CRM-etc. Podcast with Kathy Hahn | CRM | Ecommerce | Online Tools: Recent Episodes
Kathy Hahn
The Point of Sale Feature within the Agiliron Ecommerce Solution is coming soon for OFFLINE transactions, so if the internet connection is lost, sales can still be processed. The credit card information is stored in an encrypted file for PCI compliance and when the internet connection resumes, the transactions can then be synced with QuickBooks. Now if a store takes its products to a location without internet connection, such as a trade show or a farmers market, the Point of Sale System will still work OFFLINE and the ship location can be indicated on the order. This feature opens up the remote sales capability for field sales, opportunities where sales people can now have a live point of sale system when out at a remote location, the product can then be shipped later from headquarters. Any traditional credit card reader can be utilized with a USB port and/or a dongle can be used for the portable web based point of sale which permits the sales clerk to be un-teathered from the main check out register.
As an additional feature, Agiliron integrates with ShipStation which manages the last mile of the sale with automation through the shipping process, and other upcoming integrations will be with “Avalara and “Tax Cloud for detailed Sales Tax automation and processing, (now-Aug 2014, these solutions are currently in beta while optimizing during the testing period). These are added integrations that need to be purchased separately from the providers themselves. Agiliron has internal shipping and sales tax collection processes within the software, however the ShipStation and Avalara both have unique features to benefit the sales and accounting processes.
Now due to SAAS, large enterprise type solutions are available for small to medium size businesses. It’s an exciting time in many respects for small to medium size business from an IT point of view because many more choices are available and provide for integration and automation and lots of benefits that only large enterprises have had in the past are now viable for smaller businesses. The role of the QuickBooks ProAdvisor provides for an important 3rd party objective perspective. The QuickBooks ProAdvisor can keep up with the upgrades and the changing technology environment to keep the business owner’s up to date and let them know of new features such within the Agiliron Ecommerce Solution with the new Point of Sale Offline and Online capabilities.
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Hear more about Agiliron in the conversations with Kathy Hahn below:
http://www.crm-etc.com/002-stan-roach-of-agiliron-ecommerce-solution/
http://www.crm-etc.com/003-stan-roach-of-agiliron-about-crm/
http://www.crm-etc.com/manage-market-places/
http://www.crm-etc.com/004-stan-roach-of-agiliron-the-role-of-the-quickbooks-proadvisor-part-1/
http://www.crm-etc.com/005-the-role-of-the-quickbooks-proadvisor-part-2-and-shipstation-example/
http://www.crm-etc.com/023-agiliron-ecommerce-solution-with-crm-now-integrates-with-quickbooks-online/
In Part 2 of the Infusionsoft Interview by Kathy Hahn with Joe Manna, additional functionality are discussed such as the basic calendar and appointment features that are offered within Infusionsoft, and the “Sync for Outlook, and “Sync for Gmail that are also available. With many additional 3rd party plugins such as “Service Minder for project management, scheduling, time tracking, etc., there’s sure to be a solution for almost any desired functionality to enhance the user experience with Infusionsoft. They offer 100 different custom fields such as special attributes and they offer unlimited “Tags. Tags are descriptors about any person in the database and the names can then be segmented by any or all tags so that individual profiles can be compiled about the customer. Historical data is maintained and data or reports can be exported to excel. The API with Infusionsoft offers unfettered, open access to the user account.
The pricing for Infusionsoft is based on the number of contacts within the account and ranges from $179 – $379 per month, and requires an additional $2,000 fee (one time start-up fee) to work with a success consultant, no contracts are required. They are not for new business, Joe recommends for the company to be earning over $100,000 annually and preferable have at least a few employees on staff to able to manage the marketing automation process and help to run the business. Infusionsoft may just be the next secret ingredient to take business to the next level.
At Infusionsoft they are always investing more in their campaign builder. New developments include new improvements with the campaign builder, the user interface, dashboard visibility, and Infusionsoft mobile apps.
Connect Infusionsoft with QuickBooks you can learn more in Part 1 of the interview by Kathy Hahn with Joe Manna.
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Joe Manna of Infusionsoft, Developer and Partner Programs Manager, shares about marketing automation and CRM, and how Infusionsoft connects with QuickBooks in an interview by Kathy Hahn. Infusionsoft has 3 main features; CRM, automation in email marketing and ecommerce capabilities.
