A no-code base solves structure. The next problem is circulation: how many places today re-copy the same client list.
A flexible base first arrives as a relief: you finally model your data the way you think about it, you build the views each team needs, and the spreadsheet disappears. The hard part comes next, when that base becomes the reference for other tools. The CRM wants the same client list, so does the emailing platform, so does the document generator — and each keeps its own copy, which diverges within weeks. The question then becomes less the table's flexibility than the number of syncs you must maintain so they all say the same thing.
The questions to ask any tool, ours included. The answer given here is Thingsform's.
Base is read natively by the CRM, ThingsMail and the DMS, inside the same account. A client record edited once is up to date everywhere, which removes the entire class of problems represented by cross-tool syncs and diverging copies.
From forms, including ones filled in the field and offline. Collection and base live in the same space, so an on-site entry lands directly in the relevant table, with no connector to configure and no nightly transfer to watch.
Yes: tables, custom views and business interfaces tailored to each team. The aim is that a field person sees three useful columns rather than the whole table, without duplicating the underlying data to achieve it.
On servers located in the European Union, with daily backups and a GDPR module to record consents. The question becomes decisive when the base holds the full client file rather than an internal task list.
The Base module is included from the Pro plan. It comes into its own when several modules must read the same source: for a standalone use, an independent base stays simpler, and we would rather say so than sell you a higher plan for nothing.
Often, no. Here are both cases, in the honest order.
Yes, by importing the export file from your current base. Our advice is to start with the table that causes the problem — the one copied elsewhere — rather than everything: that is where the benefit shows within days.
No, and it is rarely a good idea. Many organisations keep their current base for domains that live alone, and move the ones that must be read by the CRM or the campaigns. The useful boundary runs there, not between tools.
Count how many places the same information is entered today. If the answer is one, keep your tool. If it is three or more, the cost you are paying is divergence, and it shows most when two departments report two different figures.
We describe neither the features nor the pricing of another vendor, which change without notice to us. This page sets out the criteria to examine and Thingsform's answers. For the other tool, its current terms are authoritative.
Airtable is a trademark of its publisher, cited here for reference. This page does not describe its features or pricing, which change over time: refer to its current terms.
The right way to decide
Rebuild your hardest form on the free plan, and have it filled in the field. Half a day is enough, and the answer stops being a matter of opinion.