How Newton Print built a CRM around a legacy quoting system

Before working with Axithorn, Newton Print operated without any organised CRM system, relying instead on a historic quoting platform that could only be connected to modern systems via a complex SOAP API.

• No customer data organisation: customer information was scattered across manual processes, with no centralised view of the prospect-to-client lifecycle.
• Legacy integration complexity: the historic quoting system needed specialist SOAP API work, with manual data transfer between quoting and printing creating bottlenecks and inconsistency.
• Manual process dependencies: heavy reliance on manual admin, with inconsistent follow-up on prospects and customers.
• No sales performance visibility: no individual dashboards, targets, or engagement tools for the sales team.

Axithorn designed a phased implementation starting with core Zoho CRM, then layering in the integrations Newton Print actually needed:

• Zoho CRM as the central hub for customer data, from prospecting through ongoing account management.
• Custom SOAP API integration connecting the historic quoting and printing software, with scheduled daily synchronisation to keep both systems aligned.
• Zoho Forms for streamlined lead capture, feeding straight into the CRM.
• 3CX telephony integration, automatically logging every call against the right customer record.
• Zoho Analytics and Motivator for individual sales dashboards, target tracking and team engagement.

The rollout ran in six phases over roughly 15 months: CRM foundation, forms and data capture, analytics and dashboards, system integration, communication integration, then ongoing workflow automation.

"We selected James at Axithorn as our installation partner for Zoho and he's been a delight to work with. It was our first dedicated CRM system and we had a number of customisation requests which most other CRM providers weren't able to work with. However, James has worked hard to produce the results we're looking for. He takes care to understand what we're hoping to achieve so that he can find a way to a solution. I can highly recommend James, his response time is excellent and there's nothing he doesn't know about installing and customising Zoho CRM to fit your business."

1. Plan for complex integrations. Legacy systems with SOAP APIs require genuinely specialised expertise; make sure your partner has real experience with this kind of integration.
2. Implement in phases based on priorities. Start with core CRM functionality, then build out further features as business priorities dictate.
3. Invest in sales performance tools early. Individual dashboards and engagement tools like Motivator meaningfully improve team performance.
4. Treat CRM as an ongoing project, not a one-off. Plan for continuous optimisation as the business and its requirements evolve.