{"id":1866,"date":"2026-10-11T18:15:19","date_gmt":"2026-10-11T15:15:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fluidcrm.io\/blog\/?p=1866"},"modified":"2026-10-22T19:50:06","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T16:50:06","slug":"google-sheets-crm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fluidcrm.io\/blog\/google-sheets-crm\/","title":{"rendered":"Google Sheets CRM: How to Build One in 6 Steps"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

You can build a working CRM in Google Sheets with features that are already in its menus, and the hard part is keeping it small enough that you still update it in month three. This guide gives you the tabs, the exact columns and four formulas you can check against example rows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Google Sheets CRM for one person selling alone needs three data tabs, which are Contacts, Deals and Activity, plus a small Summary tab. Add a Stage dropdown, a filter view per stage, a rule that turns overdue next steps red and a SUMIF<\/code> for pipeline value by stage. Fluid CRM imports the sheet later.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>The 3 Tabs a Google Sheets CRM Needs<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A CRM in Google Sheets needs one tab for people, one for deals and one for what happened. A fourth small tab called Summary holds the totals, so the finished file has four tabs and you only ever type into three of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tab<\/th>One row is<\/th>What it answers<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Contacts<\/code><\/td>One person<\/td>Who is this and how do I reach them?<\/td><\/tr>
Deals<\/code><\/td>One piece of possible work<\/td>What is it worth, where does it stand and what do I do next?<\/td><\/tr>
Activity<\/code><\/td>One call, email or meeting<\/td>What did we last say to each other?<\/td><\/tr>
Summary<\/code><\/td>One stage<\/td>How much money sits in each stage?<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The split matters because people and deals are different things. One contact can bring you three deals over two years, and a single tab forces you to retype her email each time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those same three lists sit under every sales tool, which is why a simple CRM<\/a> can take your sheet later without a rebuild. Our guide to the CRM database<\/a> explains how those records link to each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you only need to remember who your clients are and when to write to them, you need less than this. A one-tab client list<\/a> with one row per person does that job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Google Sheets CRM Columns and Example Rows to Copy<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Deals tab has nine columns, Contacts has six and Activity has four. Each table below shows the column letter, the header to type and an example value, because the formulas later in this guide point at these exact letters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>The Deals tab<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Column<\/th>Header<\/th>Example<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
A<\/td>Deal<\/code><\/td>Brand refresh<\/td><\/tr>
B<\/td>Contact<\/code><\/td>Lena Ortiz<\/td><\/tr>
C<\/td>Company<\/code><\/td>Kestrel Coffee<\/td><\/tr>
D<\/td>Value<\/code><\/td>3500<\/td><\/tr>
E<\/td>Stage<\/code><\/td>Proposal sent<\/td><\/tr>
F<\/td>Next step<\/code><\/td>Call about the quote<\/td><\/tr>
G<\/td>Next step date<\/code><\/td>Yesterday’s date<\/td><\/tr>
H<\/td>Source<\/code><\/td>Referral<\/td><\/tr>
I<\/td>Notes<\/code><\/td>Wants to launch before spring<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Value is a plain number with no currency sign typed in, and Next step date is a real date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are the rows to paste into the Deals tab in step 1. Column G is empty on purpose, because you will type those dates yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deal<\/th>Contact<\/th>Company<\/th>Value<\/th>Stage<\/th>Next step<\/th>Next step date<\/th>Source<\/th>Notes<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Brand refresh<\/td>Lena Ortiz<\/td>Kestrel Coffee<\/td>3500<\/td>Proposal sent<\/td>Call about the quote<\/td><\/td>Referral<\/td>Wants to launch before spring<\/td><\/tr>
Monthly SEO retainer<\/td>Tom Baker<\/td>Baker & Hale Law<\/td>1200<\/td>Meeting booked<\/td>Send the agenda<\/td><\/td>Web form<\/td>Two partners will join the call<\/td><\/tr>
