Zoho CRM Making Waves In The Small Business World

Relative new kid on the CRM block, Zoho is quickly building a good reputation. Its most obvious and appealing feature is that it is FREE for up to 3 users – making it a terrific option for sole traders, micro businesses and start ups.

This user friendly application is completely cloud based and offers good website integration. It also has the potential to serve businesses as they grow (with upgrades to Professional and Enterprise) making a great choice for start ups looking for a low cost application with future potential. Because it is a subscription service you can upgrade any time.

Zoho offers a complete office suite and small business package, along with the CRM application, meaning it can provide a ‘one-stop-shop’ for small businesses. The full application includes:

• Full office suite (including documents, spreadsheets, mail, planner etc)
• Web conferencing
• Team collaboration tools (team planning, chat, projects discussion, polls)
• Human resource management tools
• Invoicing
• Testing tools
• Full reporting capabilities
• Good importing capabilities

And Zoho CRM offers the following:

• Manage accounts, contacts and opportunities
• Full reporting
• Forecasting
• Fully customisable
• Easy to use
• Free up to 3 users, modest monthly charge up to that
• Entry level is free, Professional and Enterprise incur monthly cost

Are there drawbacks to Zoho CRM?

The interface of Zoho CRM is mildly criticised for being a little drab and unexciting. Also, for users new to CRM it takes a little while to learn to navigate workflow. The application requires a fair amount of customisation if you want to make changes – which will require some external expertise.

However, as a foundation level CRM it is a good, functional, cost effective choice. If you have any questions about Zoho CRM and what other choices might be available and suitable for your business, please contact us for an unbiased and informed consultation.