Fed up with the constant data entry, I need something automated
I run a small three-person agency but I'm starting to feel like all my team are doing with their work days is manually entering data into our CRM. My business model was setup so a lot of things like pipeline progress, detailed client info and appointments etc…
I run a small three-person agency but I'm starting to feel like all my team are doing with their work days is manually entering data into our CRM. My business model was setup so a lot of things like pipeline progress, detailed client info and appointments etc have to be entered manually but as time goes on I'm realizing that this isn't an efficient use of time for anyone. I'd been putting off looking into this in more detail for a while. But lately, my team has mentioned how annoying it is that they spend so much time on this. Can anyone recommend a CRM with a good AI model that can automate this and is good for smaller teams?
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hey scareme_please, before the AI angle, worth mapping where the typing comes from, since most of it can stop at the source. intake forms that create the record themselves, email threads attaching to the contact instead of being pasted in, WhatsApp chats logging automatically if that's a client channel, and workflows that assign the task and move the stage so nobody updates fields by hand. from what i've seen Bigin covers that shape for three-person teams without much setup... forms feed the pipeline directly, auto-assignment and follow-up workflows remove most of the manual updates, and teams moving off manual entry report saving around five hours a week. if what you want is AI writing records from call recordings, that's a different tool class, so worth deciding which of the two problems you have first. -- Anubhav
I'd love to know if there are some saas that people are using. We ended up implementing bespoke solution with human on the loop component for some of our clients. !Remindme 2 day
I run an agency: metabay.studio We could custom build that CRM for you and team, so it’s 100% tailored to your needs
I think there are a couple of diff things that could work for you but you’ll have a better idea based on what your team are actually doing on a day to day basis. Is it mostly client and pipeline data that is input based on meetings and sales etc? I think attio could be good for this as they have both email and calendar auto-sync so anything you do would then automatically populate in your CRM too. If it’s more for something like general information management between team members then I think something like notion could work.
I use attio is great but expensive
Before switching CRMs, I’d map out exactly where each piece of data comes from. Appointments, form submissions, emails, call outcomes and pipeline changes can usually be captured through integrations or workflow rules without anyone manually updating every field. AI can help extract notes or client details from emails and meeting transcripts, but I’d still keep a human review step for important fields. A few useful questions would be: Which CRM are you using now? Where does the client data originally come from? What fields are your team entering repeatedly? What event should trigger each pipeline update? You may not need a new CRM at all. A few well-designed automations around the current one might remove most of the manual work.
Hi, I work at Zapier and wanted to weigh in here. Tbh, you might not even need to switch CRMs. It's worth checking whether the data entry can just be automated into the one you already have, since that's usually the faster fix. Most of this is usually about moving fields from somewhere (email, forms, spreadsheets, another tool) into the CRM on a trigger, which suits automation more than a person. Zapier connects to most CRMs and the common sources, so you set the flow up once and let it run. A human is still worth keeping on the judgment calls, like messy or ambiguous records, and for a 3-person team that’s a lot of hours back. Happy to chat through any questions!