Managing a subscription-based business can quickly become complex, especially when members sign up at different times, have unique billing dates, or gain access to exclusive digital content. This company was dealing with exactly that—tracking payments manually and juggling various subscription types.

Company A is a Performing Arts Academy based in Mexico. They had been using Odoo, a high-powered CRM system, but found it to be too expensive and complex for their current scale. After seeing how well our membership template suited their subscription service, they trusted us to build a fully customized Google Sheets-based CRM system.

We began with a thorough consultation via emails to understand their business context, pain points, and specific requirements, ensuring that our solution addressed their unique challenges.

The business owner wanted a system that could effectively track payment schedules and remind the admin of upcoming due dates. Additionally, they required a student dashboard and profiles to easily search and understand each student’s payment status and history.

Beyond just subscriptions, the studio also rented space and sold merchandise, necessitating a functional income and expense tracker.

The owner also wanted to manage payroll for employees and keep track of supplier bills within the same CRM system. However, to maintain simplicity and efficiency during the initial phase, we suggested keeping the payroll management for a later phase, allowing for user feedback and further development after a month.

Based on the discussion with the business owner, we have come out with the CRM system customised for subscription-based educational business, which includes:

• Student Subscription Database: A streamlined system to track enrollment, payment schedules, and student photos, keeping everything organized in one place.
• Classes Database and Benefits Tracker: This helped the team identify which subscribers had access to exclusive benefits, such as their digital platform.
• Student Payments & Collection Reminders: Automatic reminders ensured timely payment follow-ups, saving the team from chasing overdue payments.
• Student Profile Dashboard: Personalized profiles for each student, showcasing key details like birthdays, emergency contacts, payment history, and special notes.
• Income and Expense Tracker: A functional module to track income from rentals and merchandise sales, ensuring the business maintains a clear financial overview.

When asked why they chose to build their CRM in Google Sheets, the business owner shared that the business needed a solution that was straightforward and tailored to their specific needs without the complexity and cost of larger systems like Odoo. Google Sheets provided the flexibility to customize our CRM exactly how they wanted it.

Here’s why Google Sheets emerged as the ideal alternative:

• Intuitive Design: The system was easy for the team to manage without extensive training.
• Custom Built: It was designed exactly to their needs—without any extra, confusing features.
• Scalable: As the business grows, this solution can evolve with them while remaining simple and user-friendly.

SIMPLICITY IS KEY. This growing subscription-based business is learning that sometimes the simplest tools provide the best solutions. By transitioning from the complex Odoo system, they are developing a user-friendly CRM solution in Google Sheets that will help them track subscriptions and payments more effectively.

While the project is still in development, we’re excited to refine the system based on their feedback, ensuring it supports their operations as they continue to grow. We will add a screenshot of the final result of the project once it’s completed in a few weeks’ time—stay tuned!