Realise Business delivers scalable small business support with Zoho One

The company

Realise Business is a non-profit organisation offering advice and guidance to small businesses across New South Wales. Established in 1989, the organisation is funded by the federal government to deliver specialist small business programs, and has been awarded the Small Business Commissioner Award for excellence. They were also a finalist for SmartCompany's Community Hero Award and the CEO Magazine award. Running such a high-profile organisation is no easy feat, but Realise Business has continued to grow its impact by focusing on people in business, not just business itself.

At its core, Realise Business believes its mission is about people in business. The organisation supports small business owners through different stages of their journey, whether they are starting a business, looking to grow, or trying to optimise how their business runs. While there is a lot of information available online, Realise Business places strong value on face-to-face and one-to-one support. The organisation believes real impact comes from walking alongside business owners personally, not just providing information.

As digital has become central to how business is done, Realise Business has focused on helping small businesses understand how to use digital in a practical, business-focused way. Digital is no longer a nice-to-have, but a critical part of running a business today.

The challenge

Realise Business is an established organisation with a large client base. On average, the team works with thousands of small businesses each year through various government-funded programmes. A key focus in recent years has been helping small businesses build confidence and capability in using digital tools as part of their everyday operations.

Through the federally funded Digital Solutions program, Realise Business supports small business owners to better understand what it means to be digital in a business context. While many business owners are comfortable using tools like social media in their personal lives, applying those tools effectively in business is often challenging.

The program focuses on five key capability areas identified by the government:

  • Using websites and e-commerce more effectively
  • Understanding social media and digital marketing
  • Adopting software to improve efficiency and productivity
  • Protecting the business from a cyber perspective
  • Building confidence in using digital tools

When applications opened for the next three-year phase of the Digital Solutions program, Realise Business decided to apply to run the program directly. The organisation had previously been involved in certain delivering parts of the program, but winning this grant would mean building a digital platform capable of managing Digital Solutions registrations, service delivery, workflows, and reporting at scale.

To do this successfully, the organisation needed systems that worked together. Manual processes, duplicate data entry, and disconnected applications made it difficult to deliver services efficiently and confidently. Realise Business needed a solution that could bring everything into one place and support both the delivery team and the businesses they work with.

The solution

Jacqui Attard, the former CEO of Realise Business heard about Zoho One through Matt Koopmans, a Realise Business client and Zoho Authorised Partner from Aurelian Group. She was initially looking for a CRM system, but quickly realised the organisation needed more than just a standalone tool. Zoho One stood out because it offered a complete ecosystem of applications that could support the entire business.

With more than 50 applications available within a single platform, Zoho One allowed Realise Business to manage CRM, marketing, operations, reporting, and service delivery in one connected system. This removed the need for multiple applications that did not work well together and reduced issues with data transfers and duplicate entries.

Data security and privacy were also key considerations, especially as Realise Business delivers programs on behalf of the Australian Government. Having a single, secure system helped the organisation manage large volumes of client information with confidence.

Once the decision was made to move to Zoho One, the team set to work identifying which applications were needed and how they would be implemented. After planning the setup, Realise Business was able to implement the system and start using it quickly.

Zoho CRM became the core of the entire setup. It acts as the central information store and nerve centre for the organisation. From the moment a client registers through an online form, their details flow directly into Zoho CRM.

From there, automated workflows guide clients through their journey with Realise Business. If a registration is incomplete, the system automatically follows up with the client to complete the process. These workflows run in the background, removing the need for manual intervention.

The team uses Zoho Forms to capture business assessments and Zoho Bookings to allow clients to schedule one-to-one sessions with advisers. This allows them to manage different advisers, appointment types, and delivery formats without overcomplicating the experience for the client.

Once a client selects a service, their subscriptions and payments are managed digitally, and it's easy for clients to update their details and preferences themselves. All client activity, agreements, and interactions are recorded against their profile in Zoho CRM.

By linking every process back to CRM, Realise Business ensures all teams are working from the same information and that each client's journey is clearly tracked from start to finish.

Benefits and ROI

The immediate benefit of adopting Zoho was the ease of setting up the system. With the right support in place, the team was able to get started quickly without needing to rebuild their systems from scratch. They were able to use the capabilities already available within the platform and begin operating within a short timeframe.

The flexibility of Zoho CRM also proved valuable when the organisation needed to report program outcomes to the government. For example, when the team received a government tender to work with Parramatta-based businesses impacted by construction work, they were required to report on several key performance indicators. These included the number of clients who had signed up for the program and the number of businesses the team had visited. Using CRM, the team was able to capture and organise this information and deliver the required report within four weeks.

During periods of increased demand, the system also helped the organisation scale its operations. During the COVID-19 period, Realise Business experienced a significant surge in demand as businesses sought support, particularly for grant applications. Within a short period of time, the organisation doubled both its output and operating hours. Because many of the internal processes had already been automated through Zoho, the team was able to continue operating remotely while managing the increased workload.

Beyond this period, Zoho One has continued to support large-scale program delivery. Over the three-year Digital Solutions program, Realise Business has worked with more than 8,000 clients and delivered over 16,000 hours of one-to-one advisory sessions. Automation and connected systems make it possible to manage this volume without increasing manual administrative work.

Zoho Analytics plays a key role in how the business is managed day to day. Dashboards bring together data from across the platform and provide leadership with a clear view of client engagement, program activity, and operational performance. This visibility allows the team to monitor progress and identify issues early.

The organisation has also expanded its use of other applications within the platform. Tools such as Zoho Flow and Zoho Sites have helped streamline integrations and improve the organisation's online presence, giving the team greater flexibility in how they deliver services and manage digital programs.

For Realise Business, one of the most significant benefits of Zoho has been the overall value of the platform. By bringing multiple business applications into a single ecosystem, the organisation has been able to streamline operations while maintaining access to a wide range of tools needed to support small businesses.

Looking forward

The future holds many opportunities for the team at Realise Business to maximise their impact. The organisation continues to focus on supporting small businesses through different stages of their journey, while expanding the way services are delivered.

Zoho One is now seen as the core business system for Realise Business. The Digital Solutions program operates within this platform, but it is not the end point. As the organisation continues to evolve, Zoho One provides a solid base to add new programs and delivery models without rebuilding systems again.

With all key processes running through Zoho One, Realise Business is able to deliver services at scale while still maintaining a personal, guided experience for clients. The platform supports advisers working from different locations and allows the organisation to serve businesses beyond its traditional geographic reach.

Looking ahead, Realise Business plans to continue bedding down Zoho One and making full use of the applications that best support its business model and its clients. The platform will remain central to how the organisation operates, measures impact, and supports small businesses into the future.