Comparison · Updated 4 Nov 2026
Real estate CRM vs Excel & Google Sheets.
Most Indian developers and brokers start with a shared sheet, and for a while it works. This page compares the two honestly: what a spreadsheet does well, where it starts costing you bookings, and how to tell when it's time to move.
Quick verdict
Which one fits you?
Free, familiar, flexible
Stay on a spreadsheet if…
- One or two people handle every enquiry and can call each one the same day.
- You're selling a single project, mostly from referrals or walk-ins.
- You aren't running paid ads yet, so you don't need cost per site visit by source.
Built around enquiry → site visit → booking
Move to a real estate CRM if…
- More than one RM or channel partner works the same leads.
- Leads arrive from portals, Meta, Google and your website at once.
- You spend on ads and need to know which source produces site visits and bookings.
- You can't say with confidence which leads were called today, and by whom.
Side by side
How they compare
Upfront cost
- Excel / Google Sheets
- Free, or already part of Microsoft 365 / Google Workspace Stronger
- Real estate CRM
- Monthly fee per user. PeerGrowth CRM starts at ₹799 per user per month
Set-up time
- Excel / Google Sheets
- Minutes Stronger
- Real estate CRM
- A few days, including importing your existing leads
Capturing portal, Meta and Google leads
- Excel / Google Sheets
- Manual copy-paste or downloads, unless someone builds and maintains connectors
- Real estate CRM
- Pulled in automatically from each source Stronger
Speed to lead
- Excel / Google Sheets
- Depends on someone noticing the new row
- Real estate CRM
- Instant assignment and alerts; an automated WhatsApp reply if you add follow-up automation Stronger
Duplicate enquiries
- Excel / Google Sheets
- The same buyer from three sources often appears as three rows
- Real estate CRM
- Matched on phone number so one buyer stays one record Stronger
Follow-up reminders
- Excel / Google Sheets
- Colour codes and memory
- Real estate CRM
- Tasks, due dates and alerts when a lead goes untouched Stronger
Site-visit tracking
- Excel / Google Sheets
- A date column, if people fill it in
- Real estate CRM
- A pipeline stage with scheduling, reminders and show / no-show Stronger
Data security
- Excel / Google Sheets
- Anyone with the link or a copy can download every buyer's details
- Real estate CRM
- Role-based access and audit logs Stronger
Reporting by source and project
- Excel / Google Sheets
- Pivot tables rebuilt by hand
- Real estate CRM
- Live dashboards from spend to booking Stronger
Use on the phone in the field
- Excel / Google Sheets
- Workable but fiddly
- Real estate CRM
- A mobile app built for RMs Stronger
Flexibility
- Excel / Google Sheets
- Add any column you like, instantly
- Real estate CRM
- Structured fields and stages that keep data consistent
“Stronger” marks the better option on that point. Rows without a mark depend on your situation.
What a spreadsheet does well
A sheet is free, everyone already knows how to use it, and you can change it in seconds. For a small team selling one project, mostly to buyers they meet in person, that flexibility is genuinely valuable, and a CRM can feel like overhead.
If that describes you, a well-kept sheet with a clear owner, a fixed set of columns and a daily review is perfectly reasonable. The problems start when the volume and the number of people grow.
Where a spreadsheet starts costing you bookings
The costs of a sheet are hidden because they show up as leads that quietly go cold, not as a line on an invoice. They usually appear as soon as you add paid ads, portals and a second or third RM.
- Slow first response. Leads wait in a portal inbox or an ad account until someone copies them over. Buyers who enquired with several builders often speak to whoever calls first. Our speed-to-lead guide explains why minutes matter.
- Leads that nobody owns. When two RMs share a sheet, each assumes the other has called. Without assignment and alerts, nobody notices until the buyer has moved on.
- No link between spend and site visits. You can see cost per lead in the ad account, but not cost per site visit or booking by source, so budget decisions are guesses. The cost per site visit calculator shows why that number matters.
- Data walking out of the door. An RM who leaves can take a copy of every buyer they ever spoke to. Under India's DPDP Act you're responsible for protecting the personal data you collect, which is hard to do with a file anyone can download.
What a good real estate CRM should do
Not every CRM is built for property sales. Whatever you choose, check that it handles these without heavy customisation:
- Automatic capture from portals, Meta and Google lead forms, your website and missed calls.
- Stages that match how you sell: enquiry, contacted, site visit scheduled, visited, negotiation, booked.
- Routing by project, language or round-robin, with alerts when a lead goes untouched.
- Site-visit scheduling and reminders, with show and no-show tracked.
- WhatsApp built in, on the official WhatsApp Business API rather than RMs' personal phones.
- Reports from ad spend through to bookings, by source and by project.
What a CRM won't fix
A CRM makes a good process faster and more visible. It doesn't create one. If leads are poor quality, if RMs don't follow up, or if nobody looks at the reports, moving to software just moves the problem somewhere more expensive.
Before you switch, agree on three things: who owns each lead, how quickly it must be contacted, and what counts as a qualified site visit. A CRM can then enforce those rules every day, which a spreadsheet can't.
Making the switch
Moving from a sheet to a CRM in a week
- 01
Clean the sheet
Remove duplicates, standardise phone numbers and mark each lead's current stage.
- 02
Agree the stages
Write down your pipeline stages and the one rule that moves a lead from each to the next.
- 03
Import and connect
Import the clean sheet, then connect portals, ad forms, your website and call tracking.
- 04
Train and switch off
Show RMs the mobile app, run both for a few days, then make the sheet read-only.
FAQ
Straight answers.
Can Google Sheets work as a real estate CRM?
For a small team with low lead volume, yes, if one person owns it and it's reviewed daily. Once you have several RMs, several lead sources or paid ads, a sheet can't assign leads, alert on missed follow-ups or connect spend to site visits.
How much does a real estate CRM cost in India?
Prices vary by vendor and are usually per user per month. PeerGrowth CRM is ₹799 per user per month on Team and ₹1,499 on Business, excluding GST, with free viewer seats for founders and finance.
Will we lose our old lead history when we switch?
No. Your existing sheet is imported, including notes and stages, so RMs can see past conversations from day one.
How long does it take to move from Excel to a CRM?
Usually a few days to a week: a day to clean the sheet, a day to import and connect sources, and a few days of overlap while the team gets used to it.
Our RMs won't use a CRM. What then?
Adoption is the real risk. Choose a CRM with a fast mobile app, keep the fields to the minimum you'll actually use, and make the CRM the only place leads are assigned, so working from it is easier than working around it.
Guides
All insightsCRM & automation · 6 min
How to choose a real estate CRM in India: a checklist for builders and channel partners
Read the guideReal Estate · 6 min
Speed to lead: why real estate enquiries go cold in an hour
Read the guideCRM & automation · 6 min
Marketing attribution for Indian businesses: a practical model
Read the guide30-minute strategy call · Free
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