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Zoho Projects Review: Enhanced Dependencies & Gantt Chart

Published on: January 12, 2018Category: Certified Zoho Consultants, Zoho ProjectsLast Updated: July 1, 2024 Comments: 0

Zoho Projects: Enhanced Dependencies and Gantt Chart Features

Before project-based business software headed to the cloud and became the flexible family of apps we know today – like Zoho – lots of companies were forced to bend to the will of their software, and had procedural problems because of that.  Businesses handling lots of projects have been hampered by a limited way to visualize task dependencies, non-intuitive reporting, and a general lack of integration with other apps.  In some cases, companies have even found it easier to simply track projects with spreadsheets – and, that comes with its own host of issues.  What can a company in that situation do?

Fortunately, Zoho has revamped their Projects app to bring those very elements to the businesses that need it the most.  The updated Zoho Projects includes better reporting, more task dependencies, and a host of integrations that make data flow automatic, so you can focus on doing real work.

Here’s a rundown of the new features in Projects.

Enhanced Gantt Charts

The success of any project is ultimately measured by two questions: Was it on time, and was it within budget? In project management, these two conditions are managed by a tool called the Gantt chart. The updates to Zoho Projects has enhanced their already great Gantt charts.

Supports all Task Dependencies

Gantt charts organize tasks based on dependencies, and they help you visualize a critical chain of tasks that have to be completed as assigned in order to keep a project moving at its scheduled pace. Inevitably, when projects start creeping outside of their timelines, rising costs come with them, so it’s important to keep on top of tasks as closely as possible. Zoho Projects has always been a great tool to manage Finish to Start dependencies, but is now prepared to provide four more!

Here’s a refresher on the five task dependencies now supported in Zoho Projects.

Finish to Start – A task or activity is unable to start until a previous task or activity that it is dependent on has finished. For example, in a construction project, you can’t install a door or window until the framing is finished.

Start to Start – A task or activity must start before another activity can begin. For example, furniture can’t be installed until carpet installation has begun.

Finish to Finish – A task or activity must be finished before another activity can finish. For example, a new electric dryer can’t be tested before the proper electrical wiring had been placed.

Start to Finish – An activity must start before another activity finishes. For example, old plumbing pipe must be removed before new pipe can be set in its place.

Unscheduled Tasks – Predefined dependencies for tasks that don’t have a start or end date.

View and Edit Dependencies with Ease

The new Gantt Chart eliminates the Dependency Tab from Zoho Projects. Now, you can view, edit, and reorder your dependencies by clicking and dragging between the Jump to task bar icons in the left panel. The dependency graph is also available in the Task Details page, where you can view and edit the dependencies that a task shares with other tasks. You can even set your preferred or most frequently used dependency types as defaults by going to the Setup page and choosing Task and Timesheet under Org Settings. It is here that you can also decide which actions should occur when a task is advanced, postponed, or rescheduled.

Project Timeline Gantt Chart

Every great tool is made better when it provides valuable feedback into the health of your business. In this case, the new Project Timeline Gantt chart update provides insight into the progress and health of your projects. You can quickly get a clear visual of your projects and upcoming milestones, and even get all details of a task, including: percentage complete, duration, start date, end date, and owner. The Gantt bars show the lengths of time your projects span and how far along they are, while an easy drag-and-drop helps you reschedule tasks if needed. You can also edit tasks and milestones directly inside the Gantt chart, saving from you having to switch to another view.

Manage your People, and your Meetings

All, successful projects depend on a host of other factors in conjunction with a well-laid schedule. Zoho Projects is prepared to help you manage them that much better! Every project needs manpower, but scheduling the correct people has historically had to be handled separately—until now.

Zoho People Integration

Zoho People now integrates with Projects! This allows for both vacation and time-off requests, as well as managerial approval, all within one platform. It also allows for enhanced visibility and mitigates issues that may arise when your workers are unavailable. Work can be reallocated, as employee leave data is reflected in both the Project Calendar and Resource Utilization chart.

Zoho Meetings Integration

The new Zoho Projects not only helps you manage your team better, but it also helps you manage your time better.  We all know the amount of time it can task to set up and coordinate meetings with your team, whether they happen frequently or they’re just last-minute. With the new Zoho Meeting integration, you easily meet with your team to collaborate and provide clarity, resolve issues, and help make decisions by simply click Meet Now on the Task Details page!

Customized Controls and Views

Zoho Projects has a few more updates which will help your projects and your workflow run more smoothly. For example, using timers within a task or project used to mean you had stop and restart from the beginning. Now the timers have been enhanced to  allow for pausing and resuming tasks while you take a break or switch to a new task. Zoho Projects has even added new custom views and capabilities for creating task views based on the field value conditions that you set. Furthermore, you can filter tasks from your master list and save those filter criteria as a new view. This update helps you get to the information you need more efficiently.

Interested in learning more? Reach out to a member of our team today! We are Zoho Certified Consultants here to help! Give us a call at (888) 207-4111 or click the button below and we’ll reach out to you. You can also register for one of our upcoming Stump the Chump webinars Friday, Jan. 19th at 9 am PST or Friday, Jan. 26th at 9 am PST. Ask your Zoho questions, and if you stump us, we’ll buy you coffee!

