Top 5 Free CRMs in Google Sheets & Excel [Best Spreadsheet CRM]

Spreadsheets are wonderful, don’t you think? They’re one of the most versatile tools out there—loved and cherished across finance, marketing, operations, and many other departments. So, when you’re starting your own business, the first thing that often comes to mind is using spreadsheets as a contact database.

There are both pros and cons to this approach. In this blog post, we’ll cover two main parts: the first part explores why so many businesses use spreadsheets as their CRMs (and whether you should too), while the second part explains how to build a simple CRM in Excel or Google Sheets yourself.

We’ve also included five different templates that you can use.

But if you don’t need long introductions, here’s a free CRM spreadsheet template for you:

An Excel or Google Sheets CRM is essentially a spreadsheet template used to track interactions with customers and leads. CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management, and if you’d like to dive deeper into CRMs, we have a comprehensive article on this topic:

Recommended reading

What Is CRM? Definition, Benefits, Features [Guide For Beginners]

However, despite its name, a spreadsheet CRM isn’t really a CRM at all—it’s just a template. Just as you can create a habit tracker, an event calendar, or a Kanban board in a spreadsheet, you can also create a contact database.

So while a spreadsheet CRM has many benefits, it also has a few limitations.

Benefits of a spreadsheet CRM

Let’s start with the benefits first.

Even if a spreadsheet CRM template has limitations, there are a few good reasons why many small businesses rely on spreadsheets so much and often use them as their first CRM.

Familiarity

No matter what industry you work in, you are probably familiar with Excel or Google Sheets. When someone thinks about organizing or managing things, a spreadsheet is usually the first thing that comes to mind. They’ve become an intrinsic part of many business activities—and contact databases are no exception.

Wide accessibility

Even if you don’t have an active Microsoft 365 subscription, you can still use Google Sheets for free. Both Excel and Google Sheets are quite accessible and widespread. Besides, you can access them from any device as long as you have an internet connection. Since Microsoft has OneDrive, you can have your Excel file in the cloud too.

Besides, spreadsheets have a community of loyal fans and a large pool of users. So you won’t have a hard time finding free templates for any use case.

High degree of customization

There’s beauty in creating something that is your own. With their formulas, graphs, rows, and columns, spreadsheets offer a vast canvas for creativity. You can structure them any way you want and add different colors to highlight the information that is most important to you.

Relative ease of use

A spreadsheet CRM does require some sort of learning and adapting. But in general, spreadsheets are very easy to use, both in Excel and Google Sheets. It’s also simple to export data in . xlsx or .csv formats and then upload it to another software. This means that you can easily retrieve your data in the future and import it into a different system.

Limitations of a spreadsheet CRM

While having your CRM in Excel or Google Sheets has undeniable benefits, it doesn’t come without risks. Like any other tool, a CRM spreadsheet has its drawbacks.

Limited collaboration

Spreadsheet CRMs are not built for collaboration. Google Sheets have made it easier to collaborate on spreadsheets, but in general, the more complicated your project is, the harder it is to work together.

It’s one thing to collaborate on drafting a proposal in a Google doc; it’s quite another to have five members constantly updating your business database. There’s no version control and notes can become clunky.

So in some sense, one could say that spreadsheets are better suited to single users.

Limited scalability

This drawback is closely connected to the one above.

Since spreadsheets are not designed for collaboration, they also struggle to support business growth. As your database grows and you get more clients, a spreadsheet CRM may no longer meet your business needs.

At some point, you might want your CRM to integrate with other tools, like your accounting software, or you may wish to have a Trello-like experience, dragging and dropping sales opportunities from one stage to another. Spreadsheets don’t offer that much flexibility.

Security concerns

Spreadsheets can also raise security concerns. Keeping your client data in a spreadsheet might not be ideal. Once you upload it to OneDrive or use Google Sheets, you lose control over what can happen.

An accidental share or human error might result in leaking your contacts to the world. Besides, neither Excel nor Google Sheets were originally designed for storing sensitive private data, so it makes sense that a spreadsheet won’t have the same security levels as dedicated CRM solutions.

Which is better: CRM in Google Sheets vs. CRM in Excel?

