ConnectPay – Zoho CRM & Desk Workflow Transformation Case Study
Industry: Payroll & Tax Services |
Location: United States |
Team Size: 180+
Apps: Zoho CRM, Desk, Forms, Projects, Sign, Mail
Executive Summary
ConnectPay provides payroll and tax processing services tailored to small businesses across the United States. With 180+ employees in 11 locations across 7 states, they support clients in all 50 states. Their approach combines local expertise, strong integrations with CPAs, QuickBooks, workers’ comp, and 401(k) providers, and a dedicated service model that avoids the “call center” feel.
As the company grew, leadership saw the need for a true client CRM to manage workflow and reduce data silos. A recent acquisition, whose team had already succeeded with Zoho, pushed this priority higher. ConnectPay turned to Zenatta to help design, build, and refine a Zoho-based ecosystem that supports quoting, onboarding, ticket handling, compliance documentation, and marketing—all in one place.
The Challenge
Before partnering with Zenatta, ConnectPay lacked a centralized CRM that could support both sales and service. Teams relied on separate tools and ad hoc processes. As a result, data lived in silos, tickets were not always routed to the right owner, and onboarding steps were difficult to track. The acquisition of a partner already using Zoho made the opportunity clear. However, the scale of a nationwide payroll operation meant that implementing Zoho correctly would require careful planning and expert guidance.
“We needed a client CRM to manage workflow and un-silo data. We made an acquisition and our new partner had success with Zoho. We found the Zenatta videos online very helpful.” – Ben Luker, COO, ConnectPay USA
Why It Mattered
Payroll and tax services depend on accurate data, timely responses, and strong compliance. When information lives in multiple places, it becomes harder to see the full client picture. As a result, onboarding can slow down, support teams can miss handoffs, and critical documents may be harder to track. ConnectPay wanted one system that could support quotes, onboarding, ticket assignment, and document storage so internal teams could work from the same playbook and clients could receive consistent service.
The Zenatta Solution
Zenatta worked with ConnectPay in ongoing working sessions, acting as both a consulting partner and a build team. Together, they implemented core CRM and Desk processes first, then expanded into document automation, onboarding logic, and marketing and reporting enhancements.
- Quote & Product Automation in CRM: When a quote is marked as closed-won, custom functions read the quoted items subform and add each product to the company’s product-related list. Later, this logic was refined to prevent duplicate products and to keep the company’s product subform synchronized with quote and onboarding data, even as new “Additional Product Setup” records are created.
- Live Configuration & Engagement Model: Much of the CRM setup was completed in live working sessions. During these calls, the ConnectPay team brought questions and scenarios. Zenatta then configured fields, workflows, and blueprints in real time, turning each session into both a build sprint and a training opportunity.
- Zoho Books Integration: We built a custom function allowing the direct creation of a Zoho Books estimate derived from a CRM quote. This function aimed to enhance financial transparency and alignment between sales and accounting departments.
- Ticket Management, Assignment & Data Security: In Zoho Desk, Zenatta implemented functions that look up related accounts and contacts, then assign tickets based on office, region, or existing ownership rules. If a ticket originates from a specific service agent’s email, the function reassigns the ticket back to that agent to maintain continuity. In parallel, a three-step verification flow was built for sensitive data, with a masked, secured field used for long-term storage.
- CRM–Desk Integration & Phone Formatting: Custom fields for office and region were mirrored between CRM and Desk so tickets always carry the right context. In addition, client scripts in CRM standardize phone numbers and separate extensions. This improves both readability and downstream automation.
- Onboarding & Additional Product Setup Automation: Zenatta helped ConnectPay design an “Onboarding” module and an “Additional Product Setup” process in CRM. Functions now create product setup records from onboarding data, sync those products back to the company’s subforms, and mass-update existing records. Cleanup projects aligned legacy data with the new logic, ensuring that products are accurate at both the account and onboarding levels.
- Document & Compliance Workflows with Zoho Sign and WorkDrive: The team extended existing Zoho Sign integrations so that signed packages and certificates of completion are automatically saved into the correct WorkDrive folders. Retroactive flows were built to reprocess older Sign documents, match them to the right account via EIN, and upload them into structured “Compliance” subfolders.
- Forms, Marketing Attribution & Learning: Zenatta assisted with Zoho Forms configuration for double opt-in, multi-form journeys, and redirects. They also advised on UTM tracking in Forms and CRM, and on connecting Google Ads data into Analytics for clearer attribution. On top of that, the team supported ConnectPay in Zoho Learn configuration so training content could be better organized by role and department.
- Long-Term Automation Roadmap: Over time, the partnership expanded to scheduled automations, such as a yearly process that uses CRM and Inventory to create Sales Orders and packages for W-2 mailings. Zenatta also helped review Desk escalations, internal ticketing, and NanoNets integrations, keeping everything aligned with the evolving roadmap.
“We would recommend Zenatta without any reservation. The support is terrific and every session is a great learning opportunity. They have been great, very supportive and available. Love the recap emails after our calls. Wonderful follow ups!”– Ben Luker, COO, ConnectPay USA
Results
ConnectPay is still in rollout, with about half of the company using Zoho day to day. Even so, the impact is clear. Key workflows are now centralized, tickets are routed more reliably, and product and onboarding data stay in sync. The team also has a documented roadmap for future phases.
- Centralized client workflow in Zoho CRM and Desk instead of scattered tools.
- Improved ticket routing and ownership through custom Desk automation.
- Cleaner product and onboarding data through quote and setup sync logic.
- Better compliance documentation with automated Zoho Sign and WorkDrive handling.
- Structured roadmap for marketing attribution, W-2 packaging, and advanced automation.
“You have been great, very supportive and available. Love the recap emails after our calls. Wonderful follow up.”
– Ben Luker, COO, ConnectPay USA![]()