I finally ditched my $40/month CRM for a spreadsheet

Look, I know it sounds crazy but I was paying $40 a month for this CRM that kept updating its interface every two weeks. Every time I opened it I had to relearn where everything was. Then I realized I was only tracking like 20 contacts and maybe 5 active conversations at a time. So last month I just moved everything into a Google Sheet with some color coding and basic formulas. It took me about 2 hours to set up and now I actually use it because it doesn't fight me. Has anyone else gone backwards to simpler tools just to stay sane?

3 comments

3 Comments

kim_mason5515d ago

It's wild how much we overcomplicate things, isn't it? I feel like these companies keep adding features nobody asked for just to justify the price. So here's my real question for you - was there a specific moment where you finally snapped and decided to make the switch, or was it more of a slow burn over time? I ask because I'm trying to figure out if I should just rip the bandaid off on some overpriced tools I'm using now. Cause honestly, the headaches from constant updates are wearing on me too.

kelly.margaret15d ago

God, the paid scheduling app thing hits home. I remember the exact moment I snapped - it was 3am on a Tuesday after an update to my "essential" project management tool rearranged my entire dashboard and deleted my pinned tasks. I had nearly 5 years of data in that thing, and for what? So they could add a chat feature nobody wanted (seriously, we already had Slack). I ended up switching to a basic spreadsheet and a shared Google Doc, and honestly? It felt ridiculous at first, like I was admitting defeat. But three weeks later, I realized I was no longer fighting with software to do the simple stuff, and that feeling of "wait, I don't hate my tools anymore" was worth more than any fancy dashboard.

keith16415d ago

My buddy runs a small landscaping business and spent six months fighting with a paid scheduling app before he went back to a paper calendar and a whiteboard. He said the hardest part was admitting he'd wasted the money.