COHERENCEBuild a CRM around the business you actually run
Start with people and companies, then create the projects, vendors, properties, candidates, or other records your team needs. Keep the website, research, tasks, documents, and resulting work connected to the same relationship model.
Free for up to three users · 2,500 shared records · No credit card
Client operations
One model, several connected records
Company
Acme Robotics
Customer
Project
Website relaunch
In review
Contact
Maya Chen
Decision-maker
Research
Hiring signal
3 sources
Every record links back to the relationship and the next action.
The point of customization
Stop making every part of the business pretend to be a sales deal
A fixed pipeline is useful when the work is a fixed pipeline. A custom CRM becomes valuable when delivery, partnerships, recruiting, properties, programs, or another relationship needs its own fields and lifecycle.
Custom record types
Track projects, candidates, properties, vendors, applications, engagements, or another object without disguising it as a deal.
Fields and views that fit
Give each record the fields it needs, then organize the same data as lists, pipelines, calendars, and focused working views.
Relationships between the work
Connect a project to its client, contacts, tasks, documents, and other records so context survives every handoff.
Automation when the rule is stable
Use configured workflows for predictable record changes and reserve agent work for bounded questions that require interpretation.
Website forms into real records
Map an eligible Coherence Sites form directly into CRM or a custom module instead of rebuilding the handoff in a connector.
Research beside the relationship
Use Lead Finder for precise public-web questions, inspect the sources, and carry eligible results into the workspace for review.
One connected workflow
From a website inquiry to an organized next step
The advantage is not customization by itself. It is what happens when the custom record participates in the rest of the workspace.
Publish the form
Create or import a page in Sites and choose the eligible record type the form should create.
Capture the right record
Map each input to a real field so a project request can become a project request—not a generic contact note.
Add public context
Run a precise Lead Finder brief when current company, people, market, or project research would improve the decision.
Continue the work
Assign a task, connect a document, discuss the record, or use a configured workflow for the predictable next step.
Choose the operating model
Custom does not have to mean custom software
Choose based on who will maintain the system and where the surrounding work needs to live.
| Option | Best when | You maintain | Main tradeoff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spreadsheet | One flat list still works | Rows, formulas, and conventions | Relationships and history become fragile |
| Flexible database tool | You want to design the system yourself | Schema, templates, and connectors | CRM behavior is another build project |
| Conventional CRM | Sales follows a standard pipeline | Configuration inside a supplied model | Non-sales work may not fit cleanly |
| Custom application | The interface or logic is genuinely proprietary | Product code and infrastructure | Every change requires engineering ownership |
| Coherence | Relationships and operating work should share context | The fields, views, permissions, and workflow | A specialist CRM or app may be deeper at one edge |
A sensible first build
Model one workflow before migrating the whole business
Name the record
Choose one repeated object the current system handles poorly: a project, property, application, engagement, or service request.
Add only useful fields
Start with the information needed to identify, route, and complete the work. Avoid recreating every column from the old system.
Connect the relationships
Link the new record to the people, companies, tasks, documents, and other records a teammate needs to understand it.
Run it for a week
Use real data, remove fields nobody touches, add what is genuinely missing, and expand only after the workflow earns trust.
Custom CRM questions
What is a custom CRM?
A custom CRM lets a business define the record types, fields, relationships, views, and workflows that match its real operating model instead of relying only on a fixed contact-company-deal structure.
Can I build a custom CRM without coding?
Yes. Coherence lets authorized users configure custom modules, fields, relationships, and views without writing application code. API or developer work may still be appropriate for deeply bespoke interfaces or integrations.
What can I track besides contacts and deals?
Examples include projects, vendors, properties, candidates, applications, engagements, programs, memberships, assets, and service requests. The right record type is the object your team repeatedly creates, updates, relates, and reports on.
Can a website form create a custom CRM record?
Yes. A Coherence Sites form can map eligible submissions into a selected non-system module. Teams should test the published form, field mappings, permissions, and failure behavior before relying on it in production.
Does Coherence include a free custom CRM plan?
Yes. The Free plan supports up to three users and 2,500 shared records, including custom records. AI usage, records, users, workflows, and administrative controls create natural upgrade points as the workspace grows.
Can Coherence agents autonomously read or send email?
No. Coherence agents do not currently autonomously read or send email. Current strengths include workspace records, documents, Sites, public-web research, analysis, and supported reviewable actions through available tools.
Build the smallest CRM that can carry the whole workflow
Start with one real record type, connect its relationships, and expand only after your team proves the model is useful.
Free for up to three users · No credit card required