Matt Cohen of Woothemes in an interview by Kathy Hahn shares about the popular Woocommerce product, he defines Woothemes as a Wordpress product company, they provide solutions for clients using Wordpress as a platform, and Woocommerce and QuickBooks can now integrate for a great Wordpress Ecommerce Solution.
In Part 2 of the interview by Kathy Hahn CTO Roger Neel describes Mavenlink customization and list integration with QuickBooks. He talks about the setup and mapping of names within the various lists, vendors, customers, employees, items, and jobs (projects). Recording of time and costs can be applied to projects for great task management processes and for job costing purposes.
Custom fields are a new feature and specific grouping processes sometimes referred to as project portfolio management are available. Reporting procedures with a total view of the project are an important feature within Mavenlink and they now also have a baseline feature with metrics to see how the projects have evolved over time.
Roger discusses pricing, billing, and support processes for Mavenlink. Another development is the Mavenlink support for global integration with QuickBooks. To hear the details of the Mavenlink customization and list integration with QuickBooks interview, you can listen here:
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In a recent interview by Kathy Hahn with CTO Roger Neel (Chief Technology Officer) and Co-Founder of Mavenlink, Roger describes how Mavenlink provides for project management for service orientated companies, and an integration for Mavenlink with QuickBooks use is available
Great news, Agiliron, the Ecommerce solution with CRM now integrates with QuickBooks Online. Yes, as of July 8, 2014, Agiliron now integrates with the QuickBooks Online platform. The outcome for retailers is a very beneficial solution, now POS is an online platform and is automated to go mobile, with inventory integration, multiple channel proliferation, and CRM.
Ian Clyde of Avalara® Sales Tax solution says proposed federal legislation of the Market Place Fairness Act is being followed very closely. This legislation would potentially create a scenario where more companies would be required to collect and remit tax.
Ian Clyde, a National Sales Director of Avalara® Sales Tax solution, in an interview with Kathy Hahn discusses the sales tax challenges of complying with today’s sales tax reporting issues.
TSheets Time Tracking for Payroll-Jessie BryantJessie Bryant of TSheets Time Tracking for Payroll in an interview by Kathy Hahn says she has a “fun” job in working with accounting professionals, in her position as Accountant Programs Director with TSheets, the payroll tracking system that integrates with QuickBooks.
The Cloud Cart Connector connects Ecommerce and QuickBooks Desktop, QuickBooks Online, and QuickBooks for Mac and has a 2 way compatibility with that works with Intuit sync manager, Joseph Anderson of JMA Web Technologies prefers to work with the online version. Per Joseph, there are approximately 400 Ecommerce solutions on the market today and his solution currently has about 30 integrations with various platforms which include Amazon, eBay, Shopify, 1Shopping Cart, and Network Solutions. The orders and payment receipts go right into QuickBooks. His company works with and uses NopCommerce for their website platform.
Cloud Cart Connector now integrates WooCommerce with QuickBooks. WooCommerce works with the popular WordPress website platform and now orders and payment receipts can be connected via their website right into QuickBooks. And they have instructions (install steps) how to do it so that the WooCommerce orders and QuickBooks accounting system can be integrated very easily and quickly.
Files are secure, they use the Windows Azure Cloud and there’s a firewall around their database and passwords are encrypted and they don’t persist any orders, once the orders are done, they are gone. They passed a security review through Intuit.
The fees are reasonable, currently various levels starting at $49.00/month, there is a $99.00/month plan, subject to annual usage, and the unlimited usage plan is at $199.00/month. They currently have a $199.00 activation fee, version of QuickBooks is not tiered, the cost structure is the same for all versions of QuickBooks. Listen to Part 1 of the interview by Kathy Hahn with Joseph Anderson here
They have what they call a “Rules Engine to assist with field mapping. Their company is an OEM for Avalara. To find out more about Cloud Cart Connector and connecting your Ecommerce and QuickBooks, just visit this link
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In a recent interview by Kathy Hahn with Joseph Anderson of JMA Web Technologies and creator of Cloud Cart Connector, a newer Ecommerce Solution Joseph explains how the sync works with QuickBooks. Cloud Cart Connector provides a two way sync between the ecommerce, shipping solution, or mobile POS (Point-of-Sale), and QuickBooks. It’s compatible with QuickBooks Online, and QuickBooks for Desktop which includes QuickBooks Pro, Premier, and Enterprise Solutions. Their system can synchronize customers, products (items), inventory, and orders with QuickBooks and order management solution.
