What are the Best (free) CRM tools that integrate with Google Apps?

1.Salesflare

Salesflare has been built for seamless integration with Gmail and all Google Apps, along with other email platforms and apps. In fact, aside from the web and mobile app, you can easily access Salesflare from inside your Gmail inbox, as it sits right next to your emails.

It’s not free, I’ll have to disappoint you on that. Though I understand that you look to spend the least possible on your tools, free CRMs have little more functionality than Google Sheets and/or Contacts, which are actual Google Apps. They’ll charge you for any real CRM-like feature. So be careful around ‘free’ CRMs.

You do get value for money: Salesflare will integrate with email, calendar, phone, social, web, company databases etc. and combine all that data to generate automated customer info and timelines. The idea is for you to never have to manually input data again so you can fully focus on your customers.

The whole CRM is built for efficiency, compatibility and convenience.

This web-view of the app gives an idea of what the automated timeline looks like:

Pipeline-view allows you to efficiently keep track of all your leads:

On top of Gmail and Google Apps, you can connect Salesflare to 750+ other apps with Zapier. Or you can easily build on the API yourself.

2. ProsperWorks

I'd say it's the best CRM if you are looking for something that closely integrates with Google Apps. 

Here are some of the feature benefits: 

• SIMPLICITY & EASE.
  Literally takes less than 10 minutes to set up. As easy to use as Gmail!
• AUTOMATION
  ProsperWorks automates most of the manual data entry - a huge time saver and productivity improvement!
• GOOGLE INTEGRATION
  Integration with Gmail, Google Calendar, and Drive. You update, ProsperWorks syncs!
• AND MORE..
   - Reports: Sales pipeline management made easy with its intuitive reporting feature.
   - Auto reminders: set reminders so you never miss a thing!
   - Mobility: iOS and Android mobile apps.
   - Integration: Zapier integration allows you to connect with 300+ apps like Evernote, Dropbox, MailChimp, etc.
   - Work from your inbox: Gmail plugin allows you to work right from your inbox.
  
  AND MUCH MORE..

3. Google Contacts

Depending on what you need from a CRM, Google Contacts itself might be enough of a CRM for you. It has fields to track anything you want about a contact, a notes section to save extra data about your communications and more, and a button to let you pull up all of your conversations with that contact. Here's more info about using Google Contacts as a free CRM: Google Contacts as a Free CRM

4. Freshsales CRM

Would recommend you to try Freshsales CRM that integrates with G Suite (previously Google Apps).

• AI-based lead scoring, built-in phone, email, activity capture, intelligent workflows and more.
• Free for upto 10 users. Paid plans start from 12 USD.

Highlights
--------------
 - Built-in phone system to make and receive calls, and buy phone numbers of various countries
 - Behavior-based Lead Scoring to prioritize and segment leads based on email, website and in-app engagement
 - Visual deal pipeline to track deals across stages
 - 360 degree view of contacts and accounts

- Real-time email alerts on opens and link clicks

 - Track customer journey on website and in-app
 - Intelligent Workflows to help get more done
 - 2-way Gmail sync
 - Integrate email to send and receive emails in Freshsales
 - Send bulk emails, schedule and create personalized email templates. Get insightful metrics on what templates works and what does not.
 - Native Freshdesk, Segment and Google Calendar Integration
 - Easily connect with Freshsales with Google Apps Single-Sign On (SSO)

5. NetHunt

I suggest you trying out NetHunt CRM for Gmail and maybe you’ll end up deciding that it’s the best :)

It’s based around Gmail and Google Apps, has a very simple and effective UI and can be used by virtually any kind of business, from marketing and sales, to retail, customer support or real estate.

