Good CRM Software for Small Business: 8 Checks From Setup to Gmail

Pick a cloud customer relationship management (CRM) system you can set up yourself. With cloud, the vendor runs the servers, but setup effort varies by tool, so test it. The 8 checks below separate good CRM software for small business from the rest: hosting, setup, IT help, security, team fit, core jobs, budget and Gmail’s sender rules.

The trade-off: your customer records sit on the vendor’s servers. Before you commit, confirm your plan’s security controls and how you would export your data if you leave.

Every CRM should track each customer contact and your sales pipeline

A CRM is one shared record of every customer and every deal. Microsoft’s small-business page names the core jobs. The first is keeping track of every contact with a customer, whether by email, phone, chat or in person. The second is managing your sales pipeline and forecasting sales.

A pipeline is your list of open deals, sorted by stage from first contact to signed. A forecast estimates what those deals should bring in, and when. A tool has to show one customer’s full history on one screen and your open deals by stage. If it can’t, it fails point 6, however long its feature list is.

Eight checks screen any CRM; six are pass/fail

Zoho and Microsoft sell CRMs; PCMag says it may earn affiliate commissions.

Ask these questions about the plan you would actually pay for. Points 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 8 (if the CRM sends email) are pass/fail: one fail rules that plan out. Points 5 and 7 are trade-offs: a poor fit sends you to another tier or tool.

1. Hosting. Who runs the servers, the vendor or you? Does that match the help you actually have? Zoho’s guide sets out the split.
2. Setup effort. Can the person who will own the CRM get it running without a consultant? PCMag makes this a main filter.
3. IT capacity. Does any part of setup or upkeep assume a dedicated IT person? If it does and you have none, the CRM fails (PCMag).
4. Security. Does your plan include the controls you need from Zoho’s list: encryption, audit logs, IP restrictions, two-factor login? A missing one fails.
5. Team and tool fit. Slack’s blog says a CRM has to suit how many people will use it, the apps you already run and what the business is trying to achieve. Count your users and list the apps it must connect to before you start a trial.
6. Core jobs. Does it track contact history across channels, show a pipeline and produce a forecast (Microsoft)?
7. Budget. Is it on a free or low-cost shortlist such as CO—’s? If not, can you name what the higher price buys you?
8. Email rules. If it sends email, will that mail go out from your own domain with the authentication Gmail requires?

Point 8 comes from Gmail’s help page, not from a CRM guide.

Cloud vs on-premise: with cloud, the vendor maintains the servers

Zoho explains that with a cloud CRM, the vendor builds and runs the system on its own servers. An on-premise CRM usually means putting physical servers in your own office. Zoho sells a cloud CRM, so it has a side in this. Even so, the split it describes is plain: with cloud, the vendor looks after the system; with on-premise, you do.

If you have no IT staff, choose cloud. On-premise suits a business that wants its data on its own hardware and can pay for the servers and someone to run them.

Easy adoption matters more when you have little or no IT staff

PCMag points out that a small business likely has limited or no dedicated IT staff. For that reason, it advises choosing a CRM you can get running with minimal effort and training.

Use a free plan or trial as the test, where one exists. Import a real contact list and build one pipeline. If either step needs outside help, the tool fails points 2 and 3.

Ask every vendor about the four security controls Zoho lists

Zoho names encryption, audit logs, IP restrictions and two-factor authentication as the features that protect data in its CRM. That is one vendor’s list, not an industry standard. It still works as a yardstick: ask every vendor about the same four controls.

In plain words:

• Encryption scrambles stored data so it can’t be read without a key.
• An audit log records who did what in the account.
• An IP restriction limits which network addresses can log in.
• Two-factor login asks for a second proof of identity on top of the password.

Decide which of the four you need. Audit logs and IP restrictions matter more as more people get logins. None of these sources says which plan of which CRM includes each control. Get the answer in writing for the tier you’ll actually pay for.

If the free tier lacks one you need, upgrade to the paid tier that has it or switch vendors.

If your CRM sends email, Gmail requires SPF or DKIM

Since February 1, 2024, anyone sending to Gmail accounts has had to meet Gmail’s sender requirements. One of them is to authenticate your sending domains with SPF or DKIM. SPF and DKIM are two ways to prove to inbox providers that mail sent in your domain’s name really comes from you.

Every sender also needs valid forward and reverse DNS (PTR) records, a TLS connection and a spam rate below 0.3% in Postmaster Tools. Senders of more than 5,000 messages a day to Gmail accounts must meet extra requirements.

Then ask each vendor one question: will my mail go out from my own domain, authenticated with SPF or DKIM? A vague answer fails point 8. If email marketing is the main reason you want a CRM, the buyer’s checklist for CRM marketing platforms covers Gmail’s bulk-sender rules in more depth.

HubSpot’s free plan fits two users; every low-cost option has a named gap

The US Chamber’s CO— site lists 10 free or low-cost CRM tools for small businesses. The table below applies the checklist to four CRMs named by CO— and PCMag. Prices are as CO— lists them; confirm them on each vendor’s pricing page before you buy. “Not stated” means neither source gives the detail.

CRM	Price as listed	User / contact limit	Weak spot in the sources	Checklist points the sources speak to
HubSpot (free CRM)	Free; Starter $10/seat/month	Free plan: 2 users, 1,000 contacts	2-user cap on the free plan	6 (call logging, reporting dashboards) and 7 (on its list), per CO—
Monday CRM	Basic from $18/seat/month	Not stated; pitched at 3+ users (CO—)	Not pitched at solo users (CO—)	7 (on CO—’s list)
Less Annoying CRM	One pricing tier (PCMag); price not stated	Not stated	Limited automation and reporting (PCMag)	2 (quick setup, per CO—; simple, intuitive interface, per PCMag); 7
Bigin by Zoho CRM	Not stated	Not stated	No kanban view for leads (PCMag)	5 (integrations), 6 (contact management), 7 (affordable), per PCMag’s pros; Editors’ Choice

At CO—’s listed per-seat rates, before any annual-billing discount (Monday: up to 33%, per CO—), a 3-seat team pays $10 × 3 × 12 = $360 a year on HubSpot Starter and $18 × 3 × 12 = $648 on Monday Basic: $288 more for Monday.

Who should skip which:

• More than two users? Skip HubSpot’s free CRM: its 2-user cap misses point 5. Look at its Starter tier ($10 per seat per month, per CO—) or another tool on CO—’s list.
• Need strong automation or reporting? Skip Less Annoying CRM, which PCMag faults on both. Shortlist a tool whose paid tier you can confirm covers pipelines and forecasting (point 6).
• Your team manages leads on a board? A kanban view shows deals as cards in columns, one column per stage. PCMag says Bigin has no kanban view for leads, so it is the wrong fit for that team despite its Editors’ Choice badge.
• Need more free seats? See free CRM plans compared by user limit.

Every option here has a gap. HubSpot’s free plan stops at 2 users and 1,000 contacts. Less Annoying CRM is weak on automation and reporting. None of the sources says which free tiers include audit logs or IP restrictions.

Still, a free plan or trial lets you test setup, team fit and core jobs on your own data. Security and email settings may not show in a trial, so get those answers in writing. Start on a free cloud plan whose user cap covers your team. Move to a paid tier once the free plan fails point 4 or 6, or your team outgrows its user cap.

Next step: read more in Best-of guides on MarketingRating, or check the figures in Email marketing pricing: the true 12-month cost at 1,000, 10,000 and 50,000 contacts.