Into The Lender's Mind #15 Digital Efficiency = Financial Efficiency

A business is a pure strategy game. Digitalisation just made the game faster and smarter.

How to make your CRM, orders, invoicing, and accounts talk to each other (without hiring a developer).

Most businesses use great tools, CRM, quoting, invoicing, accounting, but they don’t talk to each other.
Every time a human retypes something between them, cash flow slows down.

Disconnected apps cause three problems:

• Delays: it takes days to move from “job done” to “invoice sent.”

• Errors: small typos cause credit notes, missed invoices, or double entries.

• Blind spots: you never quite know what’s been done, sent, or paid.

Fix the handovers → get paid faster → free up cash → impress your lender.

The simple setup

Your ideal flow looks like this:

CRM (Sales) → Job/ERP (Work done) → Invoicing & Accounting (Money) → Bank (Payment)

When one stage finishes, the next should start automatically.
That’s where automation tools (like Zapier or Make) connect the dots between apps, no coding.

Tools you can connect today (what each one does)

CRMs (manage leads & deals)

• HubSpot: easy-to-use sales CRM with email tracking and simple automation.

• Pipedrive: very visual deal pipeline; great for small sales teams.

• Zoho: budget-friendly suite with lots of modules beyond CRM.

• Monday: work management that doubles as a light CRM.

• Salesforce: enterprise CRM with deep customisation (heavier lift).

Accounting (invoices, bills, VAT, reports)

• Xero: cloud accounting, clean UI, strong integrations.

• QuickBooks: popular with SMEs; good bank feeds and invoicing.

• Sage: robust UK option; strong compliance features.

• FreeAgent: simple accounting for small teams/contractors.

Operations / ERP (jobs, stock, scheduling)

• Jobber: field service jobs, quotes, scheduling, on-site payments.

• Katana: lightweight manufacturing—stock, orders, simple MRP.

• SimPRO: trades/field service with stronger project control.

• Odoo: modular ERP—pick only what you need (inventory, MRP, etc.).

• Unleashed: inventory management for product businesses.

• Notion: flexible workspace; good for SOPs and light project tracking.

Payments (get paid faster)

• Stripe: card payments online; links easily to invoices.

• GoCardless: direct debit—great for recurring invoices and lower fees.

• PayPal: familiar to customers; quick to set up.

• Square: card readers and POS for in-person payments.

Communication (where updates land)

• Gmail / Outlook: email your clients and send invoices.

• Slack: instant team channels for handovers and alerts.

• Teams: chat + video inside Microsoft 365.

Automation hubs (the “glue” that connects apps)

• Zapier: easiest no-code connector for common tools.

• Make (Integromat): more flexible logic/maps for complex flows.

• n8n: open-source automation you can self-host.

• Pabbly Connect: budget automation with many built-in connectors.

Check my store for free applicable materials

Quick wins with Zapier/Make

Each small automation saves minutes and avoids mistakes. Together they bring cash in sooner.

The golden rule: one master, not many

Decide where each thing lives:

• Customers & deals → CRM

• Orders/jobs, stock, dates → Operations/ERP

• Invoices & payments → Accounting

• Notes/tasks/emails → CRM or your team workspace

Everything else syncs to that master. No retyping.

30/60/90 plan

Days 1–30: Map & tidy

• List your apps and what each owns.

• Standardise payment terms and product codes (use drop-downs).

• Test with 10 live customers.

Days 31–60: Automate two handovers

1. Deal Won → Create Order

2. Job Complete → Create & Send Invoice

Days 61–90: Add visibility

• Daily Slack/Teams message: invoices sent + payments received.

• Simple dashboard:

  • Time from job complete → invoice sent

  • Average days to get paid

  • % of invoices needing fixes

Visit my website www.ellcadofinance.com