Flori / Templates

Google Sheets CRM template: columns, tabs and formulas

By the Flori team · Published 2026-10-28 · Updated 2026-10-29

A Google Sheets CRM is a spreadsheet that tracks your leads, clients and deals in rows, with one tab per kind of record. It works well for one person or a very small team with a few dozen contacts. The template below is a column layout you can recreate in ten minutes, plus the tabs and formulas that make it useful.

The template: tabs to create

Create one Google Sheets file with four tabs.

1. Contacts: one row per person.
2. Companies: one row per organization.
3. Deals: one row per opportunity, with a stage and a value.
4. Activity: one row per call, email or meeting, so you keep a history.

Add a fifth tab, Lists, holding the allowed values for stages, sources and statuses. Point your dropdowns at it.

Columns for the Contacts tab

Columns for the Deals tab

Which formulas are useful in a Google Sheets CRM?

Useful Google Sheets CRM formulas include weighted pipeline, pipeline by stage, overdue next steps, days since contact, win rate and company lookups.

• Weighted pipeline: multiply each open deal's value by its probability and add them up. This gives a more honest forecast than the raw total.
• Pipeline by stage: a sum of values grouped by stage, so you can see where deals pile up.
• Overdue next steps: conditional formatting that turns a row red when the next step date is earlier than today.
• Days since contact: today's date minus the last contacted date, so the longest-silent contacts sort to the top.
• Win rate: the count of Won deals divided by the count of Won plus Lost.
• Lookups: pull a company's name and region into the Contacts or Deals tab from the Companies tab, so you type it once.

Add data validation to every dropdown column and freeze the header row. Share the sheet with edit access only for people who need it.

What does a working Google Sheets CRM look like?

A working Google Sheets CRM organizes contact details, deal stages, weighted values and activity history for a weekly review.

A freelance developer, Sam, keeps this in one sheet.

• Contacts: 40 rows. Dana Cole, Northwind Bakery, owner, referral, status Active, last contacted 21 October, next step "send proposal" on 30 October.
• Deals: Northwind website, 6,400, Proposal sent, 60 percent, close 15 November. Weighted value: 3,840.
• Activity: 21 October, call with Dana, 25 minutes, agreed scope outline.
• Weekly check: sort Contacts by days since contact, then clear every overdue next step.

How do I keep a Google Sheets CRM up to date?

Keep a Google Sheets CRM current by using dropdowns, updating records the same day and reviewing next steps every week.

1. Start with fewer columns than you think you need. Add one only when you have used the data twice.
2. Use dropdowns, not free text, for stage, source and status, so counts add up.
3. Update it the same day. A CRM that is a week behind is a list of old news.
4. Review every Monday. Sort by next step date and by days since contact.
5. Keep one row per person, one per deal. Duplicates are the most common spreadsheet failure.
6. Common mistakes: free-text stages; no next step date; storing notes in email only; sharing the sheet more widely than needed.

For other do-it-yourself setups, compare a CRM in Notion and a CRM in Airtable. Freelancers weighing options can start from the freelancers page.

When should I move from Google Sheets to a dedicated CRM?

Move from Google Sheets to a dedicated CRM when growing records, multiple editors, email history, reminders or delivery projects become hard to manage.

A spreadsheet CRM is a good start. It stops being enough when:

• You have more than a few hundred records, and the sheet gets slow and hard to scan.
• More than one person edits at the same time and rows get overwritten or duplicated.
• You want email history and meetings attached to each contact without copying them in by hand.
• Deals turn into projects, and you are tracking tasks and deliverables in a second place.
• You need reminders that fire on their own rather than a red cell you have to notice.
• Clients need a view of progress or approvals.

Past that point you are maintaining the tool instead of using it. A CRM with project management in one workspace removes the copying; see CRM with project management for how that works. In Flori, the free plan covers 200 customer records and 3 active projects, and a deal that is won can become a project in the same place. Flori lists plans on its pricing page.

FAQ

Can Google Sheets work as a CRM? Yes, for a small number of contacts and one or two users. Create tabs for contacts, companies, deals and activity, use dropdowns for stages, and add a next step date to every row. It becomes hard to manage as records, users and automation needs grow.

What columns should a Google Sheets CRM have? For contacts: name, company, role, email, phone, source, status, last contacted, next step, next step date and notes. For deals: name, company, stage, value, probability, expected close, owner and lost reason. Add more only when you actually use the data.

How do I track a sales pipeline in Google Sheets? Give every deal a stage from a dropdown, a value, a probability and an expected close date. Then total the values by stage, and multiply value by probability for a weighted forecast. Review the sheet weekly and move deals as they progress.

When should I move from a spreadsheet to a real CRM? Move when you have several hundred records, more than one editor, a need for email history attached to contacts, or deals that turn into projects. If you spend more time fixing the sheet than selling, it is time to switch.

Is there a free CRM template for Google Sheets? Yes, you can build one from the layout above for free. Create the tabs, columns and dropdowns, then add the formulas described. A template you build yourself fits your own pipeline better than a generic download.

Can I use Flori instead of a spreadsheet CRM? Flori is a CRM with project management in one workspace. Its free plan holds 200 customer records and 3 active projects, with unlimited people. It suits freelancers and small teams who want deals, email from the record and project work in one place instead of several sheets.