Best CRM for Xero

As a Xero user, managing your financial data is already streamlined, but keeping track of client relationships, sales pipelines, and communications can be challenging without the right tools. A CRM system that integrates with Xero can help you manage your contacts, automate follow-ups, and track deals, all while syncing seamlessly with your accounting data. With the right CRM, you can improve efficiency, streamline your workflows, and ensure no client or lead slips through the cracks.
In this blog post, we’ll explore the best CRM options for Xero users like you, highlighting tools that will enhance both your financial and client management efforts.

Why you need a CRM

Implementing a CRM can revolutionize how you manage your business operations, especially when integrated with Xero. It streamlines processes, enhances customer relationships, and drives growth.

Challenges without a CRM

Managing Xero without the right CRM can lead to several challenges you might already be experiencing.

• Disorganization: Data scattered across multiple platforms, making it hard to track and manage.
• Missed opportunities: Inability to follow up on leads and sales, resulting in lost revenue.
• Inefficient processes: Manual data entry and repetitive tasks consume valuable time.
• Lack of insight: Difficulty in analyzing data and generating actionable insights.
• Inconsistent communication: Disjointed interactions with clients and team members.

Benefits of a CRM

Fortunately, the right CRM can help you address these challenges and provide some extra benefits.

• Centralized information: All customer data and interactions in one place, simplifying management.
• Enhanced efficiency: Automate repetitive tasks and streamline workflows.
• Improved customer relationships: Better understanding and engagement with clients.
• Better decision-making: Access to real-time data and analytics for informed decisions.
• Increased sales: Efficient lead management and follow-up processes boost revenue.
• Consistent communication: Unified communication channels ensure seamless interactions.
  

How to evaluate and choose a CRM

With a lot of CRMs on the market to choose from, it can be hard to figure out which one fits your specific requirements best. To help you with your decision making process, we've put together these top tips that you can adapt according to your needs.

1. Define your requirements

When seeking the best CRM for Xero, it's crucial to identify the key features that align with your business needs. Consider aspects like seamless Xero integration, contact management, sales pipeline tracking, and automation capabilities. Ensure the CRM can handle your specific industry requirements and supports your business growth.

Key Features of a CRM for Xero

• Automated processes: Streamlines tasks by automating repetitive workflows. This integration ensures that your team can focus on high-value activities, rather than manual data entry and administrative tasks.
• Contact enrichment: Automatically finds leads and customers' email addresses and contact information, enhancing efficiency. This feature helps you maintain an up-to-date and accurate contact database, crucial for effective communication and marketing efforts.
• Structured pipeline: Tracks leads and customers through defined stages, ensuring process clarity and effectiveness. A well-organized pipeline helps you monitor progress and identify bottlenecks, enabling you to optimize your sales process.
• Mail merge and email sequences: Increases communication efficiency with follow-up templates and automated sequences. By automating your follow-up emails, you can ensure consistent communication with your prospects and customers, improving conversion rates.
• LinkedIn connection: Seamlessly imports leads and customers from LinkedIn and tracks conversations within the CRM. This integration allows you to leverage LinkedIn's vast network for lead generation and maintain a comprehensive record of interactions.
• Analytics: Provides essential data analysis and predictive insights for better planning. Detailed reports and forecasts help you make informed decisions, set realistic goals, and track your progress towards achieving them.

2. Budget considerations

Finding a balance between cost and return on investment is essential. Look for a CRM that offers a good mix of affordability and functionality. Evaluate different pricing plans and consider the long-term benefits of having an integrated CRM with Xero. Remember, the cheapest option might not always provide the best value.

3. Selection process

To choose the right CRM vendor, start by researching and shortlisting options that offer robust Xero integration. Read reviews, request demos, and engage with customer support to understand the level of service provided. Consider the vendor's reputation, reliability, and the scalability of their CRM solutions.

4. Get a demo

Try and compare different CRM platforms to find the best fit for your Xero-based tech stack. Take advantage of free trials to test the integration with Xero, user interface, and overall ease of use. Gather feedback from your team and make an informed decision based on performance, user experience, and how well the CRM meets your business needs. Get started with a demo of folk to see if it’s the right fit for your Xero-based operations.

3 tips for implementing a CRM

At this stage, it's all about getting familiar with your CRM in as short a time frame as possible. To help you ensure a smooth implementation process, we suggest ticking off these three things as soon as possible.

1. Import your data in your new CRM

Transitioning to a new CRM can be seamless if you properly import your existing data. Start by exporting your data as a CSV file from your current CRM. This ensures that all your customer information, sales data, and other vital records are preserved. And, helps you to avoid adding contact information manually which can be time consuming.