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A look at Zoho updates in 2017

A Look Back At 2017 : Zoho is Growing!

Published on: January 5, 2018Category: Certified Zoho Consultants, Zoho CRMLast Updated: July 1, 2024 Comments: 0

Zoho’s Rapid Growth in 2017: New Features and Updates

2017 is suddenly behind us – and, for some, the year probably seems like it’s

flown by.  Interestingly, it’s said that the more new life experiences you accumulate, the slower time seems to go by – and, if that’s true at all, Zoho Corporation must have had the slowest-feeling year of all, as they revamped a significant portion of their offerings.  But, this is about the only area Zoho did anything slowly.  With 50 new features, 100 marketplace extensions, and 4 product updates every week, Zoho is definitely growing! Here is a recap of some of Zoho’s new features and updates from 2017!

The Newest Additions

Zoho One – The biggest and most exciting development from is Zoho One. This revolutionary all-in-one business suite packs a punch with 35+ applications, including Zoho CRM, Zoho Desk, Zoho Campaigns, Creator, and more! Account administrators have one secure account for applications and overall control, giving them the ability to access all programs from just one account.

Zia – Zoho’s AI-powered sales assistant that helps you make the most of your CRM account. She learns the ins and outs of your business by studying the strings of activities performed every day by you and your team. Zia then interprets performance and anticipates the needs of your business, providing solutions to you on-the-fly, detecting anomalies in your activities, and making suggestions to automate workflow!

Zoho Sprints – This agile project management solution encourages and enables teams to focus their energy on building the best products possible. Your team can take a look at the big picture with an easy-to-read dashboard. Track your team with the scrum board, and log time with the Timesheet function. Advanced reporting will give you actionable insights into your team’s progress and predict any roadblocks or bottlenecks in your process. In short, Zoho Sprints enables your team to get ahead and be prepared for the next development sprint.

Zoho Cliq – Easily communicate and collaborate with your colleagues with Zoho Cliq. Zoho’s new chat app eliminates the standby time of waiting on email responses from your team and allows you to exchange ideas more fluidly. Multi-panel chat, unlimited file sharing, and audio and video functionality keep your conversations at the forefront of your mind and easily accessible. Not to mention, it integrates, it’s secure, and it’s mobile!

Updates to Your Favorite Applications

New Zoho Campaigns UI – Zoho Campaigns got a facelift this year with a sleek new interface design. Along with the new look, you can get even more from Zoho Campaigns now with a customizable dashboard, image editing capabilities, additional automation, and more advanced reporting. Take your email campaigns to the next level!

Zoho Social now Adapted for Digital Agencies – Zoho Social also got a great update that makes it much easier for digital agencies to manage their clients’ social media platforms. With this new version of Social, agencies can manage all their client accounts from one platform. It also allows for agency branding and logos, with increased collaboration abilities to keep your team and your clients in the loop.

Zoho Notebook Improvements – Notebook began as a simple note-taking app on mobile but has now adapted to become even smarter, and now works as a desktop application as well. Added Mac and iOS 11 Support expands the devices from which you can use Notebook. With new intelligent formatting, Smart Cards, and document scanning, you can simplify and ease your note-taking process even further.

CRM Improvements

Marketplace Extensions – In 2017, Zoho expanded its marketplace to allow Zoho CRM to integrate with some of the biggest technology partners out there! With more than 80 new extensions available, you can optimize the potential of your CRM further than ever before. These new extensions will not only help you make the most of your CRM but can also help your business run more efficiently and avoid juggling multiple systems.

New Integrations and Platforms – Zoho CRM has further increased its capabilities with new integrations and platforms! The Finance Plus integration allows your sales reps to easily track the details of their deal expenses in the CRM. The Telephony Platform integration allows you to bring all of your phone conversations, including call recording, into the CRM. The SalesSignals platform helps consolidate all of your notifications, such social media, email, and third-party apps, into an organized timeline. These are just 3 of the new integrations that were released this year!

CRM Improvements – Amidst all the improvements to the other Zoho apps, Zoho has also polished up the CRM itself. Updated workflow rules make automation easier and advanced filters which update in real-time help you keep track of your leads. Speaking of leads, you can now add leads directly from social media, and use new lead scoring rules to ensure you focus on the right leads in your funnel. And, don’t forget the new Sticky Notes to help you stay on top of it all!

How Zoho can help you with your bad data

We know that was a lot to take in, and Zoho is improving faster each day, seemingly.  Now, you can catch up with the big boys, improve your business, and slow things down a bit yourself – only figuratively, though.  Check out Zoho’s 2017 recap for more updates and improvements!

Interested in learning more about Zoho, or have a question? Reach out to our team today! We are Zoho Certified Consultants here to help with all your Zoho needs.  Give our team a call at (888) 207-4111, or click the button below and we will reach out to you!

