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

At a glance

Feasibility and approvals on record

Commitments checked against budget

Contractor payments tied to milestones

Units and purchasers linked to finance

The challenge

What Spinel needed to fix

Spinel is a Saudi urban property developer. Each development moves from land and feasibility through approvals and a development budget to contractors, milestone payments and handover of units to purchasers.

Feasibility and approvalsEach project needed recorded feasibility and approval steps.
Budget controlCommitments had to be checked against the development budget.
Contractor paymentsPayments followed construction milestones.
Purchasers and unitsUnit sales and handover had to link to accounting.

Architectural scale model of a campus building development. Photo credit

Before and after

What changed for the team

BeforeAfter

Feasibility and approval steps needed recording for each project

Feasibility and approvals are on record for every development

Commitments had to be checked against the development budget

Contractor commitments are compared with budget lines and the BOQ

Contractor payments had to follow progress on construction milestones

Contractor payments are tied to milestones tracked in Zoho Projects

Unit sales and handover needed a link to accounting

Purchaser payments are linked to units in Zoho Books

How it works

The business process, step by step

01
Land and feasibility
The development team assesses each land opportunity and records its feasibility in the Zoho Creator project register, giving every development a documented starting point before approvals and budgets are set.
02
Approvals
Permits and approvals are tracked as milestones in Zoho Projects. Each approval step is recorded against the development, so the team can see which permits are in place and which are still pending.
03
Development budget
The development budget is set as budget lines in the Zoho Creator project and unit register. The project BOQ is held alongside it, so later commitments can be compared with what was planned.
04
Contractor POs
Contractor purchase orders are raised as commitments and checked against the development budget and the project BOQ, so each commitment is compared with the approved budget lines before it goes ahead.
05
Milestone payments
Contractors are paid as construction milestones are reached. Progress is tracked in Zoho Projects, and the matching contractor payments are recorded in Zoho Books against the relevant commitment.
06
Unit handover
The sales team manages purchasers for each unit in the Zoho CRM pipeline. Purchaser payments are linked to units and recorded in Zoho Books, and units are then handed over to their purchasers.

The solution

What we built for Spinel

Shyphan delivered the project on Zoho CRM, Zoho Projects, Zoho Books and Zoho Creator, covering a 6-step process with 2 integration points.

Project and unit register with budget lines

Zoho Creator interface — Zoho Creator product screenshot, for illustration

Development milestones and approvals

Zoho Projects interface — Zoho Projects product screenshot, for illustration

Purchaser pipeline per unit

Zoho CRM interface — Zoho CRM product screenshot, for illustration

Contractor payments and purchaser receipts

Who uses it

Development team

Record land feasibility, track approvals and set development budgets for each project in Zoho Creator and Zoho Projects.

Project managers

Track construction milestones in Zoho Projects and confirm progress before contractor payments are made.

Commercial team

Raise contractor purchase orders and check each commitment against the project BOQ and budget lines.

Sales team

Manage purchasers for each unit in the Zoho CRM pipeline through to handover of the unit.

Finance

Record contractor payments and purchaser receipts in Zoho Books, linked to commitments and units.

Architecture

How the systems connect

InputsProject BOQUnit pipeline

Delivered by Shyphan

OutputsAccountingContractor payments

Integrations

BOQ to commitments
Project BOQ tracked against contractor commitments.
Unit pipeline to accounting
Purchaser payments linked to units.

Reports and dashboards

Budget versus commitments

Development budget lines compared with contractor commitments and the project BOQ for each development.

Milestone progress

Construction milestones and approvals in Zoho Projects, showing what is complete and what is pending.

Unit sales pipeline

Purchasers at each stage of the Zoho CRM pipeline, unit by unit, through to handover.

Payments and receipts

Contractor payments and purchaser receipts recorded in Zoho Books for each development.

The results

What the system does now

Feasibility and approvals on record
Commitments checked against budget
Contractor payments tied to milestones
Units and purchasers linked to finance

Delivery

Five phases, discovery to support

01
Discovery
Process mapping, documents and data reviewed with each team.
02
Design
Target flow agreed across 4 apps and 2 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 are contractor commitments controlled?

Contractor purchase orders are recorded as commitments and checked against the development budget lines held in Zoho Creator. The project BOQ is tracked against these commitments, so the team can see how each contract compares with what was planned.

How are contractor payments linked to construction progress?

Construction milestones are tracked in Zoho Projects. Contractor payments follow those milestones and are recorded in Zoho Books, so each payment can be traced back to the progress it relates to on the development.

How are unit sales connected to finance?

Each unit has a purchaser pipeline in Zoho CRM. Purchaser payments are linked to the unit and recorded as receipts in Zoho Books, so unit sales, handover and accounting stay connected for every development.

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Spinel

What Spinel needed to fix

What changed for the team

The business process, step by step

Land and feasibility

Approvals

Development budget

Contractor POs

Milestone payments

Unit handover