Your situation
You manage follow-up alone and can review a sheet regularly.
A useful next test
Try the free spreadsheet privately.
What to keep in mindOnly its 20 input rows are covered. Dates and follow-up actions need manual attention.
Solo training consultants · Spreadsheet or CRM
Know which training enquiry needs attention next
A quote needs chasing. A course date needs confirming. The same person asks about a second workshop. Before choosing software, give each enquiry a clear next action and a date.
Use our free spreadsheet example to try a manual follow-up routine—or compare when a CRM deserves a closer look.
Before you use it: this example is checked for 20 enquiries only; it does not expand automatically. You set the review date manually. It sends no messages or reminders. Start with fictional data.
01 / Compare options
Quick decision: which should you try?
Your situation
Shared ownership, linked conversation history, reminders or handoffs are the problem.
A useful next test
Test those specific jobs in a CRM.
What to keep in mindOur HubSpot exercise covered only three enquiries and manual tasks—not reminders, shared working or automation.
Your situation
You are unsure what is being missed.
A useful next test
Check whether every open enquiry has a next action and a date.
What to keep in mindLook for missing dates as well as overdue work, whichever tool you use.
This is not a winner ranking. We checked a 20-enquiry workbook and tried a smaller, three-enquiry manual workflow in HubSpot. The tests are not like-for-like and establish no speed or automation advantage.
The spreadsheet is free to download. In the HubSpot account we observed, the plan displayed Free and $0; that observation is not a promise about your account or every feature. See what we tested before relying on either option.
02 / Use the spreadsheet
Try the free follow-up spreadsheet
A fictional example for practising how to find overdue enquiries, today's actions and open records without a next date.
Also available: Download the fictional enquiry data (CSV)
The CSV is a static snapshot, not a working follow-up system. The workbook copy was hash-checked against the tested v3 revision. Use a copy and fictional records while evaluating it; the limits below still apply. Do not import the fictional records into a production CRM or send mail to their addresses.
What it does: provides a manual-review action queue for the 20-row example.
What it does not do: send emails or reminders, synchronise records, provide access controls or run on a schedule. It does not expand automatically. Twenty enquiries is this prototype's tested boundary, not a general limit for spreadsheets.
Start with the example, not your client list
- Open the Instructions sheet. The editable inputs are in Enquiries columns A:J. Columns K:M and the Queue sheet contain formulas; do not overwrite them. The formula columns are not locked.
- Check Settings B2. The example's review date is fixed at 18 October 2026 so the counts below can be reproduced. Keep that date to inspect the example. Change it deliberately for a different review; it does not advance automatically.
- Find the action queue. In Queue, open the Flag filter at D1. Clear the search, deselect All, select OVERDUE, TODAY and UNSCHEDULED, then confirm. If needed, use Standard Filter with Flag equal to those three values joined by OR.
- Review missing dates first. Decide what should happen next and give it a date—or close the enquiry. Then work through overdue and today's actions. The queue follows the original row order, not urgency order.
- Do the follow-up yourself, then update the record. Record the last-contact date and next action together. If the enquiry remains open, give that action a date. If it ends, set the stage to Won or Lost.
Filter warning: do not use an enquiry-ID “not empty” filter to hide blank-looking queue positions. In our LibreOffice check it retained all 20 positions, including formula-generated empty results. Use the Flag selections above.
What you should see at the example review date
At 18 October 2026, the fictional workbook contains:
| State | Enquiries |
|---|---|
| Overdue | 5 |
| Due today | 4 |
| Missing a next date | 3 |
| Scheduled for later | 4 |
| Closed | 4 |
The action queue contains 12 records: five overdue, four due today and three missing a date. That does not mean 12 people need a message. Some records need a scheduling decision first.
These are constructed example counts—not customer results, saved-time measurements or live HubSpot counts.
03 / Keep clear records
Keep the enquiry separate from the contact
One person can ask about more than one course. An email identifies a contact, not each request they make.
For each enquiry, keep:
- A unique enquiry ID, such as ENQ-001.
- The contact's name and email.
- The course or request.
- Its stage, including Won or Lost when closed.
- The last-contact date.
- The next action and next follow-up date.
In the example, ENQ-001 and ENQ-007 share an email intentionally. They are separate requests from one person; do not delete one simply because the email repeats.
The workbook highlights a repeated contact. It does not prevent duplicate enquiry IDs, so check those yourself.
04 / Catch the gaps
Check the gaps an overdue list can miss
Open, but no next date
An enquiry without a follow-up date can disappear from a date-based review. In the example, ENQ-004, ENQ-010 and ENQ-017 are open without a next date. Decide whether each needs a dated next action or should be closed. A blank date does not mean nothing needs doing.
The workbook also flags open records whose last contact was more than seven days before the selected review date. That is an example rule, not a recommended follow-up policy.
Closed, but a task remains
The spreadsheet excludes Won and Lost enquiries from its action queue even if an old date remains. Do not assume another tool closes associated tasks in the same way.