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The New Zoho Campaigns UI

The Zoho Campaigns UI Has A Fresh New Look

Published on: December 29, 2017Category: Certified Zoho Consultants, Zoho CampaignsLast Updated: May 16, 2023 Comments: 0

Experience the New Look of Zoho Campaigns UI: Enhanced Design for Improved User Experience

Keeping your customers and clients-to-be engaged when they have so many other things going on in their lives is one of the most valuable things one can do when managing a business – otherwise, what are you to them?  Will they even remember you after your most recent conversation?  Zoho Campaigns is Zoho’s email marketing tool, and although it’s historically been a fine tool for sending emails and tracking statistics, it’s just added a load of customizable options and a good dose of marketing automation –  so you can engage your audience even more easily, and do it in style through the new Zoho Campaigns UI.

Here are 6 great ways the new Zoho Campaigns UI helps keep your marketing machine in gear and can help keep you at the top of your audience’s minds.

1. Updated interface designed your way.

The new Zoho Campaigns UI allows you to work smarter with a new, customizable dashboard, to maximize your efficiency. With this dashboard you can get an overview of your email campaigns, and add only the widgets that you want to see, so you aren’t wasting valuable space on your screen. With the My Short tab, you can achieve smooth transitions with tabs that group your favorite features together, allowing for effortless focus on just the tasks that make up your workday.

2. Advanced Email Design Capabilities

Creating email campaigns has now become even easier. The new Zoho Campaigns UI allows you to create responsive and more complex email templates. The new drag-and-drop editor makes building email templates easy, and the new UI also makes it much easier for you to add pre-header text, attachments, and links to your social media pages. You can even preview what your campaigns will look like on any device using the built-in Litmus test. Want to go back to a previous version of your email? Well, Campaigns now saves all past iterations so you can!

3. New Image Editing Precision.

In the previous version of Campaigns, you could only upload and resize an image.  Now, you can combine your creativity and knowledge with added tools that allow for editing images from within Zoho Campaigns. That means you can crop, retouch, and even add text to the images that you upload! You can extend your creative capabilities with more image editing options. And increase your ability to connect with your audience by using engaging images.

zoho campaigns ui dynamic-content-updated4. Automation Puts More Flow Into Your Workflows.

Gain back valuable time in your day with expanded automation. With a number of added customizable autoresponders, triggers, and workflows, you can target your audience based on their behavior, clicks, and actions. Take automation a step further with the introduction of dynamic content, which can change the content of your emails based on subscriber or list segmentation. Ensure that your clients aren’t bombarded by emails by setting up your own rules.

5. Define User Roles and Permissions.zoho campaigns ui roles-and-privileges

Ever worry that a new Zoho Campaigns user will accidentally delete one of your email campaigns? Well, the new Zoho Campaigns UI even takes care of this problem with new settings for team member permissions and roles, just like in the CRM. You can also set managerial approvals so no campaign ever goes out without being approved first!

6. Reporting Features to Campaign Smarter.

Knowing how your campaigns are performing is integral in the structuring and design of future campaigns. The new UI allows you to track your campaign’s success with comprehensive analytics on a customizable dashboard. You can drill down into your campaign data even further than before with reporting on specific devices, email clients, and browsers that your clients used to view your campaigns. Add Google Analytics to Campaigns and track activity back to your website, and suddenly you have access to much more data – and ways to bridge gaps to connecting with your clients – than ever before.

The new Zoho Campaigns UI is available for all users! Pricing for Zoho Campaigns begins at $6/mo for unlimited emails and up to 500 subscriptions. Interested in learning more, implementing Zoho Campaigns, or starting on another Zoho app like Marketing Automation? Contact a member of our team! We are Zoho Certified Consultants here to help. Give us a call at (888) 207-4111 or click the button below and we will reach out to you!

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Zoho vault keeps your secrets safe and passwords protected

Zoho Vault Review – Keep Your Passwords, and Your Secrets, Safe

Published on: December 22, 2017Category: Certified Zoho Consultants, Zoho VaultLast Updated: July 27, 2023 Comments: 0

Zoho Vault Review: Is This Password Manager Right for Your Business?

If you’re looking for a reliable password manager that can provide top-notch security for your sensitive data, then Zoho Vault is definitely worth considering. As evident from their strong security protocols, Zoho takes security very seriously and their commitment to data protection extends to Zoho Vault, an app specifically designed for managing and securing sensitive information. With ISP/IEC 27001 global level security standards and SOC compliance, Zoho Vault provides a robust solution for businesses looking to safeguard their passwords and confidential information.

Experience Enhanced Business Security with Zoho Vault

First Off, What is Zoho Vault?

Passwords have become pretty elaborate these days, and if you count the number of online password-protected accounts you have, it’s no coincidence that our inboxes become flooded with password retrieval emails, especially if you’re using unique passwords for each individual account that you have (which you should!). Password management is a great step you can take to organize and protect your passwords and solve the aforementioned problems. Zoho Vault helps you manage all of your passwords in one place – and, it doesn’t just store passwords: it protects your other secrets as well!

Zoho vault home screen and mobile apps

Zoho Vault Features

Organization

Keep your secrets stored and organized in Zoho Vault! While primarily used for password storage, Vault can also be used to store other important information. This includes bank account details or sensitive employee data. You can create your own digital chambers or use Zoho’s provided chambers to organize your data (called secrets in Zoho Vault parlance) by type or by other factors you set. A few of the default chambers include: bank accounts, email accounts, web accounts, operating systems, and other secrets such as social security numbers.

