Online contact forms are a crucial way for people to reach out to your business. Using a contact form on your website, current and potential customers can ask for help, give valuable feedback, and even request a demo.

The problem with many contact forms is that their responses are typically routed to an email inbox. There, customer queries get buried by a mountain of other emails. Or else, they are forwarded to other team members, and it’s unclear if the customer ever receives a response. The emails that are responded to often become long email chains that are difficult to organize or search through.

That is why AirSend gives you with the ability to create a contact form on your website that is connected to your AirSend account. When someone submits a query using the form, AirSend creates a channel for you and the person where you can easily chat and share files.

Below is a more detailed explanation of AirSend’s online contact forms.

How AirSend’s Online Contact Forms Work

What the Contact Form Looks Like In Your Website

There are customizable elements, but here is a basic preview of what an AirSend contact form looks like on a website.

Contact Us Button

There will be a “Contact Us” button at the bottom right corner of the web page.

Contact Form

When someone clicks on the button, an online contact form like the one below will pop up.

What Happens After a Contact Form Submission 

Submission Message

After the person clicks “Send,” a submission message will appear.

AirSend Connection

Then, a few things will happen:

  1. A Channel will be created in your AirSend account that includes you and the person who submitted the form.
  2. You will also receive an email letting you know that someone completed a contact form and that a new Channel has been made.
  3. An email will be sent to the person who submitted the form letting them know that the Channel has been created. They will need an AirSend account to chat directly in the Channel. If they do not have one, the person can send email messages into the Channel and receive your Channel messages by email as well.

How to Add a Contact Form to Your Website

Now that you know how it works, here is a step-by-step tutorial on how you can add a contact form to your website today.

Step 1: Go to Settings

In the upper-right corner of the AirSend screen, click on your username and choose Settings.

Step 2: Go to the Contact Form Tab

Click the Contact Form tab in the Settings window. There, you will see the script, theme color, and submission message sections.

Changing Your Form Color

If you want the “Contact Us” button and form to appear in a different color than the default blue, click Theme Color to change it.

Changing Your Submission Message

To display a different message on the website after the user clicks send, edit the text in Message to Show After Submission.

Step 3: Save and Copy

If you have made any changes to the theme color or submission message, click Save. After that, click Copy Script to copy the script that inserts the form into a web page.

Step 4: Paste Into Your Web Page

The final step is to open the source code of your web page and paste the script into the code before the end </body> tag.

And that’s it! You now have a contact form on your website that connects to your AirSend account.

Project management is a big part of our lives, whether we are students, business owners, or employees. A good project management tool can help students stay on top of homework and school projects. For business owners and employees, it streamlines workflows and keeps team members on the same page.

Our goal is to make AirSend the best all-in-one team collaboration tool. So, it made sense for us to include robust project management tools like an integrated Actions section with a Kanban view. The rest of this blog post will talk in detail about AirSend’s project management capabilities and how you can use them to make work easier.

Project Management Features

Create Actions from Messages

Did you know that you can create an action reminder from a message? You do this by clicking the lightning bolt icon next to any message. This feature makes it easy to turn conversations into trackable to-do lists.

Easily Add Actions

Next, we’re going to go into the Kanban view, AirSend’s newest and most powerful project management tool. The “Add Action” box in the top right corner of the Kanban view lets you quickly add actions. Each action becomes the main topic for a board.

Quickly Add Subactions

To break actions, or projects, into smaller tasks, you can add subactions. Just type them directly into a board and click the plus sign.

Assign People and Due Dates

Assigning people and due dates to actions and subactions is easy, too. Click the person and calendar icons that appear when you hover your cursor over an action or subaction to do so.

Add Action Details

To add action details, click the three dots icon and then choose “Action Details.” There you can let people know more about what needs to be completed.

Drag-and-Drop Boards

Dragging and dropping boards in your Kanban view is as easy as clicking and dragging.

View as a To-Do List

One of the greatest things about AirSend Actions is that it lets you organize your actions in many different ways so you can more easily visualize projects. To see your actions as a to-do list, click the list icon at the top, center of the view. To change back to the board view, just click the board icon next to it.

