--- title: HiveCRM Overview description: HiveCRM is a WordPress CRM plugin that lets you manage leads, deals, contacts, projects, tasks, support tickets, estimates, and invoices without leaving your WordPress admin area. url: "https://hiveplugins.com/docs/hivecrm/" updated: "2026-09-27" category: HiveCRM --- # HiveCRM Overview HiveCRM is a WordPress CRM plugin that lets you manage leads, deals, contacts, projects, tasks, support tickets, estimates, and invoices without leaving your WordPress admin area. Instead of running your sales pipeline and client relationships in a separate SaaS tool, HiveCRM adds a full CRM workspace directly inside WordPress, backed by your own database. ## What Can You Do With HiveCRM? HiveCRM organizes your business around these core modules: - **Leads** — Capture and qualify potential clients before they become deals. - **Deals & Pipeline** — Track opportunities through a visual, drag-and-drop sales pipeline. - **Contacts** — Manage People and Organizations you work with. - **Clients** — Manage active clients, including their deals, projects, invoices, and support history in one place. - **Client Portal** — Give clients a self-service login where they can view their deals, projects, invoices, and support tickets. - **Projects** — Run client projects with statuses, tasks, and file attachments. - **Tasks** — Assign and track work items across your team. - **Tickets** — A built-in helpdesk for client support requests. - **Estimates & Invoices** — Create, send, and track estimates and invoices, including recurring invoices. - **Services & Packages** — Sell fixed-price service packages and manage client orders. - **Workflow Automation** — Automatically run actions (send an email, create a task, add a tag, update a field, call a webhook) when something happens in the CRM. - **Team & Roles** — Add staff members and control what they can see and do with role-based capabilities. ## Leads The Leads module is where potential clients enter your pipeline. You can capture leads manually, from a connected WordPress form plugin, or via HiveCRM's REST API, then track them through configurable lead levels (for example New, Contacted, Qualified) until they're ready to become a deal. ## Deals & Pipeline Deals represent an active sales opportunity. HiveCRM displays deals on a Kanban-style pipeline board, organized into stages you define (for example Proposal Sent, Negotiation, Won). You can convert a qualified lead directly into a deal, keeping its history and contact information intact. ## Contacts & Clients Contacts store the people and organizations you interact with. When a contact becomes an active customer, HiveCRM tracks them as a Client, with a unified overview of their deals, projects, invoices, tickets, notes, and files. ## Client Portal The Client Portal gives each client their own self-service dashboard, available through the `[hive_crm_portal]` shortcode on any page. From the portal, clients can (depending on what you enable): - View their deals and estimated value - View their active and past projects - View and pay their estimates and invoices - View their support tickets and reply to them - Submit a new support ticket You control exactly which of these sections are visible, and whether clients can submit or reply to tickets, from **Settings → Client Portal**. ## Projects & Tasks Projects track delivery work for a client after a deal is won. Each project has a status, a task list, team assignments, a discussion thread, and file attachments. Tasks can exist inside a project or on their own, with statuses, priorities, categories, and staff assignments. ## Tickets (Support / Helpdesk) The Tickets module is a built-in helpdesk. Clients can submit tickets from the Client Portal (if enabled), and staff can manage, reply to, and resolve them from the CRM admin area. Internal, staff-only notes on a ticket are never shown to the client. ## Estimates & Invoices Create estimates and send them to clients for approval, then convert an approved estimate into an invoice — or create an invoice directly. HiveCRM supports: - Custom numbering prefixes - Multiple currencies and tax rates - Recurring invoices - Automatic payment and expiration reminders - Client-facing payment via your configured payment gateways ## Services & Packages If you sell fixed-price services, the Services & Packages module lets you build a catalog of packages that clients can order, either through the CRM or through a public checkout you configure. ## Workflow Automation Workflow Automation lets you build "when this happens, do that" automations using a visual, node-based canvas. A workflow is built from: - A **trigger** — a CRM event, such as a lead being created or a deal being updated - Optional **conditions** — only continue if specific field values match - One or more **actions** — send an email, create a task, add a tag, update a field, or call an external webhook This lets you automate routine follow-ups and notifications without writing code. ## Team & Roles HiveCRM ships with four roles: **Admin**, **Manager**, **Staff**, and **Client**. Admins and Managers can access team management and CRM-wide settings, Staff can work with the CRM entities assigned to their capabilities, and Clients only ever see their own data through the Client Portal. ## HiveCRM Free vs Premium HiveCRM Premium is a commercially licensed plugin. A valid license key activates automatic plugin updates and full write access to every module. Without an active license (or once your license's grace period has expired), HiveCRM switches to **read-only mode**: you can still view existing CRM data, but creating or editing records is disabled until the license is reactivated. See [License Activation](license-activation.md) for details. ## How HiveCRM Fits Into WordPress HiveCRM runs entirely inside your existing WordPress installation. CRM records are stored in your site's own database (as custom post types and dedicated database tables), so your data stays on infrastructure you control. HiveCRM does not require WooCommerce, though it can optionally route invoice and package-order payments through your existing WooCommerce checkout if it's installed. ## When Should You Use HiveCRM? HiveCRM is particularly useful when you want to: - Track leads and deals without paying for a separate SaaS CRM - Give clients a branded self-service portal for their projects, invoices, and support - Automate follow-up emails, tasks, and notifications around CRM events - Bill clients with estimates, invoices, and recurring billing from the same place you manage the relationship - Let AI assistants (like Claude or ChatGPT) read and act on your CRM data through the built-in MCP Server integration ## Recommended Documentation Path If you're new to HiveCRM, start with [Installation & Requirements](installation-requirements.md) and [License Activation](license-activation.md), then read [HiveCRM Dashboard](hivecrm-dashboard.md) to get familiar with the admin layout before diving into a specific module.