Share with Your Team

Have members of your team that need access to the same passwords? With Zoho Vault, you have complete control over who can access your secrets. You can assign roles or owners of the contents in your vault and create user groups. This means you can ensure that your team can access the secrets or chambers they need. Secure Zoho Vault secrets with easy access removal, ownership transfer, and emergency contact designation.

Main passphrase

For an added level of security, Zoho Vault requires a master passphrase to access your secrets. To use Vault effectively, users create a master passphrase that only they know. Zoho never stores this as an encryption key, so remembering this passphrase is essential for accessing Zoho Vault – period.

Extensions and Single Sign-On (SSO)

If you’re on a secure computer, you may consider using the Zoho Vault browser extension.  This allows Vault users to easily use stored secret login credentials. They can access their respective accounts without manually enter usernames and passwords. With one-click auto-logon, you can manage passwords, automatically log onto websites or applications, access passwords, and add new secrets without leaving the site or tab you’re in.

Mobile and Offline Access

For another layer of security, Zoho Vault allows for cold data storage – that is, users are allowed to download stored secrets to their desktop computers or mobile devices.  Secrets downloaded this way are stored as HTML. As a result, they can be completely disconnected from the internet, but are still protected by the master passphrase.

Zoho Vault Review: Pros & Cons

 

Regarding password security, Zoho Vault stands out with its impressive features. Thanks to robust security measures like strong encryption, multi-factor authentication (MFA), and role-based access control, your passwords protect against unauthorized access.

Navigating Zoho Vault is a breeze, thanks to its user-friendly interface. Whether you’re tech-savvy or not, managing your passwords becomes a seamless experience with Zoho Vault across various platforms like web browsers, desktop applications, and mobile devices.

Collaboration and security go hand in hand with Zoho Vault’s secure password-sharing feature. Team members and colleagues can access shared passwords without seeing the actual password, ensuring sensitive information remains protected.

Monitoring password access and spotting suspicious activities is easy with Zoho Vault’s detailed audit trails and reports, adding an extra layer of security to your account.

On the downside, the accessible version of Zoho Vault has its limitations. For users with extensive password management needs, upgrading to a paid plan might be necessary.

While Zoho Vault integrates well with other Zoho products, there could be some limitations regarding integration with specific third-party applications.

The tool’s advanced features require some time and effort to grasp fully, making it challenging for some users to utilize its full potential.

 

Zoho Vault FAQ:

 

  • Q1. Can I use Zoho Vault for personal purposes?
  • A1. Absolutely! Zoho Vault caters to both individual users and businesses. The free version is perfect for personal use and offers essential password management features.
  • Q2. Can I securely share passwords with my team?
  • A2. Yes, Zoho Vault allows you to share passwords securely with your team using role-based access controls and permissions, ensuring only authorized individuals have access.
  • Q3. How does Zoho Vault ensure password security?
  • A3. Zoho Vault ensures the security of your passwords through strong encryption protocols and multi-factor authentication. Additionally, it provides audit trails and reporting for monitoring and tracking password activity.
  • Q4. Can I access Zoho Vault on my mobile devices?
  • A4. Absolutely! Zoho Vault provides dedicated mobile applications for iOS and Android devices, enabling secure access to your passwords on the go.
  • Q5. Are there any limitations in the free version of Zoho Vault?
  • A5. While the free version is an excellent starting point, it does have some limitations on the number of passwords and sharing options available. Upgrading to a paid plan unlocks more advanced features and capabilities.

 

Conclusion:

In summary, Zoho Vault is a trustworthy and secure password protection solution that offers robust features and ease of use. Its advanced security measures, cross-platform compatibility, and secure password sharing make it an ideal choice for individuals and businesses. However, it’s essential to be aware of the limitations of the free version and consider an upgrade to access the tool’s full potential. Zoho Vault provides a solid password management solution to keep your digital credentials safe and organized.



It’s no Secret – Your Secrets Need Protection These Days

As you may recall, 2015 was the year of the data breaches (Target, Home Depot), but hackers seemingly grow more sophisticated by the minute. Now, even credit reporting agencies like Equifax aren’t impervious to breaches.  Let Zoho Vault add an extra layer of security to the place you need it most – your business and your personal information.

Pricing for Zoho Vault begins at free for personal use and $1 per user a month for the standard version. Interested in learning more? Contact a member of our team! We are Zoho Certified Consultants here to help. Give us a call at (888) 207-4111 or click the button below and we will call you!

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Zoho VS GoldMine and the cloud

Zoho VS GoldMine CRM Review – How They Stack Up!

Published on: December 20, 2017Category: Certified Zoho Consultants, Zoho CRMLast Updated: May 8, 2024 Comments: 0

CRM Review: Zoho vs GoldMine – A Comprehensive Comparison

In the days of cryptomining, is all that glitters really gold? Cryptocurrency may just be a buzzword to some, but it shows just how inclusive the internet is when looking for solutions to different problems! Zoho’s millions of users rely on them to maintain their software, so you can trust them to handle website bugs. In fact, before we bring you onto our team as partners, we want you to explore various solutions; we’re so confident in Zoho, we know that they’ll offer the best solution to you every single time.  We are setting our biases aside to compare Zoho VS GoldMine CRM and give you an honest comparison between the two regarding safety & security, integrations, performance, and of course costs.