Sort Actions and Switch Between Channels

Other ways you can sort actions include sorting by Channel, Name, and Due Date. You can do this by using the drop-down menu labeled “Sort By.” You can also sort by action status using the menu labeled “Status.”

Finally, if you have multiple projects happening in different Channels – no problem! You can easily switch between the Actions sections of different Channels to view your projects using the drop-down menu labeled “Channels.”

Search Actions

AirSend’s powerful search function makes it easy to find anything fast, including actions.

Let’s Talk

How do you use AirSend to manage your projects? If you’d like to talk to us about how you use AirSend and be featured in the AirSend blog, please contact us.

It’s time for an update announcement for the iOS AirSend app. There are some exciting new features in this update that make collaborating on the go even easier! We also included some general updates and improvements to the app’s User Interface.

  • Message Notifications
  • Meeting Call Notifications
  • Pin/Unpin Channels
  • UI Improvements

Using AirSend just got even better. Read on for more details on these simple yet powerful updates.

Message Notifications

AirSend will now make use of your phone’s push notifications to let you know when a message is sent to a channel you’re in. A bonus feature – simply swipe down on the notification to type and send a reply. You don’t even need to open the app.

Video demonstrating AirSend’s push notification feature.

Meeting Call Notifications

If a meeting starts in one of your channels, you can participate directly through your device’s call function. This feature means you can field meetings directly through your device, without having to open the app. You can also decline the call if you’re not available. You can also view a record of your AirSend meetings through your phone call log/history.

Image of AirSend’s call notification feature. A bar appears at the top of the screen with the option to accept or decline the meeting audio.

Pin and Unpin Channels

AirSend users can now pin or unpin channels in the channel list. By pinning a channel, you can ensure the channels you want to see are always at the top. If the channel is no longer a priority, simply click to unpin, and let the natural sort take care of the rest.

Video demonstrating AirSend’s pin/unpin channel feature.

General Updates and Improvements

In our effort to constantly refine and optimize AirSend, we’ve made a few small changes that can make a big difference. To name just a few, the format for reactions has been adjusted. We’ve also updated the color scheme for messages. Between these two changes, the overall display is more visible and appealing. The reply swipe action has also been updated, so one fluid motion opens the reply bar.

How to Leave us Feedback

We are always seeking to improve our product, so all feedback is appreciated. To find out where to leave comments and/or suggestions, you can visit our public channel or visit us at our support page.

AirSend is a versatile digital workspace that allows users to share files, send messages, and complete tasks. See how AirSend can help you.

When was the last time you created a note? Was it today when you wrote down a grocery list on a napkin, or maybe yesterday at a meeting with a client? Writing down information that we want to remember at a later time has been ingrained in us since our days in school. That is why we knew we wanted to include a Wiki, or Notes, section in AirSend even when we first started developing the app.

Since those days, the Wiki has improved leaps and bounds, now including capabilities like the ability to share pages using a unique link. Here are a few other cool things you can do with your AirSend Wiki.

AirSend Wiki Ideas

Take Notes on the Fly

If you’re someone who’s always on the go, the ability to take, save, and share notes from your phone is great. You can also quickly and easily search for notes later, so you never lose anything again.

Develop and Share SOPs

Many of our clients use the Wiki to create and share business SOPs. Some even have an SOP Channel where they have written all of the SOPs in the Wiki and added their employees. If you’re using AirSend for your business, this is a great use case.

Create a Guidebook

Related to developing and sharing SOPs is creating a guidebook on something. What are you an expert in? Is it baking? Machine learning? Cheap travel? Whatever it is, you can write a guidebook about it in your Wiki and share it with the world.

Work Together

This final idea is something we personally love about AirSend’s Wiki. We have used the Wiki to collaborate on articles, email campaigns, and so much more. It’s a great collaboration tool that lets everyone write down ideas that we can then discuss in real-time using the chat section or AirSend’s voice and video calling.

Let’s Talk

These are just some of the many possibilities out there. How do you use AirSend’s Wiki section? If you’d like to talk to us about how you use AirSend and be featured in the AirSend blog, please contact us.