In our HubSpot exercise, closing ENQ-007 as lost left its task outstanding. We completed the task manually and checked that it showed Completed. That was one observed case, not a claim about every HubSpot configuration.
In either tool, check missing dates and reconcile outstanding tasks after closure.
05 / Test the actual job
When a CRM deserves a closer look
If the difficulty is shared ownership, linked conversation history, task reminders or missed handoffs, test a CRM against that specific problem—not against the longest feature list.
HubSpot's Free CRM overview, reviewed on 20 October 2026, lists contact, deal and task management.
What our HubSpot exercise actually covered
We tried three fictional enquiries under two contacts, with no email addresses or phone numbers:
- Kept ENQ-001 and ENQ-007 as separate deals under the same contact; ENQ-004 belonged to another contact.
- Saved and reopened notes.
- Created two dated, one-off To-do tasks, choosing No reminder and no repeat. No messages were sent; email delivery was not tested.
- Changed ENQ-001's stage, then reopened its history to check persistence and its overdue task.
- Closed ENQ-007 as lost, observed the outstanding task, then completed it manually.
- Left ENQ-004 open without a task. We did not establish an automatic missing-date alert.
This supports a limited manual-workflow example only. It does not test email-based deduplication, imports, the full 20-enquiry queue, comparative timing or automation. Two enquiries under one contact do not prove automatic duplicate prevention.
Check the account, not just the feature name
In the test account's Account & Billing Overview, observed on 20 October 2026 at 19:52 UK time, “Your HubSpot Plan” displayed Free and $0, with no active trial banner visible. This establishes the displayed plan at that moment—not an exhaustive check of add-ons or earlier trials. Account screenshots are not included in this guide.
HubSpot's task documentation, reviewed on 20 October 2026, describes due dates, record associations and reminder settings. It distinguishes ordinary tasks from:
- Workflow-created tasks: require Professional or Enterprise.
- Recurring tasks: require an assigned Core, Sales or Service seat.
These are documented conditions, not separately verified feature entitlements in our test account. Check your own account before relying on a feature or starting a trial. The limited tests here are not a reason to buy an upgrade.
Product-link disclosure: these are ordinary, non-affiliate references. ToolMeadow receives no commission from clicks, sign-ups or purchases through them. No affiliate programme acceptance or partnership is represented.
06 / Evidence & boundaries
Testing & limits
What the spreadsheet checks establish
A LibreOffice engine test passed for the 20-row example, including formula checks, selected date, stage and email changes, a next-day transition and saved-file reopening. Direct-key input-validation checks were also reported as passing. Pasted input can bypass validation; check pasted values yourself.
In the observed LibreOffice screen check, the Enquiries Follow-up flag filter showed exactly three UNSCHEDULED records. A separate application-level UNO check confirmed their IDs.
The Queue Flag method returned the expected 12 records: five OVERDUE, four TODAY and three UNSCHEDULED. The application-level check restored all 20 positions afterwards; the screen check corroborated the 12-record set.
The v3 revision changes only three Instructions text cells. Preservation checks confirmed that the 160 formulas, data and layout remained unchanged. The final download matches the checked v3 file by SHA-256.
All five pages of the v2 PDF were visually inspected. The updated v3 Instructions page was checked again, with the other sheets unchanged. Text was readable and used columns were present. This is a record of inspection, not a separate PDF download offer.
No compatibility claim is made for another spreadsheet application.
Limits to keep beside your copy
- 20 input rows only. A 21st enquiry is outside the tested scope. Expansion would require extending formulas, filters, validation and queue references—not simply typing below the last row. No expanded version is offered here; cached previews do not update automatically.
- Manual review date. Set Settings B2 deliberately for each review.
- Unprotected formulas. Avoid overwriting Enquiries columns K:M or the Queue formulas.
- Manual actions. The workbook sends no messages or reminders and has no synchronisation, access controls or scheduled execution.
- Row order, not urgency order. Use the OVERDUE, TODAY and UNSCHEDULED Flag selections; do not rely on an enquiry-ID “not empty” filter.
- Validation has limits. Passing direct-key checks does not make pasted input safe.
- Local-file responsibilities. Before adding genuine personal data, decide who may access the file, how it will be backed up and when contact records should be deleted. Evaluate with fictional records first.
What neither test proves
The workbook and HubSpot exercises are different-sized tests, not a like-for-like comparison. They establish no faster tool, automation winner, customer outcome or universal recommendation. They do not settle which tool suits your business.
Your next step
Choose your next test—not a winner
Write down what your system must tell you each morning: which enquiry needs attention, what should happen next and when.
If a manual review fits your process, try the fictional spreadsheet within its 20-row boundary. If the problem is shared work or task management, use the same fictional scenarios to test a CRM. In either case, check missing dates and tasks left open after closure before trusting the routine.
About ToolMeadow
ToolMeadow is the publishing name for this guide and its fictional example files. We describe what was checked and where the evidence stops; that does not establish that a product is best for your business. Product mentions do not imply vendor sponsorship or endorsement of ToolMeadow.
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