Can Excel work as a CRM?

For one person who updates it every day, yes. A sheet holds names, stages and follow-up dates well. It can't show you each customer's WhatsApp chats, and it's only as current as the last person who typed in it.

Is there a free CRM template for Excel or Google Sheets?

Yes. Our CRM spreadsheet template opens in both, with a Due column for today's follow-ups and totals by stage (opens /crm/templates/crm-spreadsheet).

When should I move from a spreadsheet to a CRM?

When follow-ups slip because the dates in the sheet are out of date, or when someone else needs to pick up your customers. Those are the two moments a shared list starts to pay for itself.

Will I lose my data if I move?

No. You import the sheet, nothing you already have in Palby CRM is overwritten by default, and one tap takes back an import's new contacts. You can export everything to CSV again later.

Can my team use it at the same time?

Yes. Share a pipeline to view, use or manage, and choose who may export it.

Excel and Google Sheets vs a CRM

Excel or a CRM? When the spreadsheet stops telling you who to call

Excel holds the list. It doesn't tell you who's due a call today, or show you their WhatsApp chat.

Book a walkthrough

30 minutes. You choose the day and the time.

The short version

Stay with Excel or Google Sheets if you sell alone, update the sheet every day and like building your own columns. Move to Palby CRM when the sheet is a week behind, your WhatsApp chats live somewhere else, and nobody else can tell who to call today.

Who should pick which

Stay with the spreadsheet if

You sell alone and keep the sheet up to date every day
You want your own formulas, models and layout
Your customers fit on one screen, and a filter finds today's calls

Pick Palby CRM if

The follow-up dates in the sheet are a week behind
Your customers' WhatsApp chats live on your phone, not beside their row
Someone else on your team needs to pick up a customer without asking you

Side by side

Compared on	Palby CRM	Excel or Google Sheets	Source
Price	No public price yet. You get one on the walkthrough	Excel for the web is free, and anyone with a Google Account can create in Sheets. Excel co-authoring needs Microsoft 365. Google Workspace Starter is S$9.40 a user a month	Microsoft Excel site Microsoft Excel site Google Sheets site Google Sheets pricing
Who to call today	The first view on every pipeline lists everyone due today or overdue	A filter or formula you build, once every date is filled in	Microsoft Excel site Microsoft Excel site Google Sheets site Google Sheets pricing WhatsApp Help Center site
WhatsApp chats	Linked from your phone, on the customer's record	Copied in by hand, if at all	Microsoft Excel site Microsoft Excel site Google Sheets site Google Sheets pricing WhatsApp Help Center site
Working together	Share a pipeline to view, use or manage, and choose who may export	Excel co-authoring with Microsoft 365. Sheets lets you choose who can edit, comment or view	Microsoft Excel site Microsoft Excel site
Duplicates	Matched by email, then phone, then name when you import	Found by eye or with a formula	Microsoft Excel site Microsoft Excel site Google Sheets site Google Sheets pricing WhatsApp Help Center site
Consent	Consent per channel, with when and how it was given, and Do not contact	A column you keep up yourself	Microsoft Excel site Microsoft Excel site Google Sheets site Google Sheets pricing WhatsApp Help Center site
Your own models	Fields and stages, not formulas	Anything you can build	Microsoft Excel site Microsoft Excel site Google Sheets site Google Sheets pricing WhatsApp Help Center site
Getting your data out	Export everything to a CSV file any time	It's already a spreadsheet	Microsoft Excel site Microsoft Excel site Google Sheets site Google Sheets pricing WhatsApp Help Center site

As of November 2026. Excel and Google Sheets details are from Microsoft's and Google's own pages, read on 2 November 2026. Plans and prices change, so check them before you pay.

Where the spreadsheet is strong

A spreadsheet does whatever you can build. Excel for the web is free, and anyone with a Google Account can create in Sheets. Colleagues can work in the same Excel workbook at once with Microsoft 365, and Sheets lets you choose who can edit, comment, download or view. For a commission sum, a one-off list or a model nobody sells, keep using it. If you're not ready to move, our free CRM spreadsheet template has a Due column that marks today's follow-ups (opens /crm/templates/crm-spreadsheet).

The three differences that matter

See today's follow-ups without a filter

Give each customer a follow-up date, and Next activity due lists everyone due today or overdue, by the Singapore calendar. A date you missed yesterday stays on the list until you change it. No filter to rebuild each day.

The chat sits beside the row

Link the number your customers already message, from your phone: Settings, Linked devices, Link a device. Each WhatsApp chat then sits on the customer's record, with their notes, tasks and deals. WhatsApp's help centre warns that linking through unofficial apps "may put your account at risk", so you type each reply yourself, from your own number.

Your spreadsheet comes with you

Upload the sheet you keep now, up to 2,000 rows, and AI matches your columns to the right fields. Phone contact files work too. If the import looks wrong, one tap takes back the contacts it added, and everything exports to CSV whenever you want it back in Excel.

Switching in three steps

Save your sheet as a CSV file, from Excel or from Google Sheets.
Book a 30-minute walkthrough, and bring the file.
Import it, check the columns AI matched, and give each open customer a follow-up date.

Before you move

Questions people ask about Excel and Google Sheets as a CRM

Bring the sheet, and leave with tomorrow's list

Save your spreadsheet as a CSV file and bring it along.

Book a walkthrough

30 minutes. You choose the day and the time.

Sources

Every page read on 2 November 2026. Nothing about a competitor on these pages comes from anywhere else.

Microsoft Excel: Price, Who to call today, WhatsApp chats, Working together, Duplicates, Consent, Your own models and Getting your data out. www.microsoft.com/en-sg/microsoft-365/excel
Microsoft Excel: Price, Who to call today, WhatsApp chats, Working together, Duplicates, Consent, Your own models and Getting your data out. support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/collaborate-on-excel-workbooks-at-the-same-time-with-co-authoring-7152aa8b-b791-414c-a3bb-3024e46fb104
Google Sheets: Price, Who to call today, WhatsApp chats, Duplicates, Consent, Your own models and Getting your data out. workspace.google.com/products/sheets/
Google Sheets: Price, Who to call today, WhatsApp chats, Duplicates, Consent, Your own models and Getting your data out. workspace.google.com/pricing
WhatsApp Help Center: Who to call today, WhatsApp chats, Duplicates, Consent, Your own models and Getting your data out. faq.whatsapp.com/378279804439436