We recently had the chance to talk to Derek Neuts, Software Developer and Founder of IronGlove Studio, a full-service boutique agency specializing in data-driven, holistic design services for websites and applications. He provides a keen review of how AirSend supports collaboration and project fulfillment for his small business

Here’s a transcript of our conversation (edited for clarity):

ME: Can you tell me a little bit about what you do and how you’re using AirSend?

DEREK: I own a small web development software firm. There’s somewhere between, I think 12 or 13 of us here right now. So we’re small, super small. But you know, we take quality over quantity, and we’ve been growing for the past three years.

What I really wanted was a way for everybody to collaborate on each project. My team is distributed. Most of them are offshore, but I have some U.S. contractors, and it works out really well, because now we’re able to get in there. There’s no lag, it’s super smooth. The interface is very simple, and nobody feels like they need to be a network administrator to figure this out.

For the small guys like me, we need a solution that has a degree of affordability or free for a period of time to kind of get into it, to see if you like it without purging a lot of money out. I just feel like a lot of these solutions are geared towards enterprise customers and very few solutions were geared towards small, working agencies.

ME: Which parts are you finding that you use more, and then which ones are you finding that you use less?

DEREK: I set up a group called “agency”. The agencies are set up so I could notify all three of them that something specific to them. It’s really helpful to have groups like that. I have another group just for me, for internal notes and documents. Then I have another tab of groups called client projects. I have seven channels, and that’s kind of helpful because, with a smaller team like ours, certain people are working on certain projects. I assign them to those channels, and I can make them aware of certain tasks, like contacting the client or discussing budgets. Or just general project updates.

We’ve shared files, and maybe once so far I attempted to use the telephone option to have an in-person conference. It was easier than getting a zoom link; It’s like, ‘I need to talk to you and you’re 4,000 miles away, let’s just talk real quick’.

I like the Wiki, by the way, I’m going to start using that to note procedures for certain clients in each one of those channels, to remind them, ‘this is where you go to find this.’

I feel kind of like I found a home for the team; the biggest seller is the interface.

Me: Thank you so much for your time.

If you want to learn more about Derek and the projects IronGlove Studio works on, you can visit his website here: https://www.ironglove.studio/

AirSend is a versatile digital workspace for professionals to share files, send messages, and complete tasks. See how AirSend can help you as your business grows here.

Advancements in technology have led the sales industry to consider how these new capabilities can benefit the sales process. This can help enhance the experience for both potential customers and sales teams. With many different industries implementing innovations such as Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality (AR/VR), Digital Sales Rooms (DSRs) have become common among sales teams.

The increased focus on sales technology provide huge benefits. It can boost remote selling efforts and can add value to the buyer-seller interaction by creating better engagement with buyers. 

With digital sales rooms, companies can showcase their offerings and distinguish themselves from their competition across geographical boundaries. Not only that, using DSRs can give companies valuable insight into what actions and content best increase sales.

Now let’s look at the definition of DSR, its use cases, and some of the best digital sales rooms of 2021.

What is a Digital Sales Room?

Sales teams present content to sales prospects in a client content portal called a digital sales room. Basically, it’s a shared space between potential customers and sales teams where prospects learn what is being offered and decide whether or not they want to purchase that product or service. Digital sales rooms also provide key, data-driven insights to sales teams that can be used to improve their effectiveness.

In the current market, gaining an edge over competitors is essential for any sales team to succeed. To do this, teams can deploy DSRs to increase engagement with sales materials and better understand prospect behavior.

Here are the two primary ways in which a DSR work.

  • Sales teams add proposals and other content into a singular repository.
  • Prospects gain access to the repository, and the technology tracks their activity. Activity tracked can include the pages they viewed, the time they spent on each page, and so on.

The Many Uses of Digital Sales Rooms

A digital salesroom can work wonders on the sales process and significantly improve performance in several different ways. A successful DSR improves these aspects of the sales process: buyer engagement, data collection, and buyer/sales team collaboration.