Zoho vs GoldMine CRM: Which Cloud Solution Soars?

Zoho vs GoldMineSafety & Security

When comparing Zoho VS GoldMine CRM, or any CRM for that matter, security is key. Zoho is stacked with nearly 30 million users worldwide, from small to large organizations, so security is paramount.  If you run one of the oldest versions of GoldMine CRM, you’re aware of administrator “master rights” and how admin rights protect your precious information on your server. GoldMine’s newer, cloud-based iteration doesn’t provide many details on its security – but, it is clear that you are not actually reliant on GoldMine CRM for that data security, but on another provider. Zoho holds ISP/IEC 27001 global level security standards (tested independently) as well as SOC compliance. Not to mention, they outline their security measures to assure you that your information is well protected.

The Winner: Zoho

Zoho vs GoldMineIntegrations and Compatability

Zoho partners are positively flooded with requests to integrate outside applications with Zoho, or even create new apps within the Zoho environment, and there’s no end to that in sight. Zoho’s comprehensive package of apps called Zoho One offers 40+ integrations to start! That includes nearly anything you can imagine for a business, from accounting and inventory to sales and human resources. Conversely, for GoldMine CRM, integrations are somewhat limited: QuickBooks and Windows (presumably the environment on which you’d install GoldMine) are your top options. However, as a cloud solution, Zoho is able to run on many common browsers, including Safari 4 and above, Chrome 17 and above, Mozilla Firefox 17 and above, and Internet Explorer 9 and above. All of Zoho is also mobile- and tablet-ready, whereas GoldMine CRM has to rely on middleware, called Dejacloud, to add this capability.

The Winner: Zoho

Zoho vs GoldMinePerformance

GoldMine CRM may have been top-of-the-line at one point, but today its outdated interface requires more server-related maintenance just to upkeep – which is typical of on-premise systems – and this is work that most businesses find they just don’t have time to do any longer.  On the other hand, Zoho and its suite of apps are completely cloud-based, which means all server maintenance is handled by Zoho themselves (hence the monthly fees you pay to use the software).  Accessing Zoho CRM via the web means you need only have a working internet connection to have all the capability you need – no costly dedicated servers, or dedicated IT professionals (at least in this regard).  Of course, every website has bugs from time to time, and hardly any are up 100% of the time – but, putting liability in the hands of someone else – and knowing that the company liable for maintaining your software also does it for millions of other users at the same time – should instill a fair bit of confidence in Zoho.

The Winner: Zoho

goldmine crm reviewPrice

Small business or large enterprise? Find out which CRM is right for you: Zoho or GoldMine. However, to put it succinctly:

  • Choose your CRM model: GoldMine’s “Own It” or cloud-based option starting at $60/mo per user.
  • Zoho One’s all-inclusive subscription begins at $45/mo per user, and a very basic Standard CRM package beginning at $20/mo per user.

The Winner: Zoho

goldmine crm review

We understand this isn’t enough to answer all your CRM questions. If you’ve been using GoldMine CRM for some time, switching it up entirely may seem especially daunting. But, learning about other options as a first step before diving in headlong doesn’t have to be.

Contact us to learn more about Zoho or discuss Zoho vs GoldMine: (888) 207-4111 or click below. We are proud to be a Zoho Premium Partner and are ready to help you make the move to this CRM that will be an ideal fit for your business.

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Zoho ShowTime is a virtual training solution made for the digital age to bring presentations online

Zoho Showtime: Virtual Training for the Digital Age

Published on: December 15, 2017Category: Certified Zoho Consultants, Zoho ShowTimeLast Updated: June 14, 2023 Comments: 0

Passing knowledge from one party to another can encompass a wide range of emotions, from the banal to the bang-up. But often – especially as collective attention spans dwindle to an average of 8 seconds – these tend towards the first option, and this makes it difficult to get anything worthwhile done during a presentation at all. Zoho knows about these struggles, and they’ve come up with a handy way of not only delivering engaging presentation content to your audience, but letting you know exactly how to improve so you never miss a beat again. Zoho ShowTime is a virtual training solution made for the digital age.

Here’s how Zoho ShowTime will change the way you present!

showtime scheduling screenshotReach Out to Anyone, Anywhere

Whether you are an educator, trainer, or presenter, planning training sessions and presentations of any kind can be strenuous, especially so if you have attendees from different corners of the globe. Last-minute travel and meeting space arrangements can be costly and ultimately unproductive. However, with Zoho ShowTime you can include everyone you need present through both audio and video conferencing. You can bring your presentation to the fingertips of your attendees through their personal computers or their mobile devices, making it easy to engage them wherever they – and you – are.

Standardize Training

If you have a large audience or many team members working remotely, it can be difficult to get everyone in the same room for a training session. Zoho ShowTime solves this problem! Whether it be for large groups or face-to-face sessions, ShowTime allows you to get everyone on board and give the same attention and information to your entire audience, ensuring you don’t have any knowledge gaps from one attendee to the next.

