Pipeline One App vs a spreadsheet
A spreadsheet is where most teams start, and for a while it is enough. This page is honest about where it stops being enough, and what changes when you move.
When a spreadsheet is fine
- One person works the leads and nobody else needs to see them.
- Fewer than a handful of enquiries a week, all from one place.
- You do not need to know which source or which month paid off.
If that is you, keep the spreadsheet. Come back when two of those stop being true.
Where it breaks
| The job | In a spreadsheet | In Pipeline One App |
|---|---|---|
| Getting a lead in | Someone copies it from an email or a form notification. Some never make it. | Forms post straight in. Your server can post with a key. Nothing is retyped. |
| Spam and duplicates | Rows pile up. The same person appears three times with three spellings. | Every submission is checked by a person. Matches are shown so you merge instead of doubling up. Spam never becomes a row. |
| Knowing who to call | Sort by a date column and hope everyone keeps it updated. | Each lead has a next step with a due date. The dashboard lists who is overdue, untouched or gone quiet. |
| What happened with this lead? | A notes cell that nobody reads, or a thread in someone's email. | A timeline of calls, notes, stage changes and assignments, with who did what and when. |
| Two people editing | Overwrites, filters left on, "who deleted row 40?" | Roles decide who can change what. The audit log says who changed it. |
| Which source pays off? | A pivot table, if someone has the time and the columns are clean. | Reports by source, product and rep, for any date range, from the same data as the board. |
| Several brands or services | Several tabs, or several files. | Several products in one account, each with its own forms, keys and default person. |
Moving over
You do not have to move everything on day one.
Point one form at it
New leads start arriving in the inbox while the spreadsheet carries on for the old ones.
Add the open leads by hand
Usually fewer than you think. Closed and dead rows can stay where they are.
Retire the spreadsheet
Once the team has lived in the board for a couple of weeks, nobody asks for it back.
See it with your own leads in mind
Book a walkthrough. We will show you the inbox, the board and the reports, live.