What is Accelo?

Accelo is a CRM designed for the professional services industry. More than a CRM platform, it includes invoicing, retainers, payments, and project management. You can pay for a single module or create a comprehensive software solution. It`s a complex platform but well worth the learning curve, given its powerful functionality. Ease of Use Accelo is straightforward to use. There`s a navigation ribbon at the top of the screen and a sidebar of modules to the left. There is also a quick button feature to let you move rapidly between modules, tasks, dashboards, and schedules.

Then within each module, you get a specialized search bar to look for a specific function, task, or contact. The initial configuration of the CRM is time-consuming. However, the website is rich with resources, such as quick guides on user setup, client portals, data imports, module customization, and setting up your billing processes. There are also online video tutorials and a FAQs section. Plus, you get a dedicated implementation manager to see you through the process. Once setup is complete, the system is relatively easy to use and navigate. It has a colorful, appealing UI, although it is a little busy with features.

Contact Management Accelo gives all employees and departments access to a central business database. You can monitor the activity of both employees, people, and accounts. When you add a new contact, the segmentation feature lets you apply tags such as industry, status, region, size, and services. The client dashboard allows you to view specific activities associated with each client and track related projects, payments, and communication history. Along with contacts, Accelo provides modules for Sales, Projects, Tickets, and Retainers. Each module is customizable to your business. For example, you can track emails, meetings, documents, notes, telephone, and telephone calls across all modules. Users can also easily log any time associated with the client back to the account, making invoicing and time management near effortless. You can also separate companies into lists using the quick filter options.

Create your own or use the provided filters, such as status, division, and assigned rep. Task Management Accelo comes with various tools to keep your team on task and ensure you keep track of billable hours. Team scheduling: Accelo lets you view all the tasks in the system, both assigned and unassigned. When delegating tasks, you`ll first pull up users` schedules, then search for the team member who has the requisite skill and time.

Once you find a good candidate for the job, you simply drag and drop the task into their schedule. Timers: You can create timers and associate them with a given account or project. Once you complete your task, stop the timer and fill out the requisite fields. You and accounting are never left scratching your heads, wondering how much to charge or whom. Timers have a notes section too. Timesheet: The system automatically logs your time from tasks and timers for you. You can view your timesheet in a grid format. Most of your activity will already auto-populate the timesheet. Accelo even pulls information from your email and suggests times, such as the five minutes spent writing an email. You can also add any time the system did not capture for you.

Activities: In Accelo, activities include notes, emails, calls, letters, and meetings. You can mark these activities as complete or schedule them for the future. The system will then issue alerts, so no task falls through the cracks. Managers and team members can also view what everyone is working on in the Activity Stream feature. Sales Tools Accelo offers pipeline management to help you visualize and streamline the sales process.

What other CRMs usually call a deal stage or deal progression, Accelo calls status change and status progression, respectively. The pipeline lets you see what part of the sale is being worked on and by who. You can also use the tool to standardize your workflows, be providing the blueprint of the next steps. You can run a report of your statuses to see all sales and their progress toward close. Then, in each stage of the pipeline, you can set your percentage of completion.

Then, use this percentage when creating a sales forecast for more accurate reports. You can also set up automatic task assignments as a lead moves from one status to the next. For example, a task could be automatically added to the system to issue a quote once the lead reaches that stage of the deal. You can also automatically create and send templated emails, data syncs, and follow-up tasks.

Project Management Accelo offers agile project management. Simply put, you don`t have to squeeze yourself into a predetermined project template. Instead, you`re in charge of how the work gets done. The system can also easily accommodate last-minute changes without creating a mountain of work. It also integrates with the CRM, making it easy to track your projects against your timeframe and budget. In addition, Gant charts help you visualize where the project--and your profit margin--stand. Financials You can track, customize, and bill for project expenses from a single system.

The CRM makes it easy to manage multiple clients with multiple projects and expense accounts. Accelo can also manage retainers, handle flexible pricing, allowances, and usage reports. Accelo also integrates with PayPal, Stripe, and authorize.net so you can process payments directly from the CRM.