1. Better buyer engagement. DSRs can tell you whether or not a prospect has taken a look at a shared document. This can prompt the sales rep to take the next step accordingly to ensure that the prospect remains engaged.

2. Tracking customer behavior. DSRs also keep tabs on how much time the buyer is dedicating to each page. So sales teams can note buyer behavior and respond accordingly.

3. Tracking shares. Another useful data collection feature is that sales teams can keep a record of what content is being forwarded using DSRs. This can be a great way of capturing new contacts.

4. Greater buyer empowerment. Unlike traditional remote-selling methods with tedious email threads, DSRs are more interactive and customized. That makes buyers more likely to be engaged and share the content with others.

The Top Digital Sales Rooms of 2021

We’ve discussed what DSRs are and what they can improve about the sales process. Next let’s take a look at the best digital sales rooms available now.

JourneySales

JourneySales has been at the forefront of account-based selling solutions for quite some time. One of the first to create digital sales rooms, they have launched several versions of their “Smart Rooms,” which they define as “private digital collaboration spaces,” enabling sales teams to provide customers with a private and personalized experience.

Bigtincan

This AI-powered Sales Enablement Automation Platform allows sellers to create a highly intuitive digital salesroom that facilitates document automation, content sharing and management, and internal communication, among numerous other features. The “stories” feature wherein content can be categorized into collections is a unique touch.

ClientPoint

Though proposal-centric, this platform does have support for a variety of marketing content. It comes into action from the first moment of contact with the prospect for a truly personalized feel. The real-time alerts keep the sales team updated about the prospect’s viewing activity, allowing them to act timely and close the deal.

Moxtra

This customer collaboration platform focuses primarily on financial institution services for which it has been awarded “Best Digital Banking Solution Provider.” As with most other DSRs, Moxtra can be used either as a standalone tool or an existing website or application extension. The UI is intuitive and intelligent and supports various functions such as secure messaging, hosting or attending video conferences, managing disclosures, signing contracts, and so on.

AirSend

A less expensive but still fully-featured version of Moxtra, AirSend provides secure messaging, voice and video calling with screen-sharing, fast file sharing, and more. Sales teams can also create templates so that they do not have to re-upload common files every time they approach a new prospect. Gmail integration, Office 365 integration, and full search capabilities are other features that make AirSend an excellent choice for a DSR.

Tact.ai

Tact.ai is a feature-rich DSR option. It provides CRM solutions that are simple and customizable. Users choose between several different product offerings: Tact Assistant, Tact Hub, or Tact Portal. The easy-to-use UI provides customers with a “WhatsApp-like experience” with support for secure messaging, e-signature, file collaboration, video conferencing, and other features.

Folloze

With a focus on ABX and ABM, this platform brings to the table micro-targeted campaigns and a highly personalized experience tailored to the needs of each customer. Folloze integrates seamlessly with quite a few CRMs like SalesLoft and Salesforce.

Key Takeaways

The correct implementation of digital salesrooms, like any other tool, can be a game-changer for companies and give sales teams much greater control over the sales process. Several platforms currently offer a collaborative workspace through which sellers can engage with buyers and showcase their products. You can go for any of the options discussed in this article or choose a more suitable platform for your use case.

For many businesses, setting up a functional team communication solution has been a priority in recent times. With many people working from home, teams need easy and flexible communication and collaboration tools that let them send messages, share files, have audio and video calls, and integrate with third-party tools to maximize productivity.

Thankfully, there are many different apps for team communication to explore to find the perfect fit. These apps come with a range of different features and price points to help teams thrive.

In this blog post, we’re going to take a look at some of the best and most widely-used team communication apps. These apps specialize in team communication, collaboration, and important third-party integrations. They are all-in-one solutions for team communication for you to choose from based on your unique requirements.

The Best Team Communication Apps

Slack

Years ago, Slack pioneered the transformation of team communication apps from simple chat tools to fully-featured collaboration solutions. Since then, they still enjoy one of the highest market shares in workspace collaboration apps.

Slack Features

Slack is available on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android and has a web client. The Slack workflow, which has been replicated by other solutions, breaks up communication into categories called threads, channels, and workspaces, allowing for granular control over classification and organization of communication. These can be access-controlled for better management. Slack also integrates a powerful search feature that allows users to find relevant communications quickly.

