Skip to product menu
close
EXPLORE ALL PRODUCTS

Sales

CRM

Comprehensive CRM platform for customer-facing teams.

CRM
Voice

Cloud Contact Center Software for businesses.

Voice
Sign

Digital signature app for businesses.

Sign
Forms

Build online forms for every business need.

Forms
Bigin

Simple CRM for small businesses moving from spreadsheets.

Bigin
SalesIQ

Live chat app to engage and convert website visitors.

SalesIQ
Bookings

Appointment scheduling app for consultations with customers.

Bookings
RouteIQ

Comprehensive sales map visualization and optimal route planning solution.

RouteIQ
Thrive

Complete loyalty and affiliate management platform.

Thrive
Suites
CRM Plus

Unified platform to deliver top-notch customer experience.

CRM Plus

Marketing

Campaigns

Create, send, and track targeted email campaigns that drive sales.

Campaigns
Voice

Cloud Contact Center Software for businesses.

Voice
Sign

Digital signature app for businesses.

Sign
Forms

Build online forms for every business need.

Forms
Social

All-in-one social media management software.

Social
Survey

Design surveys to reach and interact with your audience.

Survey
SalesIQ

Live chat app to engage and convert website visitors.

SalesIQ
Sites

Online website builder with extensive customisation options.

Sites
Backstage

End-to-end event management software.

Backstage
PageSense

Website conversion optimization and personalisation platform.

PageSense
Marketing Automation

All-in-one marketing automation software.

Marketing Automation
LandingPage

Smart landing page builder to increase conversion rates

LandingPage
Webinar

Webinar platform for webcasting online webinars.

Webinar
NEW
LeadChain

Sync, manage, and convert leads across channels seamlessly.

LeadChain
NEW
Domains

Easy domain registration, transfer, and secured DNS management.

Domains
NEW
CommunitySpaces

Online community platform for individuals and businesses to grow their network and brand.

CommunitySpaces
Thrive

Complete loyalty and affiliate management platform.

Thrive
Publish

Manage all your local business listings on a single platform.

Publish
Suites
Marketing Plus

Unified marketing platform for marketing teams.

Marketing Plus

Commerce and POS

Commerce

eCommerce platform to manage and market your online store.

Commerce

Service

Desk

Helpdesk software to deliver great customer support.

Desk
Assist

Remote support and unattended remote access software.

Assist
Voice

Cloud Contact Center Software for businesses.

Voice
SalesIQ

Live chat app to engage and convert website visitors.

SalesIQ
Bookings

Appointment scheduling app for consultations with customers.

Bookings
FSM

End-to-end field service management platform for service businesses.

FSM
Lens

Interactive remote assistance software with augmented reality.

Lens
Solo

The all-in-one toolkit for solopreneurs.

Solo
Suites
Service Plus

Unified platform for customer service and support teams.

Service Plus

Finance

Books

Powerful accounting platform for growing businesses.

Books
Expense

Effortless expense reporting platform.

Expense
Sign

Digital signature app for businesses.

Sign
Inventory

Powerful stock management and inventory control software.

Inventory
FREE
Invoice

100% Free invoicing solution.

Invoice
Billing

End-to-end billing solution for your business.

Billing
NEW
Payroll

Payroll software with automated tax payments and filing.

Payroll
Commerce

eCommerce platform to manage and market your online store.

Commerce
Checkout

Collect payments online with custom branded pages.

Checkout
Practice

Practice management software for accounting firms.

Practice
Solo

The all-in-one toolkit for solopreneurs.

Solo
NEW
Payments

Unified payment solution built for all businesses.

Payments
Suites
Finance Plus

All-in-one suite to manage your operations and finances.

Finance Plus

Email, Storage, and Collaboration

Mail

Secure email service for teams of all sizes.

Mail
Voice

Cloud Contact Center Software for businesses.

Voice
Sign

Digital signature app for businesses.

Sign
WorkDrive

Online file management for teams.

WorkDrive
Bookings

Appointment scheduling app for consultations with customers.

Bookings
Cliq

Stay in touch with teams no matter where you are.

Cliq
Notebook

Beautiful home for all your notes.

Notebook
Meeting

Online meeting software for all your video conferencing & webinar needs.

Meeting
Connect

Employee experience platform to communicate, engage, and build positive employee relations.

