What is a white-label CRM?

How a white-label CRM works

A white-label CRM splits the work: the vendor runs the software, and your agency owns the brand and the client relationship. The vendor builds, hosts and updates the product. Your agency puts its name on it, sells it to clients and sets the price they pay.

Agencies choose white-label to make software part of their own service. The trade-off is that the agency also takes on billing and first-line support.

What white-label can include

White-label is not one feature, so ask each vendor exactly which of these you get:

• Logo and colours: your brand inside the app and on emails and documents.
• Your own web address: clients log in on your domain, not the vendor's.
• Your own app listing: a mobile app under your name in the app stores.
• Your own billing: you invoice clients, and the vendor never bills them directly.
• Full rebrand: login pages, emails, help pages and support all carry your name.

Each level asks more of the vendor's product, and more of your team.

White-label vs reseller vs referral

The three models differ in whose brand the client sees, who bills the client and who answers the client's questions.

What differs	White-label	Reseller	Referral
Brand the client sees	Your agency's	The vendor's	The vendor's
Who sells	Your agency	Your agency	The vendor, after your introduction
Who bills the client	Your agency	Your agency or the vendor, as agreed	The vendor
First line of support	Your agency	Usually your agency	The vendor
How you earn	Your own price	A margin or discount	A referral fee

White-label fits agencies with the staff to support clients under their own name. Reselling fits agencies that want to sell and earn from software while the vendor's brand stands behind it. Referral fits agencies that want a fee for an introduction, with no billing or support work.

How agencies earn from it

Agencies usually earn from a white-label CRM in three ways:

• Setup fee: a one-time charge for building the client's pipeline, fields and follow-up rules.
• Monthly margin: the gap between what you pay the vendor and what you charge the client.
• Services: training, reports, and running the campaigns that bring in the leads.

Price each one after counting the support time it creates.

What agencies should check

Get written answers on four things before you sign: branding, data ownership, billing and support.

Branding

Ask which of the levels above you get, and where the vendor's name still appears. Check login pages, emails, invoices, help pages and app stores. Ask what happens to your branding if you change plans.

Data ownership

Find out who owns each client's data, who can see it and where it is stored. Check that a client can export its contacts and deals in a standard format, such as CSV. Ask what happens to the data if the client leaves you, or you leave the vendor.

Billing

Ask whether the vendor bills in rupees or dollars. A dollar price rises and falls in rupees with the exchange rate. Ask for a GST invoice, and plan how you will charge GST to your clients.

Check for minimum client numbers, setup fees and lock-in periods. Under white-label you collect from clients, and you usually still owe the vendor when a client pays late.

Support

Under white-label, clients bring every question to you, so plan for that support load. Ask what the vendor handles behind you, how fast it responds and whether it trains your team. Get response times in writing.

Where Superlane stands

Superlane is not a white-label CRM. It works with agencies through a reseller partnership. Your clients use Superlane under its own name, and you offer it as part of your service.

Superlane is opening through a waitlist, starting in Jaipur. Every new business gets a 14-day free trial, starting when its workspace is ready. Agencies can apply to partner through the waitlist form.