How to build a CRM in Google Sheets [free template]

Google Sheets can do almost everything, including functioning as a lightweight CRM for solo sales reps or early-stage startups. Sales reps and small business owners can use Google Sheets as a basic, free CRM to track contacts, companies, deals, and interactions.

This guide explains how to set up a Google Sheets CRM, its limitations, and when to upgrade to a dedicated CRM solution like HubSpot.

Table of Contents

TL;DR: Where Google Sheets CRMs Excel

A CRM in Google Sheets is a free, customizable spreadsheet that helps sales reps track contacts, companies, deals, and interactions. It’s an effective, reliable way for smaller organizations or individuals to manage their business contacts.

They can start by copying a ready-made template with tabs for People, Companies, Opportunities, Interactions, and a Dashboard (like that from HubSpot). They add their data, set up unique IDs and data validation to prevent duplicates, and use drop-downs for stages and owners.

From there, they log every call, email, or meeting, and use built-in charts to monitor their pipeline. They can automate lead capture and reminders with simple integrations. When teams or data grow, they can migrate to HubSpot’s free CRM for advanced automation, reporting, and unified customer data. Get the free template and step-by-step guide to start fast.

Who should use a Google Sheets CRM?

A Google Sheets CRM works best for solo founders, freelancers, or small teams managing fewer than 100 leads. Lots of companies start out using spreadsheets as their first CRM— successful brands like Kahoot!, Workvivo, and Agicap all started tracking their pipeline manually.

Benefits of a Google Sheets CRM

Google Sheets is a free, cloud-based tool that lets sales pros log contacts, track basic deal stages, and schedule follow-ups. While simple, it comes with its share of benefits.

Cost-Effective and Accessible

Google Sheets CRMs are free or low-cost. Business owners don’t need to pay for dedicated CRM software or developer setup time. Most features are included free with a Google Workspace account, making it ideal for startups or small businesses.

Beyond that, with Sheets, the CRM is available anywhere. Sales reps can access it from any device with internet access — laptop, tablet, or phone.

Fully Customizable

With CRM Google Sheets, users can tailor columns, data validation, and formulas to match the sales process (e.g., deal stages, priority levels, lead sources). Reps can also add conditional formatting to highlight overdue deals, or use data validation to create dropdowns for status and deal owner.

Pro tip: Teams can integrate Google Forms for lead intake or use Google Apps Script to automate updates and notifications.

Real-Time Collaboration

With a Google Sheets CRM, multiple users can edit and view Sheets simultaneously. Comments, mentions, and built-in notifications streamline collaboration between marketing, sales, and support teams. Teams can set controlled access (who views, comments, edits, shares, etc.)

Beyond that, version history lets reps track changes and roll back if necessary.

Simple Reporting and Automation

Teams can build dashboards using formulas, pivot tables, and charts directly in Sheets. That info can then be exported to Google Data Studio or Looker Studio for visual analytics.

Google Sheets CRM also has some automation capabilities. Reps can automate follow-ups and reminders using Google Apps Script or add-ons like Zapier and Automate.io.

Integrations with Third-Party Tools

Teams can connect Google Sheets with Gmail, HubSpot, or Slack for automated data syncing. APIs or tools like Zapier automatically add leads from web forms, LinkedIn, or other marketing sources. Reps can also sync Sheets with Google Calendar for scheduling demos or follow-ups.

Limitations of a Google Sheets CRM

Even with all its positives, Google Sheets isn’t for everyone. As companies grow, Google Sheets loses effectiveness as a CRM. So, the solution doesn’t work well for larger teams with multiple sales channels and complex or automated sales processes.

Here are the three main issues users eventually encounter:

Manual Data Entry

While reps can set up automation tools like Zapier to help, Google Sheets, on its own, requires users to input and update every record manually. Unlike a dedicated contact database like HubSpot, it can’t automatically log customer interactions from email, website visits, form submissions, or even calls.

No Real-time Collaboration or Permissions

Multiple team members editing the same Google sheet can create version conflicts or accidental overwrites. Google Sheets doesn’t support role-based access controls for sensitive customer data, and there’s no built-in audit trail. It’s much harder to fix issues caused by “Anonymous Rhino” or “Anonymous Groundhog” than a specific teammate.