Slack Integrations

The most notable feature is the 1400+ third-party interactions that can open the door towards various functionalities. The integrations make Slack a good choice for many use cases since they allow for workspace customization.

Slack Pricing

The free tier of Slack lets you save a history of 10,000 messages, allows unlimited users, and provides a total of 5GB of file storage space. With the free plan, you also get a maximum of ten integrations. If you want more integrations, guest accounts, and support for multi-user video conferences, Slack has various paid tiers (starting at $6.67/month) which can make sense for you. Higher plans include features like improved security, 24/7 support, and a 99.99% uptime guarantee.

AirSend

AirSend is a new product that brings several modern, innovative features to the table. With support for text chats, audio and video communication, and conferencing built into the platform, it is easy to set up essential communication for teams. Also integrated is a valuable task manager that can help users manage projects.

AirSend Features

The UI is simple to use and incorporates modern, minimalist elements for easy navigation. A unique feature that can be used in a host of creative ways is public channels which can be used to start a community, crowdsource ideas, or gather feedback. People can be invited to this channel by using just an email invitation. Another helpful feature is the powerful search, which can help users find important files, messages, and notes within a few seconds.

AirSend Integrations

The library of integrations is not as extensive as Slack, but AirSend still manages to bundle crucial integrations that can extend the product’s functionality. Out of the box, you can enjoy integrations with popular services like Office 365 and Gmail. Further integrations can be enabled to enhance cross-compatibility with popular solutions. 

AirSend Pricing

Most of these features are available in the free tier, while the paid plans are relatively inexpensive (starting at $4/user/month). Moreover, every new user is offered one whole year of the paid plan as a free trial, letting users get into the depths of the platform before making a purchasing decision.

Microsoft Teams

When it comes to team communication apps, Microsoft Teams is a popular choice that was initially created to help Office 365 users interact. Over time, Teams has grown into a full-featured team communication platform with support for collaboration and third-party integrations.

Teams Features

Since many businesses already use Office 365, it seems convenient to add Microsoft Teams because of their seamless integration. Teams offers 10GB of team storage and 2GB of storage per user and allows unlimited channels, searches, and messages. There is also bundled support of up to 300 users and audio and video conferencing with up to 250 participants at one time.

Teams Integrations

Teams supports integration with more than 140 services, along with integration with most Microsoft solutions. You also get a host of other features, like inline message translations and meeting recording with transcription.

Teams Pricing

It is important to remember that many of the more advanced features are only accessible once you purchase an Office 365 subscription, which can get expensive at $5/user/month or $12.50/user/month depending on whether you choose Business Basic or Business Standard.

Flock

The developers of Flock attempted to take the Slack model and improve it while preserving the features that resonated with users.

Flock Features

Flock has a communication grouping structure very similar to Slack, with native support for group chats, audio and video calls, conferencing, and screen sharing.

Flock Integrations

Flock also integrates some exciting features like to-do lists and polls, features known to boost creativity and efficiency in team communication. These features require third-party integrations in most other solutions, including Slack.

Flock Pricing

The UI is clean and easy to use, and the free tier includes unlimited integrations and complete message history, another exciting aspect you find in AirSend but not Slack or MS Teams. The paid plans, which start at $4.50/user/month, are less expensive than popular alternatives like Slack but more expensive than AirSend.

Key Takeaways

When it comes to team communication apps, these are the best ones available right now. Between Slack, AirSend, Teams, and Flock, the entire gamut of features and functionalities needed for team communication are covered. Which one you choose will depend on your exact use case and requirements. Looking for endless integrations? Slack is the app for you. Want a simple, zero set-up required app with all the essentials built-in? AirSend is what you’re looking for. Use Office products all the time and want something to add on to that? Microsoft Teams is an obvious choice. It’s all up to you.

Truth be told, as long as taxes are filed with no issue and bookkeeping records are complete, most of your customers and prospects won’t see much difference between you and other accountants. So how do you grow your accounting business? You need to make sure that you truly stand out from your competitors.

