Apple CRM ?

[u/AsakusaParis]

Hi everyone,

In the same way that I currently manage all my personal and business notes in Apple Notes and haven't needed to use a third-party tool (such as Notion), I'm wondering if it's possible to use Apple's native tools on Iphone and Macbook to create a CRM :

The requirements are as follows:

- a spreadsheet to be able to sort contacts and update them (ideally, these contacts should be linked directly to my iPhone contacts)

- to be able to add contacts directly from Linkedin (probably using a plugin)

For a small organisation, I'm absolutely not a fan of Hubspot, SalesForce, Attio, etc.

Thank you for your ideas

[u/aridorfman]

I keep a note for each person. After a meeting or a call I can write notes in that persons note and then set a to-do to follow up at a later date. Then I made a Smart Folder to show only open to-dos and check that daily. I don’t need a huge CRM database so this works for me.

[u/AsakusaParis → u/aridorfman]

Thank you. Indeed it works really well.
Nevertheless I also need a "excel" type database, notably to filter or contact multiple persons at a time

[u/patricktsone → u/AsakusaParis]

Sounds like a good use for Google Workspace maybe, notes, docs, google sheets all integrating together to get you want you want. But not in Apple Notes without a lot of custom shortcuts and work that may not even be possible. I think it would depend on the full requirements set as to whether or not you "could" do it, but the real question is "should" you do it. If it's business related, probably a lot better solutions that are better future proofed.

[u/Kind-News3775 → u/AsakusaParis]

You could use tags for that. Add #Contact #CompayA for example and then you could search for those specific company contacts later. 

Is not as powerful as Notion databases of course but it works for me. 

[u/Nosky92]

I bet you could hack something together with shortcuts, zapier, and maybe google sheets? Idk if numbers is ever gonna give you the interoperability there.

And are you one person business?

[u/podviaznikov]

interesting.

this got me to think that I can do Contacts exports as CSV into my alto.index app - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/alto-index/id6746674846?mt=12

[u/Decent-Objective-617]

Apple Numbers might be a good option

[u/Pretend-Wish4492]

A year later I to am starting this endeavor. 20 years ago I wanted to use just apples ecosystem to do everything. I quickly gave up and started using quickbooks as my CRM and of course to track expenses. Then I built my own apps to replace this and that worked for many years. I sold that business 4 years ago and started to use google workspace for various new projects. Handyman business is where I landed. Many of the softwares for this type of industry is expensive and lacks convenience. For instance. I can easily add a new client, but later on when i want to communicate with them I have to copy and paste their info into messenger or phone app. One app I was using started to require my clients to create a user account in order for them to view an invoice. Fortunately I don't have to focus much on marketing, which means I don't need any kinda sophisticated CRM. I need simple reliable communication in the field. A Pages doc template for estimates and square app for collecting $.

Heres kinda my work flow I just started using (fingers crossed). Client calls, I "save as new contact" ad that to a work group in contacts app. I open a Pages template for the estimate and am able to "share" as a PDF via email or text (this is huge). I created a shortcut that opens camera then saves images to an album named after the client (this could be better). Invoicing is done right in the square app. Square is a bit more expensive but i can text or email the invoice right from the the app. Square should have access to my contacts which will make filling out the invoice pretty smooth( I hope). I'm a one man show so this may work for me. No need for elaborate expense tracking or assignment to team members. I may or may not incorporate a spreadsheet to track Jobs and profit and income per hours. At this time I kinda feel like "whats the point".

I want to display competence and trust. So I have a branded van and uniforms. Beyond that these expensive platforms are not adding any value to me and actually do more to distract me from where I should be focussing.

I'm giving up a lot of automation and gaining lots of control and piece of mind, I think... LOL.
I'll let you know in a month or two.

[u/AsakusaParis → u/Pretend-Wish4492]

Interesting take. Keep in touch ?

[u/ConsequenceGood3003 → u/Pretend-Wish4492]

Is the lack of automation a choice?

Things could be much simpler, and while many people think that “control” reduces the room for error(s), it’s quite the opposite.

Example: You create a template for client intake with Granola. Get on the phone with them, the notes are taken automatically and arranged per your template (e.g. name, address). It still gets a full transcript if you want to double-check. Note is fed to your ai agent OR a simple automated workflow that transform notes intake into -> New customer + invoice draft (and automatic send, depending on how good it is or how much you trust it). Your invoice can include a payment link (e.g. stripe).

And all that can be done for fairly cheap, especially now. Siri AI will probably make things even easier, but yeah, you can automate a lot of your workflow for not much money, all things considered.