NetHunt CRM is also one of the most affordable systems currently on the market - basically it’s $5 user/month with all of the features included (no limitations)! And that includes:

1. CRM inside Gmail. Send an email and NetHunt will immediately turn it into a record. Receive an email from a customer - immediately see his or her data inside the message.
2. Sales pipeline in Gmail. Records are card for storing customer data. You can group them by any field and manage records kanban-style, moving client through the sales stages.
3. Email marketing. Segment you leads in CRM and send them personalized mass mail.
4. Open tracking. See who where and when has opened the email you’ve sent.
5. Follow-ups. Flag a message or a record for later to contact leads or customers when the time is right.
6. Google Apps integration. Sync leads with Google Contact, Follow-ups with Calendar, add files from Google Drive.
7. $25 for 5 user. All features included, with no limitations to the number of records, custom field, etc.

6. ClinchPad

ClinchPad integrates with

1. Gmail/Google Mail for business
2. Google Calendar
3. Google Contacts
4. GDrive


Full list of features are here - https://www.clinchpad.com/features and ClinchPad is FREE for your first 100 leads

7. HubspotCRM

HubSpot CRM: This humble sales-focused CRM is so simple to use, you’ll be navigating it like a pro within an hour. It’s ease of use and the price tag (free!), make it an ideal starter CRM. HubSpot CRM logs emails with your contacts, and helps your sales team to keep track of opportunities. It also automatically captures leads, saving your sales team hours of data entry work.

Pricing: totally FREE!

8. Bitrix24

Bitrix24 - free CRM for 12 users, works with Gmail, Google Drive and Google calendar.

• Gmail - you can integrate your mail account with Bitrix24 CRM in 2 ways: first you will be able to send emails to clients from Bitrix24 with your gmail address set as sender’s address; second - you will be able to get new emails recorded in your CRM as new leads or, if the sender’s address is already in your CRM base - this email will be attached to it.
• Google Drive - sales agents can add comments to a lead (contact, company) in Bitrix24 & attach files, including an option to attach files form connected Google Drive directly. Besides that Bitrix24 offers My Drive & Company Drive modules for document management - both can be integrated with Google Drive as well.
• Google Calendar - a 2-way synchronization is available between Google Calendar & Bitrix24 Calendar.

9. Solve CRM

Solve360 (also called Solve CRM) is a Google Cloud Premier Partner that offers 2-way sync with Google contacts and Calendar. Users are able to pull CRM data directly into Google sheets reports and Docs. Collaborative features include intelligently shared client email history. Activity Workflows can be implemented on command or after time intervals. Solve360 also allows data backup and storage and full data export.

Besides its G-Suite integration, Solve360 integrates with Xero, Zendesk, Freshbooks, MailChimp, RingCentral, Wufoo, Zapier and others. It also offers a mobile app and its developer API. Solve360 is available for a single rate of $25 per user/month with a minimum of 4 users.

Any other cool tools I should consider?

Sumo Me

Web merge

Zoho One

What a world of AI robot writers will look like?

Just as video killed the radio celebrity, so too will AI demolish writers, journalists, and editors. Legions of wordsmiths — from Fiverr freelancers to The NY times journalists — may additionally soon discover themselves out of work. Besides the fact that children, they should be defeated now not through opponents overseas, but via algorithms.

To take into account the way forward for writing and the way AI writers might look like, we first deserve to seem at the types of jobs which are already on the slicing block.

Writing jobs are not comfortably automatic…appropriate?
Automation does not touch all jobs equally, and it can be entirely merely considered in the US. A stroll in the course of the put up-industrial heartland of Ohio yields a very different graphic than a city like San Francisco, with its excessive attention of highbrow capital.

As tempting, because it can be responsible overseas competitors, it appears that the high-quality job-killer is not outsourcing, however quite automation. In any case, American manufacturing is doing reasonably smartly: manufacturing grew by very nearly 2.2 percent per year — a long way sooner than the ordinary US economic system, which increased by 1.6 percent in 2016.

It looks manufacturing is booming, besides the fact that flesh-and-blood people are not. However, why are factory jobs so vulnerable to robots? Why now not programmers in San Francisco or an author in Manhattan metropolis?

It comes down to projects. Corporations as diverse as Oxford, McKinsey, and PwC, have concluded that jobs which are mostly wholly automated share a couple of essential traits. They ought to have repetitive routines and high predictability (consider meeting traces or stocking bins at big warehouses). Such roles are simple, with little need for adaptation or lateral thinking.

