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Custom Software

Custom CRM applications: every conversation on the record it's about

A CRM is only as useful as what it can find. When a property manager with 38 sites emails about one building, the message should land on that site and its open request, not on a company page with hundreds of others. That takes a model of how your relationships really work: accounts, sites, agreements and the people with roles in each. Then filing and routing follow, and the history is complete.
Discuss your CRMSee the model ↓
incoming todayemailsite 14 supervisor“heat still out in 2B”↳ known contact · one open requestcallA-07 accounts payable“is INV-2231 paid?”↳ invoice numbertextM.K.“approved, go ahead”↳ approver · one quote waitingemailsite 22 supervisor“question about renewal”↳ renewal openemailunknown address“new building on Elm?”unknown sender · a person decidesA-07 · property manager · 38 sitessite 14R-88 · no heat+ messagesite 22AG-07 · agreement+ messageQ-412 · $1,840+ messageINV-2231+ messagereview · office manager

Model first: five records

The rules come from how these connect. Get them right and most of the CRM's behaviour follows.
Accountowner, approver, accounts payable(nothing above it)Who signs and who pays
Sitesite supervisoran accountWhere the work happens
Agreementaccount owneran account, covering some of its sitesWhat's promised, and when it renews
Requestwhoever asked, the techniciana siteWork asked for, and where it stands
Conversationwhoever sent itthe record it's aboutHistory you can find later

What the model makes possible

None of these needs anyone to remember. Each follows from a record and its links.

  1. 01

    Routing by role

    The right person, not the inbox

    A quote over $1,000 for A-07 goes to M.K. because M.K. is the account's approver, not because someone remembered.

  2. 02

    Filing by relationship

    Messages find their record

    The sender's role and the numbers in a message decide where it's filed. Anything uncertain waits for a person.

  3. 03

    Renewals by agreement

    They start themselves

    Sixty days before an agreement ends, a renewal opens with last year's visits attached.

  4. 04

    Reporting by site

    Answers per building

    Visits, spend and open requests for each site, because the site is a record, not a note.

  5. 05

    Permissions by account

    Each team sees its accounts

    Commercial accounts can be limited to the people who manage them.

How one message is filed

Most messages file themselves. The ones that can't are held, never guessed.

Email · site 14 supervisor · “heat still out in 2B”

  1. Sender found

    site 14 supervisor, account A-07

    done

  2. Open items at site 14

    one: request R-88

    done

  3. Filed to R-88

    done

  4. Technician told

    T14 sees it on the job

    done

Filed to R-88 with the whole thread, so the next person to open the request sees it.

What a custom CRM hands off

In

Messages
email, calls, texts
Relationships
accounts, sites, roles
Rules
approvals, renewals
Custom CRM
file, route, remind

Out

History
on the right record
Tasks
to the right person
Reports
by account and site

Worth building when your customers aren't a contact list

Good fit

  • Customers have many sites, roles or agreements.
  • People spend time hunting for the history of an account or a building.
  • Approvals and renewals depend on who the customer is.

Not the right fit

  • Most customers are households with one address. A standard CRM fits.
  • A standard CRM fits your records and only needs better setup. Set it up well first.

Where custom CRM applications are used

Next to custom CRM applications

Questions about custom CRM applications

Why not customise a standard CRM?

Often that's the right answer, and we'll say so. A custom application makes sense when the records themselves don't fit, such as sites inside accounts with their own agreements, and the workarounds cost more than building.

Does it read our email?

It connects to the shared inboxes and phone systems you choose and files messages from known senders. Personal inboxes stay personal unless you decide otherwise.

What happens to the data in our current CRM?

It's mapped into the new model and checked before anyone switches over. CRM Modernization covers that move in detail.

Does it replace email?

No. People keep writing email; the CRM files it. Replies sent from the CRM are filed automatically.