A smarter alternative to a CRM excel template

If you’re searching for a CRM Excel template, chances are you’re looking for a simple way to track leads, contacts, and sales without spending money on software. An Excel CRM template (or a crm template Excel can be a great starting point for small teams. But here’s the truth: while Excel works for the very beginning, it quickly becomes a bottleneck. That’s why thousands of small businesses move to Bigin by Zoho CRM—the simple, affordable CRM that feels like Excel, but with the power of automation and collaboration.

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What is a CRM excel template?

A CRM Excel template is a pre-built spreadsheet designed to help you organize:

  • Customer names and contact details

  • Deals and sales stages

  • Follow-up dates

  • Notes about customer interactions

It’s essentially a lightweight way of managing customer relationships when you’re not ready for a full CRM system.

 

Benefits of using an Excel CRM template

  • Free and accessible

  • Easy to set up (no software required)

  • Flexible—you can customize it to your needs

For freelancers, solo entrepreneurs, or very small teams, an Excel CRM template works fine at first.

The limitations of CRM templates in Excel

But as your business grows, spreadsheets start showing their weaknesses:

  • No automation: Every update is manual.

  • Error-prone: One wrong cell and your data is off.

  • Difficult to collaborate: Multiple versions, endless email attachments.

  • No real insights: Charts and reports take time to build.

  • Hard to scale: Works for 20 contacts, but not 2,000.

This is why many businesses outgrow Excel templates faster than they expect.

CRM Excel template vs. Bigin

A CRM Excel template is free and simple, but it has limits, you get basic contact management, but no automation, no collaboration, no mobile access, and reporting requires manual effort. On the other hand, Bigin offers all the same simplicity plus built-in pipelines, automation for emails and tasks, real-time team collaboration, a mobile app, instant reporting, and the ability to scale as your business grows.

Why Bigin is the smarter choice

  • As easy as Excel: Clean, spreadsheet-like design.

  • Affordable: Plans start at the cost of a cup of coffee.

  • Pre-built pipelines: No need to design from scratch.

  • Grows with you: Start free, upgrade as your team expands.

  • Mobile-first: Manage your sales from anywhere.

Instead of struggling with Excel, you can focus on growing your business with tools that support you.

Get started

Try Bigin when you’re ready for a CRM that saves time, prevents errors, and helps you close more deals.