Connect
Learn

Knowledge and learning management platform.

Learn
Office Integrator

Built in document editors for web apps.

Office Integrator
Writer

Word processor for focused writing and discussions.

Writer
TeamInbox

Shared inboxes for teams.

TeamInbox
ZeptoMail

Secure and reliable transactional email sending service.

ZeptoMail
Show

Create, edit, and share slides with a sleek presentation app.

Show
Tables

Work management tool to connect people, processes, and information.

Tables
Sheet

Spreadsheet software for collaborative teams.

Sheet
Office Suite

Powerful collaborative work platform for teams.

Office Suite
Calendar

Online business calendar to manage events and schedule appointments.

Calendar
ToDo

Collaborative task management for individuals and teams.

ToDo
FREE
PDF Editor

Collaborative online PDF editing tool.

PDF Editor
Suites
Workplace

Application suite built to improve team productivity and collaboration.

Workplace

Human Resources

Expense

Effortless expense reporting platform.

Expense
Recruit

Intuitive recruiting platform built to provide hiring solutions.

Recruit
People

Organize, automate, and simplify your HR processes.

People
Sign

Digital signature app for businesses.

Sign
NEW
Payroll

Payroll software with automated tax payments and filing.

Payroll
Shifts

Employee scheduling and time tracking app.

Shifts
Workerly

Manage temporary staffing with an employee scheduling solution.

Workerly
Suites
People Plus

Comprehensive HR platform for seamless employee experiences.

People Plus

Security and IT Management

Creator

Build custom apps to simplify business processes.

Creator
Assist

Remote support and unattended remote access software.

Assist
Vault

Online password manager for teams.

Vault
Directory

Workforce identity and access management solution for cloud businesses.

Directory
Lens

Interactive remote assistance software with augmented reality.

Lens
QEngine

Test automation software to build, manage, execute, and report testcases.

QEngine
Catalyst

Pro-code platform to build and deploy your apps.

Catalyst
RPA

Automate manual, tedious, and repetitive tasks easily.

RPA
NEW
eProtect

Comprehensive email security and archiving for every business.

eProtect
FREE
OneAuth

Secure multi-factor authenticator (MFA) for all your online accounts.

OneAuth
Toolkit

Complete resource for any admin-related lookup queries.

Toolkit

BI and Analytics

Analytics

Modern self-service BI and analytics platform.

Analytics
DataPrep

AI-powered data preparation service for your data-driven organization.

DataPrep
NEW
IoT

Harnessing IoT analytics for real-time operational intelligence.

IoT
Embedded BI

Embedded analytics and white label BI solutions, tailored for your needs.

Embedded BI

Project Management

Projects

Manage, track, and collaborate on projects with teams.

Projects
Sprints

Planning and tracking tool for scrum teams.

Sprints
BugTracker

Automatic bug tracking software for managing bugs.

BugTracker
Solo

The all-in-one toolkit for solopreneurs.

Solo
Suites
Projects Plus

Unified project management platform for intelligent, data-driven work.

Projects Plus

Developer Platforms

Creator

Build custom apps to simplify business processes.

Creator
Flow

Automate business workflows by creating smart integrations.

Flow
Office Integrator

Built in document editors for web apps.

Office Integrator
DataPrep

AI-powered data preparation service for your data-driven organization.

DataPrep
ZeptoMail

Secure and reliable transactional email sending service.

ZeptoMail
Tables

Work management tool to connect people, processes, and information.

Tables
QEngine

Test automation software to build, manage, execute, and report testcases.

QEngine
Catalyst

Pro-code platform to build and deploy your apps.

Catalyst
RPA

Automate manual, tedious, and repetitive tasks easily.

RPA
NEW
IoT

Build, deploy, and scale IoT solutions for connected businesses.

IoT
Apptics

Application analytics for all apps.

Apptics
Embedded BI

Embedded analytics and white label BI solutions, tailored for your needs.

Embedded BI

IoT

NEW
IoT

Low-code IoT platform and solutions for connected businesses.

IoT
CRM Plus

Unified platform to deliver top-notch customer experience.

Try now
CRM Plus
Service Plus

Unified platform for customer service and support teams.

Try now
Service Plus
Finance Plus

All-in-one suite to manage your operations and finances.

