PROJECT

Customer relationship management software for organized sales

Custom software development, CRM software, Lead and pipeline management, Contact management, Sales performance dashboards, Follow-up automation, Business integrations

  • Industry: Professional services
  • Netherlands Location: Netherlands
  • Delivery time: 16 weeks
  • Technologies: JavaScript / TypeScript (Node.js), Python
4+ months

This professional services firm spends time moving customer records, sales activity, and follow-ups between separate tools. The customer relationship management software brings leads, contacts, and opportunities into one place. It gives sales, marketing, and support teams a shared view of each customer while helping managers review pipelines and performance, with the purpose of reducing manual work and repeated record keeping.

Summary

Problem

The firm keeps customer information, sales activity, follow-ups, and performance views difficult to manage in one consistent place.

Solution

The solution became a custom CRM with shared customer records, configurable pipelines, and automated follow-ups.

Result

The software is made to reduce manual work across customer management, sales activity, and reporting.

Client story

The client is a professional services firm from Netherlands. It manages customer contacts, leads, and opportunities across its business relationships.

Sales activity and follow-ups also need to stay organized.

Customer records, interaction histories, and performance information need to stay useful to sales, marketing, and support teams. Keeping this information aligned costs time and makes follow-up work harder to control.

The request was simple: bring customer information, sales pipelines, scheduled activities, and reports into one CRM system.

The solution was shaped as connected modules for leads, customer profiles, and performance reporting. Follow-up planning, administration, and integrations formed the remaining parts of the system.

The structure was agreed around the firm's own rules, records, and future additions.

The client asked for

  1. Keep contacts, accounts, customers, and interactions in one place
  2. Automate follow-ups, reminders, tasks, and notifications
  3. Track sales performance, forecasts, pipelines, and customer activity
  4. Connect email, calendars, marketing, messaging, payments, and accounting

Why ready-made software did not fit

Ready-made CRM products cover lead management, sales pipelines, and contact records, but their descriptions also show limited features and limited customization. This client needed its own stages, permissions, and reports in one application rather than a broad tool with gaps.

Project overview

The solution was designed around a responsive web application for desktop, tablet, and mobile access. It keeps customer, account, and contact information together so teams work from the same record.

To handle sales work, a lead and pipeline workspace was provided with lead scoring, opportunity details, and configured deal stages. Sales representatives see the path from a lead to an active opportunity in one view.

The customer profile combines contact details, account history, and interaction records. Notes and the next task remain with the record, giving customer service useful context before the next conversation.

Managers review sales activity through performance cards, trend charts, and pipeline summaries. Follow-up planning adds calendar tasks, email templates, and campaigns to the same customer management flow.

The solution was designed with administration and integrations as a separate area. Roles, permissions, and API settings can be connected as the firm's needs grow.

CSV exchange, email, and calendar connections support the daily work.

Key features delivered

  • Lead capture, scoring, and ranking
  • Configurable sales pipelines and deal stages
  • Customer profiles with interaction timelines
  • Contact, account, and activity management
  • Scheduled and automated follow-ups
  • Personalized email campaigns
  • Sales forecasts and performance dashboards
  • Reports and pipeline views
  • Roles and permissions
  • CSV import and export

Can be added

+ Support ticket management + Invoicing + Bookings and schedules + Document management + Logistics and fulfillment + Inventory management + Payment connections

Who else can use this solution

These businesses have a similar customer-management task, and the same solution can be adapted to their records, stages, and connected services.

An accounting firm

Task It needs to organize client records, inquiries, recurring activities, and communication histories.
How the solution helps The solution provides shared customer profiles, reminders, notes, tasks, and permission-controlled access.

A business services firm

Task It needs to track leads, opportunities, customer interactions, and sales activity across its services.
How the solution helps The CRM connects pipeline management, follow-ups, reporting, and external business services.

Technology stack

JavaScript / TypeScript (Node.js)

Application and API development

This language group supports the CRM interface, server logic, and connected services.

Python

API and data services

Python supports API work and selected data-processing services.

PHP

Business integration services

PHP supports selected CRM, reporting, and file-exchange connections.

@brightweblabs/module-crm

CRM module foundation

This JavaScript and TypeScript module supports CRM functions in the application.

@graph8/sdk

CRM and sales connections

This SDK connects CRM, enrichment, sequences, campaigns, and tracking features.

d3-dsv

CSV and TSV exchange

This library reads and formats CSV and TSV files for imports, exports, and reports.

rrule

Recurring calendar dates

This library handles recurring dates for scheduled customer and sales activities.

whatsapp-web.js

WhatsApp Web messaging

This Node.js library connects the CRM with WhatsApp Web accounts for messaging.

CSV

Customer data exchange

CSV files carry contact, account, activity, and report data into and out of the CRM.

Integrations

Email and calendar services

Email messages, templates, scheduled activities, and calendar events connect to the CRM.

Marketing automation

Campaigns, recipient segments, campaign status, and follow-up messages pass between the CRM and marketing services.

WhatsApp Web

Customer and sales messages can pass through a WhatsApp Web connection.