2. Create your first pipeline

Once your data is imported, set up your first sales pipeline with statuses that align with your Xero processes. This might include stages like "Lead Generated," "Contacted," "Proposal Sent," and "Closed." Tailoring the pipeline to your Xero workflows ensures consistency and efficiency in managing your sales activities.

3. Onboard your team

Effective CRM implementation requires your team to be on board and well-trained. Conduct training sessions to familiarize them with the new system and its integration with Xero. This will help in maximizing the CRM's potential and ensuring smooth daily operations.

The 5 best CRMs for Xero

1. folk

folk is a modern CRM platform for managing contacts, workflows, and relationships, offering customizable pipelines, AI-driven tools, and integrations to enhance deal management and prospecting.

Key features

• Contact enrichment: Automatically enriches contact details by finding emails and LinkedIn URLs, enabling efficient outreach without manual data entry or additional costs for email services.
• LinkedIn integration: Seamlessly import contacts from LinkedIn and Sales Navigator to track contacts within folk, and use templates for quicker, streamlined communication.
• Mail merge and email sequences: Full email sync compatible with Gmail and Outlook, with access to templates, and tracking features, enabling users to manage all communications directly from the CRM.
• AI-powered features: AI tools assist in managing contacts and relationships, automating routine tasks, and suggesting actions to improve productivity.
• Integrations: folk integrates seamlessly with over 6,000 apps, including Gmail, Zapier, and Make, allowing users to centralize their workflow and reduce manual data entry. Connect with Xero through Zapier.

Pros

• Ease of use: folk is praised for its intuitive interface, making it accessible even to non-technical users with quick onboarding and a minimal learning curve.
• All-in-one: folk streamlines your workflow by allowing you to import contacts from LinkedIn, automatically find their emails, reach out through customizable email sequences, and track interactions in a pipeline, eliminating the need for multiple tools and saving time and money.
• LinkedIn integration: Seamlessly import contacts from LinkedIn, track conversations within folk, and use templates for quicker, streamlined communication.
• Customizability: Custom fields, pipelines, and workflows.
• Integrations: folk integrates seamlessly with over 6,000 apps, including Gmail, Zapier, and Make, allowing users to centralize their workflow and reduce manual data entry.

Cons

• Reporting: Currently lacks reporting features, but there are plans for future implementation.
  

Price and plans

You can try folk for free with a 14-day free trial. After that, a monthly or annual subscription plan is as follows.

• Standard: $20 per user, per month.
• Premium: $40 per user, per month.
• Custom: Starts from $60 per user, per month.

2. HubSpot

HubSpot CRM is a user-friendly, scalable platform offering integrated tools for managing sales, marketing, customer service, and operations efficiently.

Key features

• Marketing Hub: Perfect for generating and nurturing leads, this feature includes email marketing, ad tracking, and landing pages, seamlessly integrating with Xero to manage customer data.
• Sales Hub: Essential for tracking deals and managing sales pipelines, this feature offers sales automation and reporting that syncs effortlessly with Xero, ensuring your customer data is always up-to-date.
• Service Hub: Provides robust customer service tools like ticketing and live chat, helping you manage customer inquiries and support tickets directly linked to your Xero contacts.
• Operations Hub: Syncs and automates business processes across different systems, including Xero, to streamline your operations and ensure data consistency.
• Lead scoring: Prioritize leads with predictive scoring to improve sales efficiency, making it easier to focus on high-potential customers recorded in Xero.

Pros

• User-friendly interface: The intuitive design makes it easy for users of all skill levels to navigate and manage leads and customers synced with Xero.
• Comprehensive free plan: Offers a robust free version that includes essential CRM features, ideal for small businesses using Xero.
• Seamless integration with marketing tools: Integrates smoothly with its marketing, sales, and service hubs, creating a unified platform for managing Xero contacts.
• Automation capabilities: Provides powerful automation tools for tasks like email marketing and lead nurturing, saving time and improving efficiency for Xero users.
• Customizable dashboard and reports: Allows users to create customized dashboards and reports to track metrics and gain insights into business performance, directly linked to Xero data.

Cons

• High cost at higher tiers: Pricing can become expensive as you move to higher tiers, which may be prohibitive for small businesses scaling their Xero operations.
• Limited customization in free plan: The free plan and lower tiers have limited customization options, restricting flexibility for growing businesses using Xero.
• Email marketing limits: Email marketing functionality in the free plan is restricted by limits on the number of emails you can send, a drawback for businesses with larger lists in Xero.
• Additional costs for add-ons: Many useful features come as paid add-ons, increasing the overall cost for businesses looking to enhance their Xero integration.
• Dependence on HubSpot ecosystem: The platform works best when fully integrated with HubSpot's other tools, which can limit flexibility if you use other software alongside Xero.