They use technology called the Intuit Partner Platform and everything is web based. They ping the text file from web based ecommerce sites, then sync with QuickBooks, it’s a real time sync. They have a scheduled task system where it can sync when the schedule is set up for example on an hourly basis. They currently integrate with about 30 different shopping carts, some of which include Magento, Big Commerce, and Infusionsoft and they integrate with payment processors like Authorize.net and PayPal. They also integrate with shipping solutions such as ShipStation and ShipWorks. It’s all managed by the user from within QuickBooks.
They integrate with a couple of different mobile POS systems where Cloud Cart Connector inserts the orders from the mobile POS systems into QuickBooks. To learn more about Cloud Cart Connector and how it works with QuickBooks, visit their website, just click here for more information.
Cloud Cart Connector works with both Infusionsoft and Green Rope which are Ecommerce and CRM solutions that can now integrate with QuickBooks when using the Cloud Cart Connector as a solution for ecommerce and QuickBooks.
Read more here and listen to Part 2 of the interview by Kathy Hahn with Joseph Anderson of JMA Web Technologies and creator of Cloud Cart Connector.
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In patronage of Memorial Day and in honor of our fallen heroes, this message is to share appreciation for all those who have given their lives in duty to serve our country, Thank You Veteran’s. May their families be blessed in their loss, those who will never reunite in this physical earth and those who spend many years in grief from their departed connection. May God Bless America and bless and protect all those who have served and continue to serve our country to protect our freedom.
On this Memorial Day and always, Thank you Veteran’s; men, women, boys, and girls, who have given your life for all of us to be free, May God Bless America!
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What is QuickBooks? It is Awesome! QuickBooks® is a financial management system and much more. It is also a great productivity tool to help you get organized. There are a variety of versions of QuickBooks® and it can be purchased for desktop or for online use in the cloud. QuickBooks® can be used for business and/or personal use.
What is QuickBooks? What does it do? Common uses are to keep track of invoices and expenses, writing checks and paying bills, payroll, job costing, managing banking transactions and reconciliations of accounts, inventory management including documentation for ordering products and selling services or goods, and much more. Financial reporting is a breeze with up to date information available at your fingertips.
Additional features include Budgeting and Forecasting, Business Plans, and the contact database and Lead center to help keep track of communications. Documentation management such as attaching scanned paperwork to various transactions is also available for those wanting to go paperless and streamline their workflow.
With a variety of versions, QuickBooks® goes beyond the small office user with the Enterprise Solutions® version handling up to 30 users. Remote access is available and there are lots of 3rd party applications which extend the user experience for additional industry specific processes. Intuit® is the creator and producer of QuickBooks®. The Intuit Marketplace lists many 3rd party apps from outside developers who have created uniquely defined processes to work with the QuickBooks® software. Listen to the podcast below.
QuickBooks is Awesome! When you know how to use it…. Let me show you how.
If you’d like to learn more about QuickBooks®, CRM, eCommerce Solutions, and other online tools to help with your business, just enter your email for further information. And be sure to subscribe to the show to keep up with the podcast as new programs air weekly. Please post a review, leave a comment, or interact here so we can continue to get to know each other better.
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ShipStation supplies necessary would be only the standard shipping supplies. They recommend to have a nice scale, some scales are rated, it’s best to get one that’s rated a bit above and below what you normally ship, to give more accuracy, and possibly one that can be connected via a USB to your computer. Also, possibly a scan gun to scan bar codes on products or labels that can help with processes, and they definitely recommend a good printer. See the link for recommendations.
Customers are recommended to utilize the shipping supplies from their freight provider such as UPS or FEDEX, or USPS. The individual freight provider provides the boxes, etc.
No additional software is needed to utilize ShipStation for shipping. Of course you’d have to have accounts and market places and a shopping cart to sell your products, those are usually online and accessible from a browser. If wanting to have an accounting system such as QuickBooks, that is separate and not a feature within ShipStation, however there are connectors to facilitate the accounting processes if desired. No software is needed for ShipStation, it’s all web based, no IT person needed to get up and running.
