Getting a CRM is one thing. Getting it set up so your team actually uses it — and it actually saves you time — is another. Most plumbing businesses that try a CRM and give up do so because they set it up wrong: too many fields, unclear stages, no connection to their existing tools.

This guide walks you through the exact setup process for a plumbing business, step by step. We’ll use Pipedrive as the example (our top pick for plumbers — see our Best CRM for Plumbers guide), but the same logic applies to HubSpot or any other CRM.

Step 1: Set Up Your Pipeline Stages

Your pipeline is the heart of the CRM. For a plumbing business, keep it simple — 5–7 stages maximum. More stages means more admin, not more insight.

Here’s the pipeline that works for most plumbing operations:

1. New Enquiry — Lead just came in (form, phone, referral)
2. Site Visit Booked — You’ve arranged to assess the job
3. Quote Sent — Formal quote delivered to the customer
4. Quote Approved — Customer said yes, job being scheduled
5. Job In Progress — Work underway
6. Invoice Sent — Job complete, awaiting payment
7. Won / Complete — Paid, done

Add a “Lost” stage for quotes that don’t convert — you’ll want to track win/loss rates once you have data. In Pipedrive: go to Settings → Pipelines → Add Pipeline. Name it “Plumbing Jobs” and add the stages above.

Step 2: Import Your Existing Customers

Don’t start fresh. Import every customer you’ve worked with in the last 2–3 years. You’ll use this for follow-up, upsells (annual service reminders, hot water system replacements) and referral requests.

In Pipedrive: Settings → Import Data → Spreadsheet import. Prepare a CSV with columns: First Name, Last Name, Phone, Email, Address. You don’t need it to be perfect — even a partial list is better than nothing.

If your data is in a spreadsheet, job management app or your phone contacts, export what you can and clean it up in Excel before importing. Set aside 2 hours for this step.

Step 3: Set Up Custom Fields for Plumbing Jobs

Standard CRM fields (name, email, phone) aren’t enough for a trade business. Add custom fields that matter for your jobs:

• Job Type: Dropdown — Emergency repair, Hot water, Bathroom reno, Gas fitting, Drain clearing, Commercial
• Property Type: Residential / Commercial / Strata
• Quote Value: Number field
• Site Address: Text field (different from billing address)
• Parts Ordered: Checkbox
• Next Service Due: Date field (for recurring maintenance customers)

In Pipedrive: Settings → Custom Fields → Add Field. Takes 15 minutes. These fields let you filter your pipeline by job type or value, and run reports on what’s actually driving revenue.

Step 4: Connect Your Contact Form

Every enquiry form on your website must automatically create a new deal in your CRM. No manual data entry, no leads falling through the cracks.

If you use WPForms: WPForms has a Pipedrive integration in their paid plan. Connect once, and every form submission becomes a CRM deal automatically.

If you use any other form tool: Use Make.com to connect them. Make.com watches your form for new submissions and creates a CRM deal with the lead’s details. Takes 20 minutes to set up. Costs pennies to run.

Test it: submit your own contact form and watch the deal appear in Pipedrive. That’s the moment your CRM becomes useful.

Step 5: Set Up Activity Reminders

Activities in Pipedrive are tasks attached to deals — “Call to confirm site visit,” “Send revised quote,” “Follow up on accepted quote.” Set a rule for yourself: every deal must have a next activity. If there’s no next step, the deal is stalled.

Pipedrive will remind you of overdue activities. This is the feature most plumbers say changed their business most: they never forget to follow up anymore.

Recurring activity tip: For existing customers, set an annual activity: “Annual service reminder call.” Pipedrive will prompt you every year. This alone generates significant repeat business from customers who forget to book their annual hot water service or gas check.

Step 6: Your First Make.com Automation

With your CRM set up, add one automation that immediately makes it worth paying for. The best first automation for a plumbing business:

Quote follow-up after 2 days: When a deal enters “Quote Sent” stage and no activity has been logged for 48 hours → send the customer an email: “Hi [Name], just checking you received our quote for [job type]. Happy to answer any questions or walk through the scope — just reply here.”

Build this in Make.com: Watch Pipedrive for stage change → Wait 48 hours → Check if deal stage is still “Quote Sent” → Send email via Gmail. One automation, running 24/7, chasing quotes you would have forgotten.

Step 7: Get Your Team Using It Daily

A CRM only works if it’s updated. For a plumbing business, the rule is simple: every job gets a deal, every deal gets a next activity, every activity gets logged when done.

Make it easy with the Pipedrive mobile app. Between jobs, it takes 60 seconds to update a deal stage and add a note. Train your team on this one habit before anything else.

In the first week: update the CRM for every new enquiry that comes in. In the first month: add past customers. By month 2: you’ll have a clear picture of your pipeline value, conversion rate, and where leads are dropping out.

Not sure where to start? We can set it up for you.

If you’d rather have your CRM built, customised and tested for your plumbing business — with all the automations already running — get in touch. We handle the whole setup.