UK Dynamics 365 & PowerApps partner

Our Estimating System Already Does CRM Work. Why Do We Need an Extra System?

Don’t be limited by restrictive systems, find a flexible solution that grows with you.

Your business may use an estimating system to do some CRM work for you. Why would you need an alternative system?

Let’s look at what the estimating system does for you.

  • You can store your contact details for a customer, including the company name and contact person.
  • You probably store your product information, and you maybe you can even generate a quote within the system.
  • Some of the more advanced estimating systems might be able to convert that quote into an order, and potentially even handle your invoicing process.

A dedicated system

However, at some point, you will want more than that. If you only use an estimating system, with its limited CRM functionality for storing contact and accounting information, you will miss out on higher levels of functionality. With a CRM system, you can track your email interactions with a particular person over time, and see a rich relationship building out of that communication. This information would also be available to any member of your team. These features are core to most CRM systems.

If you use Microsoft Dynamics 365, your CRM system can also help you to

  • plan workloads with tasks
  • phone calls, and
  • appointments

all syncing with Microsoft Outlook. That helps your office-based and remote teams work together more efficiently and effectively using a single system.

Typically, an estimating system will be limited in terms of its scalability. As your business grows or you experience marketplace changes in the future, you may need to look at a different system to cope with those changes. Using a system like Microsoft Dynamics 365 gives you a framework to expand into as your business grows in the future. We have yet to encounter a problem that cannot be solved with this system. That is a testament to Microsoft’s development of the Dynamics 365 framework. When you need to make additions, such as adding a new form or new processes, you can scale your business with confidence, knowing that the system can handle it.

If you want to have a richer customer life cycle and store all your data within the same database, that can be done with Microsoft Dynamics 365. You can also store information such as after-sales service or field service. That is often the limit with estimating systems. They have a certain level of functionality, but they don’t really go beyond that; you likely will need to add additional systems to achieve the functionality you’re looking for. But if you replace all of that with a system that can grow as your business grows, you will be prepared for whatever the future brings to your business and scale it as needed.

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📆 Last update: January 24, 2024

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