When looking for a free CRM template, should you use a CRM in Google Sheets or a CRM in Excel? The answer is: It depends.

Both Google Sheets and Excel are spreadsheet tools. If you’re used to one, you’ll easily learn how to use the other. But they have a few differences that can be deal-breakers, depending on what you’re looking for in your free CRM.

For example, one of the most notable differences is that Excel is part of Mircosoft’s subscription, so although Excel templates are free to use, the software itself is not free.

In general, having a CRM in Google Sheets seems like a better option but here are a few exceptions worth pointing out:

• CRM in Google Sheets has great flexibility but it is slightly limited compared to a CRM in Excel. Excel has more advanced capabilities.
• CRM in Excel can handle much larger databases than CRM in Google Sheets. A CRM in Google Sheets may significantly slow down if the size of the file is too big.
• CRM in Google Sheets integrates with other Google Workspace apps (Gmail, Calendar, etc.). If you use other Microsoft products (like Outlook and Teams), a CRM in Excel might be a better choice for you.

Your ultimate guide to spreadsheet CRMs in Google Sheets and Excel

Not everyone has the time or resources to build their own customizable CRM solution in a spreadsheet. So, we divided this guide into two parts.

In the first part, you’ll learn how to use ready-to-go CRM templates and what to pay attention to when comparing them. The second part is for those of you who want to keep your Excel skills sharp and are ready to build your own templates.

Part 1: How to use a free CRM in Google Sheets

There are many free templates available that you can use (we even provided a list below). We compare them with screenshots, so you don’t have to download them one by one if you don’t want to.

In Part 1, we’ll explain how to use a free CRM spreadsheet, customize it to your needs, and turn it into a dynamic list of contacts rather than a static phone book.

1. Download the free CRM template in Google Sheets or Excel

This free template is designed for Google Sheets (since it’s easier when everything is in the cloud), but you can also download it as an Excel file.

Please note that you need to be logged into your Gmail account. When you click on the button below, Google will automatically create a copy of the Google Sheets template and save it to your Google Drive.

The great thing about this template is that it’s not gated. We are not asking for your email address; you can use it as you wish—literally, no strings attached.

2. Familiarize yourself with the Google Sheets template

Regardless of what template you choose, familiarize yourself with the different tabs and columns that the template has. This will help you compare templates and select the one that works best for you.

You can even create two copies of the same document. The first copy can be used for your tests. Just let your creativity flow, change data in different fields, see how they interact, sort the contacts, etc. Get a feel for how the template works without the fear of breaking something. To make the right choice, you need to understand whether it’s a good fit or not.

Once you’re ready, create the second copy. You’ll need it to populate it with real data and not worry that your tests might have broken some filters or formulas.

3. Customize the spreadsheet in Google Sheets or Excel

Once you feel comfortable with the template, add real data.

There are several fields you need to pay attention to.

Next Actions

Next Actions have two associated columns:

• Due Date
• Next Action

These are your follow-up reminders. There’s little sense in having a long list of contacts and not doing much with any of this data. The first two columns in this spreadsheet CRM are specifically designed for reminders—to make it easier for you to know what needs to be done with each specific contact.

Next Actions also have conditional formatting. For example, if a follow-up is overdue, the cell will turn red.

If something is scheduled for today, it will turn orange.

All future tasks remain grey.

This makes it easier for you to spot the follow-up reminders that need your attention today.

You can also easily filter them by date and have the most urgent ones at the top by clicking on Sort A to Z.

If you get a heads-up warning when editing the template in Google Sheets, still proceed. This pop-up is just a way to avoid any accidental changes.

Please note that in this template, all dates have formulas. For example:

=TODAY()
=TODAY() - 10
=TODAY() + 5

This was done so that regardless of the day you download the spreadsheet, you’ll be able to see the color codes associated with different dates (overdue, today, and future).

Once you download the file, edit it by inputting dates in your usual format—a calendar picker will also open once you double-click on the date cell:

Contact Status

Contact Status is a way to segment your contacts into different sales stages:

• Lead is a new contact who hasn’t shown any interest in your product yet.
• Prospect is someone who has expressed interest in your services, and you’ve already had a few interactions with them.
• Client is your paying customer.
• Partner is any external stakeholder you want to have in your CRM (a vendor, your bank, accountant, etc.).

