Business Hub is the ERP/CRM core of Ottili ONE. It brings customers, leads, deals, quotes, orders, invoices, payments, inventory and tasks into one unified data model — one place to manage your entire business operation.
What is Business Hub?
Business Hub combines two essential business systems:
CRM (Customer Relationship Management)*: Manages relationships with customers and prospects — from first contact to closed deals and ongoing support.
ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)*: Handles operational processes — orders, inventory, invoicing, payments and task management.
In Ottili ONE, these aren't separate systems. They share the same data model, so a customer's order history, payment status and support tickets are all connected in one place.
Core Concepts
Customers
Customers are the foundation of your business. In Business Hub, a customer record includes:
- Contact Information*: Name, email, phone, address
- Company Details*: Organization name, industry, size
- Communication History*: Emails, calls, notes
- Related Records*: Orders, invoices, tasks, deals
- Custom Fields*: Additional data specific to your business
Customers can be individuals (B2C) or organizations (B2B). You can also link contacts to organizations for B2B relationship management.
Leads
Leads represent potential customers who haven't purchased yet. The lead lifecycle:
1. Capture*: Lead enters your system (form, import, integration)
2. Qualify*: Assess fit and interest level
3. Nurture*: Engage with relevant content and follow-ups
4. Convert*: Turn into a customer or close as lost
Leads can be created manually, imported from spreadsheets, or synced from integrations like web forms or marketing tools.
Deals
Deals track sales opportunities through your pipeline. Each deal includes:
- Value*: Expected revenue
- Stage*: Where it is in your sales process
- Probability*: Likelihood of closing
- Close Date*: Expected completion date
- Associated Customer*: Linked customer or lead
- Activities*: Tasks, calls, emails related to the deal
Your sales pipeline is customizable — define stages that match your process (e.g., Qualified → Proposal → Negotiation → Closed Won).
Quotes
Quotes are formal price proposals sent to customers or leads. They include:
- Line Items*: Products or services with quantities and prices
- Discounts*: Percentage or fixed amount discounts
- Tax*: Calculated based on your tax settings
- Terms*: Payment terms, validity period
- Status*: Draft, sent, accepted, expired, converted
When a quote is accepted, it can be converted into an order with one click, preserving all line items and pricing.
Orders
Orders represent confirmed sales. They track:
- Line Items*: Products or services purchased
- Pricing*: Unit prices, discounts, totals
- Customer*: Linked customer record
- Status*: New, processing, shipped, delivered, cancelled
- Fulfillment*: Shipping details, tracking information
- Payment*: Payment method and status
Orders can be created manually, converted from quotes, or imported automatically from integrations like Shopify, eBay or other commerce platforms.
Invoices
Invoices are formal requests for payment. They include:
- Invoice Number*: Unique identifier
- Line Items*: Products or services billed
- Payment Terms*: Due date, early payment discounts
- Tax*: Applicable taxes based on customer location
- Status*: Draft, sent, paid, overdue, written off
- Linked Order*: Associated order for reference
Invoices can be generated automatically from orders or created manually for recurring billing or services.
Payments
Payments track money received from customers. Each payment records:
- Amount*: Payment amount
- Method*: Credit card, bank transfer, cash, etc.
- Date*: When payment was received
- Reference*: Transaction ID or check number
- Linked Invoice*: Associated invoice
- Status*: Pending, completed, failed, refunded
Payments can be recorded manually or synced automatically from payment processors like Stripe.
Inventory
Inventory management tracks your products and stock levels:
- Products*: Catalog of items you sell
- Stock Levels*: Current quantity on hand
- Stock Movements*: In (purchases, returns) and out (sales, adjustments)
- Low Stock Alerts*: Notifications when stock runs low
- Suppliers*: Vendor information for reordering
Inventory integrates with orders — stock is automatically deducted when orders are fulfilled.
Tasks
Tasks keep your operations organized:
- Title*: Clear description of what needs to be done
- Assignee*: Who is responsible
- Due Date*: When it needs to be completed
- Priority*: Urgency level
- Status*: Open, in progress, completed
- Related Records*: Linked customer, order, deal, etc.
Tasks can be created manually, generated automatically (e.g., follow-up task when a deal reaches a stage), or assigned by Ottili AI.
How Everything Connects
The power of Business Hub is in the connections:
- A lead* converts to a customer* when they purchase
- A deal* links to a customer* and generates a quote*
- A quote* converts to an order* when accepted
- An order* generates an invoice* and deducts inventory*
- A payment* is recorded against an invoice*
- Tasks* are created for follow-ups, fulfillment, or support
This means you can trace the entire journey from first contact to final payment — all in one place.
Getting Started with Business Hub
1. Import Customers*: If you have existing customer data, import it to get started
2. Set Up Your Pipeline*: Configure deal stages that match your sales process
3. Create Products*: Add your product catalog for inventory tracking
4. Connect Integrations*: Link Shopify, eBay or other platforms to sync orders automatically
5. Configure Workflows*: Set up automation for common tasks (e.g., invoice generation, follow-up reminders)
Business Hub and Ottili AI
Ottili AI can work with Business Hub data within the permissions you grant:
- Summarize a customer*: Get a quick overview of history, orders, and status
- Draft a quote*: Create a quote based on customer needs
- Follow up on a deal*: Suggest next steps based on deal stage
- Prioritize tasks*: Identify urgent tasks and suggest order
Any action that affects the outside world (sending emails, creating records) goes through the approval queue first.
Business Hub and Flows
Flows can automate Business Hub operations:
- When a deal reaches "Proposal" stage*: Create a quote automatically
- When an order is paid*: Generate invoice and deduct inventory
- When a customer hasn't purchased in 90 days*: Create a re-engagement task
- When stock runs low*: Notify the purchasing team
Describe the process once, and it runs reliably every time the trigger fires.
Good to Know
- All Business Hub data is company-scoped — no cross-company data access
- Audit logs track all changes for compliance and debugging
- Custom fields let you adapt Business Hub to your specific needs
- Integrations keep data in sync across your tools
- The approval queue keeps AI and automation under your control
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