From Excel to a Dedicated CRM - a System for a Key Account Manager

We replaced a sprawling Excel workbook with a dedicated CRM application - featuring a contact timeline, a sales pipeline, automated reports and a separate management panel. One source of truth instead of seven tabs, no manual summing and a full history of every client. This is a case study of a project delivered for a Key Account Manager at a manufacturer in the industrial sector.

If your sales team 'lives in Excel', this article shows what really changes when a spreadsheet is replaced by a system tailored to the process.

The challenge: an entire business in a single Excel file

The Key Account Manager at our client - a manufacturer of flexible current connections and copper components - ran all client management in a single Excel file with seven tabs. In practice this meant daily friction:

• Contact history kept in a single text field with a character limit - no chronology, no filtering, no way to quickly check 'what we agreed last time'.
• Inconsistent dates entered by hand (typos like `2108` instead of `2018`, descriptive 'December/April').
• Weekly reports compiled and sent manually, activity totals counted 'by hand'.
• No relationships between client, order and product - the same data duplicated in many places.
• One file = no concurrency, no change history, a real risk of overwriting all the work with a single click.

The goal was easy to name, hard to achieve in a spreadsheet: one source of truth for clients, contacts, activities, orders and targets - with automatic aggregation and a ready-made report.

The solution: a CRM tailored to the process, not the other way around

We designed and deployed a dedicated web application (CRM) that fully mirrors how the KAM works and follows the client's visual identity. Instead of teaching a person to operate someone else's tool, we built a tool to fit their process.

Illustrative screenshot - the data shown in the images is sample and anonymized; it does not come from a real client.

Key modules

• Clients, contacts and interaction timeline - every contact (email, phone, LinkedIn, offer) is a separate entry in a chronological timeline. The 'date of last contact' is calculated automatically, so no one has to guess when they last reached out to a client.

Illustrative screenshot - sample data, not real client data.

• Sales pipeline (kanban) - leads on a board of stages, dragging cards between columns and a 'needs follow-up' filter for clients with no contact for some time. You can see on one screen where a sale has stalled.

Illustrative screenshot - sample (anonymized) data.

• Orders - totals per month, quarter and year, an 'overdue payments' tab and reminders.
• Activity log - a monthly calendar with automatic totals; selected interactions feed the counters without double entry.
• Targets and tasks - progress calculated automatically from the data, including the monthly revenue target.
• Weekly PDF report - generated on demand and automatically (on a schedule), in the client's branding.
• Management panel - a separate, 'view-only' screen behind a single password, with a complete overview: today / month / year, revenue target progress and activity charts.

Illustrative screenshot - sample data, not real client data.

Technologies

We chose the stack for security, fast delivery and low maintenance costs:

• Frontend and backend: Next.js (App Router), TypeScript
• Database, auth, storage: Supabase (PostgreSQL + Row Level Security, EU hosting)
• UI: Tailwind CSS + shadcn/ui, in the client's visual identity
• PDF reports: `@react-pdf/renderer`
• Hosting: Vercel (SSR + recurring jobs / cron)

Security and compliance: Row Level Security at the database level (data isolation), user roles (KAM / manager), preparation for RODO (GDPR) (export and permanent deletion of client data) and hosting in the EU region. More on how we approach data protection: Data security in an application.

Results

• No more Excel in daily work - one consistent source of data.
• Zero manual summing - daily, monthly and yearly aggregations calculate themselves.
• History and chronology of contacts instead of a single text field.
• Automatic weekly report in PDF, ready to send.
• Insight for management without logging into the system - one screen, one password.
• Historical import - 100% of existing clients and orders migrated from the spreadsheet, with a list of items to verify.

"The CRM app looks great, brilliant automation and simplification of the work, really excellent. The manual is clear and helpful too. Thanks so much!!" - Paulina, system user

For us this is the most important metric: a tool someone genuinely wants to use, because it simplifies the work rather than adding yet another chore.

Want a similar solution?

We turn diverging spreadsheets and manual processes into dedicated, secure web applications - tailored to your process. If your team 'lives in Excel', let's start with a conversation about what can be automated for you. See also when it actually pays off to migrate from Excel to a dedicated system and how a dedicated B2B CRM differs from an off-the-shelf product.

Get in touch - we'll show you what can be simplified in your sales process.

FAQ

How does a dedicated CRM differ from an off-the-shelf one (Salesforce, Pipedrive)?
An off-the-shelf CRM imposes its own way of working, and you pay a subscription for seats and features you may not use. A dedicated CRM maps your exact process - your pipeline stages, your interaction types, your reports - and it belongs to you, with no per-user subscription.

Can data from Excel be moved to the new system?
Yes. In this project we migrated 100% of existing clients and orders from the spreadsheet, with a list of items to verify. Historical import is a standard part of migration - you don't start from an empty database.

Is such an app secure and RODO (GDPR) compliant?
Yes. Data is isolated at the database level (Row Level Security), user roles apply, and hosting runs in the EU region. We built the system for GDPR compliance - with export and permanent deletion of client data.

How long does it take to build a CRM like this?
We usually deliver a working version (MVP) mapping the key process in 4-6 weeks, then add further modules iteratively. Scope and pace are set after analyzing your spreadsheet and process.

Why a separate panel for management?
So that a supervisor has a complete overview (today, month, year, revenue target progress) without logging into the system and without asking a sales rep for a summary. It is a separate 'view-only' screen behind a single password.