Customize For Your Needs

ShowTime simplifies the scheduling and registration process, allowing you to invite all trainees virtually and making it much easier for those who aren’t present physically. Zoho ShowTime allows you to customize and name your sessions as needed, as well as gain valuable insight on your attendees with specialized registration forms. You can further customize your experience by using the ShowTime plug-in for PowerPoint, which allows for creating entire presentations outside the standard ShowTime platform.

showtime active engagement pollsInteractive Training Environment

Worried about losing your attendees’ attention during your session? ShowTime’s interactive environment makes everything much more interesting for your audience. Presentation attendees can virtually “like” slides within a presentation, use the in-app chat, or respond to you directly with a virtual Q&A. You can also create live audience polls with multiple choice questions, ratings, and text-box responses. With screen sharing, attendees can review prior slides to clarify ideas, make connections, and enhance their learning.

Content Library and Knowledge Base

Once your presentation is over, it can be difficult to recall what you learned afterward. To remedy this, you can save presentations to the ShowTime course library or knowledge base for future use, along with any polls you administered – or, you can make past content available on your personal profile. Shareable links make it easy to pass content around on social media, so you can use it to further relationships with new clients who may be interested in your work!

Analytics and Feedbackshow time analytics dashoboard

And for the grand finale, analytics on engagement! ShowTime will track any session details to give you more insight into where you did, or did not, connect with your audience. Detailed analytics and reports are based on poll and chat engagement, likes, and ratings. Analytics and feedback will help you gauge the effectiveness of your training efforts to help you to improve future sessions!

There is a free version of Zoho Showtime available, with paid plans starting at $7 per user per month. Interested in learning in learning more? We are Zoho certified consultants here to help. Give us a call at (888) 207-4111 or click the button below to have us call you!

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Prepare You Business for the New Year 2018 Office party

Zoho Success Guide: 10 Tips for New Year Business Preparation

Published on: December 13, 2017Category: Certified Zoho ConsultantsLast Updated: September 21, 2023 Comments: 0

As 2018 looms just ahead, the activity du jour in our personal lives is the new year’s resolution.  These resolutions usually come without much thought, and fittingly they rarely come to fruition.  However, as a business owner you think about a good deal more than simple resolutions: your needs are complex, and they depend upon the activities – and indeed, the needs – of other people and things in your organization.  So, your resolutions require the planning necessary to take all those things into account.  

Organizing the needs of your entire business can seem like a daunting task, but we’ve put the best 10 points together to get you started off on the right foot, and to make sure your new year’s resolution for your company is backed by solid processes and reasoning, a resolution you can truly keep.

Here are 10 Tips for Preparing Your Business for the New Year!

Gears1. Review Your Year

First and Foremost, take a look at your company as a whole. No matter what type of business you have, taking a look at your business performance and infrastructure is vital to creating a strategy for the new year. From sales metrics to manufacturing costs, it’s important to know where you’ve been to determine where you are going. Reviewing your year will help you create a secure infrastructure and better understand your company’s growth, scalability, and potential weaknesses.  This could mean surveying different department heads, or reviewing past performance reports in your CRM to gauge where you might be headed in 2018.

2. Review Customer Experience

Don’t be afraid to reach out to your customers and survey them about their experience with your company. It will help you determine if there are any shortcomings when it comes to customer happiness and help improve these for the coming year. This is also a great time to ask for testimonials from your happy customers, and perhaps sending out an accompanying survey from which to gather more actionable data. Featuring testimonials on your website can improve your opportunities with future customers as it instills trust, in fact, 85% of consumer trust online reviews as much as they would a recommendation from someone they know.

zoho docs3. Get Informed!

Take time to do your research on new trends for the year. Whether it be marketing or consumer trends, it’s important to stay informed and ensure that your business’ goals are in line with the rest of the market. It’s also important to do research on any new laws taking effect, and how those may affect your business. For example, in California, we have few new laws and changes regarding leave of absence, hiring practices, and workplace safety and workers’ comp. You can learn more about those laws here.

4. Start with a Clean Slate and Organize

Is your desk, or desktop, cluttered? Or maybe your emails and calendars have just gotten out of control. It’s important that you start the New Year with a clean slate. Take some time to declutter and organize! Start the New Year fresh and put your mind at ease with a clutter-free workspace, a clean calendar, and without 999+ unread emails.

5. Set Goals and Business ResolutionsZoho Campaigns

We normally set personal New Year’s resolutions, but why not set business resolutions as well? With the information and data you’ve gathered from your company review, your customers, and trends, you’re perfectly within your ability to set goals for yourself and your team. Make sure your team is aware of the importance of your business resolutions, how these will affect their day-to-day work, and how these fit in with (or change) the overall vision or goal of your organization.

6. Speak with your Team

It’s important to stay in touch with your team’s needs and processes. That way you can be sure that they have allotted the right tools and resources to complete their jobs efficiently. Be sure to take note of any bottlenecks and how those can be resolved. Your team may have great insights about working out inefficiencies in the day-to-day processes that they are a part of!

