Using LACRM for multiple businesses

There are a few ways to maintain separate databases in LACRM, and using one or more of these methods will help you stay on top of all your leads if you're working for or running multiple businesses:

Pipelines

• Pipelines will allow you to track the different processes you need to stay on top of for each business. You can learn more about pipelines here.
• A quick way to set up pipelines for multiple businesses is to create a pipeline for each business you work at. If you have a contact that is a lead for multiple businesses, you can simply attach multiple pipelines to them.
• If you have more than one pipeline per business, you can add the business name as a prefix to the pipeline name. E.g. Business A - Leads, Business A - New Client Onboarding.
• If you have additional users on your account, and they won't need to see specific pipelines, use our teams tool to set visibility permissions for these pipelines.
• Pros: You only need to maintain one CRM account, all your contacts can still be viewed together in one database, allows you to differentiate between the processes at each business, and allows you to generate separate reports for each business.
• Cons: You will need to attach the correct pipeline to each contact when they're added into the CRM.

Groups

• Groups are an easy way to tag and label sets of contacts. You can learn more about groups here.
• A quick way to set up groups for multiple businesses is to create a group for each business you work at. You can also color code each group to match the business’s colors. If you have a contact that is a lead for multiple businesses, you can simply tag them into all the groups they belong in.
• If you have additional users on your account, and they won't need to see specific groups, use our teams tool to set visibility permissions for these groups.
• Pros: You only need to maintain one CRM account, all your contacts can still be viewed together in one database, and this is the easiest method of tagging and separating your contacts.
• Cons: You will need to categorize each contact when they're added into the CRM.

Custom field sections

• Custom field sections are an easy way to segment contact or pipeline fields into different categories. You can learn more about creating custom field sections here.
• If you have different data that you need to collect for each business, set up custom field sections for each business. Move all of the fields for one business into one section, so everything you need for one business is in the same area. You can also select to collapse a section if all fields are empty.
• Pros: You only need to maintain one CRM account, and all of your contacts can be viewed together in one database.
• Cons: Each section name will appear when you create or edit a contact, even if all fields are empty. Field sections will also be visible to all users on the account.

Calendars

• Calendars allow you to track events and tasks specific to each business, as well as color coding your calendar. You can learn more about calendars here.
• Quickly set up additional calendars by creating one calendar for each business. You can also color code each calendar to match the business’s colors.
• If necessary, add additional calendars for each business to segment different categories of events or tasks within that business. Learn more about using calendars to organize events and tasks here.
• Pros: You only need to maintain one CRM account and you can see all events and tasks in one place. Additional calendars also allow you to view just one calendar at a time, to focus on one business.
• Cons: You will need to add each task or event to the appropriate calendar based on which business it’s related to. Additional calendars are visible only to the user who created them and cannot be shared across an account.

Workspace customization

• The Workspace page will open when you first log into the CRM, and provides an overview of everything you have for the day.
• If you have multiple businesses, you can edit your Workspace page to create widgets that focus on each business. For example, create different widgets for each business’s calendars or pipelines. Each widget name can be edited for easy identification.
• Learn more about editing your Workspace page here.
• Pros: You only need to maintain one CRM account and all of your contacts and calendar can be viewed in one database. This is the easiest method of quickly seeing an overview of each business in one place.
• Cons: You will need to set up each widget to track the businesses. Widgets with a lot of information will take up more screen space, and you may need to scroll to see additional information.

Separate accounts

• Creating a totally separate LACRM account for your second or third business ensures that there will be no overlap between the two databases.
• You can create your own set of groups and pipelines on each account relevant to each business, and you can be certain that if you have additional users, they will only see the contacts and data of the account they've been added to.
• Pros: Your databases will be kept completely separate so there is no concern for overlap, you can create as much customization as you want on each account without fear of cluttering up your database with two businesses' worth of customization, and you can add users to each account depending on which company of yours they work for.
• Cons: You have to manage and pay for two separate LACRM accounts, and will need to have different email addresses to use as logins for each account. If you choose to use separate accounts, here is a helpful guide on how to toggle between different LACRM accounts throughout the day.