Price and plans

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Xero users may be more likely to make use of HubSpot's Sales Hub. Its annual subscription plans are as follows.

• Starter: $15 per user, per month.
• Professional: $90 per user, per month.
• Enterprise: $150 per user, per month.
  

3. Salesforce

Salesforce is a robust CRM platform for large enterprises, offering tools for sales, marketing, service, and analytics, with extensive scalability.

Key features

• Comprehensive ecosystem: Salesforce offers a unified platform that includes CRM, marketing automation, and customer service, making it ideal for managing leads and customers in Xero.
• Customization and scalability: The platform is highly customizable, allowing businesses to tailor it to their specific needs, such as tracking customer interactions and financial data in Xero.
• Artificial intelligence (AI) integration: Salesforce Einstein provides AI-driven insights and automation, helping businesses optimize customer management and sales strategies.
• Extensive integration capabilities: Salesforce integrates seamlessly with Xero, enabling smooth data flow and comprehensive financial management.
• Advanced analytics and reporting: Powerful analytics tools allow businesses to gain deep insights into customer data and financial performance, enhancing decision-making.

Pros

• Comprehensive feature set: Salesforce offers extensive features covering sales, service, and marketing, making it a powerful tool for managing all aspects of customer relationships alongside Xero.
• Highly customizable: Businesses can tailor Salesforce to their specific needs with custom fields, objects, and workflows, enhancing their Xero integration.
• Extensive integration capabilities: Salesforce integrates with a wide array of third-party applications, including Xero, ensuring seamless data flow across platforms.
• Scalability: Salesforce is suitable for businesses of all sizes, from small startups to large enterprises, with the ability to grow alongside your business needs.
• Advanced analytics and reporting: The platform provides robust analytics and reporting tools, allowing businesses to gain insights into their data and make informed decisions.

Cons

• High cost: Salesforce can be expensive, especially for small to medium-sized businesses, with high licensing fees and additional costs for add-ons and customization.
• Steep learning curve: Due to its extensive feature set and complexity, Salesforce often requires significant time and training for users to become proficient.
• Complex setup and customization: Initial setup and customization can be challenging and often require expert help or certified consultants, which adds to the overall cost.
• User interface: Some users find the Salesforce interface to be outdated and not as intuitive as other modern CRM platforms, which can hinder usability.
• Overwhelming for small teams: Salesforce’s robust features may be overkill for smaller teams or businesses, leading to underutilization of the platform’s capabilities.

Price and plans

On an annual subscription, Salesforce’s Service Cloud plan is as follows.

• Starter suite: Starts from $25 per user, per month.
• Pro suite: Starts from $100 per user, per month.
• Enterprise: Starts from $165 per user, per month.

4. Zoho

Zoho is a CRM system with a strong sales focus. It has journey orchestration, sales process management, and workflow automation features. There's also something for marketing teams, including event management and customer segmentation.

Key features

• Sales automation: Automates sales tasks like lead management, deal tracking, and follow-up actions, ensuring a streamlined workflow that complements Xero's accounting processes.
• Customizable dashboards and reports: Allows users to create and customize dashboards and reports for in-depth analytics, making it easier to track financial metrics and customer interactions.
• Lead and contact management: Manages customer information, tracks interactions, and segments contacts for targeted campaigns, integrating seamlessly with Xero's contact management.
• Email integration: Integrates with popular email services for seamless communication and email marketing, enhancing customer relationship management alongside Xero's invoicing and billing.
• API and integrations: Supports integration with third-party applications and services via APIs, including Xero, ensuring smooth data flow between your CRM and accounting software.

Pros

• Affordability: Zoho CRM offers competitive pricing with various tiers, making it accessible to small and medium-sized businesses using Xero.
• Customization: Extensive customization options allow businesses to tailor the CRM to their specific needs, including custom fields, modules, and workflows that align with Xero’s features.
• Integration with Zoho suite: Seamless integration with other Zoho products (like Zoho Books, Zoho Projects, and Zoho Campaigns) creates a comprehensive ecosystem for managing different business functions alongside Xero.
• Multi-channel communication: Zoho CRM supports email, phone, social media, and live chat, enabling businesses to manage all customer interactions from a single platform, complementing Xero's financial management.
• AI-powered features: Zia, the AI assistant, provides intelligent insights, predictive analytics, and task automation, helping to improve sales and marketing efficiency, which can be directly beneficial for businesses using Xero.

