A custom CRM in Airtable gives you the flexibility to track exactly what matters to your business without the complexity of traditional CRM software. Let's build one from scratch.
Planning Your CRM Structure
Before creating tables, map out what you need to track:
- Contacts and companies
- Deals and opportunities
- Activities and interactions
- Pipeline stages
Creating the Core Tables
1. Contacts Table
Your contacts table should include fields for name, email, phone, company (linked), role, lead source, and any custom fields relevant to your business.
2. Companies Table
Track company name, industry, size, website, and link to related contacts. Use rollup fields to calculate metrics like total deal value per company.
3. Deals Table
Include deal name, value, stage (single select), expected close date, linked contact, and linked company. Add a probability field for forecasting.
4. Activities Table
Log calls, emails, and meetings with date, type, notes, and links to relevant contacts and deals.
Building Useful Views
Create views that help your team work efficiently:
- Pipeline Kanban - Drag deals between stages
- This Week's Follow-ups - Filtered grid of upcoming tasks
- Company Gallery - Visual overview of accounts
- Monthly Calendar - Scheduled activities at a glance
Automating Your CRM
Set up automations to:
- Notify sales reps when new leads come in
- Create follow-up tasks after meetings
- Alert managers when deals exceed certain values
- Send weekly pipeline reports
Next Steps
Once your basic CRM is running, consider adding email integration, reporting dashboards, and custom interfaces for specific team needs.