Conversely, jobs with an excessive degree of unpredictability and a need for advanced problem-fixing are far less likely to be surrendered to the machines. One handy little tool from NPR, which predicts your occupation’s probabilities of being automated, offers writers and authors a 3.8 p.C chance of being edged out via computer courses. As the general wisdom goes, creativity is not quite merely replicated with the aid of machines.

Alternatively, is it?

The Turing point

For an AI author to be helpful, its work has to circulate the Turing look at various, in which a pc must trick humans into considering that it too, is human.

This is undoubtedly critical for artistic algorithms. Clients do not need to devour content material created through a bot, as we accept as real with that robots cannot with no trouble connect with us on an emotional degree. What we agree with there is not any components for creativity: one cannot without difficulty cut back a piece like conflict and Peace to algorithms and binary inputs.

However, the truth is that programmers can conjure creativity — and they have already done it. Lower back in 2011, an undergrad at Duke institution modified an algorithm to dissect poems into smaller accessories (stanzas, lines, phrases) and then generate its lyrics automatically. One was even authorized through Duke’s literary journal, The Archive. The AI creator thereby with ease handed the Turing examine by using passing off its advent as a work using a human.

Of route, there’s a global of difference between a poem of 9 strains and a long-form article within the prominent apple instances (or some plenty more revered outlet, like TNW). Despite the fact, it is essential to understand that this marks a crucial milestone; for years, Americans have speculated that creativity changed into past the attain of machines. Now that AIs have written poems, songs, and even short films — the writing is on the wall.

What would a robot creator appear to be?
In all probability, one cause that AI writers are desperate to think about is that the vast majority of them cannot operate to the same degree as human writers, yet. As an example, FB shut down its language-building AIs as a result of they could not use natural language with no trouble.

However, to ignore AI on account of just a few public mishaps is unhealthy, as the pieces of the puzzle are already in the area. Now not only have AI writers already handed the Turing examine. However, they could additionally rely on specialized algorithms like in-depth gaining knowledge of (which recently enabled an AI to defeat a human within the notoriously summary online game of Go) to hone their writing skills. Additionally, AIs can already read manner reams of facts seamlessly, devoid of the meals and rest required through meat-primarily based counterparts.

for instance, despite initial setbacks, IBM’s Watson can analyze heaps of experiences and generate insights, even assisting doctors first tune diagnoses — and save lives within the procedure.

From here, it is a small step to robot writers. In promoting, AI copywriters are versatile: they could draft a whole lot of distinct ad campaigns, test and analyze the strengths of every different iteration, and utilizing deep getting to know, develop into more popular writers rapidly. Most of all, AI will not have to relaxation, get paid, or incur fees like award shows.

averting obsolescence
To steer clear of going the way of the horse, it is clear that we need a whole new paradigm of AI-human cooperation, not competitors.
There's already one location at the Washington post; the place executives became to AI author Heliograf to develop their net audience. Editors enter keywords and templates into Heliograf on a lot of routine and effects. Heliograph then trawls the web for information and critical phrase matches; from that, it generates reports or signals journalists to double-investigate information anomalies for potential scoops.
Heliograph stories are straightforward studies on pursuits like elections or Olympic competitions. They are not, despite the fact, in-depth analyses — a deliberate choice on the part of the put up. In place of using a handful of neatly-researched long-form experiences to catch splintered, niche audiences, the post uses Heliograf to create a flood of small, standard reviews to attract page views.
As an augmented intelligence which works alongside humans, Heliograf is a new beautiful model of human-machine interaction. There’s still house for humans to research and write in-depth points, from insurance of maternal mortality in us to an undercover investigation of private prisons.
However, laptop gaining knowledge of allows AI to match human writing talents and sift through reams of data, the human-activity angle (and interviewing) will prove more durable to master. Journalists can also do less straightforward reporting, and further better-degree analysis and investigation.
Still, ache might be unavoidable: following types of Heliograph may additionally set off massive layoffs, as newspapers cut costs by shedding local journalists and sports writers, at the same time as they keep (or increase) their investigative staff. The manufacturing industry might also present some parallels: automation increased output, costly human people were fired, and the closing jobs required increasingly advanced levels or adventure. It got here all the way down to numbers: a human welder prices $25 per hour (with benefits and vacation days), whereas robots charge simplest about $eight an hour after setting up, upkeep, and operating fees.
Concerning the future of writing, one factor is obvious: AI writers are already here. Despite the fact, how extensive the damage could be — and how many layoffs and human suffering we will are expecting — continues to be uncertain. It is genuine that there’s a kernel of hope in the augmented intelligence model of interaction, but that does not mean writers may still rest conveniently. In a decade or two, writers may also discover themselves in the same crisis as manufacturing facility workers these days.
Examine subsequently: FB suggests the future of media is all about UX, now not common content material