You can customize Status labels by typing your own categories and choosing different colors.

Phone numbers

First name, Last name, Organization, Email address, and Job titles are self-explanatory fields, so we won’t focus on them. However, with the phone number, you need to decide what format works best for your business.

If you run a local business, then you don’t need an international country code for your clients’ numbers. If you run an international business and country codes are important, make sure to put an apostrophe (‘) before the plus (+).

Otherwise, if you start your cell with the plus sign, Google Sheets will think you’re about to enter a formula and will return an error.

Project Stage

Depending on how comfortable you are with the sales terminology, you can refer to these as your sales deals or projects. Similar to Statuses, Stages are customizable. So if you want, you can change them to something that is more commonly used in sales:

• Initial contact
• Negotiation
• Proposal sent
• Closed

You can adjust these stages to fit your sales process.

Project Value

Project Value (or Deal Amount) can give you a good idea of how much you can earn for providing services to a client.

Depending on your location, you can change the currency in this column.

4. Switch between views

There are also four different views in this spreadsheet CRM. You can see all of your contacts in the general view or switch between three additional views.

Views are saved filters—and you have the following options:

• Contacts with Actions. This view shows only contacts that have follow-up reminders. So no need to look at contacts that won’t come up on your radar anytime soon.
• Contacts without Actions. See who needs a follow-up reminder or a check-in message. Leaving contacts without action for a long time is not a good idea. It’s worth revisiting this view every now and then.
• Focus Mode helps you concentrate only on what you need to do today. It shows contacts that have follow-ups scheduled for today or whose actions are overdue. So you don’t think about anything that is scheduled for much later.

5. Add email reminders (in Google Sheets only)

Google Sheets has macros and add-ons. While writing macros might not be on your list, you can benefit from a couple of add-ons. The good news is that some of them are free.

For example, if you know that you won’t be logging into your spreadsheet CRM every day, it’s easy to forget about some follow-ups. Then, you might be tempted to add them to your to-do app. However, keeping contact-related information in two different apps will only make it harder for you to centralize data. This is not efficient and leads to double entry.

It’s much better to add email reminders directly in your spreadsheet CRM by installing a free add-on.

Since your Google Sheet is connected to your Gmail account, you’ll receive email reminders in your Gmail inbox. You can get emails one day before the due date of your Next Action.

Please note that this is not applicable to Excel.

5 free spreadsheet CRMs in Google Sheets and Excel

There is a wide variety of free spreadsheet CRM templates. However, most templates are not completely free; you still need to enter your email address to get the file.

We’ve downloaded and tested them all, so you can get a quick overview before deciding whether it’s worth sharing your email address in exchange for these templates.

Here are the 5 most popular free CRM templates in Excel and Google Sheets.

1. OnePageCRM’s template

Static databases don’t make your business grow. But the good news is that even a spreadsheet can be dynamic.

This free CRM spreadsheet has only one tab for you to fill out. Every contact in this template has a follow-up reminder. So you can sort contacts by urgency. Overdue dates will be highlighted in red and tasks scheduled for today will be highlighted in orange. All the other follow-up reminders will stay grey. This way, it’s easy for you to prioritize what needs to be done first.

What stands out in this CRM spreadsheet?

• It’s simple. You don’t need to enter too much data. There’s only one tab for data entry.
• It has follow-up reminders. It sorts your contacts not by alphabet but by the due date of their follow-up reminders.
• It’s not gated. It is completely free. We don’t ask for your email address.

2. Close CRM’s template

The team at Close CRM created a very simple CRM template. It is centered around Sales Opportunities, so when you open it, the first column you see is the company name (also often referred to in sales as the Account).

These opportunities are then highlighted in green or red (if a deal is marked as lost). This CRM template also includes a simple dashboard with a summary of all sales opportunities.

What stands out in this CRM spreadsheet?

