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Entexis CRM & Dashboard —
We Were Building CRMs for Clients While Running Our Own Business on Spreadsheets

The irony was not lost on us. We were building CRM systems for clients across real estate and fintech — while managing our own leads in email inboxes, our job applications on Whats...

The Problem Space

We Were Running Our Own Business on Spreadsheets and Inboxes

Leads came in from the contact form and sat in an email inbox. Job applications arrived and got forwarded around on WhatsApp. There was no pipeline, no status tracking, no way to know who followed up on what. We were building CRM systems for clients — while running our own operations on scattered tools.

So we built our own. Not a side project — a production-grade internal platform that manages every lead, every job posting, every application, and every piece of content we publish. If we recommend a workflow to a client, we have already battle-tested it on ourselves.

6 Stages
Lead Pipeline
Every lead moves through a structured pipeline — New, Contacted, Qualified, On Hold, Not Interested, Closed. No lead falls through the cracks.
3 Roles
Granular Access Control
Owner, Admin, and CRM roles — each with configurable permissions. The right people see the right data. No more, no less.
1 Dashboard
Everything in One Place
Leads, jobs, applications, content, page views, team — all visible from a single analytics dashboard with charts and custom date ranges.

"We don't recommend tools we wouldn't build for ourselves."

— The Entexis Thesis

The Impact

What Changed After
We Stopped Using Spreadsheets

We built this platform because we were the client who needed it. Here is what changed when we replaced scattered tools with one system.

0 sec
Client Response Time
Every enquiry gets an instant branded autoresponder. The client never wonders if their message was received.
100%
Lead Response Within 24 Hours
Notification bell, unread badges, and auto-sorting ensure every lead gets a human follow-up within one business day.
0
Missed Follow-ups
Callback reminders, pipeline tracking, and unread alerts mean no lead falls through the cracks. Every conversation has a next step.
1
Platform. Zero Third-Party Tools
Leads, jobs, applications, emails, analytics, content, and team — all in one dashboard. No Salesforce. No Mailchimp. No patchwork of subscriptions.
Before
Leads in email. Applications on WhatsApp. Notes in Google Docs. No pipeline. No tracking. No accountability.
After
Every lead tracked from first touch to close. Every email threaded. Every team member sees only what they need. Every decision backed by data.
The Proof
We run our entire operation on this platform — leads, hiring, content, analytics. If we recommend a workflow to a client, we have already tested it on ourselves.
How It Works

From Enquiry
to Operations

Four systems. One platform. The entire internal workflow — without third-party tools.

01

Leads Come In

Service enquiries, partnership requests, and general messages land directly in the CRM — categorised by type, tagged with source, and timestamped. The team gets notified instantly via email.

02

Pipeline & Notes

Move leads through the 6-stage pipeline. Add threaded notes with @mentions. Every status change is logged automatically. The full conversation history lives with the lead — not in someone's inbox.

03

Jobs & Applications

Post jobs with rich text content, categorise them, and track every application. Review resumes, shortlist candidates, add internal notes — the entire hiring pipeline in one place.

04

Dashboard & Analytics

Track content effort vs leads over time. Monitor page views by section. Filter by 3, 6, 12, or 24 months — or set a custom date range. The dashboard adapts to your role and permissions.

Platform Features

Built by Entexis.
For Entexis.

Every feature exists because we needed it ourselves — not because a spec document imagined it. This is the system that runs our daily operations.

Feature 01

Lead Pipeline with Status Tracking

Three lead types — service, partnership, enquiry — each flowing through a 6-stage pipeline. Filter by type, search by name, and never lose a lead to a forgotten inbox thread again.

NEW 12
CONTACTED 8
QUALIFIED 5
New
Acme Corp — SaaS Development
New
Meridian Labs — Data Platform
New
CloudNine — API Integration
Feature 02

Threaded Notes & @Mentions

Add notes to any lead or application. Reply to existing notes to build context. @mention team members to loop them in. Every status change is auto-logged — the full history stays with the record.