With HubSpot CRM, sales leaders have full control over what reps have access to contact data and what they can do with it.

Missing Automation and Workflows

Google Sheets can’t trigger follow-up tasks, send automated emails, or move deals through pipelines based on behavior triggers. This means a lot of manual follow-up and nurturing for sales reps, which is extremely time-consuming, hard to scale, and leaves a lot of room for human error.

As a part of the larger HubSpot ecosystem, automation can be set up with HubSpot CRM to do a host of tasks, including sending follow-up emails and sending leads to sales reps.

In fact, online learning platform Kahoot! spent 50% less time on communication between sales and finance with HubSpot.

Poor Scalability and Performance

Finally, Google Sheets effectiveness degrades significantly with larger customer records. The spreadsheet eventually becomes long, slow, and filtering, sorting, and reporting become unreliable.

With CRM’s like HubSpot, reps can get started for free and add features or tier upgrades as needed. That’s what Agicap did, and it grew monthly recurring revenue by 6x after moving from a spreadsheet CRM to HubSpot.

How to Create a CRM in Google Sheets

Despite limitations, a Google Sheets CRM is easy to make and endlessly customizable. If you want a lightweight, simple, and free CRM you can create with no extra software, follow these seven steps to build a functioning CRM from scratch:

1. Create a new Google Sheet.

2. Set up core tabs.

Next, set up tabs to store different key categories of information that can be viewed at a glance.

At a minimum, create one tab for “Organizations” to store prospect information and another for “Opportunities” to in active pipeline. Consider also adding tabs for “Contacts,” “Interactions,” “Dashboard,” and a “Dropdowns” tab to standardize fields.

At the bottom of the spreadsheet, click the “+” to add a tab, then click the small arrow to the right of the tab name to rename it. Make sure to freeze Row 1 (View > Freeze) so the headers stay visible when users scroll down.

3. Build the “Organizations” tab.

Next, add columns for each of the fields the company will track. These could include:

Priority/Lead score
Company name
Company ID
Account manager assigned (if there are multiple sales reps)
Website
Industry
Address
Annual revenue
Deal value
Notes

Companies can choose as many or as few fields as they want, but avoid complexity by only including fields reps will actually use.

Pro tip: To use a Google Sheets CRM for tracking current customers instead of future ones, add a row for “Type” and dropdown options Prospect, Customer, and Lapsed. Sort and filter for the data users want to see.

4. Create the “Opportunities” tab.

The Opportunities tab shows a company’s active pipeline at a glance. Add columns such as:

Priority/Lead score
Company name
Account manager assigned
Deal status
Deal stage
Loss reason
Lead source
Deal value
Expected close date
Next step
Next step date

Some organizations track contact interactions with an additional column under Opportunities. If reps need more detail, create a dedicated Interactions tab.

5. Build the “Contacts” tab.

Since sales reps may speak to multiple contacts at one company, a “Contacts” tab can be useful in a Google Sheets CRM.

Consider adding fields such as:

Contact ID
Name
Email
Phone
Role
Company name

Companies can fill this in manually or use the “Customer contacts” pre-built table in Google Sheets.

6. Link data between tabs.

The most important step to set up a successful Google Sheets CRM is to link data between tabs. For example, linking “company name” to the entry in the “Organizations” tab.

This helps to avoid duplicate data that might appear in multiple tabs. It also makes sure that fields like deal stage are accurate across tabs.

To link a field (cell) to a field in another tab (sheet) in Google Sheets, use a cross-sheet cell reference with the following syntax: =SheetName!CellAddress

So, if users want to link an organization with a related contact and the company is in cell B6, type =Organizations!B5 to link them.

7. Create dropdowns to validate data.

To save time and keep data consistent, sales reps can also create dropdowns for data validation. That way, reps can maintain consistency and be able to run accurate reporting.

Users can manually add dropdowns to sheets (Right Click in cell > Dropdown), but that leads to a lot of copy-pasting.

To avoid that, I recommend creating a “Dropdown” tab and listing out the data that they want to standardize. Each column is a different dropdown.