Beyond the usual ways to get the word out, such as running ads and getting involved with your community, you also need to exude an image of expertise and create a seamless customer experience for future referrals.

Here are five ways that you can do that.

5 Ways to Grow Your Accounting Business

Show up as an expert and thought leader.

You want to be known as the go-to accountant for anyone who needs help within your community. To do this, you need two things:

  1. Useful accounting knowledge to share with others.
  2. A public platform to share the knowledge you have.

If you develop your expertise in accounting and share it with others, people will consider you an industry thought leader. Now you may be thinking, “ I’m already an expert, but how do I share that with other people?” In other words, where do you find a public platform, or how do you build one?

There are many ways to build your presence as an expert within your community and online. You can write blog posts, white papers, and books that offer helpful, easily digestible accounting advice. You can also offer commentary on the latest financial trends and news in the form of videos or articles for magazines and newspapers. Podcasts are another great way to establish presence and reach new people.

As you can see, becoming an accounting thought leader can require a significant investment of time and resources. However, once you have found a process what works for you and built your platform, the rewards can be unimaginable.

Offer valuable content.

Related to becoming an industry thought leader is offering valuable content to your community and the world at large. Once you have created long-form content like a blog post, white paper, or book, the easiest way to get people to read it is to share it on social media and through an email campaign.

Take advantage of the various social media channels to connect with your customers and get your prospects’ attention. A great platform to try is Twitter. Building your audience and nurturing them on Twitter means that you will have the opportunity to share valuable content with them. You can also encourage them to retweet your posts to help spread the word.

Accounting Content Creation Tip

No matter what content types and platforms you choose, always remember who your intended target market is. Who are the people most likely to pay for your accounting services? What age range are they, how do they find information, and what are their interests? While most of your content should be accounting-related, you can also mix in some fluff, like jokes or holiday posts, that resonate with your target audience.

Use automation for your business.

Automation for your business is essential. By automating as many of your business processes as possible, you are freeing up time to focus on what matters, whether that be solving tough accounting problems or spending time with family. The work you do will also be more accurate and efficient.

There are many apps out there that let you automate various aspects of your business. When it comes to content creation, Grammarly can make writing and editing much less of a struggle. Buffer or Hootsuite are great social media scheduling tools that can help you post to your social media automatically. And AirSend, with its easy file sharing and template function, can make onboarding new clients a snap.

In addition to saving you time, using the right technology will also impress your customers and make their experience better. An excellent customer experience will lead to our next tip on growing your accounting business: referrals and recommendations.

Get referrals and recommendations.

Another way to grow your accounting business is to maximize the use of referrals and recommendations. Consider the big picture. If you were looking for lawyer, doctor, real estate agent, or other service provider, you would ask your family and friends, right? The same goes for other people looking for an accountant.

Making sure your current customers are happy is one of the best ways to grow your accounting business. Then you can ask those happy clients to remember to refer you to people who might need your services. You can also ask them to write a positive review for you on Google or Yelp and/or provide a testimonial for your website and social media pages.

Always try to exceed expectations for every customer that you have. This way, they will be more likely to take the time to talk positively about you, whether that be in-person with family and friends or online through reviews and testimonials.

Finally, always stay in contact with your past and current customers through occasional emails and phone calls. People can’t refer you to others if they don’t remember who you are.

Grow your network.

Whether you do it online or in-person, expanding your network is important for any type of business owner. There are a lot of ways to do this. You can volunteer, host dinner parties, attend networking events, and more. The possibilities are endless when it comes to meeting new people.

When networking for business purposes, always remember to bring multiple copies of your business card and show up in a professional manner. Remember that you are there to let people know that you can help them with accounting. Not to unwind, drink your troubles away, or gossip about your neighbor’s new boat. New acquaintances should leave the interaction with your business card and the impression that you are knowledgeable and pleasant.

Final Thoughts

Growing any small business can be hard, especially in the beginning when your client list is small and business processes are still uncertain. However, once you get your bearings, the possibilities are endless! We hope that this post will help you achieve your goals as an accountant and business owner.