7. Refresh your Skills and Those of Your Team – Training

The New Year is a great time to refresh skills! Just as systems and applications used day to day may have several updates throughout the year, it is important that your team also receives updates so no one falls behind and everyone is on the same page. Hold training sessions for your team to ensure that everyone has a clear understanding of your processes and systems. Here at ZBrains we offer Zoho CRM training – even for our own staff, on a set basis!

zoho projects8. Evaluate your Finances

Take the time to compile financial reports from the past year. Review your growth and revenue to evaluate your company’s spending versus your company needs. This will help you to plan where your company can spend more for maximum benefit, and where you can cut costs and negotiate pricing. As well, make sure your payroll and accounting softwares are up-to-date to ensure those systems are running efficiently in the new year.

9. Marketing Optimization

Marketing trends change quickly, and it is important to start the year off with a fresh marketing plan and revamp your image. Create a content calendar for the year highlighting campaigns, important holidays, and events. Overhaul your social media accounts with new branded imagery and messaging in line with your new business resolutions. Looking back on the performance of the past year can help you shape your lean, mean, marketing machine.

10. Optimize Your Businesszoho smart scheduler

After reviewing the steps above it’s important to ask yourself a few questions. How can you improve? Are you using any outdated systems which seem to be slowing your team down? Is your CRM able to integrate with your daily apps, even on the go? Now is the time to implement changes and ensure your business is using the proper software and applications to run efficiently! Leave your outdated systems in the past and make the changes to enable your team in the new year. We here at ZBrains are Zoho Certified Consultants here to help you with Zoho implementations, integrations, or custom add-ons like our Commission Calculator or SmartScheduler.

Interested in learning more? Reach out to a member of our team! Give us a call at (888) 207-4111 or click the link below and we will call you! You can also check out a few of our past blogs listed below for more ways Zoho can optimize your potential!

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Zoho Social adapted for digital agencies calendar

Zoho Social’s latest adaptation is a game-changer for digital agencies! Elevate your social media today

Published on: December 8, 2017Category: UncategorizedLast Updated: November 13, 2023 Comments: 0

To say social media has evolved dramatically since its inception would be quite an understatement.  Indeed, social networks have transformed from something secondary into something intricately interwoven into the fabric of society – and, to some, something integral to how they do business.  Digital advertising agencies, for example, work very closely with the social media presence of all sorts of companies – and, whereas Zoho’s answer to this business model would have been to implement Zoho Social for each managed brand, this isn’t such a scalable idea.  So, to remedy this, Zoho has released a new version of the Social app built especially for digital agencies to work even better with their clients.  It’s the same Zoho Social you know and love, but with a few more bells and whistles to make life much easier.

Here’s exactly how Zoho Social has adapted for Digital Agencies!

Zoho social brands screenshotManage all from one.

No more logging in and out of different accounts and platforms. Now your Digital Agency can manage all clients and brands from one place! Manage your clients and your team from the Zoho Social platform. Monitor their activity and reporting with real-time updates and analytics. Manage and schedule their posts using Social’s intuitive publishing calendar, ensuring that your clients’ content pipeline is always running smoothly.

Your Agency, Your Brand.Zoho social brand customization

As a digital agency, you know how important it is for your branding to always be at the forefront. Make sure you stay at the top of your clients’ minds with custom agency branding. Customize your name, logo, and favicon from right within Zoho Social. Reinforce your brand identity with your clients by sending them custom branded emails. You can even brand all reports you generate in Social when sending them out to clients.  

Collaborate with your team and your clients with Zoho Social.

Make sure your team is always in the loop! Zoho Social for digital agencies now makes collaborating with your team even easier. Share ideas and start discussions with @mentions and invite your clients to the decision making process by @tagging them. As an agency, you also have the ability to specify roles for your team members and assign them to clients! With designated and organized roles, your client relationships will be better than ever.

zoho social integration with facebook lead adsFacebook leads integrate to your CRM!

This new feature is one that we are most excited about! If you are using Zoho CRM, you can now integrate leads from Facebook campaigns! Running a campaign or lead ads for your clients? Well, now you can save yourself time! You no longer have to manually download leads from Facebook – instead, they will push directly into your CRM. This new integration also allows you to more closely monitor the performance of your campaigns in real time!

Pricing for Zoho Social Agencies starts at $320/month for 5 users and 10 brands*. And other agency pricing is available by request. *Pricing updated June 2021

Interested in learning more? Contact a member of our team! We are Zoho Certified Consultants here to help. Give us a call at (888) 207-4111 or click the button below and we will call you!

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5 way to increase field technician scheduling efficiency

Zoho SmartScheduler: 5 Tips to Boost Your Scheduling Efficiency

Published on: December 6, 2017Category: Certified Zoho Consultants, SmartScheduler, Zoho CRMLast Updated: June 14, 2023 Comments: 0

It’s often said the current generation is one of instant gratification.  Credit card purchases and same-day deliveries are a testament to this – but, the same can even be said of field services and installations.  Elements of the job that used to require picking up a phone, paper calendars, and a physical survey of your team now happen in an instant with email, cloud-based calendars, and automated everything else due to the advent of the internet in general.  For an industry that is expected to grow to $4.45 billion by 2022 (at a 16.5% compound annual growth rate), it means that quick service and an enhanced customer experience are key – and, thankfully, it’s never been easier to do it and benefit from it. Optimizing your scheduling process and making your business more efficient will put you ahead of the game. 

