CRM for QuickBooks: the Benefits of Integration

What is QuickBooks?

QuickBooks is accounting software that helps small to medium-sized businesses manage the financial aspect of their organization. With QuickBooks, businesses can generate and send invoices, accept payments, keep track of income and expenses, manage inventory and payroll, and generate accounting reports.

QuickBooks has a desktop version and a cloud-based version — QuickBooks Online. With QuickBooks Online, you can log in with any supported device from anywhere in the world.

While QuickBooks will help you keep track of the financial aspects of your business, it can’t do everything for you. For instance, while being a powerful accounting software, QuickBooks will not help you manage and follow up on leads, track your billable time, or forecast client profitability.

This is why you need to integrate your CRM with QuickBooks.

• What is a CRM?
• Can you use QuickBooks as a CRM?
• What is QuickBooks CRM integration?
• What are the benefits of using a CRM for QuickBooks?
• Which CRM works with QuickBooks?

What is a CRM?

Customer relationship management (CRM) is the process through which a company or other organization manages its relationships with customers, usually by analyzing vast amounts of data.

‌Today's business landscape is shifting from being company/product-centric to being customer-centric. With a reliable CRM, you can deliver consistent, streamlined, and profitable client service easily and manage your tasks, issues, and data all in one platform, in real-time.

Without QuickBooks CRM integration, your business will be sitting on invaluable data that can help you increase sales and drive revenue for your business. For example, if you have leads that have requested a quote but haven't taken any further steps, you can send personalized emails to remind them of the solutions you provide, answer any objection they may have, and convert them to paying customers.

Integrating your CRM with QuickBooks can be the catalyst that'll unlock better customer management, increase customer satisfaction, and by extension, increase customer lifetime value.

Can you use QuickBooks as a CRM?

QuickBooks is not a CRM - it’s accounting software. Sure, you can use it to send invoices, receive payments from customers, and view customers' transaction history, but this doesn't build rapport with your clients.

Rather, Intuit recommends that businesses get a CRM and integrate it with QuickBooks because QuickBooks doesn't perform core CRM functions like sales management, marketing automation, and customer service management.

So, can you try to use QuickBooks as a CRM? Yes. Should you? No.‌

What is QuickBooks CRM integration?

QuickBooks CRM integration means linking this accounting software with your CRM so that you can get a single view of client work, invoices, and payments. This data can then be used for follow-ups, to deliver personalized service, for better marketing automation, and for ultimately linking your time to your invoices.

What are the benefits of using a CRM for QuickBooks?

A QuickBooks CRM integration will provide the following benefits:

1. Eliminate double data entry. Customers move from being prospects to becoming customers and then repeat customers. That is, different departments in your organization —‌  sales, accounting, and order fulfillment — deal with customers at different points in their journey. Now, if these departments use different systems to perform their tasks, it means the same data will be entered in multiple places. The implication is —‌  valuable time will be wasted. The risk of human error in data entry also increases. An IBM report estimates that bad data costs US organizations over $3.1 trillion per year. When you integrate your CRM and QuickBooks, customer data will be synced across various systems —‌ any update will reflect everywhere. So, by eliminating double entry of data, QuickBooks CRM integration will save your business time and money. 
2. Reduce data security risk. QuickBooks CRM integration will help in your business's internal process. If you don't want every member of your team to have access to accounting data, a QuickBooks CRM integration will allow them to have access to relevant customer data that they need to perform their duties, without having access to QuickBooks.
3. Ramp up your efficiency. When you integrate your CRM with QuickBooks, you will have access to customer data that can help you drive up sales. Having all the information about customers in one place will also make your sales team more efficient in following up on leads and closing them. 
4. Declutter QuickBooks. Prospects often request quotes and won’t take any further steps. All this information will be stored in your QuickBooks. Integrating a CRM and QuickBooks means you can manage your leads in your CRM —‌ and use QuickBooks solely for accounting tasks.
5. Automate sales processes. Integrating CRM and QuickBooks will help you run your sales process on autopilot. From sending follow-up emails to prospects, to emails to remind your customers to renew service, to thank you emails when they make a purchase. A CRM will help you send the right emails to your customers, at the right time.

‌Which CRM works with QuickBooks?

Accelo’s CRM allows you to manage your contacts from prospect to close in one integrated platform.

‌From the moment you start working with a client, Accelo’s QuickBooks integration empowers your team to instantly report time on the tickets they’re working on for fast approval, billing, and create contracts to manage their ongoing services.

‌Need a CRM that will seamlessly integrate with your accounting software? Start your free trial with Accelo today and see how it can boost productivity and profitability across your service business.