Lead Notes — Acme Corp
Sunil · 2h ago
Spoke with CTO. They need multi-tenant architecture. @Raj can you review?
Raj · 45m ago
Reviewed. We can handle this. Moving to Qualified.
Auto-logged: Contacted → Qualified
Feature 03

Analytics Dashboard with Charts

Interactive analytics — content effort vs leads, job posts vs applications, page views by section. Quick-select 3M/6M/12M/24M or set a custom date range. The dashboard adapts to your role.

Leads
47
+23% vs last month
Applications
128
12 shortlisted
Leads vs Applications — 6 Months
Leads
Applications
Feature 04

Job Posting & Application Tracking

Create job listings with a rich text editor, categorise by department, and publish or draft. Track every application — resume downloads, status updates, internal notes, and shortlisting — all from one interface.

Active Job Postings
Live
Senior Full-Stack Developer
23 apps
Live
UI/UX Designer — Remote
14 apps
Draft
DevOps Engineer
Latest Application
Priya M. — Full-Stack · New · 12m ago
Feature 05

Email Templates & Auto-Responders

7 built-in email templates with Handlebars variables — auto-responders for leads, application confirmations, and internal notifications. Edit with a visual editor, preview live, and activate or deactivate per template.

Email Templates
Active
Lead Auto-Responder
Active
Application Confirmation
Active
Internal Team Notification
Preview
Hi {{name}}, thank you for reaching out to {{company}}. We have received your enquiry and will respond within...
Feature 06

Role-Based Access & Team Management

Owner, Admin, and CRM roles — each with granular permissions for leads, careers, email templates, and team. Manage team members, toggle notification preferences per lead type, and control who sees what.

Permissions Matrix
Owner
Admin
CRM
Leads
Careers
Templates
Team
Feature 07

Direct Communication with Leads & Applicants

Communicate directly with leads and job applicants from within the CRM — no switching to email clients. Compose and send emails with attachments, receive replies in a threaded conversation view. A one-click Draft with AI button writes a context-aware reply from the full thread history, ready to review, edit, and send — the AI never invents dates, commitments, or actions.

Conversation — Acme Corp
You → john@acme.com
Hi John, following up on our conversation about the SaaS platform. Attached is the proposal.
📎 Entexis-Proposal-v2.pdf
john@acme.com → You
Thanks, looks great. Can we schedule a call for Thursday?
✨ AI Draft Ready — Edit & Send
Hi John, noted on Thursday. Sharing a couple of time options and a short agenda — let us know what works.
2 messages · AI draft generated from thread · Human sends
Feature 08

Smart Notifications & Unread Tracking

Real-time notification bell with unread count, orange alert bar for new replies, and red badges on lead listings with auto-sort — leads with unread emails bubble to the top.

3
3 unread notifications
New reply from john@acme.com on lead Acme Corp
Acme Corp — 1 unread
Meridian Labs — 2 unread
CloudNine — read
Under the Hood

A Closer Look at
What Powers the Platform

Deep Dive 01

Lead Pipeline with 6-Stage Tracking

Every lead that enters the system flows through a structured 6-stage pipeline — New, Contacted, Qualified, On Hold, Not Interested, and Closed. Each status change is logged automatically with a timestamped note, so the full history of a lead's journey is always visible.

Lead Pipeline — 6 Stages
New
Contacted
Qualified
On Hold
Not Interested
Closed
Lead Card Preview
Michael Torres
michael@torresventures.com
Service Qualified
Phone +1 512-430-7891
Country United States
Source Contact Page
Callback: 1 Apr 2026 · 14:00 – 14:30
TEAM NOTES 3
CLIENT EMAILS 10

Leads are categorised by type — service enquiries, partnership requests, and general messages — each with their own filter view. The team gets instant email notifications based on their notification preferences, so the right person knows about the right lead immediately.

