At a glance
BST Capital, a UK commercial finance provider for SMEs, replaced Google Sheets and email with a custom Zoho CRM built by ThoughtLogik. The system manages leads, deals, funders and funding applications, integrates with Companies House, and automates lead capture, deal creation and lender submissions using Zoho CRM Blueprints and custom functions.
| Client | BST Capital, UK business finance provider (founded 2015) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Commercial lending and business finance |
| Project | Zoho CRM implementation for SME funding workflows |
| Platforms | Zoho CRM, Zoho Forms, Companies House integration |
| Outcome | One pipeline for sales and funding, automated lender submissions, better call tracking |
About BST Capital
BST Capital offers flexible, transparent funding for UK small and medium-sized businesses. Founded in 2015 to address the limits of traditional lending, it competes on speed and a customer-centric process.
The challenge
BST Capital’s US team used Microsoft Dynamics 365, but the UK operation managed leads, deals and lender relationships in Google Sheets and email. This caused:
- Limited, time-consuming reporting
- Poorly tracked calls and follow-ups
- No single view of clients, deals and funders
- Manual work that made scaling difficult
The solution: a custom Zoho CRM for business finance
ThoughtLogik designed Zoho CRM around BST Capital’s funding process, replacing spreadsheets with structured modules and automation.
1. CRM setup and custom modules
- Configured Leads, Deals, Contacts and Accounts
- Built a Funder module to manage lender data, also shown as a custom layout in Accounts
- Built a Funding Application module to track each request and its status
2. Data migration
Historical leads, accounts, funders, deals and funding applications were migrated from spreadsheets into Zoho CRM.
3. Companies House integration
The UK Companies House extension auto-fills company details in Zoho CRM, improving data accuracy and saving manual entry time.
4. Lead capture and email automation
A Zoho Form creates leads automatically. A one-click “Send Email” action sends the prospect a pre-filled form link, and their submission updates the original lead record.
5. Blueprints and automation
- A lead conversion Blueprint creates the right Accounts and Contacts
- An account-level Blueprint guides the deal process
- Deals are created automatically from funding applications
6. Call management kiosk
A lightweight Zoho CRM kiosk and a “No Answer” button on Leads, Contacts and Deals standardise call logging and follow-ups.
7. “Send to Lenders” kiosk
Inside the account Blueprint, a “Send to Lenders” button lists all active funders. Users pick one or more, and a custom function creates a separate Funding Application for each lender, linked to the client and set to “Not Sent”.
Results
- Centralised sales and funding management with full visibility across the lifecycle
- Less manual work through automated lead conversion, deal creation and lender engagement
- Faster, more reliable lead data through Zoho Forms and email automation
- Scalable custom modules built on BST’s own business logic
- Consistent call tracking and follow-ups across the team
- Simpler lender submissions that save time and reduce errors
Frequently asked questions
Is Zoho CRM suitable for commercial finance brokers and lenders?
Yes. With custom modules for funders and funding applications, Blueprints and automation, Zoho CRM can manage the full broker and lender workflow from lead to funded deal.
Can Zoho CRM integrate with Companies House?
Yes. A Companies House extension auto-populates UK company data such as registered name, number and address into Zoho CRM records.
What is a Zoho CRM Blueprint?
A Blueprint is a guided process in Zoho CRM that defines the stages a record must move through, with required actions, approvals and automation at each step.
Can one application be sent to multiple lenders automatically?
Yes. ThoughtLogik built a kiosk and custom function that creates a separate funding application for each selected lender in one click.
Running finance deals from spreadsheets? ThoughtLogik builds Zoho CRM systems for UK lenders, brokers and financial services firms. Book a free consultation or explore our Zoho CRM services.