Here are 5 ways you can increase efficiency with scheduling.

1. Find a scheduling tool that integrates.scheduling calendar

A scheduling tool that can integrate with your employees’ calendars is important because it helps to ensure that none of your technicians will miss their appointments. If it integrates with your CRM, then it is even better! Your employees will be able to access customer information necessary for their appointments with the click of a button.

2. Google Maps and Drive Time Calculation.

Having to plan out routes for your employees while scheduling can be time-consuming. Let SmartScheduler be your dispatcher and calculate it for you, providing drive time calculation and optimal routes! Also, save your accounting department the hassle of working through mileage payouts by automatically tracking actual miles traveled through drive time calculation and google maps integration.

3.Your customers can schedule themselves.

Streamline your efficiency and your bottom line. Giving your customer the opportunity to book appointments on their own time is a huge benefit: they don’t have wait to call in during office hours, speak with an agent, and go back and forth looking for a time that works. Instead, they can just search for times that work for them! This also leaves your staff open to do other tasks, and takes the stress away from waiting by the phone.

4. The scheduling process is automated.

The best way to increase efficiency when it comes to scheduling is to automate it! We know that dropping numerous tasks at hand to set appointments for your employees or yourself can be a hassle, especially when you have to take multiple factors into consideration, like expertise or territory. In fact, California-based company Energy Datametrics found that their productivity increased by 15% after they started using scheduling software.

zoho smart scheduler5. Find an App that can do it all!

Our SmartScheduler can! The SmartScheduler help you, well…schedule smarter! It integrates with Zoho CRM and we’ve just added new features to allow your customers to schedule online. We are always keeping our SmartScheduler app up-to-date and we can scale it to your particular needs. Optimize your potential and become more efficient with our SmartScheduler! Check out our recent webinar for a more in-depth look at how the SmartScheduler works.

Interested in learning more about Zoho or our SmartScheduler? Or reach out to a member of our team! Our Zoho Certified Consultants are here help! Give us a call at (888) 207-4111, or click the button below and we will call you!

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zoho notebook

New Feature Alert: Zoho Notebook Can Do Much More

Published on: December 1, 2017Category: Certified Zoho Consultants, Zoho CRM, Zoho NotebookLast Updated: July 1, 2024 Comments: 0

Zoho Notebook Review: New Feature Alert – Get Organized!

Zoho seems to be the king of expanding already complex applications into tools you can use to run entire departments of businesses – but, as it turns out, they’re also pretty adept at taking smaller, simpler tools and making those better, too. Take Zoho Notebook, for example: Zoho’s answer to apps like Evernote takes the simple act of taking notes on the fly – something most of us really benefit from doing – and combines it with some great features you may not even know you needed – or, wonder how you ever went without them before.

What is Zoho Notebook?

Zoho Notebook is a (free!) note taking application available across several devices. It allows users to easily take notes which are synced to the cloud so they are always up to date. You can create text notes and checklists, flesh out ideas with a dedicated notecard, and even record audio to go with your notes. You can organize your cards into different notebooks with customized titles and covers to keep yourself organized. Share your notes with others over SMS, email, iMessage, and AirDrop, or keep them private with passcodes. This free note taking app simplifies the note taking process and has been made even better with its recent updates!

Zoho Notebook Screenshot

What are the New Features?

smart-card-iPadIntelligent Formatting

Worried that your notes will become distorted or lost when switching between devices? Well, worry no more! With Zoho’s new Smart Cards, the content of your notes is formatted intelligently into simple and clean notecards. Saving a link to an article or webpage? Zoho Notebook will put the headline and main image at the forefront, instead of just a long link. It also makes saving video links to your notes easy: when you save a link from Youtube or Vimeo, Notebook will show a video preview on the card and play it in a distraction-free area when opened. You can now even scan documents to Notebook! With text, audio, sketch, and recipe cards, Notebook’s smart cards take note-taking to the next level!

Notebook for Webclip-the-web-notebook

Zoho Notebook originally began as a mobile app but has now expanded into a true online repository! Notebook for web syncs seamlessly from your mobile devices to your desktop. Want to take notes while browsing the web? You can now use extensions which are available for Chrome, Safari, and Firefox to simply drag and drop content and cards across apps. You can save articles (without ads) using Clean view, and clip text and images to save to cards. Protect some of your notes, or extend protection to all of them, using passcodes to ensure your privacy. The simplicity of Notebook will help you stay organized with ease.

mac notebook

Notebook for Mac and iOS 11 Support

You can now do more with Notebook for Mac! Zoho has optimized the experience for Mac users by expanding the drag-and-drop features. Need to save a checklist to your iOS reminders? Well, you can! Zoho has also added support for the drag and drop feature to the iPad Pro, allowing you to multitask and easily manage your notes from even more devices. Other improvements include the ability to unlock your notes using FaceID or Touch ID (depending on the device), making security even better.

Interested in learning more about Zoho Notebook or Zoho in general? Contact a member of our team today! At ZBrains, we provide tailor-made Zoho solutions for your business. Give us a call at (888) 207-4111. R click the link below and we will call you!

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