlook or Gmail against a contact
- Set a follow-up reminder and see it on a dashboard
- Export all contacts and deals
Each task scored 0 (couldn’t do it) to 3 (easy), with notes and evidence.
Communications: a 10-person office
- Set up a team channel or group and invite a guest
- Start a video meeting from a calendar invite
- Configure a business number with out-of-hours routing
- Review call history and a voicemail
- Remove a leaver and reassign their number
Each task scored 0 (couldn’t do it) to 3 (easy), with notes and evidence.
Customer support: 3 agents, email and chat
- Connect a support email address
- Create saved replies and assign a conversation
- Publish a help-centre article
- Set up a simple routing or SLA rule
- Export tickets and view a basic report
Each task scored 0 (couldn’t do it) to 3 (easy), with notes and evidence.
Corrections
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