A quick look at CRM and how it can work with you and your accounting software

Transcription

1 A quick look at CRM and how it can work with you and your accounting software Streamlining business processes to achieve greater efficiency and cost savings is important for many businesses. However, integrations between front-office and back-office systems are often overlooked or dismissed due to high up-front costs and security concerns. This whitepaper discusses why businesses should consider integrating CRM (front-office) and Accounting (back-office) software, and how they can do this in a cost efficient and secure way. Produced by Xact Software Solutions Ltd 18 Kingsway Ave, Sandringham, Auckland, New Zealand

2 Introduction Do you wish you could do this with your accounting system? Send targeted s to your customers Access customer information on the go from your smart phone, laptop or tablet Share accounting information securely with staff who don t have access to accounting Store all of your business contacts including customers, prospects and suppliers in one place Store all of your customer-related information, such as purchase history and communication history, in one place If you answered yes to any of the above then you must read this. Accounting packages are designed to perform accounting-related tasks such as creating invoices. However, the tasks listed above are sales-related and most accounting packages simply isn t designed to handle such tasks. So what is the solution? Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software. On the following pages this article discusses in simple terms what CRM is, why businesses need it, and also the importance of linking CRM and accounting systems. In short, this article proves how CRM is the best tool available to enable businesses to successfully manage their contacts and ultimately improve customer service, generate more sales, and improve internal communication, productivity and workflow processes. Why should I read this article? You should read this article if you are interested in: Improving the way your business manages and communicates with its prospects, customers and other business contacts to improve loyalty and generate more sales Improving productivity and streamlining business processes to reduce communication errors, create business intelligence that stays in control of the business 1

3 What is CRM and why would any business need it? What is CRM? CRM is an acronym for Contact Relationship Management and all information relating to a customer forms the basis of a customer relationship package including information in your accounting system, correspondence and physical documents. Today, CRM is the term generally used to reference CRM software, this however is merely the tip of the iceberg. At its heart, CRM is much more than a technology product; CRM is about process it is about how a business deals with its customers. CRM at its best is an effective integration of your marketing, sales and customer service. One might ask why?... Why would you want to do any of that? Well, this question can be answered on multiple levels, but broadly it can be summarized in two words Competitive Advantage. In short, a good CRM solution builds value for your business by opening up vital communication channels and creating a common client-focused knowledge base to better serve your customers. Ultimately this means you really do need to understand what CRM can do for your business specifically and how you can best use that in-built power. How can businesses benefit from CRM? Provide a higher level of service - by knowing more about your customers needs your business is equipped with the knowledge needed to respond to your customer s queries in a timely and professional manner. Provide the right product to the right customer - by keeping track of your customer s preferences you are given the advantage of knowing or at least anticipating what they want out of a given product or a service. Maintain a strong relationship with its customers - by showing that you care about them, customers are more than likely to do business again with businesses that show interest in their needs and who strive to provide the highest quality of service. Keep everyone in the business on the same page - having information stored in one centralized place means your business can take ownership of its employee s knowledge. This means your business will not suffer if an employee is out for the day or even leaves the organization and their prospective customer calls asking about the status of a quote. Measure business performance accurately - if everyone in your business is doing their job correctly and they re feeding the business s CRM database with the correct information then managers and business analysts can tap into an invaluable resource to analyze and report on how the business is performing. For example you can analyze the rate of lead-to-customer conversions, why some prospects opt for a competitor s product, or how quick your staff responds to customer s enquiries. Overall, by effectively integrating your marketing, sales, and customer service functions, a good CRM system makes it easier for everyone inside your company to work together and share critical information that all comes together to keep the customer satisfied and loyal. 2

