We're a fiduciary Registered Investment Advisor specializing in retirement planning, and we've committed to Zoho One as the operating system for the entire firm. We need an experienced Zoho consultant to design and build it out end to end.
Our CRM is already largely configured and our data is loaded, so that piece needs refinement rather than a rebuild. The rest is still ahead of us: adding a service desk, migrating our accounting, moving our automations, consolidating password management, and standing up an internal knowledge center. We want it architected by someone who has built this depth of system before and understands how the pieces connect.
The single most important requirement: everything has to be built to scale. We're adding advisors and support staff intentionally over the next several years, so we need to be able to add users without breaking analytics, dashboards, workflows, permissions, or automations. Role-based structure, ownership rules, and reporting need to be designed for that from day one, not retrofitted later.
Scope of work
1. Zoho CRM refinement for financial services data
Note that our CRM is already substantially set up and our data is already in it. This part of the job is refinement rather than a build from scratch.
Review of what we've built and recommendations on what should change before we scale
Custom fields, layouts, modules and record types adjusted so they match how an advisory firm actually tracks people, including le, prospects, and clients
Household or family grouping so related contacts roll up correctly
Lifecycle stages that reflect our actual pipeline rather than generic sales stages
2. Sales process documentation and tracking
Our full prospect-to-client process built into the CRM as documented, repeatable stages with the right required fields and triggers at each step
Specific conversion and activity metrics captured automatically and surfaced in analytics, including lead source performance, stage-to-stage conversion, time in stage, and close rates
Dashboards that stay accurate as advisors are added, with reporting available at both the individual advisor and firm-wide level
3. Insurance and annuity account tracking
A structure for tracking accounts held away from our custodian, with insurance accounts (annuities) as a first-class record type
Fields for carrier, product, contract number, issue date, premium, surrender schedule and term, and commission detail, all tied back to the client record and reportable in analytics
4. Integrations
Calendly: le captured automatically into the CRM, deduplicated against existing records, and categorized by meeting type and source
Kit (formerly ConvertKit): two-way sync so CRM status and tagging stay aligned with our email marketing segments
Zoom Phone and Zoom SMS: calls and texts logged automatically to the correct contact record as activity and notes
Zoho WorkDrive: each client contact synced to their document folder so files are reachable directly from the contact record, with a consistent folder structure applied to new clients automatically
5. Zoho Desk, built from scratch
Full implementation including ticket types, queues, SLAs, assignment rules, and automations
Tickets easy to create, especially by forwarding an email or a text message
Tickets tied to the corresponding CRM contact so service history is visible from the client record
6. Xero to Zoho Books migration
Full migration of our accounting data from Xero to Zoho Books
Integrated into firm reporting and dashboards
Permissions locked down so financial data is restricted to specific users rather than open to everyone in the organization
7. Make.com to Zoho Flow migration
Rebuild our existing Make automations in Zoho Flow, with documentation of what each flow does and how to modify it
8. Bitwarden to Zoho Vault migration
Migration of credentials with a permission structure that supports adding users cleanly
9. Zoho Learn
Build out Zoho Learn as our internal knowledge center from scratch, including the space and category structure, article templates, and search
Permission structure that controls who can view and who can author, and that lets us add new staff into the right access level without reorganizing the library
Connected to onboarding so a new hire has a clear path through the material
10. Handoff
Written documentation of the build, including field definitions, automation logic, and the process for onboarding a new user without breaking anything
Training for our team so we can operate and extend the system after the engagement ends
Required qualifications
Extensive, demonstrable experience with the Zoho suite, specifically CRM, Desk, Books, Analytics, Flow, Vault, WorkDrive and Learn. Please tell us which of these you've personally implemented and at what scale
A working understanding of US financial services terminology so we can discuss the business without translating every term
Proven experience architecting Zoho for growing teams, where users were added later without rebuilding reporting or automations
Experience with data migrations into Zoho, including preserving historical dates and record integrity
Clear written communication and availability for regular calls during US Mountain Time business hours
Willingness to sign a confidentiality and non-solicitation agreement before starting. This is not negotiable. You'll have access to client data, and we treat that access seriously
Strongly preferred
Prior Zoho CRM implementation for an RIA, wealth management firm, or insurance agency
Familiarity with annuity and insurance commission tracking
Experience integrating Zoho with Calendly, Zoom Phone, and an email marketing platform
To apply
Please don't send a generic proposal. Instead, tell us:
Which Zoho apps you've implemented yourself, and the size of the firms you built them for
Whether you've worked with a financial services or insurance client, and what that build involved
How you'd approach designing the permission and ownership structure so we can add advisors later without damaging analytics
One example of a Make or Zapier automation set you've rebuilt in Zoho Flow
Your estimated timeline and how you'd prefer to structure the engagement
Confirmation that you're willing to sign our confidentiality and non-solicitation agreement
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