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    Zoho

    CRM software for SMEs

    A CRM keeps track of who your customers are, what has been agreed with them and what still needs to happen. Here you read what CRM software does for an SME, when you need one and which Zoho app fits: Zoho CRM or Bigin.

    Explained

    What CRM software does

    A CRM is a program in which you keep everything about your customer contact: who the contact person is, which emails and conversations there have been, which quote is still open and who takes the next step. Instead of loose lists, mailboxes and notes in different heads, you have one place where everyone sees the same data.

    This is also called relationship management. At its core, a CRM system for an SME does four things. It records contacts and companies, it follows deals through a pipeline from first contact to order, it plans tasks and reminders, and it shows in reports what is in the pipeline. On top of that come workflows that create follow-up actions automatically, for example a task to call when a quote has not been answered after a few days.

    A CRM is usually a SaaS service. You work in the browser, the vendor runs the servers and you pay a subscription. You install nothing yourself. For a small team that is convenient: you start with what you need now and extend later, without first having to invest in servers or licences.

    Sound familiar?

    When do you need a CRM?

    A CRM is not a goal in itself. It helps when one of these signs fits you:

    • You sell with email and Excel

      Quotes sit in a word processor, agreements in email and the list of prospects in a spreadsheet that only one colleague understands.

    • Knowledge leaves with a person

      When a colleague is ill or leaves, what has been agreed with a customer goes with them.

    • You lack an overview

      You cannot quickly say how many deals are open, which stage they are in and what they are worth together.

    • Follow-up gets forgotten

      A prospect who asked for a quote hears nothing more because nobody remembered.

    Zoho

    Zoho CRM or Bigin: which fits?

    Zoho has two CRM programs for SMEs. Bigin is the light version for small teams: one sales pipeline, contacts, tasks and an overview per customer, without long training. Zoho CRM is the fuller version, with several pipelines, quotes, workflows, permissions per department and reports across more sources.

    The choice depends on your team and your process, not on your ambition. If you have one sales pipeline and mainly want an overview, Bigin is enough and keeps things simple. If you have several pipelines, departments with their own permissions or ways of working you want to record, Zoho CRM fits. If you outgrow Bigin later, you move to Zoho CRM. We discuss that up front, so you do not have to start twice.

    Zoho CRM is also the base that other Zoho apps connect to, such as Zoho Mail for your mail. All apps are on our Zoho page.

    Choosing

    What to look at when you choose

    Five questions help with any CRM, from any vendor:

    • How many people will work in it?

      The number of users often decides the edition and with it the cost.

    • How many pipelines do you have?

      One sales process needs less than several, each with its own stages.

    • Which programs must work with it?

      Think of mail and calendar. What a CRM can do with other programs often depends on its API.

    • Who will manage it?

      A system nobody maintains soon becomes outdated. Choose something your administrator can handle.

    • Can you get out again?

      Check that you can export your data, in case you want to switch later.

    Prices

    What does a CRM cost?

    The cost depends on the edition and on the number of users. We state no amounts on this page. The current prices are on Zoho's pricing page. Check whether an amount includes or excludes VAT.

    Pages of the vendors themselves, read on 4 November 2026. We state no amounts.

    • Zoho CRM pricing pageOn VAT the vendor says: “Lokale belastingen, zoals btw, worden in rekening gebracht in aanvulling op de genoemde prijzen.”

    Approach

    How we set up a CRM

    We set up Zoho CRM and Bigin as a project, with a fixed scope and an estimate in advance.

    Most CRM projects do not fail because of the software, but because nobody keeps the pipeline up to date. So agree who fills in what and when your team discusses the figures, for example in a fixed weekly meeting.

    • Scoping phase

      We decide which processes go in, who works with it and which data you bring along.

    • Start small

      A pipeline with the stages your team really uses and a limited set of fields. Extending is possible once the basic process works.

    • Moving the data

      We bring contacts and companies from your spreadsheets and mailboxes across and check them with you.

    • Training and aftercare

      Training tailored to your team and aftercare after go-live, so the pipeline keeps being filled in later.

    Good to know

    What a CRM does not do

    A CRM is not an ERP. Your accounting, invoicing and stock belong in an ERP, and for that we work with Uniconta. There is no integration between Zoho and Uniconta. Which data you keep in the CRM and which in the ERP, we therefore agree with you in advance. That prevents the same customer from being filled in differently in two places.

    Would you like to see the options side by side first? Then read comparing CRM.

    Read on

    More about Zoho

    Zoho app

    Zoho CRM

    CRM for pipeline, quotes and customer contact.

    See Zoho CRM

    Zoho app

    Zoho Bigin

    A light CRM with contacts, deals and follow-up.

    See Zoho Bigin

    Terms for this topic

    CRMRelationship managementWorkflowSaaS

    Part of our Zoho implementation

    CRM software is part of our Zoho implementation. We start with a scoping phase and give an estimate in advance.

    View the Zoho page

    Choosing and setting up a CRM?

    Tell us how your sales runs today. We will tell you which app fits and what a compact first set-up looks like.