Extend Case Study: Zoho CRM, Zoho Projects and Zoho Books

At a glance

Briefs turned into approved estimates

Campaign work tracked as projects

Vendor spend captured per campaign

Profitability visible per client

The challenge

What Extend needed to fix

Extend is a Saudi marketing organisation running campaigns for clients. Every campaign starts as a brief, becomes an approved estimate, and then runs as tasks with vendor spend that has to be billed and measured.

Brief to estimateCampaign briefs had to become approved estimates quickly.
Task executionCampaign tasks needed owners and deadlines once approved.
Vendor spendMedia and vendor costs had to be captured against each campaign.
ProfitabilityLeadership needed margin per client and campaign.

Computer monitor showing data charts and tables. Photo credit

Before and after

What changed for the team

BeforeAfter

Campaign briefs had to become approved estimates quickly

Briefs and estimates held per client in Zoho CRM through approval

Approved campaigns needed tasks with clear owners and deadlines

Approved estimates create a campaign project with tasks in Zoho Projects

Media and vendor costs had to be captured per campaign

Vendor and media spend recorded per campaign in Zoho Expense

Leadership needed to see margin per client and campaign

Profitability reported by client and campaign in Zoho Analytics

How it works

The business process, step by step

01
Lead
A new lead is captured in Zoho CRM against the client record. Calendars and mail are connected through Google Workspace, so meetings and correspondence with the prospect sit alongside the lead.
02
Campaign brief
The account team agrees the campaign scope with the client and records the brief in Zoho CRM, so the brief, client and lead history are held together before any estimate is prepared.
03
Estimate and approval
An estimate is prepared from the brief in Zoho CRM and sent to the client for approval. Once the client approves it, the approved estimate creates the campaign project in Zoho Projects.
04
Task execution
Campaign tasks and deliverables run in Zoho Projects, where each task is given an owner and a deadline, so the delivery team knows what is due once the estimate is approved.
05
Vendor spend
Media and vendor costs are captured in Zoho Expense against each campaign. Advertising platform spend is also loaded for reporting, so campaign costs are visible alongside the work being delivered.
06
Invoice and profit
Finance invoices the client from Zoho Books and tracks payment status against each invoice. Zoho Analytics then reports profitability by client and campaign for the leadership team.

The solution

What we built for Extend

Shyphan delivered the project on Zoho CRM, Zoho Projects, Zoho Books, Zoho Analytics and Zoho Expense, covering a 6-step process with 4 integration points.

Leads, briefs and estimates per client

Zoho CRM interface — Zoho CRM product screenshot, for illustration

Campaign tasks and deliverables

Zoho Projects interface — Zoho Projects product screenshot, for illustration

Profitability by client and campaign

Zoho Analytics interface — Zoho Analytics product screenshot, for illustration

Vendor and media spend per campaign

Client invoicing and payment status

Who uses it

Account team

Capture leads, record campaign briefs and prepare estimates for client approval in Zoho CRM.

Delivery team

Run campaign tasks and deliverables in Zoho Projects, with owners and deadlines set once an estimate is approved.

Media and purchasing

Record vendor and media spend against each campaign in Zoho Expense, so costs sit with the right campaign.

Finance

Raise client invoices in Zoho Books and track payment status against each invoice.

Leadership

Review profitability by client and campaign in Zoho Analytics, comparing invoiced revenue with vendor and media spend.

Architecture

How the systems connect

InputsAdvertising platformsGoogle Workspace

Delivered by Shyphan

OutputsGoogle WorkspaceClient invoicesProfitability dashboards

Integrations

CRM to Projects
Approved estimates create the campaign project.
Ad spend import
Advertising platform spend loaded for reporting.
Google Workspace sync
Calendars and mail connected.
Payment status to Books
Client payments tracked against invoices.

Reports and dashboards

Profitability by client

Margin for each client, comparing invoiced revenue in Zoho Books with recorded vendor and media spend.

Profitability by campaign

Margin per campaign, using its invoices and the spend captured against it in Zoho Expense.

Advertising spend

Advertising platform spend loaded for reporting, shown against the campaigns it belongs to.

Invoice payment status

Client invoices from Zoho Books with their payment status, showing what is paid and outstanding.

The results

What the system does now

Briefs turned into approved estimates
Campaign work tracked as projects
Vendor spend captured per campaign
Profitability visible per client

Delivery

Five phases, discovery to support

01
Discovery
Process mapping, documents and data reviewed with each team.
02
Design
Target flow agreed across 5 apps and 4 integration points.
03
Build
Apps configured, custom logic built and integrations connected.
04
Test and train
User acceptance testing with real scenarios and role-based training.
05
Go-live and support
Cut-over, hypercare and ongoing improvements.

Local rules built in

ZATCA e-invoicing

Fatoora-format tax invoices with XML and QR, cleared or reported as required.

15% VAT

Standard, zero-rated and exempt supplies mapped, with return-ready reports.

Saudi PDPL

Personal data kept to what the process needs, with role-based access.

Arabic and English

Bilingual documents where customers and authorities expect them.

FAQ

Questions about this project

How does an approved estimate become a campaign project?

Briefs and estimates are kept per client in Zoho CRM. When the client approves an estimate, it creates the campaign project in Zoho Projects, where tasks and deliverables are set up with owners and deadlines for the delivery team.

How is vendor and media spend tracked against campaigns?

Vendor and media costs are recorded in Zoho Expense against the campaign they relate to, and advertising platform spend is loaded for reporting. Zoho Analytics combines this spend with client invoicing from Zoho Books to show profitability per client and campaign.

What role does Zoho Expense play in the setup?

Zoho Expense captures media and vendor costs against a specific campaign and works alongside Zoho Books, where client invoices and payment status are kept. Together they give Zoho Analytics both the cost and revenue side needed for profitability reporting.

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Extend

What Extend needed to fix

What changed for the team

The business process, step by step

Lead

Campaign brief

Estimate and approval

Task execution

Vendor spend

Invoice and profit