Try now
Finance Plus
People Plus

Comprehensive HR platform for seamless employee experiences.

Try now
People Plus
Workplace

Application suite built to improve team productivity and collaboration.

Try now
Workplace
Marketing Plus

Unified marketing platform for marketing teams.

Try now
Marketing Plus
Projects Plus

Unified project management platform for intelligent, data-driven work.

Try now
Projects Plus
All-in-one suite

Zoho One

The Operating System for Business

Run your entire business on Zoho with our unified cloud software, designed to help you break down silos between departments and increase organizational efficiency.

TRY ZOHO ONE
Zoho Marketplace

With over 2000 ready-to-use extensions across 40+ categories, connect your favorite business tools with the Zoho products you already use.

EXPLORE MARKETPLACE
Skip to main content

Zoho CRM plays an integral role in governing a US-based tax and accounting firm's expeditious growth

"Zoho has revolutionized our business and our ability to serve our clients in ways that we would've never thought imaginable. Currently, it is truly integral to our business, and there's no way we could go back to the way things used to be."

Robert Craig COO, Accountants and Business Advisors

Key results:

  • Adoption rate100%
  • Implementation time6 months
  • Savings$300,000 annually

The company

In 2011, William D. King began his own tax and accounting firm with nine members and a vision to help physicians in the United States prosper. Today, Accountants and Business Advisors (ABA) has grown to 133 employees serving over 3,000 clients across the U.S.

ABA primarily focuses on tax minimization strategies and proprietary cash flow statements for physicians, dentists, veterinarians, and small businesses. Its cash flow statement sets it apart from other accounting firms in the country. ABA places great importance on communicating with its clients and making sure they truly have a comprehensive understanding of how to support owners in the management of their business. Traditional financials are difficult to follow for most small businesses, which is what makes the cash flow statement that ABA developed unique.

The challenge

As years went by, ABA grew much quicker than expected, and the company knew they could no longer rely on outdated legacy systems with siloed components to run their business processes. ABA sought a solution that could replace those systems, and allow the team to internally share information swiftly. In short, the goal was to set the company up for the growth it had been experiencing, along with the growth that was expected.

To tackle this challenge, ABA hired Robert Craig, Chief Operating Officer. With extensive experience in implementing software systems, Craig knew that the first step involved collaboratively working with the team to identify pain points. Upon mapping out existing processes, Craig arrived at the conclusion that the software solutions targeted at accounting firms were inadequate and would not be able to meet the aspirations management had for the company.

The solution

Zoho CRM was an easy choice once the company put a finger on the challenges they needed to tackle.

Craig reached out to Zoho's committed partner network to facilitate the implementation process. Navigate CRM and Nimbis Designs worked together to deliver ABA what it was looking for, and assured that Zoho CRM could be completely customized to serve ABA's business needs.

"Michelle from Navigate CRM was instrumental in introducing ABA to Zoho's capabilities. She also introduced us to Nimbis Designs, and both of them gave us a great understanding of the depth of the Zoho system. As we were trying to solve the inadequacies of our legacy systems, we were assured that Zoho fit our specific needs. With some development and software tweaking, the problem could be solved. And that has snowballed into hundreds of processes that were solved and made better and more efficient through Zoho CRM."

Robert Craig, COO, Accountants and Business Advisors

The implementation took six months, followed by six months of training conducted by Craig.

Administering a complex process within a single platform

ABA's success and growth is truly one of a kind. ABA's main source of lead generation is through word-of-mouth referrals which typically arrive by email. By integrating Zoho Forms with Zoho CRM, leads are also generated through the forms on the company's website, and then pushed directly into the CRM system's Leads module. After the details are captured in CRM, with workflow rules in place, the lead is sent an agreement which they need to sign in order to proceed further. The integration with Zoho Sign enables ABA to get digital signatures from potential clients across the nation quickly and accelerate the business process.

Thanks to the integration with RingCentral, business advisors follow up with these leads via phone and follow a process to convert them into a client, which includes sending an engagement letter via Zoho Sign before collecting all the required documents.

Before deploying Zoho CRM, ABA followed a clunky process that involved PDFs and signed documents that had to be scanned and then faxed—just to achieve the same results. With Zoho CRM in place, these hurdles are gone.

