Guide
How to move from Excel to a CRM
The move is mostly tidying. Do it in the spreadsheet first and the CRM part takes an afternoon.
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The short answer
To move from Excel to a CRM: back up the file, remove duplicates and dead clients, split company details from the people who work there, standardise sectors and tags, and turn your "next action" column into dated follow-ups. Bring across what you will use, not every old column. Start with your most active clients and add the rest once the team is using it.
Last checked 27 October 2026
Seven steps that work
Do steps 1 to 5 in the spreadsheet. They are the ones that make the difference.
- 1
Save a copy
Keep the original untouched. Work on a copy called something obvious.
- 2
Remove the dead wood
Delete duplicates and clients you have not dealt with for years and never will again.
- 3
Split companies from people
One sheet of companies, one sheet of people with a column saying which company they belong to.
- 4
Standardise the words
Pick one spelling for each sector and tag. "Construction" not "construction", "Const." and "Building".
- 5
Turn notes into next steps
For each live client, write the next thing you owe them and when. That becomes a follow-up.
- 6
Bring across your top clients first
Start with the ones you speak to every month. Use the CRM for a fortnight before adding the rest.
- 7
Stop updating the spreadsheet
Pick a date. After it, the CRM is the only place. Two systems is worse than either one.
What to leave behind
Not every column deserves a place in your CRM.
- Old notes with no date. Paste the useful ones into a single note called "History from spreadsheet" rather than rebuilding them.
- Columns nobody fills in. If it was empty in the spreadsheet, it will be empty in the CRM.
- Calculations and totals. Keep those in a spreadsheet; a simple CRM is not an accounts package.
- People you no longer have a reason to contact. Under UK GDPR you should not keep personal data longer than you need it. See our guide to CRM and GDPR.
Moving to Gather360
Send us the spreadsheet and we will help
Gather360 does not have an import wizard. Instead, start your free trial, tidy the file using the steps above, and email it to hello@gather360.co.uk. We will help get your clients and contacts in.
Your sectors and tags become shared lists, so the spelling you chose in step 4 stays the same for everyone.
- Clients with sector, tags, email, phone, website and address
- Contacts linked to each client, with job title, email and phone
- Next actions entered as dated follow-ups with an owner
Start the trial, then send the file
30 days free, no card. Email your tidied spreadsheet to hello@gather360.co.uk.
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Questions people ask
Can I import a CSV into Gather360?
Not by yourself at the moment; there is no import wizard. Email the file to hello@gather360.co.uk and we will help get it in.
How long does moving from Excel take?
The tidying usually takes longest, often an afternoon for a few hundred clients. Getting the clean data into the CRM is then quick.
Should I bring across every old client?
No. Bring the ones you deal with now. Old clients you will never contact again are clutter, and keeping personal data you do not need can be a GDPR problem.
What about my notes column?
Copy anything useful into one note on the client. From then on, add new notes as they happen so each one is dated and shows who wrote it.
Can I go back to Excel later?
Yes. A copy of your data is available on request by email. There is no self-serve export button yet.
See if it fits in ten minutes
Click round the live demo with no sign-up, or start a free trial with your own clients. No card, no sales call.
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