Forum Discussion
Trying to use Lists as a very basic CRM but having search issues
Hey All,
I have a small business I'm considering using Lists to track some very basic client info and build a client database that is accessible to all employees on the company SharePoint site (we use MS 365). Workflow would be something like:
- Client calls in
- Receptionist(s) answer
- If new client, create an entry with first/last name, phone #, email address, their spouse's name (if any) and a Notes section to jot down notes from the call.
- If current client, receptionist can use search to find client, make new notes, read previous notes, etc
That is basically it. I have this set up in Lists right now as a test with just two clients, each with a spouse. When I do a search for the person's name (Bill or Franklin), it returns a result. When I search for their spouses name (Susan), it returns nothing. I've run through the settings, reindexed the list, etc, and I just can't get a simple search to work.
Am I attempting to use this correctly? Both name columns are single line fields. TYIA for any input!
5 Replies
Hello
The search issue you're hitting is actually a known limitation of Microsoft Lists rather than anything you've misconfigured. The built-in search bar mainly covers the Title column and a few full-text indexed fields. Custom columns like Spouse Name tend to get skipped regardless of whether you've indexed them. Column indexing in Lists helps with filter and sort performance, not with what the search bar actually looks at.
Rob's suggestion of using Power Apps as a front end is the right technical fix. A canvas app sitting over your SharePoint list lets you search across any column you want. And honestly, it's more approachable than it sounds. When you create an app directly from a List, Power Apps auto-generates a browse/edit/detail screen for you and you're already most of the way there. You'd just update the search logic to cover first name, last name, and spouse name together.
One thing worth thinking about though: once you start layering Power Apps on top of Lists to get search, filtered views, and call notes working properly, you're essentially building what a lightweight CRM already does out of the box. HubSpot's free tier handles exactly your workflow, client records, call notes, contact history, and multi-field search, with no build required and free for your whole team.
For a small business where receptionists are doing lookups on every incoming call, the day-to-day difference is pretty significant. We help small businesses figure out which path makes more sense for their setup.
Happy to answer questions if that's useful.I would do this with a SharePoint list as the database but a Power Apps app as the front end. That way you can filter the list based on any number & combination of different parameters: name, company, job, gender, product etc etc.
Rob
Los Gallardos
Microsoft Power Automate Community Super User
Principal Consultant, Power Platform, WSP Global (and classic 1967 Morris Traveller driver)Thank you for the reply, Rob. I'm definitely not familiar with Power Apps, I'm not sure I'm capable of setting something like that up.
Index the column
Thanks, Steve. I forgot to mention I have already attempted that. =\