Cons

• Steep learning curve: The extensive customization options can be overwhelming for new users, requiring a significant time investment to master the platform and its integration with Xero.
• Complex setup: Initial setup and configuration can be complex, particularly for businesses without technical expertise or dedicated IT resources, especially when integrating with Xero.
• Performance issues: Occasional reports of slow performance, especially with large datasets or complex operations, can hinder productivity, impacting the efficiency of Xero integration.
• Limited third-party integrations: While Zoho integrates well with its own suite of products, integration with third-party applications can be limited or require additional effort, potentially complicating its use with Xero.
• Feature limitations in lower tiers: The lower-priced plans may lack advanced features, pushing users to upgrade to more expensive tiers for essential functionality, which may be necessary for full Xero integration.

Price and plans

Zoho’s free plan is limited to three users. After that, for more features and seats, an annual subscription plan is as follows:

• Standard: $14 per user, per month.
• Professional: $23 per user, per month.
• Enterprise: $40 per user, per month.

5. Pipedrive

Pipedrive is a web-based CRM for small businesses, offering lead management, automation, email integration, and customizable pipelines to optimize sales.

Key features

• Lead and deal management: Centralized tools to manage customer data, interactions, and sales pipelines, helping teams act quickly on opportunities.
• Sales automation: Workflow automation to handle repetitive tasks, such as lead routing, follow-ups, and email sequences, allowing sales teams to focus on closing deals.
• Email integration: Full email sync, templates, and tracking features, enabling users to manage all communications directly from the CRM.
• Advanced reporting and analytics: Real-time data analytics and custom reporting tools to track sales performance, forecast revenue, and gain actionable insights.
• Customization and security: Options to customize pipelines, fields, and user permissions, with robust security measures to protect data.

Pros

• User-friendly interface: The CRM is known for its intuitive and visually appealing interface, making it easy for users to navigate and manage their sales pipelines.
• Sales pipeline focus: Specifically designed for managing sales pipelines, offering a visual approach that helps sales teams track deals and activities effectively.
• Customization: Allows for a high degree of customization, enabling users to tailor the platform to their specific sales processes with custom fields and workflows.
• Affordability: Offers competitive pricing, making it accessible to small and medium-sized businesses without sacrificing essential CRM features.
• Automation features: Includes automation tools that help streamline repetitive tasks, such as sending follow-up emails and moving deals through the pipeline, saving time and boosting productivity.

Cons

• Limited advanced features: Lacks some of the more advanced CRM features, such as extensive marketing automation and AI capabilities, which are available in other platforms.
• Basic reporting in lower tiers: The reporting and analytics features in the basic plans are somewhat limited, requiring upgrades to access more in-depth insights.
• No built-in email marketing: Does not include built-in email marketing features, requiring users to integrate with third-party email tools for such functionality.
• Limited customer support hours: Customer support is not available 24/7, which can be inconvenient for businesses operating in different time zones or needing immediate assistance.
• Price increases with add-ons: The cost can increase quickly when additional features or integrations are added, making it less cost-effective for businesses with growing needs.

Price and plans

Pipedrive's annual subscription plan basis is as follows.

• Essential plan: Starts from $24 per user, per month.
• Advanced plan: Starts from $44 per user, per month.
• Power plan: Starts from $79 per user, per month.
• Enterprise plan: Starts from $129 per user, per month.

Conclusion

Choosing the best CRM for Xero can significantly enhance your business operations by streamlining workflows, automating repetitive tasks, and improving customer relationships. Whether you opt for the robust and scalable features of Salesforce, the user-friendly interface of Hubspot, the affordability and customization of Zoho, or the sales-focused tools of Pipedrive, integrating a CRM with Xero will help you manage your business more efficiently. For those looking for a modern, all-in-one solution, folk offers a comprehensive platform with seamless LinkedIn integration, AI-powered tools, and extensive app compatibility. Don't miss out on the opportunity to boost your business's productivity and growth—try folk for free here.

Need a helping hand? Use our free tool to find your perfect CRM match.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which CRM do Xero users prefer to use?

Founders using Xero for their business often choose CRMs like folk, Hubspot, Salesforce, Zoho, and Pipedrive. Each of these CRMs offers unique features and integrations that complement Xero, helping businesses streamline their operations and improve customer relationship management.

Do I need a CRM?

Yes, depending on the complexity of your process. A CRM can help you manage customer interactions, automate workflows, and provide valuable insights, making it essential for businesses looking to scale and improve efficiency.

How much does a CRM cost?

CRM costs typically range from $20 to $129 per user per month, depending on the features and scalability required. Prices vary across different platforms, so it's important to choose one that fits your budget and business needs.

Does folk’s CRM respond to Xero needs?

Yes, folk’s CRM is designed to meet Xero needs with features like contact enrichment, LinkedIn integration, email sync, and AI-powered tools. These features streamline workflows, enhance customer management, and integrate seamlessly with Xero, providing a comprehensive solution for businesses.