1. Sign in to Airtable

Log in to your Airtable account or create a new one.

2. Choose the Sales CRM template

Click "Start with templates" to open a list of templates.

If the Sales CRM template doesn’t appear, click “Explore more templates” and search for CRM options.

Select the "Sales CRM" template, then the "Try this template" button.

You can also start the entire process from the template page. Airtable will create your CRM using the template.

3. Import data

Click the "Add" button at the bottom and use Airtable’s import features to upload your existing contact list, pipeline details, or sales data into your new base.

4. Start managing relationships

You now have a fully-fledged CRM to track customer interactions, manage your pipeline, and follow up on opportunities.

While this CRM is powerful and very practical, there are a few issues:

1. Learning curve: Because it's out of the box, you now have to master it, which might take time.
2. Custom capabilities: While Airtable’s CRM template does many things right, it is generic and may not fit your specific use case.
3. Views and reports: Your CRM may be overwhelming. It’s basically a big database/spreadsheet, and you might have difficulty understanding it without easy-to-digest reports.

To tackle these issues, let’s look at a faster, simpler way to use Airtable as a CRM.

1. Sign up for Softr and choose a CRM template

Log in to Softr or create a free account.

Click the free Sales CRM template or “All templates” to browse the gallery.

Click "Use template".

2. Connect Softr to Airtable

Click “Add a data source” to connect.

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Choose Airtable then and press “Continue”.

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You can now connect Softr to Airtable using your API key or personal access token. The steps are simple and explained on screen. Once you have added your authentication method, the setup will continue automatically.

3. Copy the Softr base to Airtable

Softr provides a template Airtable base you can use as a starting point. Click “Copy base to your Airtable account” to create it.

Choose the workspace where you want the base to be created and click “Add base”.

Softr creates a complete Airtable CRM for you, featuring several tables, linked records, and more. This simplifies the entire process by giving you a great place to start in minutes.

You can also create custom fields for customer data to personalize your CRM.

4. Build a frontend interface for your Airtable CRM

You're ready to build a complete frontend interface based on the Airtable CRM we created.

The CRM app already includes various pages and functions. You decide what to create, share, and make available to team members.

Use the drag-and-drop interface to:

1. Build dashboards for your customer data and sync them with your marketing tools.
2. Simplify data entry with forms and buttons.
3. Implement payment management options.
4. Assign user roles and manage who can access or edit specific customer data.
5. Turn your CRM app into a Progressive Web App (PWA) with one click.

5. Automate tasks

Softr offers 30+ third-party integrations to help you build custom CRM automation workflows, or you can set them up in Airtable. Here are some suggestions:

1. Send automated email follow-ups after a deal reaches a specific stage.
2. Assign tasks to team members based on deal status.
3. Receive notifications when a contract renewal date approaches.

Check out our complete guide on Airtable automation to better streamline your workflow.

1. Create a new base

Log in to your Airtable account or create a new one.

Click "Start from scratch" to create a clean, new base.

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2. Create tables for your CRM

In our example, we’ll create three tables:

1. Contacts: Customers, prospects, or partners.
2. Opportunities: Deals, potential revenue, and sales pipeline stages.
3. Customers: Confirmed, paying customers.

3. Build your “Contacts” table

Click on the arrow on the right of “Table 1”, select “Rename Table,” and rename it “Contacts.”

Create the fields to store the information for your contacts. In our example, we created the following fields:

1. Name
2. Company name
3. Email
4. Status (single-select dropdown: lead, customer, partner, etc.)
5. Assignee (linked record to team members)
6. Opportunity

You can create custom fields based on your requirements, such as the last contact date or a URL field for call recordings.

4. Build your “Opportunities” table

Click “Add Table” and “Create a new blank table”.

Name it “Opportunities” and save.

Create fields for your opportunities. For our example, we created:

1. Name (single line text)
2. Contact (linked record to Contacts table)
3. Potential value
4. Assignee
5. Status (dropdown: negotiation, won, lost, etc.)
6. Priority
7. Deadline
8. Notes/Comments

You can create custom fields, depending on how granular or general you want to get, such as:

1. Next Step (A text or single select field you can pair with deadline and assignee fields).
2. Win/Loss (dropdown to provide insights in case of a “lost” opportunity).
3. Attachments to store documents (contract, formal offer, RFP, etc.).

5. Build your “Customers” table

Click “Add Table” and “Create a new blank table”.

Name it “Customers” and save.

Create custom fields for customers. For our example, we created the following fields:

1. Name
2. Contacts (linked record)
3. Opportunity name (linked record)
4. Contract Start End Date
5. Contract End Date
6. Assignee
7. Notes/Comments

You can add custom fields for additional information, such as:

1. Conversation history
2. Churn risk
3. Time until renewal

6. Link your tables

If you still need to, link records to build relationships between tables.

Using the field type “Link to another record,” you can link this field to another field or table.

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For example, link a “Contact” in the Contacts table to a “Deal” in the Opportunities table.

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Choose your permissions and filters, then click “Create field”.

You now have a very basic but functional CRM built on Airtable. While rudimentary, it’s a perfect canvas for you to start experimenting.

Related: 5 best CRM software with client portals