  • 6-stage pipeline from New to Closed
  • 3 lead types with dedicated filters
  • Auto-logged status change history
  • Instant email notifications per lead type
Deep Dive 02

Analytics Dashboard with Custom Date Ranges

{{chart:effort}} {{chart:section-views}} {{chart:page-views}} {{chart:leads}} {{chart:jobs}}

The dashboard is the nerve centre. It surfaces key metrics — blog posts, case studies, leads, services, job posts, applications, and total page views — all in one view. Quick-select buttons (3M, 6M, 12M, 24M) let you zoom in or out on trends, or set a custom date range for precise analysis.

Charts are powered by interactive charts and adapt to your role. Full admins see content effort vs leads and job posts vs applications. CRM users see only what their permissions allow. The dashboard is not one-size-fits-all — it reshapes itself based on who is looking at it.

  • 7 key metrics on the main dashboard
  • Real-time trend charts
  • Role-adaptive views per user
  • Custom date range with quick presets
Deep Dive 03

Role-Based Access Control with Granular Permissions

Not everyone needs to see everything. The system supports three roles — Owner, Admin, and CRM — each with configurable permissions. Owners and Admins have full access. CRM users get granular toggles: access to leads, email templates, team, and careers can each be turned on or off independently.

Notification preferences are per-user and per-lead-type. A team member can opt into service enquiry alerts without being flooded by partnership notifications. The system enforces safety — you cannot change your own role or deactivate your own account.

Role × Permission Matrix
Leads
Email Templates
Team
Careers
OWNER
ADMIN
CRM
 Full access  Configurable toggle — per user
  • 3 roles: Owner, Admin, CRM
  • 4 independent permission toggles
  • Per-user notification preferences
  • Self-modification prevention built in
Deep Dive 04

Lead Communication — From Enquiry to Ongoing Conversation

When a lead submits an enquiry, the team is notified instantly. The lead enters a 6-stage pipeline and every interaction is tracked. When it is time to follow up, the team composes and sends an email directly from the CRM — with file attachments and a branded template. No switching to Gmail or Outlook.

Lead Arrives
Contact form
Team Notified
Email alert
Pipeline
6-stage tracking
Send Email
With attachments
Notification
Bell + badge + alert
IMAP Picks Up
Every 2 minutes
Client Replies
Via email
Client Receives
Branded email

When the client replies, the response lands back in the CRM automatically — matched to the correct lead with no manual sorting. Only the latest message is shown, keeping the conversation clean and readable. A notification bell with unread count, an orange alert bar for new replies, and red badges on the lead listing ensure nothing falls through the cracks.

When it is time to reply, one click on Draft with AI generates a suggested response based on the full email thread, the lead’s profile, and our internal notes. The draft lands in the compose form pre-filled — subject and body — ready to review and edit. The AI is scoped to conversational content only; it does not propose dates, make commitments, or claim actions have been taken. Those stay with the human sender.

  • Send emails with attachments directly from the lead view
  • Client replies automatically matched to the correct lead
  • New replies appear within minutes — no manual checking
  • Conversations stay clean — only the latest message displayed
  • Real-time notifications — bell, alert bar, and unread badges
  • Leads with new replies automatically sorted to the top
  • One-click AI reply drafter — thread-aware, human always edits and sends
Deep Dive 05

Hiring Pipeline — From Job Posting to Candidate Communication

Create job listings with a rich text editor, categorise by department, and publish or save as draft. When a candidate applies, their application enters the pipeline with resume and all details attached. The team reviews, adds internal notes, and moves them through the hiring stages — New, Reviewed, Shortlisted, On Hold, or Rejected.

Post Job
Rich text editor
Application In
With resume
Review
Shortlist & notes
Email Candidate
With attachments
Thread Updated
Clean & stripped
Auto-Matched
HMAC token
Candidate Replies
Via email
Candidate Gets It
Branded email

When the team needs to reach out, they compose an email directly from the application view — with attachments and a branded template. Candidate replies land back in the CRM automatically, matched to the correct application. The full conversation history — internal team notes and candidate emails — lives in one place. No forwarding, no lost threads.

