How to choose a CRM for your business
A practical, step-by-step way to shortlist a CRM: what to decide first, what to check on pricing pages and what to ask in demos.
Desk research from official provider pages, updated 2026-10-11. Not hands-on tested. No supplier paid for or reviewed this content. Plans and prices change — confirm with each provider.
Start with how you sell, not with features
Write down the steps a lead goes through from first contact to paid invoice, and who does each step. A CRM that mirrors that process will get used; one that forces a new process often will not.
If most of your sales happen over email, prioritise email and calendar sync with the tools you already use (Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace). If you mainly sell by phone, look at calling integrations.
Decide your must-haves and nice-to-haves
Keep must-haves short: things you genuinely cannot work without, such as a Xero or QuickBooks link for invoicing, or a shared pipeline view. Everything else is a preference.
In our finder, a must-have only rules a product out when an official source confirms it is missing. If we could not verify it, the product stays in and the item is flagged as a question for the demo.
Read pricing pages carefully
Check whether prices are per user or flat, whether they are billed monthly or annually, whether VAT is included, and whether there is a minimum number of users. Prices are often shown for annual billing.
Some pages show different currencies depending on where you are. We never convert US dollars or euros into pounds — confirm the sterling price with the provider.
Plan the move
Most switching effort goes into cleaning and importing contacts, deals and notes. Agree who owns the data clean-up and set a cut-over date before you sign.
Tools mentioned
- HubSpot
Price not verified. Check the provider’s pricing page.
- Pipedrive
Price not verified. Check the provider’s pricing page.
- Zoho CRM
Price not verified. Check the provider’s pricing page.
- Capsule
Price not verified. Check the provider’s pricing page.
- Freshsales
Price not verified. Check the provider’s pricing page.
Switching checklist
- Export contacts, companies, deals and notes from your current system or spreadsheets
- Remove duplicates and agree field names before import
- Confirm the email/calendar integration works on the plan you will buy
- Confirm accounting integration publisher (provider or third party) and plan
- Run a two-week trial with real deals
- Set a cut-over date and freeze edits in the old system
- Check you can export everything if you leave