An accounting firm as unique as ABA obviously needs a solution that is easily customizable. With Zoho CRM's flexibility, the team created a Client Services module and customized the Deals module to such an extent that they use it as the Jobs module. This makes it easier to track the services being provided and makes more sense for the individuals working on these deals. When a client requests more services, ABA prepares and sends engagements from this module.

To suit its business requirements, ABA has built nearly 10 custom modules to track certain aspects of clients: for instance, a module that houses PCI compliances that only certain personnel can access based on their profile and permissions, an onboarding module that leverages client information to ensure internal flow of communication until the client is onboarded, and so on.

Facilitating integrations to avoid silos

With the integration between Zoho Projects and Zoho CRM, once a client's details are entered in the Deals module, a project automatically kicks off with the correct team assignments. This seamless integration leaves no room for internal miscommunication, as the information is perfectly captured in CRM and is accessible to the entire company. The process is kept intact and in order. Currently, ABA manages 10,000 active projects in the system, with 30,000 completed projects.

Once the project is completed, the billing team takes over. ABA connects Zoho Subscriptions with CRM and Projects to carry out the final step in this process: billing recurring revenue clients and recurring monthly billing clients. Currently, QuickBooks serves as the financial backend for ABA. The company bills over 7,500 clients annually through QuickBooks, and achieves a holistic picture of the clients' projects through its integration with Zoho CRM.

This thorough and complex automation process among various integrations is made possible by Zoho Flow.

Increasing client satisfaction with a unified customer portal

To enable efficient coordination with its clients, ABA needed a secure method of seamlessly transferring client documents and information. Catalyst Connect, a Premium Zoho Partner, implemented an integrated client portal solution that enables clients to securely log in to the portal directly through the company's website. Clients use this portal as a one-stop shop to manage their accounts and contacts with ABA, submit and manage support tickets, and securely submit all their documents come tax season. The portal facilitates the transfer of over 150,000 documents per year at ABA.

Comprehensive understanding of the business

By integrating Zoho CRM with Zoho Analytics, ABA enjoys detailed insights on KPIs. The team tracks their number of service-level clients, monthly reports, and tax returns being prepared, as well as each one's status, the number of reviews completed on a daily basis, IRS deadlines—the list goes on.

Going above and beyond to meet requirements

Though ABA was able to achieve what it needed out of the system, the company took a step further and enhanced its usage of the features and integrations to identify common pain points and find solutions for them within the system.

With Zoho Creator, ABA has created multiple bespoke applications to operate its business process: for instance, the client meeting app. Business advisors meet their clients every quarter to assist them and ensure they're on track with tax minimization strategies. ABA has approximately 4,000 client meetings per year, and it's vital that these meetings and the preparation of client reports are well-coordinated. By integrating Creator with CRM and Projects, this information is communicated internally.

External stakeholder communication is crucial to the team, too; clients need to be informed of tax changes and updates regularly. The team needed a way to notify all clients about changes instantly that often includes integrated engagement letters for additional client services. Within three hours, the team curates the information using an email template and automatically sends mass emails out to clients, thanks also to the integration with Microsoft Outlook. "That's unprecedented for an accounting firm," says Craig.

"Implementing Zoho CRM has saved us multiple hires and given us visibility into the organization at a level that we've never been able to track before."

Robert Craig, COO, Accountants and Business Advisors
  • Industry type Finance
  • Employees 100+ employees
  • Type of business Privately held

Benefits

Within a year of implementing Zoho CRM, ABA recognized the benefits of this system, resulting in a 100% adoption rate among the teams using it. As ABA continued to use Zoho CRM and its integrations, its ROI increased significantly, too. Craig credits the Zoho system completely for enabling ABA to provide the best customer experience despite the pandemic.

"Zoho has revolutionized our business and our ability to serve our clients in ways that we would've never thought imaginable. Currently, it is truly integral to our business, and there's no way we could go back to the way things used to be."

Robert Craig, COO, Accountants and Business Advisors

Looking forward

Today, ABA utilizes 23 apps in the Zoho One suite. Having gained the benefits of automation and a consolidated system, Craig has grand plans to expand and optimize the company's usage of the Zoho ecosystem as the company scales at a steady pace.

Share your Zoho CRM success story

Share your Zoho CRM success story!

Complete a quick survey, and we’ll get in touch with you soon.

Submit your story