CRM system – Minerva Accountants Bristol and Somerset

After last week’s post I was asked which CRM we use.

As I run three businesses (Minerva Accountants, Hudson Business Advice, and Minerva Technology) we use two different systems.

You can start off with a free CRM or even set up your own spreadsheets of contacts and actions but at some point you will (hopefully) grow to a point where you need something with a bit more oomph and functionality so you will need to invest a bit of money. Fortunately most CRMs have the ability to import a spreadsheet of contacts and data so it’s easy to migrate. What takes more time is setting up your workflows and funnels.

At the moment we use Active Campaign (AC) across all three businesses because it has good email campaign functionality and we can set up different tags and funnels for each business. This includes sending out these weekly Top Tips to two different mailing lists. It connects with Outlook and we can set up sales funnels and keep notes. We use this primarily for prospects and running the coaching and tech business which have simple workflows.

To run the more complex business of Minerva Accountants we use Bright Manager (BM). Running an accountancy (or bookkeeping) business comes with all sorts of deadlines and checklists which BM can handle. The software comes with predefined workflows but you can tweak these or create your own. There are many competitors at the moment, all with their own strengths and weaknesses, and the market is changing rapidly. For us the downside of BM is the reporting and, with no API available, we have to pull out reports into Excel and manipulate them there. I have spoken to their product team about this so watch this space. Having a separate workflow system means that personal, essential emails and reminders are separate from the general ones. Clients are enrolled on both systems so they still receive the Top Tips and any bonus offers through AC.

Specialist software for accountants includes Engager, Karbon, FYI and others but, in my opinion, there is plenty of room for somebody to sweep the market at the small business end.

Once your business outgrows you and a few contacts on your phone it is worth implementing a proper CRM (customer relationship management) system.

Register with ICO (Information Commissioners Office) and pay the necessary fee. This will vary with the size of your business but starts at £40 per year. Ensure that you record all the ways that you will use personal data.

Choose a CRM system that suits your business needs. Do you want to track prospects or to hold more detailed information for existing customers. DO you need to include tasks and workflows? Do you want it to integrate to your emails or a a bulk mailing system?

Give all your team access to add, update, and generally use the system. This will ensure that they are informed before all client contact.

Regularly update and maintain customer data. This is one of your responsibilities under GDPR but it also makes sense for the business to hold the lates information

Use CRM analytics to improve customer relationships and to track which marketing campaigns are most effective

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Which CRM?

Implementing a CRM system in your business