Is a spreadsheet actually enough as a CRM?

For capture and a small pipeline, yes. If you need automated follow-up sequences, reminders and multi-stage deal automation, a real CRM earns its fee. The trap is paying for one before you have the volume — a sheet that fills itself covers a surprising amount of the job, and your data exports cleanly if you graduate later.

Can it move deals between stages automatically?

No — Quicktion captures and tags emails on arrival; you update stages in the sheet as deals progress. Default values can set the starting status (like New), and the AI can classify the inquiry type, but stage changes after that are yours.

Does it work for a team?

Yes. The sheet is a normal Google Sheet, so share it like any other. Everyone sees new inquiries land in real time, and you can add an Owner column to split follow-up.

Where do attachments go?

To a Google Drive folder, one per destination, with each row linking to its files — briefs, contracts and images stay attached to the inquiry they arrived with.

Gmail → Google Sheets

Use Google Sheets as a lightweight Gmail CRM

If your leads and client conversations already arrive in Gmail, you don't necessarily need a per-seat CRM to track them — you need the emails to land in a sheet as structured rows instead of sitting in threads. A Google Sheet handles a small pipeline fine: one row per inquiry, columns for contact, status and next step, filters and pivots for reporting.

Quicktion is the pipe. Set a Gmail filter that forwards inquiry emails to your sheet's private address, and each one arrives as a row: sender, date and full message mapped automatically, attachments saved to Drive and linked. On the Pro plan, AI Email Intelligence reads each email and fills typed columns like Name, Company and Phone, and default values pre-tag every row with a source or starting status — no Zapier in the middle, no per-task fees.

Start free — 25 emails/month

What lands in your spreadsheet

From the email	Into your spreadsheet
Subject	Inquiry column
Sender name and address	Contact columns
Received date	First-contact date column
Email body	Notes column, links kept clickable
Name, company, phone (AI, Pro)	Typed columns you define
Source or status (default value)	Pre-filled on every row

Rows marked (AI, Pro) use AI Email Intelligence, available on the Pro plan. Standard mapping — subject, sender, date, body, attachments — is included free.

Set it up once

Set up the sheet

Create a spreadsheet with the columns you want to work — Name, Company, Status, Next step. Connect it to a free Quicktion destination and the header row maps automatically.

Forward inquiry emails

Create a Gmail filter for your inbound lead sources — a contact form address, referrals, replies to campaigns — that forwards to your private Quicktion address.

Work the pipeline in Sheets

New inquiries appear as rows within seconds. Sort by status, filter by source, add follow-up columns — it's your spreadsheet, so the CRM works however you do.

Common questions

Related workflows

Gmail emails, filed automatically

Free plan covers 25 emails a month — no credit card required.

Get started