How to Build a Custom CRM in Bubble.io: Step-by-Step Guide
Generic CRMs are built for average sales teams. A custom Bubble CRM built for your exact workflow takes 2-3 weeks, costs a fraction of any CRM license, and fits your process perfectly. Complete data model, core features, and the follow-up automation that keeps pipeline clean.
When HubSpot and Salesforce Don’t Fit
Generic CRM platforms are built for the average sales team. If your sales process is non-standard — complex qualification steps, industry-specific fields, multi-party relationships, custom pipeline stages — you spend more time working around the CRM than with it. A custom Bubble CRM built for your exact workflow takes 2-3 weeks, costs a fraction of a CRM license, and does exactly what you need without workarounds.
What Every CRM Needs
Contact
first_name, last_name
: text
email, phone
: text
company
: Company
status
: option set (Lead, Prospect, Customer, Churned)
source
: option set (Inbound, Referral, Outbound, Event)
owner
: User (assigned salesperson)
last_contacted_at
: date
Deal
contact
: Contact
company
: Company
title
: text
value
: number (deal value in USD/GBP)
stage
: option set (Qualified, Proposal, Negotiation, Closed Won, Closed Lost)
probability
: number (0-100%)
expected_close
: date
owner
: User
Activity
type
: option set (Call, Email, Meeting, Note, Task)
contact
: Contact
deal
: Deal (optional)
description
: text
scheduled_at, completed_at
: date
created_by
: User
The Pages and Workflows That Matter
Pipeline View
A Kanban board showing deals at each stage. Use Repeating Groups in columns — one RG per pipeline stage filtered by that stage. Drag-and-drop stage changes via the Draggable Elements plugin. Deal value totals per column show pipeline value at a glance.
Contact Search and Filter
A contacts list with real-time search (name or email contains input value), filter by status, filter by owner, and filter by source. Sort by last contacted date ascending — contacts you haven’t touched recently at the top. Never miss a follow-up.
Activity Timeline
Every contact has a timeline of all logged activities: calls, emails, meetings, notes. Sorted by most recent first. Add activity button for quick logging. Overdue follow-up tasks highlighted in red. This is the view salespeople live in daily.
Deal Forecast
A dashboard showing: total pipeline value, weighted pipeline (value x probability), deals closing this month, and deals closing this quarter. Read from denormalised fields on the User/Team record for instant render. Updated by workflows on every deal change.
Email Integration
Log emails automatically by BCC-ing a unique address that creates an Activity record. Alternatively, use the Gmail or Outlook API Connector to pull recent emails for a contact. Reduces manual logging friction, which is the #1 reason CRM data goes stale.
Team Performance
Manager view showing each salesperson’s pipeline value, deals closed this month, activities logged this week, and deals not touched in 7+ days. Identifies who needs coaching and who has stalled deals before they fall through.
Never Miss a Contact Again
// Runs every morning at 8am for each active user
Search for Contacts [
owner = this user,
status is in [Lead, Prospect],
last_contacted_at < today - 7 days
]
// For each result: create a Task ‘Follow up with [contact name]’
// And send a digest email listing all overdue contacts
Q: Should I build my own CRM or use HubSpot?
Use HubSpot if your sales process is standard and you want marketing automation out of the box. Build on Bubble if your process has unique stages, fields, or relationships that HubSpot cannot accommodate, or if per-seat pricing would make HubSpot expensive at your team size.
Q: Can I migrate from Salesforce to a Bubble CRM?
Yes, via CSV import. Export your Salesforce data as CSV, build the Bubble import workflow, and import contacts, companies, and deals in sequence. Map your Salesforce custom fields to Bubble data type fields. The migration typically takes 1-2 days of careful work.
Q: How do I add email tracking to my Bubble CRM?
Connect SendGrid or Postmark via API Connector for outbound emails. Use their webhooks to receive open and click events back into Bubble. Create EmailTrackingEvent records linked to the Activity. This shows you exactly when a prospect opened your proposal email.
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