Next, go to the cell where you want the dropdown.

Click Data > Data validation.
In the sidebar, enter the range you want to populate with dropdowns (e.g., Opportunities!L2:L100).
Select Dropdown (from a range), then enter the range of options from the Dropdowns tab (e.g., =DropdownsD2:D6).
Customize or color-code the options as desired.

8. Build a dashboard.

While reporting is limited in the tool, sales reps can create a simple CRM dashboard in Google Sheets to track their activity.

Open a new “Dashboard” tab and enter whichever formulas will give you the data you want at a glance, plus graphs and charts for visualization.

Here are a few ideas for CRM reporting formulas:

(Note: Of course, replace the “CellAddress” in the formula with the appropriate cell range.)

Total Customers

=COUNTIF(Contacts!CellAddress, “Customer”)

Total Open Opportunities

=COUNTIF(Opportunities!CellAddress, “Open”)

Total Active Leads

=COUNTIF(Contacts!CellAddress, “Leads”)

Total Deals

=COUNTA(Opportunities!CellAddress)

Total Pipeline Value

=SUMIF(Opportunities!CellAddress, “Open”, Opportunities!CellAddress)

Revenue Closed

=SUMIF(Opportunities!CellAddress,“Closed Won”,Opportunities!CellAddress)

Win Rate

=IFERROR(

COUNTIF(Opportunities!CellAddress, “Closed-Won”) /

(COUNTIF(Opportunities!CellAddress, “Closed-Won”) + COUNTIF(Opportunities!CellAddress, “Closed-Lost”)),

)

Overdue Follow-ups

=COUNTIFS(Opportunities!CellAddress,“<”&TODAY(), Opportunities!CellAddress,“<>Closed Won”)

Number of Interactions This Month

=COUNTIFS(

Interactions!CellAddress, “>=” & EOMONTH(TODAY(), -1) + 1,

Interactions!CellAddress, “<=” & EOMONTH(TODAY(), 0)

)

Number of Interactions This Month

=COUNTIFS(Opportunities!CellAddress,“<”&TODAY(), Opportunities!CellAddress,“<>Closed Won”)

Here’s what that can look like using the HubSpot CRM Spreadsheet template.

How to Track Interactions and Follow-ups in Your Sheets CRM

Once contacts and deals are in place, reps can use the Google Sheets CRM to manage their everyday sales tasks. Simply add two columns to either the Opportunities or Interactions tab: Next step and Next step date.

The Next step column captures the specific action reps need to take, like “Send proposal,” “Schedule demo,” or “Follow up in two weeks.”

The Next step date column records when that action is due. Together, these fields form a basic follow-up system that keeps deals moving forward without additional tools or reminders.

Reps can use a filter view that shows only rows where the next step date is today or earlier to create an instant to-do list. They can also apply a basic filter or conditional formatting rule to highlight overdue follow-ups, such as =$F2<TODAY().

Free Google Sheets CRM template

Instead of building from scratch, business owners and sales reps can use HubSpot’s free CRM Google Sheets template. This pre-built spreadsheet CRM includes all five core tabs, data validation rules, a ready-to-use dashboard, and clean formatting.

This template has been tried and tested by sales pros, with structured data that makes it simple to migrate when the time comes. It’s also available as a downloadable Microsoft Excel file.

How to Use the Google Sheets CRM Template

HubSpot’s Free Google Sheets CRM template helps small teams and solo users manage relationships in one central place. The spreadsheet mirrors the structure of a paid CRM, with already linked tabs for companies, contacts, opportunities, and interactions.

Each sheet connects through fields like company name or contact email, so reps can easily track how relationships evolve from first contact to closed deal.

People and Companies

The Organizations tab shows companies in the pipeline or active client roster, with information like industry, deal size, address, and so on. The Contacts tab stores individual contact information such as name, email, phone number, and role or job title. This helps keep track of who reps are talking to and what position they hold in the buying process.

Opportunities and Stages

The Opportunities tab tracks potential deals through a company’s sales pipeline and enables forecasting. Templated fields include priority, organisation, deal owner, status, stage, source, loss reason, value, probability, and expected close date.

