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CRM setup, integrations and business process automation

One enquiry. A well-organized follow-up. An enquiry from your website should reach the right place and the right person without being retyped by hand. We set up your CRM, connect it to your other tools and automate the steps that keep coming back, starting from how your team actually works. Rules, exceptions and human checks are defined before anything goes live.

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When to organize and automate your follow-up in a CRM

A CRM doesn’t have to be complex to be useful, and automation starts from real work, not from a tool. What matters is knowing who is handling an enquiry, where it stands and what gets redone every time.

  • Enquiries are scattered

    One enquiry comes through the website, another by email or phone. Nobody is quite sure who handled it or where it stands.

  • Your spreadsheet or CRM can’t keep up

    The spreadsheet is getting hard to keep up to date as a team, or the CRM is there but its fields and stages don’t match the way you sell. The team drifts back to email.

  • The same details are entered twice

    Contact details from a form are copied by hand into the CRM or another tool, with gaps and duplicates.

  • The same steps follow every enquiry

    Acknowledge it, create a task, let a colleague know, follow up with the customer: it’s all done by hand, whenever someone thinks of it. When that person is away, the file waits.

CRM integration and workflow automation

Organize how information moves. Each project is scoped before work begins, starting from the tools you already use; a simple rule is often enough. It can cover one or more of these areas.

  • Understand your follow-up

    Map how an enquiry travels with the people who handle it: where it comes in, who receives it, the stages it goes through, unusual cases and where information falls through the cracks. This shows what can be automated and what should stay with your team.

  • Set up the CRM and bring over your data

    Configure fields, sales stages, views and team access in the CRM you use or choose, for example HubSpot, Zoho CRM or Pipedrive, around the way you work. If needed, bring your data over: import contacts from a spreadsheet, clean up duplicates or migrate from one CRM to another, depending on what the previous tool can export.

  • Connect your tools

    Link your website form to the CRM, your inbox or your calendar, using your tools’ built-in connections or an integration service such as Zapier or Make.

  • Automate repetitive steps

    An acknowledgement based on an approved template, assignment by requested service, task creation, follow-up reminders. Cases the rules can’t handle are flagged to someone on your team.

Automation example: from website form to CRM follow-up

Actual steps, tools and approvals are agreed with each business.

  1. The enquiry comes in

    A visitor fills in the quote request form on your website and selects the service they need.

  2. A record is created

    The CRM creates a contact record, or updates the existing one, with the requested service and where the enquiry came from, with no manual copying.

  3. The right person is notified

    A rule assigns the enquiry to the person responsible for that service, who gets a notification. An unclear case is flagged to them rather than guessed.

  4. An acknowledgement goes out

    The visitor receives a message based on a template you’ve approved. It confirms receipt, with no price and no commitment.

  5. A follow-up reminder appears

    If the customer hasn’t replied after the time you’ve set, a reminder appears in the CRM so someone can decide what comes next.

Illustrative example, not a completed engagement.

How a CRM integration and automation project works

The steps are the same whether you’re starting from a spreadsheet or an existing CRM; timing depends on how many tools need connecting, the workflows chosen and the access available.

  1. Understand your follow-up

    Review how enquiries come in, who handles them, your sales stages and the tasks that keep coming back. Note the exceptions, list the tools in use and their access, and check the quality of the starting information.

  2. Check compatibility and agree on scope

    Check what your tools can connect to. A proposal sets out the chosen CRM, connections, automations and their human approvals, deliverables, schedule, price and expected licences or subscriptions, along with who pays for them.

  3. Configure, connect and automate

    Set up fields, sales stages and access, then the agreed connections and rules, in accounts held in your business’s name.

  4. Test on representative cases

    Send sample enquiries and check common cases and exceptions alike: missing information, duplicates, unclear requests, a tool that’s unavailable. Fix issues before going live.

  5. Hand over

    Walk your team through how it works and hand over access, documentation and what to do if a tool stops responding. Ongoing support or adjustments can be agreed separately.

What a CRM integration and automation project includes

The exact list depends on the agreed scope.

Information flow

Where enquiries come from, useful information, stages, responsibilities and exceptions, set out on one page.

