CRM: definition, types and which one to choose

A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) keeps your contacts, your exchanges and your ongoing sales in one place. It answers a simple question: whom must I follow up today, and why? This guide ranks CRMs from the simplest to the most complete and says who each one is made for.

Quick picks

Fewer than 50 active clients: a well-kept spreadsheet is enough to start.
Start for free: HubSpot CRM or Zoho CRM.
Sales team with clear sales stages: Pipedrive.
Keep your data on your own servers: Twenty or Odoo (open source).
Large team, complex processes: Salesforce or Microsoft Dynamics 365.
Already on bexio: start with its contacts module before you add a tool.

Table: from the simplest to the most complete

Tool	Level	Hosting	Free version	Best for
Spreadsheet (Excel, Google Sheets)	●	your computer or cloud	yes	first clients
HubSpot CRM	●●	cloud	yes	marketing and sales together
Zoho CRM	●●	cloud	yes, limited	small teams
Pipedrive	●●●	cloud	trial only	sales teams
Twenty	●●●	your servers or cloud	open source	data under control
Odoo CRM	●●●	your servers or cloud	open source (Community)	CRM linked to invoicing
Microsoft Dynamics 365	●●●●●	cloud	no	companies on Microsoft
Salesforce	●●●●●	cloud	no	large sales teams

The options in detail

Spreadsheet

Best for: a freelancer or a small team at the start.
Strength: free, everyone knows it.
Limit: no reminders, no email history, frequent duplicates.

HubSpot CRM

Best for: companies that want to connect website, emails and sales.
Strength: a solid free version, website forms connected to the CRM.
Limit: the advanced features quickly move to a paid plan.

Zoho CRM

Best for: small teams that want many features for a small budget.
Strength: a wide suite of tools (invoices, support, emails).
Limit: a busier interface.

Pipedrive

Best for: teams that sell in stages (first contact, quote, signature).
Strength: a very readable column view.
Limit: weaker on marketing.

Twenty

Best for: companies that want to host their data themselves.
Strength: open source, modern, adaptable to your fields.
Limit: needs an installation and technical follow-up.

Odoo CRM

Best for: companies that want to connect CRM, quotes, invoices and stock.
Strength: one single system for several trades.
Limit: the configuration takes time. See our guide to ERP software.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Salesforce

Best for: large teams, several sites, complex processes.
Strength: very complete, very customisable.
Limit: a significant cost and integration project.

Tips to start well

Draw your sales stages before you choose the tool: 4 to 6 stages are enough.
Clean your contacts before the import: an imported duplicate stays a duplicate.
One owner per contact: otherwise nobody follows up.
Connect your mailbox: each exchange is saved on the right record.
Connect the website forms: each enquiry enters the CRM, without copy and paste.
Data protection: check where the data is hosted and sign a data processing agreement (nFADP).
Check the export: your data must be able to leave the tool.

FAQ

What does CRM mean?

Customer Relationship Management. The word means both the method and the software.

Is a free CRM enough?

For a small team, yes. The need for a paid plan comes with automatic reminders, reports and multiple user accounts.

What is the difference between a CRM and an ERP?

The CRM follows your clients and your sales. The ERP runs the whole company: stock, purchasing, production, accounting.

Set up your CRM

installation, contact import and connection with your website and your emails.

AI and workflows

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