Tracking the lead stage is key for sales forecasting and understanding where deals are stalling out. The default stages in the template are Lead, Qualified, Demo, Proposal, and Closed, but companies can customize these in the Dropdown tab at any time.

Interactions and Activity Log

The Interactions tab acts as an activity log, capturing every touchpoint with leads and customers. Each entry includes the date, contact name, type of interaction (call, email, or meeting), outcome, and next step.

Manually logging interactions is the step where many reps struggle, but keeping this record provides a clear timeline of engagement and a path to follow-ups.

When to Graduate from Google Sheets to a Full CRM

While Google Sheets is a great way to start selling, most businesses eventually outgrow it. This is a good sign — it means growth!

HubSpot lets companies segment contacts, automate follow-ups, and track engagement without manual tracking and messy data. Companies should consider upgrading to a dedicated CRM like HubSpot CRM when they:

Manage more than 100 active leads or more than 500 total customer records.
Start missing out on deals due to missed follow-ups.
Need automated data capture for customer interactions across email, calls, and forms.
Want to automate follow-ups or segment audiences.
Need to store sensitive customer data, like health or financial information.
Require advanced reporting on sales velocity or deal conversion.
Collaborate across marketing, sales, and service teams.

HubSpot’s free CRM replaces manual spreadsheets with an easy-to-use interface, unified contact records, and one-click reporting. It’s the logical next step for scaling teams that want to spend more time selling than entering data.

HubSpot’s AI-powered automation saves time and enables growth with AI overviews, enriched company data, and automated workflows and project management.

How to Transition to the HubSpot CRM from a Google Sheets CRM

When teams hit that transition point, how do you actually make the migration from Sheets to HubSpot? HubSpot makes it easy. This video explains:

Video: How To Import Contacts To HubSpot CRM From A Spreadsheet (Google Or Excel)

You can also read about the process in more detail in the HubSpot Knowledge Base.

FAQs about Google Sheets CRM

Does Google have a CRM?

Google doesn’t have a native CRM, but Google Sheets and Google Contacts can be used to mimic basic CRM functions. Google Sheets isn’t a true CRM as it lacks deal tracking, automation, and pipeline reporting.

How do I add reminders or follow-ups in Google Sheets?

Reps can add reminders in Google Sheets using App Scripts that work with Google Calendar and Gmail. Learn more about that here.

How do I prevent duplicate contacts in my spreadsheet CRM?

Before adding a new contact, Ctrl+F to search existing entries. Using a unique ID, like an email address, also helps to avoid duplicates. For larger lists, import the spreadsheet into HubSpot CRM to automatically merge duplicates.

How big can my Google Sheets CRM get?

Google Sheets supports up to 10 million cells per sheet, but after 500 to 1,000 rows with formulas, things become much more difficult and slow to navigate.

What’s the easiest way to migrate from Google Sheets to HubSpot?

The easiest way to migrate from Google Sheets to HubSpot is to start by exporting the Google Sheets data as a CSV file and reviewing it to ensure it’s clean, free of duplicates, and that everyone has opted in.

HubSpot CRM imports Google Sheets contact data through CSV file uploads with field mapping.

Go to Contacts > Import in HubSpot. Map columns to HubSpot properties (e.g., “Email Address” to “Email”). HubSpot will then process the file and flag any errors. Once imported, teams can instantly start using HubSpot’s tools for email marketing, workflows, and reporting to manage customer relationships.

Upgrade your selling capacity with a free CRM.

So, while you can use Google Sheets as a free CRM, the question now is, should you?

In all the time I’ve spent with sales teams, I’ve seen every one falter with one big pain point— manual data entry.

Sales pros, even at small companies, are busy. They often don’t have the time to enter their data correctly or enter it at all. Then, these companies lose a lead or deal because it got buried in row 312 in a spreadsheet.

Google Sheets functions as a basic CRM for tracking contacts, companies, deals, and interactions, but a true CRM moves companies from manual tracking to an automated, scalable system.

HubSpot CRM automatically syncs emails, logs website activity, and triggers follow-up workflows. A native CRM reduces spreadsheet errors and missed opportunities. Businesses that are serious about growth should plan to upgrade — your future self (and revenue) will thank you.