ShipStation communicates with the customer and the freight provider for their account holders. ShipStation provides for increased efficiencies, shipping is better, faster, and with less mistakes. They help to communicate properly with the customer and the carrier to eliminate shipping errors. To learn more about ShipStation and to try it free for 30 days click here.
Robert Gilbreath of ShipStation shared a few tips to help grow business today, listen to the podcast to hear his great suggestions, and sign up here on this site for future updates. You can listen to Part 1 of the interview with Robert Gilbreat of ShipStation here
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ShipStation is a web based service that online entrepreneurs’ use to make all their fulfillment and shipping pains go away says Robert Gilbreath Marketing Director of ShipStation in a recent interview by Kathy Hahn. They connect with all the major market places and shopping carts on one side of their business and you basically use ShipStation to ingest and import in all your order data every day and then use their tools to automate many of the shipping processes, print labels, packing slips, etc. They connect with all the major carriers such as Fedex, UPS, DHL, USPS, and many regional carriers, including Canada post up north to basically help bring efficiencies to all of the shipping processes. They have been in business for a little over 2 years with lots of experience in the shipping and ecommerce world. They connect with many market places and are expanding their connections with a goal of giving their users as many outlets for their retailing as possible. Their solution is online so it can be used with both Windows and Macs, all that is required is a browser. They also have a product called Sync-Station where you can print remotely as long as you’re connected to the web. Currently the product can be used on a laptop and tablet, with mobile ability possibly coming in the future, some are currently using it on mobile, but it’s not really recommended at this time
They connect Agiliron Ecommerce Solution, many shopping carts, and with Cloud Cart Connector for connection with QuickBooks. It’s very easy to set up the ShipStation system. They can help facilitate the connection with various carrier services and they provide a choice with their account for a Stamps.com account or a Endicia account for USPS shipping. The pricing schedule allows for tiered pricing and appears to be very reasonable starting at $25.00 per month with up to 500 shipments, and the packages include connection with various channels permitted within the base price. Customization of packing slips and mailing labels with personalized logo, shipping notes, and other enhancements are included with the Gold and above pricing level. Here for more information about ShipStation and to try it free for 30 days.
Be sure to listen to the podcast and sign up here for future updates. Read more and listen to Part 2 of the podcast with Robert Gilbreath of ShipStation here.
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Constant Contact® with Results®? Yes! Constant Contact® with Results® is now an integrated solution to help with communications and workflow. Integration is built around a foundation of getting the information to all users of Results® system in a company, all departments, all entities need to know about who they are doing business with, the relationships that are being maintained is part of the Results® system solution, the information is delivered and centralized within the Results® system. When it comes to the Constant Contact® side, the main important aspect is leveraging the power of the email marketing campaigns to send information to the various entities within your organization. Within Results®, the actual results of the campaign and follow-up are available, was the email read?, and what did they do with the information. The ability to have visibility into the results of the email and have it directly done within the Results® products is key. Follow up and follow through via activities with contacts is a key aspect. Results of the campaign can be assigned to staff for further communication and follow up in mass with groups and/or individuals so that relationships can be managed thoroughly and documented with the contact records.
The additional new feature of reverse-lookup within the Results® system solution can be utilized to further define prior communications and the results from prior communications and interactions with contacts. The simplicity of the new functionality of reverse-lookup is now available and can be used with the simple click of a button. For those who are already using the Constant Contact® platform, it may be valuable to add the Results® system solution to include CRM and utilize the full contact feature rather than just using it for customers, going beyond more departments rather that just marketing. Sales, customer service, accounting and billing, and other departments can leverage the combined solutions on a company wide basis.
In addition to the Constant Contact® with Results® interview and podcast listed below, you can also listen here to prior sessions in Part 1 and Part 2 of the interview by Kathy Hahn with Sam Saab of Results®.
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Results® is more than just a CRM, the software can be utilized for Project Management and more. Results® is a great business management tool and the system integrates with QuickBooks, duplicate data entry is eliminated, all the pieces and all departments including servicing flow through to QuickBooks. Bi-directional movement of data and workflow is created per desire of the user. Credit card processing is possible for the desktop as well as on mobile for use at the job-site to facilitate payments in the field.
