Google Sheets as your first CRM: a setup that lasts until you outgrow it
Many growing businesses track leads in WhatsApp chats, notebooks and memory. A full CRM may feel like too much right now, but a properly structured Google Sheet gets you most of the benefit, for free, in an afternoon.
The trick is to set it up like a CRM from day one, so moving to real software later is just an import.
The columns you need
One row per lead. Keep these columns:
| Column | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Date added | When the enquiry arrived |
| Name | Contact person |
| Phone / WhatsApp | One format, with country code |
| Company | If B2B |
| Source | Instagram, Google, website form, referral, walk-in |
| Interested in | A dropdown of your products or services |
| Stage | New, Contacted, Quote sent, Negotiation, Won, Lost |
| Owner | Who's responsible for this lead |
| Next action | What happens next, in a few words |
| Next action date | When it should happen |
| Value | Estimated deal size |
| Lost reason | Price, timing, chose competitor, no reply |
| Notes | Short and dated |
Use dropdowns for consistency
Set up data validation dropdowns for Source, Stage, Owner, Interested in and Lost reason. This keeps the data clean, makes filtering easy and means your reports actually add up.
Make follow-ups visible
The most valuable column is Next action date. Add conditional formatting:
- Red if the date is in the past and the stage isn't Won or Lost
- Yellow if it's today
Each morning, every owner filters to their name and clears the red and yellow rows. That one habit fixes most lost follow-ups.
A simple weekly view
Add a second tab with summary formulas:
- New leads this week, by source
- Leads at each stage
- Deals won and lost this month, with lost reasons
- Overdue follow-ups by owner
Ten minutes reviewing this tab each week tells you where enquiries come from and where they get stuck.
Easy automations
Even a sheet can do some work by itself:
- Website form submissions can be added as new rows automatically.
- A daily email or WhatsApp alert can list overdue follow-ups.
- Won deals can trigger a thank-you message and a review request.
When you've outgrown it
Move to a real CRM when you notice:
- More than a few people editing the sheet at once and overwriting each other
- You need call logging, WhatsApp history or email tracking in one place
- Managers want reports the sheet can't produce easily
- Leads are slipping despite the sheet
Because your columns already match standard CRM fields, the switch is mostly an import, and your history comes with you.