What a CRM Acquisition Means for Your Business

When the software your company relies on changes ownership, it's worth paying attention. Your CRM may hold years of customer records, job history, estimates, photos, communications, and financial information. It's also where your team manages the work that keeps jobs moving. 

So, when the company behind that software is acquired, it's reasonable to wonder what that could mean for your company

An ownership change isn't automatically good or bad. It could bring more resources and new capabilities, or it could eventually change the company's priorities, products, partnerships, or pricing.

Instead of trying to predict what will happen, use the change as an opportunity to take a closer look at the software your business depends on. These six questions are a good place to start.

1. Who controls your data?

Start with the information your company has spent years building. Your CRM may store and process your customer records, leads, job histories, estimates, photos, notes, payment information, and communications. But do you know what your agreement says about how that information can be accessed and used?

Don't settle for a verbal answer. Ask where these policies are documented so you can review them yourself.

Ask your provider:

• What does our agreement say about ownership of our data?
• How is our data used to provide your services?
• Who can access it?
• Is customer data used for analytics, product development, or AI?
• Could an ownership change affect any of these policies?
• How would we be notified if your data policies changed?

2. Can you actually get your records out?

Even if you have no intention of leaving your current software, it's a good idea to know what happens if you request an export.

Find out whether you can retrieve the records that matter to your business. Then get into the details. What formats are available? What's included? How long does an export take? Is there a fee? Are there records that can't be exported?

Consider running an export now and reviewing the results. Having an export option doesn't necessarily show how complete or usable the export will be when you actually need it.

3. What happens to the tools connected to your CRM?

Your CRM probably isn't the only software your company relies on. You may have connections to measurement providers, accounting platforms, material suppliers, financing tools, lead sources, communication tools, and more.

Those integrations can become a major part of how your team gets work done, which makes them worth reviewing when ownership changes.

Make a quick list of everything connected to your CRM, and consider what would happen if each connection disappeared. Something your team uses once a month probably carries a different level of risk than an integration that's part of nearly every job.

For your most important integrations, find out:

• Who maintains the integration?
• How would you hear about changes?
• What happens if the integration is discontinued?
• Is it included in your current plan or priced separately?
• Are there other ways to connect the two systems if the existing integration changes?

This is also a good opportunity to look at what you're paying for across your tech stack. Make sure you understand what's included, what's an add-on, and which tools are essential to your operation.

4. How does your provider handle privacy and security changes?

An ownership change isn't evidence of a privacy or security problem. But if you haven't looked at your provider's policies in a while, now is a good time.

You should be able to find current information about how your provider protects customer data, which third parties may process it, and what happens if there's a security incident.

Look for its current privacy policy and security documentation, then find out how you'll be notified if something important changes.

A few questions can help:

• How will customers be notified of material changes to privacy or security?
• Do you maintain a current list of subprocessors?
• What security certifications or independent assessments do you maintain?
• Who can we contact if we have a security concern?
• What is your process for responding to a security incident?

5. Is the product still being built for businesses like yours?

This one may take time to answer. A new owner can bring more resources and faster development. But it can also introduce new markets and business priorities. What matters to you is whether the product continues to solve the problems your company deals with every day.

Pay attention to what you see in the months after a change. Are product updates making the software better for your office and field teams? Are bugs being fixed? Do new features solve real contractor problems? Does customer feedback still seem to influence development?

You can also ask your CRM provider what their priorities are for the next year, how their roadmap is determined, and how contractor feedback shapes what gets built.

No software company can build every feature their customers request. But you should feel confident that your provider understands your industry and plans to keep investing in the work you rely on it to do.

6. How hard would it be to switch if you needed to?

Even if switching CRMs is the last thing you want to do, knowing what a transition would involve gives you a much clearer picture of your options.

A CRM migration can include exporting and cleaning data, mapping fields, rebuilding workflows, reconnecting integrations, moving active jobs, and training your team. The more customized your current system is, the more there may be to account for.

Before you're ever under pressure to switch, document some of the basics:

• The data you'd need to preserve
• Active jobs that you can’t have disrupted
• Custom fields, statuses, automations, and workflows you'd need to recreate
• Integrations you'd need to reconnect
• Employees who would need training
• The person on your team who would own the transition

If you start evaluating another provider, ask about migration before you make a decision. Find out what they'll move for you, what you'll need to handle yourself, what onboarding includes, and how they'll help your team get up and running.

How confident are you in your current software?

After working through these questions, you should have a better idea of where you feel confident and where you still need answers.

Don’t feel like you have to start shopping for another CRM if you can't answer every question. Start by filling in the gaps. Talk to your provider, review your documentation, and pay attention to what actually changes over the next few months.

If the answers leave you less confident in your current software, that's when it may be worth exploring your options.

JobNimbus is built for roofing and exterior contractors, with tools to manage your business from lead to payment. Keep estimates, jobs, customer communication, payments, reports, and more connected in one place while integrating with the other tools your business relies on.

If you're exploring your options, see how JobNimbus fits the way your team works with a free trial.

Start your free trial today!