We long looked at Axonaut with a sceptical eye at Salesdorado. A decent piece of software, but above all a highly visible one thanks to muscular marketing and a well-oiled affiliate network, so much so that we kept running into it at the top of plenty of “Top CRM” lists.
Since then, the tool has clearly moved up a level. Axonaut remains less advanced than a Pipedrive or a HubSpot for advanced uses, but it has found its lane: simplifying sales management for French SMEs. As an all-in-one solution, Axonaut offers a very complete functional scope:
- Sales prospecting and CRM
- Cash flow and accounting management
- Stock management
- Project management
- Email and SMS campaigns
- Human resources management
- Customer support management
In this article, we mainly look at the tool’s sales features, but do make use of Axonaut’s other options, which are just as convincing.
Contact management in Axonaut
On contact management, Axonaut stays true to its philosophy: get to the point. The directory gathers contacts, leads and customers in a single space, with filters and a quick search that are more than enough for a small or medium-sized database. The map view is a nice little extra for picturing your portfolio and organising your trips.
Records are clear and well structured: you easily find the key details, the history of exchanges and the next actions. The tool does not try to dazzle you, and that is rather a good thing for teams that want readability above all.
From the record, you can trigger common actions directly (follow-up, quote, opportunity) without going through complex menus.
Customisation options, on the other hand, are fairly limited. You can add fields or tags, but you stay far from the flexibility of more “middle market” oriented tools such as Pipedrive. For a very small business, that is not a problem, but on larger databases or fine-grained segmentation, you quickly hit the limits.
Salesdorado’s takeContact management that is simple, clear and effective for everyday needs. No frills, but no great customisation options either. It is a good trade-off for organisations that want an operational CRM without drowning in settings.
Opportunity management in Axonaut
Axonaut offers a readable sales pipeline, organised by stage, that puts the emphasis on clarity of execution. You quickly see where the value sits, which deals need a follow-up and where the cycle stalls. The approach suits teams looking for a simple framework, with few settings and routines that are easy to put in place.
Each opportunity opens onto a stripped-back record, with the amount, the probability, the due date and a timeline of interactions. Common actions are within reach: schedule a follow-up, create a quote, mark won or lost. That smooth chain from prospecting to selling avoids back and forth and cuts down double entry.
On simple sales processes, it works very well. As soon as the organisation gets more sophisticated, you hit the limits. We would have liked, for instance, to see more advanced forecasting options and automation rules going beyond standard follow-ups.
Salesdorado’s takeAxonaut’s pipeline is of a good standard: priority to readability and to action. It is handy for framing a team that needs a clear process and a fast move from deal to quote.
Quote and order management in Axonaut
This is one of Axonaut’s strong points. A deal won in the pipeline turns into a quote in a few clicks, with the customer details and the product lines already filled in. The document is clean, you handle discounts, VAT and commercial terms, then send it straight by email.
The cycle behind it is smooth. The customer can approve, you generate the order, then the invoice with no re-entry. Statuses help track where each case stands: sent, viewed, accepted, invoiced. Electronic signature and online payment through partners clearly cut the time between agreement and cash in.
For teams that invoice as they go, it is effective. You keep control of your terms and conditions, legal notices and quote templates, and the history stays centralised. Tied to the rest of the suite, the quote, order, invoice chain feeds reporting and cash flow with no patching.
Salesdorado’s takeThe opportunity, quote, invoice chain is clean and fast. For an SME that wants to shorten payment times without getting lost in complexity, it is exactly what is needed. If you have sophisticated pricing policies, multi-level approvals or plenty of international business, expect a few workarounds.
Sales reporting in Axonaut
Axonaut’s reporting gets to the point, giving a quick read on volumes, stage-by-stage rates and trends without multiplying screens. You quickly spot where the value sits, where the pipeline stalls and which cases need action. The per-rep view lets you set up individual tracking without Excel.
The approach favours operational clarity, useful for running a weekly review and pacing follow-ups. The performance indicators cover the fundamentals: value by stage, conversion rate, cycle times, without getting lost in esoteric options.
We would have liked to see deeper forecast views, multi-team quotas and finer cohort analyses. If steering has to become analytical, a dedicated dataviz tool will still be a better fit.
Salesdorado’s takeAxonaut offers sober, understandable reporting, enough to steer a team that wants readability and rhythm. For sophisticated forecasting or segmented analysis, you will have to accept concessions or plug in a BI layer.