4 Linking CRM with Accounting The Problem: Within a typical business it is common to have a number of separate databases each serving a specific purpose, such as a CRM database (for qualitative data) and an accounting database (for quantitative data). Within such environments there is a need to enter and maintain the same information across the different databases, and herein lies a problem dual entry of data. Each time the business acquires a new customer, information must be recorded in two databases; and any changes to this information need to be applied twice. But what if the customer changed their contact details and the changes were not made across the board? What if the accounting system kept the old billing address? Having disconnected processes gives the potential for a multitude of errors that can cause disruption and inefficiencies within the business. Another thing to consider is from time to time staff may need access to information which is not typically available to them, for example sales staff may require real time access to a customer s transaction history. Within a disconnected environment sales staff that do not have access to accounting software would need to get this information from the accountant(s). This can be problematic, especially for smaller organizations that usually employ one or two accountants part-time, as staff may not get the information to the customer when needed. The loss of productivity as a result of acquiring this information can also be quite significant. There may also be situations when your staff also require access to certain business functions which are not normally available to them. For example, consider the process of raising quotes or invoices; when a customer requests a quote sales staff would require an up-to-date pricing list, and when a quote is generated it must be forwarded to the accountant to get converted into an order and then an invoice. In a disconnected environment the risk of sales staff using outdated pricing is high and can cause problems for the accounting department. The Solution: The solution to this is to find a way to provide staff with access to both sets of information from one place so they can see the big picture without having to jump between multiple systems. This can be achieved through the integration of CRM and accounting processes. Integrating disconnected processes provides organisations with a number of benefits. Including: Reducing or even eliminating dual entry of data, saving time and minimizing data entry errors by pushing data changes between CRM and accounting systems Giving sales staff access to vital financial information within the CRM system so they can provide a higher level of service to customers Reducing the workload on accounts and close more sales by allowing sales staff to have controlled access to accounting functions such as estimate and invoice creation, and Streamlining business processes and improve workflow to enable your business to become more agile and responsive to your customers and changes in the marketplace. 3

5 Accounting Integration in Action CRM and accounting integration gives sales staff the ability to be more involved with the organisations accounting processes and ultimately improve workflow. Below is an example of how the Xact Accounting Links for ACT! can influence a typical sales process. As you will see, effective CRM/accounting integration can help to eliminate dual entry of data, reduce human errors, limit the workload on accounts and improve productivity all at the same time. Key: Tasks performed by the sales-rep Tasks performed by the accountant Errors/Problems Scenario 1 No CRM/Accounting Integration Accounting Integration A new prospect requests an estimate from the company The prospect decides to go ahead with the purchase The customer advises the sales rep of a new billing address The customers accounts department has not paid the invoice on time and the customer rings up to place another order 1. The sales rep creates an estimate in their quoting database or, more commonly, Microsoft Excel and s it to the prospect. 2. The sales rep forwards the estimate to the accountant. 3. The accountant re-types the data into the accounting system to create an invoice. 4. The accountant notices that the sales rep used outdated pricing and the company must decide whether it will honour the estimate or use the new pricing. 5. The sales rep enters the new address into ACT! and forwards the to the accountant. 6. The accountant also enters the new address into the Accounting system. 7. The sales rep creates a sales order and forwards this to the accountant and the goods are sent. 8. The accountant re-enters the sales order into the accounting system and also sees that they must now chase up two payments from the customer. 1. The sales rep creates an estimate in ACT! using live data from the accounting system. When the estimate is complete the sales rep s it to the prospect, and it also automatically appears in the accounting system. 2. The sales rep uses an Xact Accounting Link 2 to convert the estimate into an invoice from within ACT! using up to date product information. The invoice then appears in the accounting system automatically The sales rep enters the new address in ACT! and clicks on the update customer button to automatically update the same details in the accounting system. 4. Through the Xact Accounting Link, the sales rep can see the customers aged receivables from within ACT! and is able to refuse the new order request until the previous invoice has been paid. 1 In this scenario there is an assumption that the sales rep does not have access to the accounting system 2 Xact Accounting Links are currently available for MYOB, QuickBooks, Xero and MYOB EXO. For more information visit 3 This process may differ depending on the accounting system you are integrating with. If you are integrating with MYOB or Xero using an Xact Software accounting link the sales rep would have to ask the accountant to convert the estimate to an invoice from within the accounting system. 4