Configured CRM

Fields, sales stages, views and team access, within the agreed scope, and data brought over (import, duplicates, migration) when the scope includes it.

Defined connections

Agreed exchanges between the form, CRM and your other tools, with the list of fields passed along.

Automation workflows

For each workflow: trigger, rules, human approvals and cases that stay manual.

Documented tests

Sample enquiries and exceptions checked, results observed and fixes made.

Getting started

Access in your business’s name, guidance for everyday use and what to do if a tool stops responding.

What’s included in a CRM integration, and what isn’t

A follow-up tool, not a sales promise

A well-configured CRM and automated steps make follow-up easier; they don’t guarantee a number of enquiries or sales. The time freed up depends on volume, exceptions and the quality of the starting information: if it’s incomplete, it’s better to sort that out before automating.

A person keeps the final say

An automation applies the rules you’ve approved. Cases it can’t handle are flagged to someone on your team, and prices, terms and sensitive replies stay in their hands.

Specialist expertise

We don’t present ourselves as specialists in any CRM platform. Projects that call for specialized development are assessed and may involve a partner; AETHER then coordinates the project and checks the quality of the work.

Licences, subscriptions and external costs

CRM licences and integration tool subscriptions are opened in your business’s name. They’re listed in the proposal, with their expected cost and who pays for them, before you decide.

CRM integration and automation FAQ

Do I need a different CRM?

Not necessarily. We start with the tools you already use. Compatibility, limitations and potential costs are reviewed before recommending a solution.

Can we keep our existing tools?

That’s where we start. We check what your tools can receive and send; if a connection isn’t possible or needs custom development, we tell you before suggesting another option.

I only use a spreadsheet. Is a CRM worth it?

Yes, if several people handle follow-up or enquiries are slipping through. A simple CRM, set up around your actual stages, can take over from the spreadsheet, and the contacts in your spreadsheet can be imported, with duplicates cleaned up, as part of the project. If the spreadsheet is enough for now, we’ll tell you.

Is my business too small for automation?

Not necessarily. What matters is whether a task comes up often enough, in a similar enough way, to justify the setup and monitoring. For a rare task or one that changes every time, a better routine may be enough; our first conversation helps check that.

Who reviews the exceptions?

Someone on your team, named in the workflow. Cases the rules can’t handle are flagged to them, and any message sent automatically is based on templates you’ve approved.

What happens if a tool changes or stops working?

The fallback is planned from the start: how to spot the interruption, who picks up the task manually and how to restart the workflow. Adjustments after a tool change can be agreed separately.

Who pays for licences, and what if a tool’s price changes?

CRM licences and integration tool subscriptions are opened in your business’s name; their cost and who pays for them are listed in the proposal. Vendors can change their prices after setup: because the accounts are yours, you’re free to keep the tool, switch plans or look at another option.

See all our services

These are the kinds of projects we take on to organize the tools of small businesses in Quebec and lighten their repetitive work. We set up and connect the tools you use, without presenting ourselves as specialists in any one vendor, and we suggest a partner when one is needed.

CRM

  • CRM setup
  • CRM implementation for small businesses
  • Help choosing a CRM that suits a small business
  • What a CRM can do for your follow-up
  • Connecting your website form to your CRM
  • Setting up a common CRM, such as HubSpot, Zoho CRM or Pipedrive
  • Integrating HubSpot with your website and other tools

Moving your data

  • Importing contacts from a spreadsheet into your CRM
  • Cleaning up duplicate records
  • Moving from one CRM to another, with your data migrated

Integrations

  • Integrating your software applications
  • API integration between two tools
  • Connecting your CRM and your email

Automation

  • Business process automation
  • Automation for small businesses, with no tool imposed
  • Automating repetitive tasks
  • Ending double data entry between your tools
  • Automatic client follow-ups, based on agreed rules
  • Automated follow-up of incoming requests
  • Online appointment booking linked to your calendar
  • Invoicing automation between your tools

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Let’s discuss your tools.

Tell us how enquiries reach you today, the tools you use to follow up (a CRM, a spreadsheet or email) and the tasks that come up most often. We’ll reply with the next steps.

Let’s discuss your tools