Automatically Generate Quotes for Deals in Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Simplifying your sales process can have a huge impact on your business.  With a tool like Microsoft Dynamics CRM you can manage your entire sales process from one location.  Add WebMerge to the process and you can instantly generate documents like contract, quotes, proposals, and more.

In this example, we’re going to show you how to automatically generate a quote when a new opportunity is added to Dynamics CRM.  We’ll then email the quote directly to our customer for their review.

To get started, we’re going to setup the template for our quote.  We’re going to build the template using a Word document.  Inside Word, we’re going to add our repeating information like our logo, contact info, and then for the spots that we want to insert specific information about the opportunity, we’re going to use merge fields that look like: {$OpportunityName}, {$Description}, {$Customer_Name}, etc.

These merge fields can be named anything you’d like, but cannot contain spaces or special characters.

Here’s what our quote template looks like:
 

Once we have our template ready, we need to upload it to WebMerge.  From the Documents page in WebMerge, click the New Document button.  Enter a name for the document, then on the next step pick Office Document as the document type then pick the file from your computer.
 

After you upload your document, you’ll be taken to the Settings tab where you can modify various options like the type of file that is generated and the name of the file.  For this example, we’re going to produce a PDF and we’re going to include the name of the opportunity in our file name.
 

Next, we’re going to setup the delivery of our document so that it is automatically emailed directly to our customer.  Under the Deliver tab, click the Edit button under our default email delivery.  For the “To” address, we’re going to select the merge field for our customer’s email address.  Feel free to edit any of the other email settings.
 

After you save your email delivery, we are done with the setup process inside WebMerge and we’re ready to setup the integration with Dynamics CRM.  To help with the integration, we’re going to use our friends over a Zapier.

Inside Zapier, we’re going to setup a new Zap.  For the Trigger, we’re going to choose Microsoft Dynamics CRM as the app, then New Opportunity as the trigger.
 

After you authenticate your Dynamics CRM account, Zapier is going to load a test opportunity to make sure that everything is working correctly.  Follow those steps and continue.

Next, we’re going to setup the Action of our zap and we’re going to choose WebMerge as the app, then Create Document Merge as the action.
 

Once you authenticate your WebMerge account, Zapier is going to load a list of the documents in your account.  Go ahead and pick the quote document you just setup and Zapier is going to load a list of the merge fields in your document.

For each of the merge fields, you need to pick the corresponding fields from Dynamic CRM.  This tells Zapier how to send your Opportunity data over to WebMerge so that it is populated in the correct spot on your template.
 

Once you have all of your merge fields matched up, we’re going to turn our Zap on and we’re ready to run a test!  Open up Dynamics CRM and then create a new opportunity.  Zapier will detect the new opportunity and send the data over to WebMerge and your quote will be generated.

Here's what our merged quote looked like:
 

Congrats, you’re all done!  You can now automatically generate all types of documents from Dynamics CRM.  Can you think of any other ways that you could utilize WebMerge to simplify your paperwork process?

Automatically Populate Applications from MySQL Databases

Saving information in a MySQL database is a great way to keep track of a lot of data, but it’s not a very user-friendly way to view the data.  With a tool like WebMerge you can instantly populate templates with data from your database and send off to customers or internal departments.