Axonaut’s Marketing module, email and SMS for simple campaigns
Axonaut lets you send email and SMS campaigns to your database without leaving the tool. The approach stays deliberately light: you target a list, put together a clean message, you send. For an SME that wants to keep in touch without building a marketing factory, it makes sense.
On targeting, you lean on the database filters and ready-made segments. Axonaut highlights AI-assisted segmentation, useful for quick selection, but you stay far from a dedicated automation engine for fine-grained scenarios or advanced scoring.
Tracking covers the fundamentals: opens, clicks, send times. That is enough to steer regular communication, less so to optimise a multi-step sequence, run serial A/B tests or work cohorts by segment. In those cases, better to connect a specialised tool and keep Axonaut as the CRM and invoicing foundation.
Salesdorado’s takeHandy for simple, one-off campaigns, Axonaut’s marketing module avoids scattering your efforts. We would have liked to see deeper options on personalisation, A/B testing and reporting.
Cash flow and finance with Axonaut, Compte Pro, cash advance and debt collection
Axonaut has widened its playing field on the finance side. The idea is simple: bring the sale and the payment closer together to shorten the gap between the quote, the invoice and the cash.
The Compte Pro brings a French IBAN, physical or virtual cards, tracking of team spending and automatic reconciliation with the invoices issued. Receipts land in the right place and accounting exports stay clean. That said, the scope stays pragmatic, with less flexibility on multiple accounts, multiple currencies or complex approval schemes.
The cash advance financed against invoices is triggered from within Axonaut. The request is quick and the decision often just as quick, which can secure a short-term need without going through a classic bank line. That is useful, but the cost of the financing varies from case to case, as does the eligibility of the invoices.
On debt collection, Axonaut offers simple reminders then a move to outsourced collection in a few clicks, with centralised tracking. For limited outstanding amounts, that lightens the mental load and standardises practices. The scenarios remain basic, though, with little A/B testing or risk scoring, and teams with large volumes will prefer finer settings.
Finally, electronic invoicing is supported, with formats and circuits compliant with the framework being rolled out across France. Implementation is guided and avoids double entry between sales and admin. As things stand, the regulatory timetable is still moving, so the configuration will have to be checked as announcements come to stay perfectly aligned.
Salesdorado’s takeThe trio of Compte Pro, cash advance and debt collection strengthens Axonaut’s promise: an all-in-one solution to sell, invoice and get paid.
Axonaut support, resources, training and day-to-day help
Support is in the image of the product, designed for small or agile teams. The knowledge base and the YouTube tutorials cover common cases with clear step-by-step guides, enough to solve 80 % of questions without opening a ticket. For the rest, the exchange happens straight from the interface, which makes the context easier to share.
In practice, the answers are rather quick and instructive. The team does not over-promise, it helps you unblock everyday use and set up the fundamentals properly: imports, document templates, a simple follow-up workflow. That is what most SMEs expect from an operationally minded vendor.
To go further, Axonaut also offers certified training with listed trainers all over France, in Luxembourg and in Belgium. Sessions are tailored after a needs analysis, the rate starts at 80 € excluding tax per hour and OPCO funding is often possible. A good way to speed up onboarding and avoid setup mistakes at the start.
On the limits side, project support stays light. There is no structured change management programme, no dedicated steering on multi-team rollouts or heavy integrations.
Salesdorado’s takeAccessible, pragmatic support, enriched by a network of certified trainers to speed up adoption. Very well suited to an SME’s everyday needs. For more complex organisations, plan for internal framing, a business owner and, if needed, a partner to structure adoption and integrations.
Plans & Pricing
Axonaut runs on an all-inclusive basis, with no scattered modules and no hidden options. The 15-day free trial lets you test the whole scope.
The price is 69.99 € excluding tax per month for 1 user. Each additional user costs 29.99 € excluding tax per month. Discounts exist depending on the commitment: 20 % on an annual commitment, 30 % for a two-year commitment and 50 % for a three-year commitment.
In concrete terms, a team of 5 users comes to 189.95 € excluding tax per month at the monthly rate. With the 20 % annual discount, that drops to around 151 € excluding tax per month, then to 133 € over 2 years and 95 € over 3 years.
The price positioning is consistent with the all-in-one promise. For an organisation that wants to centralise CRM, quotes, invoicing and a cash flow foundation, the features-to-price ratio holds up.
Salesdorado’s takeWe like the simple grid and the all-inclusive logic. To decide, run the full calculation: number of users, any payment fees, implementation time, and compare with other solutions. At 5 licences, Axonaut remains competitive against a separate CRM plus invoicing pair.