• It’s static. There’s no column for follow-up reminders or future interactions. This makes it harder to know what needs to be done to bring each opportunity closer to a sale.
• It’s focused on tracking sales (not growing). This CRM template is designed for tracking opportunities. It doesn’t have anything for moving these opportunities forward in your pipeline.
• It requires too much data entry. The spreadsheet has a lot of columns, so be prepared to spend some time filling them out.
• It’s gated. Keep in mind that to get this free CRM template, you need to share your email address. This means you might receive marketing communications from Close CRM in the future.

3. Salesflare’s template

Salesflare has another spreadsheet CRM designed specifically for sales. It’s much more comprehensive than the Close CRM template and includes columns for the next steps and the last date of interactions.

It is created for B2B sales. That’s why the company name is the first column on the spreadsheet. Similar to the CRM spreadsheet by Close, this template provides a good overview for sales managers but doesn’t make the day-to-day tasks of a salesperson much easier.

What stands out in this CRM spreadsheet?

• It’s built for sales managers with a sales team. In the Insights tab, you can see the summary of the team’s performance and the overall sales progress. The Next Steps, which is the most important column for salespeople, is the very last column in the Sales Funnel tab.
• It doesn’t have follow-up reminders. While this template has a column for the last date of interaction, it doesn’t use these dates in any calculations or formulas. This makes it difficult for salespeople to know what they need to focus on for today.
• It’s not gated. The good news is that this template is not gated, so you can try it out without sharing your personal data with Salesflare.

4. Pipedrive’s template

Pipedrive’s spreadsheet template is very similar to the one from Close CRM. However, filling out this template is more time-consuming.

Unlike Close CRM, Pipedrive divides data into three separate tabs: Contacts, Companies, and Pipeline. They are not interlinked with formulas, making it too time-consuming for a small team to keep switching between tabs and filling them out.

It’s also worth noting that the spreadsheet doesn’t have any charts or a dashboard.

What stands out in this CRM spreadsheet?

• There are too many tabs for a small team. If you have just a couple of people on the team (or if you’re the only one for now), having three tabs in one spreadsheet might be overkill. Besides, the spreadsheet doesn’t have even one formula, which means you’ll have to fill out everything manually.
• It doesn’t have any follow-up reminders. None of the tabs include follow-up reminders. So you’ll need a separate tool to keep track of all deadlines and future interactions.
• It doesn’t have a dashboard. Although it seems to be heavily focused on sales (similar to Close CRM and Salesflare), Pipedrive’s template doesn’t include an overview tab. Simple dashboards are very handy to give you a quick overview of the state of your database and sales pipeline.
• It is gated. Pipedrive gates this content. Once you download their template, they add you to their email marketing list, even if you don’t tick the box to consent to their newsletters.

5. HubSpot’s template

You’ve probably heard of HubSpot—it’s a behemoth in the CRM industry. They offer a lot of free resources, including a spreadsheet CRM template.

Since HubSpot is designed for large organizations, their CRM template reflects this too. It includes different tabs for Contacts, Organizations, Opportunities, and even Interactions (4 tabs!). Unlike Pipedrive, HubSpot uses a few formulas, making data entry a bit faster. However, the amount of data required for this template is still too extensive. If you’re looking for something simple and efficient, this spreadsheet CRM might not be the best fit for you.

On the bright side: If you do need to fill out that many fields, it might be a sign that you’d be better off looking for a proper CRM software rather than a spreadsheet template. HubSpot’s template can act a CRM litmus test.

What stands out in this CRM spreadsheet?

• It’s more suited for larger businesses. Judging by the number of fields they expect you to fill out, this template is more appropriate for larger organizations with a complex sales process. If you’re a small business that values simplicity, using this template could become a frustrating experience.
• It’s built for tracking sales (not growing). HubSpot CRM is built for sales managers, and so is their spreadsheet template. While it has a separate tab for interactions, these interactions are organized in a drop-down list, which includes interaction types rather than specific actions a salesperson needs to take to move each account forward.
• It has a nice dashboard. Since this CRM template is built for sales tracking, the dashboard is well-organized, making it easy for a sales manager to track performance across their sales funnel. But if you’re looking for a template to do and grow sales, this might not be the right tool.
• It is gated. All of HubSpot’s free content is gated. So it’s not completely free. You get access to this CRM template in return for your email address, agreeing to be contacted by HubSpot later.

