{"id":1840,"date":"2026-10-11T17:09:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-11T14:09:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fluidcrm.io\/blog\/?p=1840"},"modified":"2026-10-22T19:50:00","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T16:50:00","slug":"client-list-template","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fluidcrm.io\/blog\/client-list-template\/","title":{"rendered":"Client List Template: A Simple Client Tracker to Copy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Your clients live in your inbox, your phone and your head. That works until someone you did good work for hires somebody else, because you never wrote to them again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A client list template needs ten columns: name, company, email, phone, status, work done, source, last contact, next check-in and notes. Copy the table below into Google Sheets or Excel, sort it by next check-in and color overdue rows red. When the list stops being enough, Fluid CRM imports it as a CSV.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>The 10 Columns a Client List Template Needs<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A client list has one row per person and needs columns for who they are, where they stand with you and when you will write to them next. A list with only name, phone, email and address is an address book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three of the columns below turn it into a client tracker. Status says who is a client today, Work done says what you could sell them next, and Last contact shows who hasn’t heard from you in months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Column<\/th>What goes in it<\/th>Example<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Name<\/td>The person you talk to, first and last name<\/td>Dana Whitfield<\/td><\/tr>
Company<\/td>Their business, or blank for a private client<\/td>Harbor Dental<\/td><\/tr>
Email<\/td>The address they answer from<\/td>dana@harbordental.example<\/td><\/tr>
Phone<\/td>One number, the one they pick up<\/td>555-0142<\/td><\/tr>
Status<\/td>One of three fixed values<\/td>Active<\/td><\/tr>
Work done<\/td>What you did for them and when it ended, in a few words<\/td>Monthly bookkeeping since March<\/td><\/tr>
Source<\/td>How they found you, with the name if a person sent them<\/td>Referred by Sam Ortiz<\/td><\/tr>
Last contact<\/td>The date you last spoke or wrote<\/td>2026-10-02<\/td><\/tr>
Next check-in<\/td>The date you will write to them next<\/td>2026-11-03<\/td><\/tr>
Notes<\/td>Anything you’d want to remember before the next call<\/td>Wants a quote for payroll in the new year<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Status has three values and no others, which are Active for someone you work for today, Past for someone whose work has ended and Likely for someone who has asked about working with you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is the table to copy. Select the header and the three example rows, paste them into cell A1 of an empty sheet and replace the examples with your own clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Name<\/th>Company<\/th>Email<\/th>Phone<\/th>Status<\/th>Work done<\/th>Source<\/th>Last contact<\/th>Next check-in<\/th>Notes<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Dana Whitfield<\/td>Harbor Dental<\/td>dana@harbordental.example<\/td>555-0142<\/td>Active<\/td>Monthly bookkeeping since March<\/td>Referred by Sam Ortiz<\/td>2026-10-02<\/td>2026-11-03<\/td>Wants a quote for payroll in the new year<\/td><\/tr>
Marcus Lee<\/td>Lee Architects<\/td>marcus@leearchitects.example<\/td>555-0117<\/td>Past<\/td>Website redesign, finished in June<\/td>Google search<\/td>2026-06-18<\/td>2026-10-15<\/td>Happy with the launch. Mentioned a second site<\/td><\/tr>
Priya Nair<\/td>Northside Yoga<\/td>priya@northsideyoga.example<\/td>555-0163<\/td>Likely<\/td>None yet. Asked about a brand refresh<\/td>Met at a chamber event<\/td>2026-09-24<\/td>2026-10-20<\/td>Will decide after fall sign-ups<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

“Likely” is only a label. This list has no deal value, no stages and no win probability, because it tracks people and not open deals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are chasing ten or more open deals at once, our sales tracking spreadsheet<\/a> is the better file, with one row per deal. Plenty of one-person businesses need both jobs done, which is why a CRM for solopreneurs<\/a> keeps new deals and past clients side by side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Fenixtal we built 12M\u20ac+ in pipeline for 50+ B2B clients. My view from that work is that a past client is the easiest sale a small business has, and the Source column tells you which clients send you others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Build the Client Tracker in Google Sheets or Excel in 10 Minutes<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You need one tab, one dropdown and three rules. Steps 3 to 5 are the three sorting and color rules that make the list usable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>1. Paste the table and freeze the header<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Paste the table into cell A1 so Name lands in column A and Notes in column J. In Google Sheets, freeze the header with View, then Freeze, then 1 row, and in Excel freeze the top row.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Type the dates in columns H and I by hand in the 2026-11-03 style. A date that was pasted in as text looks the same on screen, but it never turns red in either tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>2. Make Status a dropdown<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A fixed list keeps you from typing “past”, “Former” and “old client” for the same thing. In Google Sheets select column E from row 2 down and click Insert, then Dropdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Excel select the same cells, open the Data tab and click Data Validation, then pick List under Allow. Enter Active, Past and Likely as the three options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>3. Sort by next check-in<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Turn on a filter for the header row and sort Next check-in from oldest to newest. In Google Sheets the filter is under Data, then Create a filter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The people you owe a message now show in the first rows every time you open the file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>4. Turn overdue rows red<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Select A2 to J500 and add a rule with this formula, then choose a red fill:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

=AND($I2<>\"\",$I2<=TODAY())<\/code><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Google Sheets the rule lives under Format, then Conditional formatting, then “Custom formula is”, and Google’s guide to conditional formatting rules<\/a> shows each click. In Excel go to Home, then Conditional Formatting, then New Rule, and pick “Use a formula to determine which cells to format”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the example rows, Marcus turns red once October 15 arrives and Dana stays white until November 3. An empty row stays white because the formula checks for a date first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>5. Turn rows amber after 90 days of silence<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Select A2 to J500 again and add a second rule with an amber fill:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

=AND($H2<>\"\",TODAY()-$H2>90)<\/code><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marcus was last contacted on June 18, so his row counts as silent from mid-September. Ninety days is our recommendation, and a business with long projects can use 180.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three things break these rules, and all three are quick to fix:<\/p>\n\n\n\n