What is a customer spreadsheet?
It is the shared table where the team writes down each customer's name, phone, status and next step. It takes any format you want. And it depends on someone copying into it what happened in the conversation.
XBASE or a spreadsheet · 2026
A spreadsheet keeps what someone remembered to write down. XBASE keeps the conversation.
XBASE is for people who sell and serve through conversation and need to see, without asking, which stage each customer is in: the conversation, the profile and the pipeline live in one place.
A spreadsheet is for people with few customers, one person looking after the list and who want total freedom of format.
What is XBASE?
XBASE is a conversational CRM with AI. It brings official WhatsApp and Instagram Direct into one inbox, puts each conversation in a pipeline stage and keeps every customer in the CRM. Our expert team builds the automations and AI agents with you.
What changes
Four things a spreadsheet doesn't do on its own.
The conversation and the profile in one place.
The conversation history, notes, meetings and proposals live on each customer's profile.
Whoever messages you becomes a contact.
Nobody has to type in the new customer.
The stage changes on a card, not in a cell.
Drag the conversation to another stage and see the conversion between stages.
The expert team builds it with you.
It designs the pipeline stages from your spreadsheet and connects the channels with you.
Side by side
XBASE and the spreadsheet, row by row.
A spreadsheet is flexible, familiar to everyone and has no separate monthly fee. XBASE trades part of that freedom for a place where the conversation, the customer and the stage move together.
| Capability | Spreadsheet | XBASE |
|---|---|---|
| Conversation and customer | ||
| Main product | General-purpose table | Conversational CRM with AI |
| Best for | A customer list with little activity | Teams that sell and serve through conversation |
| Where the conversation lives | Outside the spreadsheet: it doesn't receive messages | WhatsApp, Direct (text) and email in the same inbox |
| New customer added when they message you | Someone types it in | |
| Conversation history on the profile | ||
| Pipeline and team | ||
| DifferentiatorEach customer's stage | A column updated by hand | A card you drag between stages |
| Conversion by stage | Requires building a formula | |
| Owner per conversation | A text column | Set by the team; changes without losing the history |
| What each person sees | Depends on the file's permissions | Roles; the people who answer can see only their own conversations |
| Meetings | Team calendar, with no two customers in the same slot | |
| DifferentiatorProposal | PDF with your brand, sent in the conversation | |
| Data and cost | ||
| Import and export | It is the format itself | CSV or XLSX; the import brings name, email and phone |
| Custom fields | Any column | Profile with notes, labels and companies |
| Monthly fee | The one you already use has no separate charge | Monthly plan based on team size |
| AI in the conversation | The spreadsheet doesn't see the conversation | The AI suggests the reply to the team, with the assistant set up with the expert team |
Conversation and customer
Main product
- Spreadsheet
- General-purpose table
- XBASE
- Conversational CRM with AI
Best for
- Spreadsheet
- A customer list with little activity
- XBASE
- Teams that sell and serve through conversation
Where the conversation lives
- Spreadsheet
- Outside the spreadsheet: it doesn't receive messages
- XBASE
- WhatsApp, Direct (text) and email in the same inbox
New customer added when they message you
- Spreadsheet
- Someone types it in
- XBASE
Conversation history on the profile
- Spreadsheet
- XBASE
Pipeline and team
- Differentiator
Each customer's stage
- Spreadsheet
- A column updated by hand
- XBASE
- A card you drag between stages
Conversion by stage
- Spreadsheet
- Requires building a formula
- XBASE
Owner per conversation
- Spreadsheet
- A text column
- XBASE
- Set by the team; changes without losing the history
What each person sees
- Spreadsheet
- Depends on the file's permissions
- XBASE
- Roles; the people who answer can see only their own conversations
Meetings
- Spreadsheet
- XBASE
- Team calendar, with no two customers in the same slot
- Differentiator
Proposal
- Spreadsheet
- XBASE
- PDF with your brand, sent in the conversation
Data and cost
Import and export
- Spreadsheet
- It is the format itself
- XBASE
- CSV or XLSX; the import brings name, email and phone
Custom fields
- Spreadsheet
- Any column
- XBASE
- Profile with notes, labels and companies
Monthly fee
- Spreadsheet
- The one you already use has no separate charge
- XBASE
- Monthly plan based on team size
AI in the conversation
- Spreadsheet
- The spreadsheet doesn't see the conversation
- XBASE
- The AI suggests the reply to the team, with the assistant set up with the expert team
Legenddoes itdoes notpartial, manual or depends on how it is used
"Differentiator" marks the rows XBASE was built to win.