  • Post jobs with rich text editor, categories, and draft/publish
  • Every application tracked with resume, status, and team notes
  • Email candidates directly from the application view
  • Candidate replies automatically matched to the right application
  • Full conversation history alongside internal team notes
  • Branded autoresponder sent the moment an application is received
  • Every applicant scored against the job description by our AI Resume Screener — see the Entexis HR case study for the full breakdown
Technology Stack

What Powers the Platform

Node.js + Express
Backend API, route handling, middleware, session management, and server-side rendering.
Backend
MySQL
Relational database for leads, jobs, applications, team, templates, and analytics data.
Database
EJS Templates
Server-rendered admin views with dynamic data binding and reusable partials.
Frontend
Chart.js
Interactive analytics dashboards with custom date ranges, lead trends, and page view tracking.
Visualisation
Nodemailer + IMAP
Two-way email — send branded templates and receive replies directly inside the CRM.
Communication
Multer + Sharp
File uploads with image processing — resizing, compression, and format conversion.
Media
What's Possible

Where This Platform
Can Go Next

A platform like this is built to extend. Here is where the technology can go next — each one a natural evolution of what already exists.

Live

Email Templates

7 built-in templates with Handlebars variables, live preview, and activation controls.

Live

Direct Lead & Applicant Communication

Send and receive emails directly from the CRM — with attachments, IMAP polling, reply threading, and HMAC-signed tokens. No external email client needed.

Live

Smart Notifications & Unread Tracking

Notification bell with unread count, orange alert bars, red listing badges, and auto-sort — the team always knows which leads need attention.

Live

AI Reply Drafter

One click writes a thread-aware reply from the full conversation history, the lead’s profile, and internal notes. Scoped to conversational content only — never invents dates, commitments, or actions. Human always edits and sends.

Possible

Lead Scoring

Auto-rank leads by engagement signals and fit — so the team focuses on what matters most.

Possible

WhatsApp Integration

Send and receive WhatsApp messages directly from the lead view — no app switching.

Possible

Client Portal

Let clients view project status and invoices — self-service without back-and-forth.

We Don't Recommend Tools We Wouldn't Build for Ourselves.

The Entexis CRM & Dashboard is the system that runs our daily operations — leads, jobs, analytics, team, and content. Built with the same standards we apply to every client project.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can you build a CRM like this for my business?
Yes. This CRM was built around our own lead pipeline, email tracking, and team workflows. We take the same approach for every client — understand your sales process first, then build the system around it.
Does it include two-way email tracking?
Yes. Every email sent and received is tracked against the lead record — with threading, attachments, and full conversation history.
What analytics and reporting does it provide?
Lead pipeline analytics, conversion rates by source, team performance dashboards, response time tracking, and revenue forecasting. All real-time, all from your own data.
How long did this project take to build?
The scope determines the timeline. We built this iteratively — working demos every two weeks, full transparency throughout.
Do I own the code and intellectual property?
Yes, 100%. Source code, database, documentation, and infrastructure — all yours. No vendor lock-in.
Does the CRM include AI features?
Yes. A one-click Draft with AI button writes a thread-aware reply for any lead — using the full email thread, the lead’s profile, and internal notes. The draft lands pre-filled in the compose form; the human reviews, edits, and sends. The hiring pipeline also uses an AI Resume Screener that scores each applicant against the job description — see the Entexis HR case study for the full breakdown.
Can the AI send emails or make commitments on my behalf?
No. The AI only drafts the conversational content of a reply — acknowledging what the lead said, answering questions they asked, suggesting clarifying questions. It is explicitly scoped to never invent dates or times, never claim an action has been taken, never commit to pricing or delivery, and never send anything on its own. Every message leaves the system under a human send.
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