Small businesses drive nearly two-thirds of new jobs in the U.S. and makeup 99.9% of all businesses in the U.S., according to Forbes. What often begins as a family-run tradition or a passion project can quickly become hard to manage as the customer base expands.

A basic CRM can replace traditional customer management methods like spreadsheets and help you handle the increasing volume of interactions.

Most CRM examples get a bad rap for being overly complicated. But their main job is pretty simple. They help businesses build stronger relationships with customers and prospects, a job every business needs to take care of. 

There are plenty of simple, easy-to-use basic CRM software out there that don’t need much training and still keep your customer interactions organized. In this article, I’ll review some of them with their pros and cons so you may decide which one to hop on to. 

6 Best basic CRM solutions for your business

Here are our top picks for the best affordable CRM solutions that get the job done without costing an arm and a leg. 

1. OnePageCRM

OnePageCRM is a sales-focused CRM for solopreneurs and small businesses developed in 2010 with the aim of cutting down the complexities of larger CRMs. 

It works like an organized to-do list sorted by priority and due dates. When you select a contact and add a note, you can set up the next action and deadline. 

There’s also a contact management system where you can search for leads, contacts, and organizations, attach notes, schedule calls, and create meetings. 

The customizable kanban-style pipeline enables users to track and manage deals. Each stage in the pipeline displays the number of deals and calculates potential revenue by assessing the likelihood of closing a deal.

You will also find basic sales workflows that cover essential needs like sending automatic follow-up emails when a deal progresses or setting up an action when a new deal is created.

Pros

• Action stream keeps tasks organized and prioritized
• Quick email setup and integration 
• Kanban-style deal functionality with drag-and-drop functionality
• Revenue forecasting features
• 21-day free trial

Cons

• There's no free plan
• Some users report that integrations are glitchy

2. Less Annoying CRM

This CRM with a sassy name is another no-fuss, basic CRM on our list to manage contacts, tasks, and sales without overwhelming features. 

Among its core features is a basic calendar where users can add tasks, set reminders, and create events. Tasks appear at the top of the calendar and can be marked complete.

You can email directly from a contact's profile and log communications. However, Less Annoying CRM lacks automated communication tools and advanced features like lead routing or click-to-call options.

Sales pipeline management, however, requires manual updates within contact profiles. Custom pipelines resemble milestones rather than dynamic pipelines.

It offers about a dozen native integrations, but you can connect it to over 5,000 apps via Zapier. 

Pros

• Very user-friendly and simple to set up
• Streamlined contact management
• Quick and easy calendar and task features

Cons

• No built-in email marketing or drip campaigns
• No mobile app is available
• No 24/7 customer support

3. Capsule CRM

Capsule CRM has a minimalistic design with clear navigation tabs for Dashboard, People & Organizations, Tasks, Sales Pipelines, Cases, and Reports.

Capsule lets you manage contacts, track communication, and view a complete contact history for context. It also supports task management with built-in reminders for follow-ups like calls and meetings. 

Besides, it connects with accounting software like QuickBooks, Xero, and FreshBooks for financial management. 

For email marketing, it integrates with MailChimp, Mad Mimi, and MPZ Mail. It also supports customer service tools such as Zendesk and Help Scout. 

Pros

• Very simple and easy for new users to adapt to
• Strong native integrations
• Allows admins to control user access levels
• Access to shared contact histories and task tracking

Cons

• There is no live chat option for immediate assistance
• Analytics are pretty limited

4. Streak

Streak CRM is a tool that lives directly within your Gmail inbox. Unlike standalone CRM solutions, Streak works as an extension that transforms Gmail into a fully functional CRM without leaving your email interface. 

It handles contact management, pipeline tracking, task organization, email automation, and more, all within Gmail.

Streak organizes contact details from email threads into CRM data and acts as a shared inbox for team collaboration. The mail merge feature allows you to mass-send marketing campaigns or sales outreach emails. 

Streak’s pipelines can be private or shared across your team. You can customize them or use built-in templates to track the stages of deals, projects, or other workflows. 

For those annoying times when Gmail combines unrelated conversations into one thread, Streak’s thread splitter separates them for you. On top of it, there’s an AI co-pilot for automated follow-ups, personalized email content, and real-time data-driven insights. 

Pros

• Customizable pipelines
• Real-time email tracking and notifications
• Good collaboration options with permissions management
• Extensive integrations through Zapier and APIs
• AI features for automation

Cons

• No real-time customer support options like chat; relies mainly on email support
• Heavily tied to Gmail, so it’s not suitable for those who don’t use Google Workspace

5. Bitrix24

Released in 2012, Bitrix24 is an online workspace with a basic CRM system, task manager, website builder, and form-builder in one, now used by over 15 million businesses. 