In this example, we’re going to show you how to automatically populate an application form with data from our MySQL database.  We’ll then automatically email the application to our review team.

To get started, we’re going to setup the template for our application using a Fillable PDF.  This is a PDF with fields that can be filled in with information (like many government forms).  We’re going to use a PDF editor like Nitro to edit the PDF and add the fields we’re going to populate from the database.

Here’s what our application template looks like:
 

Once you have the template finished, we need to upload it to WebMerge.  From the Documents page in WebMerge, click the New Document button and enter a name.  On the next step, pick Fillable PDF as the document type and then pick the file from your computer.
 

After you have uploaded your template to WebMerge, you’ll be taken to the Settings tab where you can modify various settings like the type of file that is generated and the name of the file.  For this example, we’re going to output a PDF and include the name of our applicant in the file name.
 

Next, we’re going to setup the delivery of our document so that it is automatically emailed directly to our review team.  Under the Deliver tab, we’re going to Edit the default email delivery.  For the To address, we’re going to enter our review team’s email address, then customize any of the other email settings.
 

Once we have our email delivery updated, we’re done with the setup process in WebMerge and we’re ready to integrate with our MySQL database.  To help with the integration, we’re going to use our friends over at Zapier.

Inside Zapier, we’re going to setup a New Zap.  For the Trigger, we’re going to choose MySQL as the app then New Row as the trigger.
 

Once you authenticate your MySQL database, you’ll have to select the table that you want to monitor.  Follow those steps and continue.

Next, we’re going to setup the Action of our Zap.  For the app, choose WebMerge and then Create Document Merge as the action.
 

Once you authenticate your WebMerge account, Zapier is going to load a list of all the documents you have setup in your account.  Go ahead and pick the Application that you just setup and Zapier will load a list of the merge fields in your template.

For each merge field, you need to pick the corresponding field from your MySQL database.  This tells Zapier how to send the database information over to WebMerge so that it is populated in the correct spot on your template.
 

Once you have matched up all of your merge fields, go ahead and save you Zap and turn it on.  We’re ready for a test!  Open up your database and add a new row to your table.  Zapier will detect this new row and automatically send the data over to WebMerge and your application will be generated.

Here’s what our merged application looked like:
 

Congrats, you’re all done!  You can now automatically generate all kinds of documents from your MySQL data.  Can you think of any other ways you could use WebMerge to simplify your paperwork process?

15 Remarkable Integrations to Automate Documentation with Zapier

As consumer demands become more unique and varied, in order to keep up with big businesses, small businesses must change their back-end operations. With the accessibility and affordability of automated software solutions, this demand is not only possible, but it also saves time and money for small business owners.

Where do you start? That’s easy! Zapier and WebMerge.

Zapier provides businesses with the ability to sync any application they want. Based on the uniqueness of your operations, you could use Zapier to share new Tweets on Slack, send RSS feeds to Buffer, and more. With Zapier and WebMerge’s powers combined, you can automate your documentation process and eventually… rule the world!

Here are 20 ways you can use Zapier and WebMerge to automate your business:

1. Create and Sign Real Estate Contracts with CudaSign
   Real Estate agents are always on the go.  From meeting with new clients, running around town showing homes, to closings, real estate agents are rarely in the office. Here’s how you can create quick contracts and save some energy.
2. Create Contracts and Agreements from Nutshell CRM
   Managing your contacts, leads, and opportunities can be a daunting task, but with choosing the right CRM can be a life saver.  Nutshell is a great CRM and in combination with WebMerge you can save your sales team countless hours.  In this example we’re going to show you how you can create a contract from a lead in Nutshell and automatically send it to your customer.
3. Generate Contracts from Opportunities in TrackVia
   Managing your workflow can be a daunting task, but with tools like TrackVia, you can keep track of everything from start to finish – all within a single platform.  From managing a projects to collecting data in the field, TrackVia is a great solution.
4. Send a Letter of Engagement from Clio
   Document generation in the legal world is a must-have.  By auto-populating letters, contracts, and other types of legal documents, attorneys and paralegals can save countless hours.  Another way lawyers can save time (and their sanity) is by using a practice management system like Clio.
5. Populate a PDF Receipt from a Formidable Order Form
   Formidable is a popular Wordpress form plugin for creating contact forms, order forms, registration forms and many more types of web forms.  But what if you want to take that information collected on the form and populate a Word document or PDF?  Your options are very limited.  Unless you haveWebMerge, of course! 
6. Send an Order Invoice from Smartsheet
   Smartsheet is a pretty cool tool that allows you to easily collect data from customers and team members, plus offering an easy platform to manage that information.  It’s like Excel, but on steroids.  In this example, we’re going to show you how to send an invoice created with WebMerge directly from Smartsheet as a new order is entered into our sheet.
7. Create and Send an NDA from Zoho CRM
   Keeping track of all your customer information can be difficult, but getting data out of your CRM can be an even bigger hassle.  Most often you end up re-typing information into other systems, documents, etc.  With Zoho CRM you can easily capture your leads, plus manage your customers, partners, and opportunities.
8. Send Customized Invoices for Magento Orders
   Let’s face it – e-commerce is here to stay and is an important part of any business.  Today there are many services out there that can help you build and maintain an online store front without the need of expensive coding or customization.  One of the most popular services is called Magento and they offer a product that can fit your every need.
9. Send Welcome Letters to Hubspot Form Leads
   You’ve jumped into the world of HubSpot marketing and sales tools, collecting all of this data on your website visitors, leads, and customers.  But, you don’t have an easy way to populate documents (letters, contracts, offers, etc) from that customer data.  Until now!  With the help of WebMerge (via Zapier) you can take your HubSpot data and populate documents on the fly.
10. Create PDFs and Reports from Knack
    If you’re looking for an easy way to build an online database application without the need for programming, you need to check out Knack.  With Knack you can get rid of those clunky spreadsheets and build easy to use web applications such as a custom CRM, proposal tracker, order management, and more.  Knack allows you to build some pretty powerful apps and we’re going to show you how you can easily generate documents directly from Knack using WebMerge.
11. Create Service Contracts from Batchbook
    If you’re looking for a great CRM to help you with organization and productivity, then we suggest you take a close look at Batchbook.  With Batchbook you can track your contacts, manage your deals, maintain your communication with customers, and more.  Let's take it one step further and generate documents from Batchbook using WebMerge.
12. Create and Send Contracts from Solve CRM
    In today’s competitive landscape for the CRM space, it’s tough for services to stick out from the rest.  You have to fit the needs of specific verticals or use-cases and do that really well.  In the case of Solve CRM, they have wisely picked a deep integration with Google for Work and all the apps that come along with it.  From Calendar syncing, to Gmail integration, to managing Google Drive files, Solve integrates seamlessly.
13. Create and Manage HR Documents from ZOHO Creator
    Managing your HR processes can be a daunting task.  From collecting new employee information, tracking time off, and handling payroll, there is a lot to keep track of and a lot of documentation to go along with it.  No sweat!  There’s a great tool called ZOHO Creator and you can build a customized HR app that allows you to manage all of your HR data across your entire business.  Then, combined with WebMerge you can generate employee contracts, insurance applications, state forms, and more.
14. Create Custom Invoices and Letters from Harvest
    Managing projects, finances, timesheets, and deliverables can be a job in itself, but with Harvest you can make life a whole lot easier.  Harvest can track all your expenses throughout a project and make it easy to bill your customers when the project is complete.  Sounds great, right?  Well, we agree, but what if you want to customize the invoices or send letters to your new customers?  Your options are limited.
15. Upload a TypeForm Medical Patient Intake Form to Box
    Have you ever thought filling out forms is a pain in the neck? TypeForm makes the experience of filling out forms fluid and fun. At the doctor’s office, filling out an intake form is often the first experience the patient has upon arriving for his or her appointment. If you have a medical practice, then you might be interested in improving your intake process. With TypeForm, in conjunction with WebMerge, you can merge the form submissions with a template document and automatically file them in your digital document storage system and/or as easily print them out as hard copies.