Capture
An enquiry from your website, a form or an email creates the record, without anyone retyping it.
Client data & CRM
Your client data in one place.
Your follow-ups on time.
I help small firms move client information into a CRM, configure useful records and set up follow-up tasks and reports. We agree the data mapping, access and checks before the import, so the system fits how your team works.
By Anne Peire
At a glance
- The task
- Keeping client, enquiry and supplier records, and following up on them
- Who it hits
- Any firm where relationships are the pipeline
- What changes
- One CRM, records kept current as the work happens, follow-ups on time
- Proof
- A recruitment agency in London, live since September 2026
The problem
Why the spreadsheet
stops working
It starts well. One sheet, a few columns, everyone knows where it is. Then a column for notes appears, a tab for suppliers, a colour code only one person understands, and a second copy on somebody’s laptop.
The list is updated when there is time, which means it stops being updated in the busy weeks, exactly when enquiries arrive. Knowing when anyone last spoke to a client means searching an inbox. Answering a simple question about the business takes an afternoon.
A spreadsheet can support reminders with extra configuration. If yours relies on manual updates and memory, the missing piece is a maintained process with owners, dates and a shared relationship history.
One shared record, with an owner and a next action.
The change
What it looks like before,
and after
Today, in spreadsheets
- Contacts, enquiries and supplier details in one file, notes somewhere else
- The enquiry list has not been updated for weeks
- Follow-ups depend on someone remembering them
- Counting this quarter’s enquiries means doing it by hand
- Several versions of the same file, none of them certain
- Personal details, and sometimes passwords, in a file anyone can copy
Once it runs in a CRM
- One record per client, enquiry and supplier, with its history attached
- Every new enquiry arrives with a status and a next step
- Follow-up tasks appear at the intervals you choose
- Reports answer your questions from the same data, at any time
- One current version, with access you control
- Passwords moved to a password manager, where they belong
One viewof activity, set against revenue, for a founder-led recruitment agency in London
Recruitment · London
Activity was recorded across spreadsheets, email and notes, and nobody could use it to decide anything. Records now sit in one place, follow-ups come up as a daily list, and the reports answer the founder’s own questions.
Read the case study“I connect every day and look at the to do list that comes up. What really changes my life is no longer going through my emails to follow up, or my notes, or thinking, right, I must chase that one. No more notes scattered everywhere.”
Where automation comes in
A CRM stores the data.
Automation puts it to work.
On its own, a CRM is a tidier spreadsheet. Connected to the rest of the business, it does part of the work for you.
Common candidates
- Importing and cleaning existing spreadsheets
- Enquiry capture from website forms and email
- Follow-up tasks at fixed intervals after each contact
- Status changes when a client goes quiet
- Supplier and partner records, with commission tracked
- A weekly report for the founder
- Alerts on key accounts nobody has contacted for months
- A new client created in your accounting tool when work is won
A practical example
An enquiry arrives. The next step is ready.
A website form or labelled email can become a shared record with an owner, a follow-up date and a reply draft.
- CaptureKeep the enquiry details in one agreed record.
- AssignGive the relationship an owner and a next action.
- PrepareSet the follow-up date and prepare a response draft.
- ReviewThe responsible person checks the context and sends the reply.
Sample clientMarlow StudioStatusNew enquiryNext actionFollow up on 9 OctoberOwnerAnne
In practice
What the CRM project can cover
| Work | What we agree |
|---|---|
| Records and migration | Contacts, enquiries and relevant history, with sample imports and reconciliation checks. |
| Configuration | Fields, shared vocabulary, permissions, owners and useful views. |
| Follow-up | Dated tasks and status changes, with client messages reviewed and sent by a person. |
| Connections and reporting | Supported form, email or accounting connections and reports built from the questions you ask. |
How we get there
From your first question
to a working solution.
Choosing a CRM before agreeing what a complete record looks like can leave the same problems inside a new tool. The mapping comes first.
First, a free 15-minute conversation to understand the challenge and agree the appropriate next step.
Understand your business
We explore the process, what you want to achieve and how your team prefers to work. I challenge the proposed solution if the underlying problem is different.
You receiveA clear process map, written recommendations and an agreed priority.
Check the tools and feasibility
During separately scoped Process Design, I check the connections, permissions, costs and exceptions that could affect the solution.
You receiveA documented workflow, feasibility findings and the requirements for a reliable build.
Agree the scope and price
Before implementation, we agree what will be built, the timeline, responsibilities and how we will check that it works.
You receiveA written proposal with a fixed build price, acceptance checks and any ongoing costs.
Build and test
I build the agreed solution and test normal cases, exceptions and approvals. Your team reviews it against the checks we agreed.
You receiveA working solution, a demonstration and the agreed checks completed before handover.
Document, train and hand over
I show your team how to use the solution, what to monitor and how to handle exceptions. We clarify ownership and support.
You receivePractical instructions, a walkthrough and clear support terms so your team can run it.
One recurring processFocused Process Review · £350Several connected prioritiesBusiness Process Review · from £650
Discovery, Process Design and implementation each have an agreed scope and fee. You choose the appropriate discovery service; buying both is not required. Testing, documentation and team handover are included in the agreed implementation scope.
Which CRM should we use?
The one that fits how your business works and what you can afford to run. I compare the options against your own process, the questions you want answered and the tools you already pay for, not against a feature list. Sometimes the right answer is to clean up the CRM you already have.
Will we lose the history in our spreadsheets?
We agree which fields and history to migrate, which notes to archive and how to check the result. The import is tested on a sample, with source copies retained. Your team checks records and totals before accepting the migration; unusual or unmapped data is flagged for a decision.
Will the CRM email our clients on its own?
The system creates tasks, reminders and drafts. An authorised person checks and sends client messages. Your team keeps control of the relationship and of what reaches a client.
What if the team does not use it?
That is the real risk, and it is why the design starts from how the team already works. Recording happens once, as part of doing the job, and the team gets a written guide and a handover. If keeping it current feels like a second job, the design is wrong.
How long does a move take?
It depends on how much data you have and how tidy it is. Your own description of the file is a starting point, not a fact: I count the real rows before promising a date or a price, and that happens during Process Design.
Keep reading
Related
Your business
Where does your client list
live today?
If the honest answer is “in a few places”, that is worth fifteen minutes. No charge, and we will work out whether a CRM is the answer.
15 minutes · No charge
Prefer to write? anne@10pm.works