Results® can be used with or without QuickBooks. Synchronization with QuickBooks allows for edits after the fact so that both platforms have the same information at the same time. Integration is not dependent upon the fact that QuickBooks needs to be available at the time the data is entered.
There are over 160 standard forms and reports built in the Results®. The reporting engine is based on Crystal Reports®. There are also ad-hoc reports where you can build and design them on the fly to do basic customization in any way, shape, or form, to grab information from multiple tables at the same time. Crystal Reports® is required for customization, they can do it for you or there are many Crystal Reports® service providers who can also do additional customization for you.
Managing projects, resources, scheduling, being able to do the billing, time billing, receiving payments, and going beyond CRM are some of the reasons to use Results® to take it further to run the business. Results® still has the desktop version and it also has hybrid capability which is married to the desktop and is also able to utilize the web and cloud environment with the same core features. The mobile solution can be used on a pda, smartphone, laptop, tablet, and/or ipad, and the screens are responsive so that visibility configures and adjusts to the individual device size. Results® offers flexibility in how to aquire the product. They have the purchase option as well as subscription pricing with mobile capability built in.
Sam believes in order to grow a business today, it’s important to have access to information for your staff to be able to support your business. All staff needs to be working from the same sheet of music, with cohesive centralized data so that all information is consistent. Leveraging automation is critical and it’s important to leverage the web so that through technology you allow a person to work from anywhere and have a tool so that they are not dependent on a desk and the papers on it. Consistency of delivery of service and products with an automated system and structured processes is critical for business growth.
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Results® product is a very mature product and has been on the market since 1986. In a recent interview by Kathy Hahn, Sam Saab of Results® says the company is a family owned and family run business and he considers their customers as part of the extended family.
The team of advisors and partners at Results® usually consult with potential customers during the sales process to define specifics of the customer needs. The various versions of the Results® product provide options such as Project Management and/or Business Management, all of the versions include the foundational CRM platform. Results® integrates with QuickBooks, and provides a desktop version as well as mobile solution which can be used on a pda, smartphone, laptop, tablet, and/or ipad, and can also be used as a web application in the cloud. The screens are responsive so that visibility configures and adjusts to the individual device size.
With over 300 CRM software solutions currently on the market, it is very important to compare features such as how deep the integration is and how well done it is. Results® is a cohesive, bi-directional product which has integration with QuickBooks and can be user specified as to the individual modules required via specific user rules. Import and export features can be defined according to unique user needs and levels of security (permissions) can be set for individual users. Outlook integration is key as is the ability to convert to an activity and then into a document in the contact record or project record within the Results® system.
Sam would define CRM as Contact Relationship Management. Business relationships are not limited to Customers. Vendors/suppliers, employees, customers, and prospects/leads are all business relationships that need to be managed. Communications and activities of all contacts can and should be managed in a relationship management system.
Listen to the podcast to hear full details of the conversation and stay tuned for Part 2 of Interview by Kathy Hahn with Sam Saab of Results®. Be sure to enter your contact information for updates and Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.
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Paul Jackson says in many ways what Method enables people to do is, get a custom solution as if they actually paid a programmer to create an application for them, their dream application, but they can actually do this themselves by just having a bit of imagination and some time, they can create whatever business process they like.
Early on, they decided focus on QuickBooks users and per Paul they are now the favorite CRM App on the Intuit website with over 350 reviews and a 5 star rating. With QuickBooks accounting system on the back-end and Method on the front-end there is totally simplified integration. They have a real-time sync with QuickBooks, with immediate sync.
The Field Services and Professional Services platforms sit on top of the MethodCRM application and extend the user experience to offer many more features such as scheduling jobs, workflow, time entry/billing, job costing, and much more.
They’ve created a community of other developers who make apps on Method. Paul gives an example of the Saasphalt App. where the developer created an App and has listed the App on the MethodCRM website for others to utilize. Time entry and job costing are a great benefit in the Method platform. They use the time tracker in their own company.
Paul gives recommendations for business owner’s who are wanting to build their business. Listen to the podcast to hear more, and be sure to SUBSCRIBE to iTunes CRM-etc.com. Hear Part 1 of the Interview with Paul Jackson.
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