Website rebuild<\/td>Aisha Khan<\/td>Northgate Physio<\/td>6000<\/td>Proposal sent<\/td>Follow up on the proposal<\/td><\/td>LinkedIn<\/td>Comparing us with one other studio<\/td><\/tr>
Logo design<\/td>Ben Carter<\/td>Carter Roofing<\/td>900<\/td>Won<\/td><\/td><\/td>Referral<\/td>Paid the deposit<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>The Contacts tab<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Column<\/th>Header<\/th>Example<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
A<\/td>Name<\/code><\/td>Lena Ortiz<\/td><\/tr>
B<\/td>Company<\/code><\/td>Kestrel Coffee<\/td><\/tr>
C<\/td>Email<\/code><\/td>lena@kestrelcoffee.example<\/td><\/tr>
D<\/td>Phone<\/code><\/td>555-0131<\/td><\/tr>
E<\/td>Source<\/code><\/td>Referral<\/td><\/tr>
F<\/td>Notes<\/code><\/td>Prefers a call to an email<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

These are the rows to paste into the Contacts tab, with the four people from the example deals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Name<\/th>Company<\/th>Email<\/th>Phone<\/th>Source<\/th>Notes<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Lena Ortiz<\/td>Kestrel Coffee<\/td>lena@kestrelcoffee.example<\/td>555-0131<\/td>Referral<\/td>Prefers a call to an email<\/td><\/tr>
Tom Baker<\/td>Baker & Hale Law<\/td>tom@bakerhale.example<\/td>555-0158<\/td>Web form<\/td><\/td><\/tr>
Aisha Khan<\/td>Northgate Physio<\/td>aisha@northgatephysio.example<\/td>555-0176<\/td>LinkedIn<\/td><\/td><\/tr>
Ben Carter<\/td>Carter Roofing<\/td>ben@carterroofing.example<\/td>555-0109<\/td>Referral<\/td><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>The Activity tab<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Column<\/th>Header<\/th>Example<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
A<\/td>Date<\/code><\/td>Today’s date<\/td><\/tr>
B<\/td>Deal<\/code><\/td>Brand refresh<\/td><\/tr>
C<\/td>Type<\/code><\/td>Call<\/td><\/tr>
D<\/td>What happened<\/code><\/td>Walked through the quote. She will decide by Friday<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Activity tab starts with its header row and one example line. Type today’s date into the empty Date cell after you paste.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Date<\/th>Deal<\/th>Type<\/th>What happened<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
<\/td>Brand refresh<\/td>Call<\/td>Walked through the quote. She will decide by Friday<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If you would rather start from a finished file, our free Google Sheets CRM template<\/a> works in Excel and Google Sheets, and the Google Sheets version opens with File, then Make a copy. It is a four-tab layout with a dashboard and different stage names from this build, so use one or the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>How to Build a CRM in Google Sheets in 6 Steps<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The build is six steps, and each one uses a feature that already sits in a Google Sheets menu. Nothing here needs an add-on or a script.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If your sheet is set to a locale that uses decimal commas, such as Finland, Germany and most of Europe, type a semicolon in place of each comma inside every formula in this guide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>1. Paste the rows and freeze the first row<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Create three tabs and name them Contacts<\/code>, Deals<\/code> and Activity<\/code>, spelled exactly like that. The formulas in step 6 look for a tab called Deals<\/code>, so a tab named “Deals copy” breaks them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Copy each of the three tables of rows from the section above, header included, and paste it into cell A1 of its tab. Then freeze the header on each tab by clicking View, then Freeze, and choosing 1 row.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now type three dates by hand in the Deals tab. Put yesterday’s date in G2, a date next week in G3 and another date next week in G4, and leave G5 empty because that deal is won.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>2. Turn Stage into a dropdown<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A fixed list stops you from typing “proposal”, “Proposal sent” and “quote out” for the same stage, which matters because the totals in step 6 match on the exact words. Select E2 to E500 on the Deals tab and click Insert, then Dropdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enter these six stages as the items, using “Add another item” for each new one:<\/p>\n\n\n\n