Part 2: How to build a CRM in Google Sheets or Excel

If none of these CRM templates look like a good fit (or if you prefer to build something of your own), here’s a step-by-step guide on how to create a CRM in a spreadsheet.

1. Decide on your structure

It’s a spreadsheet, so you can’t have an unlimited number of rows and columns. But just because you can add more doesn’t mean you should. Before creating your database in a spreadsheet, you need to know what you absolutely require to grow your business.

In some cases, you might not need phone numbers or job titles. It could be enough to have contact full names, email addresses, and LinkedIn profiles.

Avoid the temptation to add too much data. Collecting data you don’t use will only slow you down. Do you need an expected close date, or can your business operate without it? Is it easier to have different tabs or keep everything in one tab?

When planning the structure, choose the path of least resistance. You’re creating this template to make your life easier and track clients better—not to burden yourself with data entry.

2. Fill your spreadsheet out

Once you have the structure in place, it’s time to start filling out your spreadsheet.

It’s perfectly fine to start slow and add only a few contacts or opportunities at first. It’s also okay to keep gradually improving your CRM spreadsheet. If you set up a structure but notice things aren’t working as smoothly as you expected while filling it out, just make the necessary adjustments.

Spreadsheets can become overwhelming pretty quickly, so try to keep things tidy from the beginning. Use short titles for columns and avoid putting too much text in the cells. If you need to elaborate on something, consider adding a comment instead.

The less cluttered your spreadsheet is, the easier it will be to work with.

3. Turn it into an Action Stream

The traditional way of creating a CRM spreadsheet is outdated. It typically sorts contacts by company name or contact name and it’s not the most effective way to manage a client database.

Your database is a money-generating machine. Not surprisingly when lawyers retire, they often sell their book of business (their contact records). No matter what industry you’re in, you can treat your database as a business asset too.

Instead of sorting your contacts alphabetically, add follow-up reminders to your spreadsheet. Apply conditional formatting to highlight overdue tasks, so they stand out on your priority list. Use colors in moderation. Too colorful spreadsheets look overwhelming and are difficult to read.

4. Spice it up with charts

To grow your business, you don’t need a lot of charts or complicated Excel formulas. However, having a few simple graphs for an overview can be helpful. Ideally, these should be easy to interpret.

Some examples of graphs you can include in your CRM spreadsheet:

• Pie charts. Visualize your sales pipeline and see the distribution of your contacts by status (lead, prospect, client).
• Bar graphs. Get a better overview of your workload by displaying the number of outstanding or upcoming follow-up activities.

To keep your CRM spreadsheet lean and agile, don’t add too many charts. Its purpose is to help you manage your database better and grow your business—not to create fancy visualizations.

You can also freeze the header row for easier navigation, so it stays visible even when you’re scrolling through your contact list.

5. Back up your spreadsheet regularly

This step is especially important if you’re using an Excel file instead of a cloud-based spreadsheet on OneDrive or Google Drive.

If your CRM is stored in the cloud, backups will be done automatically. Otherwise, make it a habit to create backups of your spreadsheet regularly. This will help prevent data loss and allow you to revert to an earlier version if needed.

The best alternative to a spreadsheet CRM in Excel or Google Sheets

Having a CRM in a spreadsheet is simple and affordable. However, there comes a time when your business outgrows Excel and Google Sheets.

As your client database grows, the number of rows and columns in your spreadsheet increases too, which leads to several problems:

• Struggles with data consistency, accuracy, and duplication.
• Challenges with simultaneous work (if you have a team).
• Lack of integrations with other tools.

At some point, your business will need a proper CRM solution rather than a spreadsheet template.

Recognized by Forbes Advisor as one of the best simple CRMs in 2024, OnePageCRM stands out for its ease of use and dynamic nature. It was built for small and medium-sized businesses making it a perfect tool for anyone looking to grow their sales.

It’s also the only CRM that has the Action Stream and sorts your contacts not only by alphabet but also by the urgency of follow-up reminders assigned next to them.

If you feel that your business has outgrown spreadsheets, it might be just the right time to switch over to an action-focused CRM.