Bitrix24’s interface includes an Activity Stream, which looks and feels similar to social media. You can post messages, upload files, create events, and share updates.

The platform supports custom automated workflows for various business processes. For example, leads from social media ads can be auto-sorted and followed up with automated emails.

You can design web forms using a drag-and-drop builder for lead capture, add custom fields, and link them to deals or contacts. It integrates telephony and video calls (via Zoom) such that you can call clients directly from the CRM and record them for future use. 

There’s also a task management window to assign tasks, set deadlines, track progress, and view tasks in Kanban or traditional list views. The mobile app is nearly as comprehensive as the web version. 

Pros

• Inexpensive CRM software for small business with a free forever plan for solopreneurs 
• Comprehensive mobile app for on-the-go access
• A broad range of built-in tools (CRM, project management, communication)

Cons

• Lacks integrations with some popular social networks (e.g., Twitter, Instagram)
• The activity stream interface requires some time to fully understand

6. Close CRM

Close CRM is an all-in-one sales platform that is best for businesses that rely on high-volume communication with prospects and clients. 

Its standout feature is an AI-powered call assistant. It transcribes and summarizes phone calls automatically, so sales reps can concentrate on conversations without worrying about note-taking. 

The summaries include action items and can be searched later for easy reference. The AI call assistant supports more than 20 languages and works on both desktop and mobile.

Besides, you can automate multi-channel outreach, including emails, calls, and SMS. Sales reps can monitor the performance of these automations through a KPI-based dashboard and identify what works best. Successful workflows can be saved as templates for quick reuse. 

For teams who rely on video selling, Close integrates with Zoom pretty well. It automatically pulls in cloud recordings from connected Zoom accounts and notifies reps five minutes before their next call. The recordings are stored within the platform, accessible from the Lead view. 

Pros

• Strong automation tools for multi-channel outreach
• Built-in AI call assistant that transcribes and summarizes calls
• Customizable templates and workflow options
• SOC2 Type 2, GDPR, and CCPA compliance for data security

Cons

• Priced higher than most other simple CRM software 
• Very limited marketing features 
• No free plan

What makes a good CRM for businesses with simple needs?

If you run a small business, you don’t need software with a ton of features you’ll never use. Such solutions will overwhelm you and drain your finances because they come at a cost. 

Instead, here’s what to look for when choosing a basic CRM for businesses with simple needs: 

• User-friendly interface: Pick a CRM that’s easy to navigate. You don’t want to spend hours figuring out where things are. The dashboard should make sense right from the start, so you can jump in and get working without a steep learning curve.

• Affordability: Look for an affordable CRM for small business with a free plan or low-cost tiers that still gives you essential features while keeping your budget in check.

• Core features: Make sure the CRM covers the basics like contact management, task tracking, simple sales pipeline management, and basic workflows. You shouldn’t need anything too fancy, just enough tools to stay organized and keep track of client interactions.

• Customization options: A good CRM should let you adjust it to fit your needs since you would want to customize fields, tags, or views to match how you work.

• Mobile access: Check if the CRM has a mobile app or a mobile-friendly design. You want to be able to access your client info and tasks when you’re out and about.

• Customer support: See if there’s a reliable support team or resources you can turn to if you run into any issues.

• Collaboration tools (optional): If you’re working with a small team, consider CRMs that let you share contacts, assign tasks, or leave notes for each other.

FAQs

What is the easiest CRM to use?

OnePageCRM is the most easy to use CRM among the ones we reviewed above. It is simple and action-focused for sales. Other easy-to-use CRMs include less annoying CRM and Capsule CRM.

What is a simple CRM system?

A simple, basic CRM system is stripped down to contain only the essential features needed to manage customer interactions without unnecessary complexity or too many micro-managing features.

Who needs a simple CRM?

A simple CRM primarily works for small businesses, solopreneurs, startups, freelancers, and nonprofits.

Build your own basic CRM with Formaloo

There’s nothing like a custom-made solution tailored to your business needs. With Formaloo, you can create your very own custom, basic CRM that fits perfectly into your workflow.
Formaloo has an easy-to-use drag-and-drop builder with access management features that keep your customer data safe while ensuring efficient workflows. 

You can automate repetitive tasks with automated workflows and gain insights into your data with visual data reports, charts, graphs, and tables.

The custom dashboards let you manage tasks, leads, and deals in a way that suits your workflow perfectly. Plus, with secure cloud storage, you have control over who accesses what information. You can even opt for Formaloo On-premise to keep everything on your own servers.

Sign up for Formaloo and build your own CRM today.