Business systems through APIs

Accounting, payments, logistics, and other connected services exchange approved business information through APIs.

CSV files

Customer records and reports move between the CRM and spreadsheet-based systems through CSV import and export.

The result

Sales teams see the next opportunity clearly

The lead and pipeline workspace puts lead management and opportunity tracking together. Lead scores, rankings, and deal stages give sales representatives a clear view of active work.

The result is a sales view made to reduce repeated record handling while keeping the path from a lead to a deal visible.

How it works

  1. Lead records and lead scores appear in the lead list with search and filters.
  2. Opportunity information is arranged in pipeline columns by deal stage.
  3. Scheduled follow-ups appear with the opportunity detail and follow-up action.
  • Lead ranking indicators
  • Configurable deal stages
  • Opportunity detail panel
Lead and pipeline workspace

Lead and pipeline workspace

Functions on this screen
Lead Management Opportunity Tracking Configure sales pipelines Search for Contacts Schedule Follow-ups

Customer history stays with the customer record

The customer profile combines contact details, account history, and interaction records. Customer service representatives can review the relationship in one timeline instead of assembling it from separate records.

Notes and the next task remain with the customer record, keeping the relevant context close to the next interaction.

How it works

  1. Customer contact details and account history appear in the profile.
  2. Interaction records are arranged in the interaction timeline.
  3. Notes and the next follow-up task appear with the customer record.
  • Customer profile header
  • Interaction timeline
  • Next-task controls
Tip: The interaction timeline keeps notes and previous contact activity close to the customer profile.
Customer profile and interaction timeline

Customer profile and interaction timeline

Functions on this screen
Manage customer database Client Interaction Tracking Manage contact information

Managers review sales performance in one view

The performance dashboard brings sales activity, pipeline status, and forecasts into one management view. Metric cards and reports make activity and performance easier to review.

Trend charts show performance over time alongside the pipeline summary.

How it works

  1. Sales activity data appears in performance metric cards and a sales trend chart.
  2. Pipeline data is summarized beside the sales forecast panel.
  3. Report data is prepared through the report export control.
  • Performance metric cards
  • Pipeline summary
  • Forecast panel
Sales performance dashboard

Sales performance dashboard

Functions on this screen
Track Sales Performance Forecast Sales Performance Track performance over time Generate reports for analysis

Follow-ups and campaigns follow a shared schedule

The follow-up and campaign planner combines scheduled tasks, calendar dates, and email content. Sales representatives and marketers can keep planned communication connected to customer records.

Campaign status and contact segments remain available in the same planning view.

How it works

  1. Follow-up dates and task status appear in the calendar and scheduled task list.
  2. Email content is held in the email template editor.
  3. Campaign data and contact segments appear in the campaign status and recipient views.
  • Calendar view
  • Email template editor
  • Recipient segment selector
Note: Email marketing and calendar connections keep planned communication linked to the CRM.
Follow-up and campaign planner

Follow-up and campaign planner

Functions on this screen
Schedule Follow-ups Automate Follow-Ups Integrate Email Marketing Calendar and Email Integration

Access and connected services stay controlled

The administration area brings roles, permissions, and API settings together. The CRM administrator can keep access rules and connected services visible as the system grows.

Integration connections and CSV exchange support communication with external business tools.

How it works

  1. User roles and permission settings appear in the administration area.
  2. Email, marketing, and other service connections appear in the integration connection list.
  3. CSV records move through the import and export controls, while API settings remain in the configuration area.
  • Role and permission settings
  • Integration connection list
  • System documentation link
Administration and integrations

Administration and integrations

What the solution gives

With this solution, the firm can:

  • Manage contacts, accounts, customers, and interaction histories in one place
  • Move leads and opportunities through configured sales stages
  • Schedule follow-ups and prepare personalized email campaigns
  • Review sales performance, forecasts, pipelines, and reports
  • Share customer context across sales, marketing, and support
  • Connect CRM records with email, calendars, messaging, and business services

Could ready-made systems do the job?

Before the design, the task was compared with ready-made products by their own descriptions.

What the client needs Sales CRM Pipedrive, Close, Sugar Sell Business CRM Dynamics 365 Sales, Copper, Insightly CRM Enterprise CRM SAP Sales Cloud, CRMOne Custom solution
Keep customer and interaction records
Automate follow-ups and reminders
Track sales performance and forecasts
Connect external business services
Fits the client's own rules: stages, roles, reports partly partly partly
All steps in one place
No manual steps between programs partly partly partly

By the public descriptions of the products and their category.

The main parts of the task exist in ready-made CRM products, and a ready-made product is enough when one standard sales or contact function is needed.

This client needed its own software because the required stages, permissions, and reports had to fit the firm's rules in one application.

Some connections and steps still depend on the chosen services, so their level of automation varies by integration.

In the end

In the end, the solution was made to take manual work out of the path from a customer record to a follow-up, report, or connected business service.

FAQ

Thinking about building a similar system? Read the answers below to see how a custom CRM can be structured around your records, sales rules, and connected services.