Choosing the right knowledge base software for your company seems like a Herculean task. There are so many options available.
(I’d tell you how many different knowledge base software services are available online, but I lost count.) So, let’s say there are dozens of viable options for you to sift through. But, you don’t have time for that.
Luckily, you’ve come across Salesforce Knowledge and ScreenSteps and you think you’ve narrowed down your options. The question is, which option is the right option for your company?
As the Director of Transformational Services for ScreenSteps, I of course want to say ScreenSteps. But, the truth is ScreenSteps is not the right solution for every company. It depends on what you want to accomplish.
In this article, I’ll compare Salesforce Knowledge — the features and the cost — so that you can make the best decision for which knowledge base is right for your company.
Salesforce Knowledge is a cloud-based knowledge base software solution. It allows teams to author articles, store them in the knowledge base, and share these articles with others.
Salesforce Knowledge works as both an internal and external knowledge base. That means content authors can share articles with fellow employees and customers.
The knowledge base serves as an employee wiki where employees can find answers to answer customer questions or their own questions. With the customer-facing knowledge base, customers can self-serve answers by searching the knowledge base.
Salesforce Knowledge is not a standalone product, but it is included with all of Salesforce’s plans. This means it is part of a bigger software application.
ScreenSteps is a cloud-based knowledge base that is focused on enabling your employees to perform the right procedures at the right time without making mistakes. With a ScreenSteps knowledge base, you can create, store, and share your procedural guides.
ScreenSteps has both an internal and customer-facing knowledge base options.
The role of ScreenSteps is to support your employees while they are working. ScreenSteps does this by providing your employees with procedural guides that are easy to find and use. These are your policies, processes, and procedures.
These are the resources your employees will need to use in order to do their job correctly each and every time.
Salesforce Knowledge and ScreenSteps both have great features. They also have different strengths and weaknesses. In this section, I compare the various features for the two knowledge base software services.
| Feature | Salesforce Knowledge | ScreenSteps |
| Authoring tools |
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| Permissions management |
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| Knowledge center support |
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| Integrations with Salesforce |
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| Analytics |
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With Salesforce Knowledge, you can have both an private and public knowledge base. And you can share articles between the two knowledge bases.
All you have to do is click “Visible in Internal App” for a private knowledge base, meaning information will only be visible to employees who you have granted access to the article. Or you can click “Visible in Public Knowledge Base” if you want the article to appear in your customer-facing knowledge base.
With ScreenSteps, you also have a private and public knowledge base option as part of your subscription.
Simply check a box to indicate which sites (which audiences) you want an article shared on. Then the content is automatically shared between knowledge bases. If you update an article on the private knowledge base it will automatically update in the public knowledge base (and vice versa).
When you create content in Salesforce Knowledge, you use a basic wiki editor. That means you write articles with your basic authoring tools.
Some of those tools include text editors (bolding, italics, etc.), indentations, and other formatting tools. Plus, you can insert tables, hyperlinks, images, videos, bulleted lists, and more.
ScreenSteps uses block authoring to make it easy for you to organize your guides. While ScreenSteps limits its number of authoring tools, the tools are optimized to help you create consistent help guides that are easy for your employees to follow.
One tool unique to ScreenSteps is its integrated screen capture tool. It allows you to capture screenshots and automatically upload them into your articles. Some of the other authoring tools include decision trees, foldable sections, pop-up links, checklists, and more.
Salesforce Knowledge is not sold as an independent tool. Instead, it is included as part of Salesforce’s Service Cloud, which is a suite of features for doing customer support. Salesforce Knowledge is included as part of Salesforce Classic and Lightning Experience.
The price of Salesforce Knowledge is dependent on which plan you choose. Salesforce plans start at $25/user per month.
ScreenSteps is a standalone knowledge base. As such, ScreenSteps only charges for the use of the knowledge base software. ScreenSteps subscriptions are available for a monthly or annual rate. When you sign up for a year, you save up to 16% on your subscription.
There are three plans available: Standard, Advanced, and Enterprise (which is customized for your company). ScreenSteps plans are determined by the number of active users on your account.
Standard plans start at $2,500 per year or $239 per month for up to 25 users. That breaks down to less than $10/month per user.
There are many great features in Salesforce Knowledge to help you store your company’s knowledge. Here are some indicators that Salesforce would be a good fit for your company and the goals you want to achieve.
If you are already using Salesforce for other sales, marketing, or other services in your business, then you already have Salesforce Knowledge for no additional cost. It is a cost-efficient choice and automatically means your information is in one place.
If integrations are important to your company, then Salesforce could be a good option. Salesforce has several features for managing a knowledge base plus a built-in integration with Salesforce.
ScreenSteps is the best option for your company if your employees are handling dozens of different procedures a day, procedures are changing on a regular basis, and compliance is a priority.
In other words, if you need your employees to use procedures, checklists, and help guides daily, then ScreenSteps is a good fit.
As an employee enablement system, ScreenSteps is especially helpful in supporting growing and changing businesses.
Choose ScreenSteps if you want to encourage workflow learning and build a culture of continuous learning in your organization.
Another sign that your company is a good fit for ScreenSteps is that mistakes are not an option. Whether it is for compliance or another reason, you can't afford to have their employees make mistakes when following SOPs.
When it comes to knowledge base software, there are many options available. But you really need a knowledge base that will help you reach your specific goals.
If you are looking for a knowledge base that is agile for your growing business and helps employees perform their job, then ScreenSteps is the solution for you.
Ultimately, the advantages of using ScreenSteps for your knowledge base come down to it is easier and faster to create content, and it is easier and faster to use. Companies can keep their policies and procedures up to date and immediately push those updates to the end-user, which leads to fewer mistakes.
Want to see ScreenSteps in action? Schedule a demo today to see how a ScreenSteps knowledge base could simplify the way your company creates, stores, and shares procedures.