Checked on 26/09/2026 against the product in production. The spreadsheet column describes the common use of a spreadsheet editor, not a specific product.
The difference that matters
A spreadsheet records what happened. XBASE follows the conversation while it happens.
- 01
Copy it later or record it on arrival
In the spreadsheet, someone copies what happened. In XBASE, whoever messages you becomes a contact and a conversation.
- 02
Cell or card
The spreadsheet status is a piece of text. In XBASE, the stage is a card, and the pipeline shows the conversion.
- 03
File or operation
A spreadsheet is a file. XBASE is where the team works, with the owner of each conversation and roles.
What it costs
The cost you see and the cost you don't.
Spreadsheet
No separate charge. Its cost is the time of whoever updates it and the sale that cools off while nobody is looking.
XBASE
- Plus · up to 1 people
- Pro · up to 3 people
- Business · up to 5 people
- Corporate · up to 7 people
Billed separately
Meta's per-message fees, on the card registered with Meta.
Prices and limits checked on 11/05/2026. Payment by credit card.
See plansTo decide
The deciding factor is where the sale happens.
Choose XBASE if
the sale happens in the conversation.
- More than one person serves customers.
- You need to know which stage each negotiation is in without asking.
- The history gets lost when someone leaves or goes on vacation.
- You send proposals and want everything in one place.
- You want help building automations and agents.
Stay with the spreadsheet if
the list is small and rarely changes.
- One person looks after all the customers.
- Sales don't depend on conversation.
- You need fully custom columns.
- A monthly fee doesn't fit the budget right now.
For each type of operation
It depends on how many people talk to the customer.
The spreadsheet is usually enough
Freelancer
Few customers, one person, conversations that fit in memory.
XBASE
Sales team on WhatsApp
Several people on the same number, each conversation in a stage and with the owner the team sets.
XBASE
Company with several branches
Each branch in its own environment, with its own customers and roles.
To be fair
Where the spreadsheet is still better.
Freedom of format
In a spreadsheet, any column becomes data. The XBASE profile has notes, labels and companies, not custom columns, and the import brings name, email and phone.
Analysis your way
To cross-reference data however you like, export contacts as CSV or XLSX and keep working in the spreadsheet.
How to switch
Bring the spreadsheet you already have.
- 1
Import
Save the spreadsheet as CSV or XLSX and import each customer's name, email and phone into XBASE.
- 2
Turn statuses into stages
The statuses your spreadsheet uses become the basis for the pipeline stages, designed with the expert team.
- 3
Connect the official WhatsApp
From then on, whoever messages you becomes a contact. Once connected, the number stops working in the phone app.
Questions from people deciding
Questions about swapping the spreadsheet for XBASE.
What does XBASE do that a customer spreadsheet doesn't?
A spreadsheet keeps what someone wrote down. XBASE keeps the conversation, the profile, the stage and the proposal in one place, and a new customer comes in on their own when they message you.
My spreadsheet works. Why switch?
If one person looks after the list and sales don't depend on conversation, maybe you don't need to. When several people serve customers, the stage and the history stop fitting in a cell.
What happens to the spreadsheet data?
The import, as CSV or XLSX, brings each customer's name, email and phone. The other columns don't go into the profile: the spreadsheet stays with you, and XBASE contacts can be exported whenever you want.
How is XBASE billed?
By monthly plan, paid by credit card, based on team size: Plus is for 1 person and Pro goes up to 3. Meta's per-message fees are separate. Prices and limits checked on 11/05/2026.
See plansWho builds the pipeline?
The expert team designs the stages with you, based on what your spreadsheet already has.
Do I have to type in every customer?
No. Import the list you already have and, with the official WhatsApp connected, whoever messages you becomes a contact.
Sources and method
This comparison was written by XBASE and checked on 26/09/2026 against the product in production. The spreadsheet column describes the common use of a spreadsheet editor; since we don't cite a specific product, there is no third-party source.
From the first message to the proposal.
Your spreadsheet knows what happened. XBASE knows what is happening.
Create the account, import your list and build the pipeline with our team.
Create account- Nothing to install
- WhatsApp through Meta's official API
- Implementation with a specialist