We use it as an informal CRM - currently, we use Salesforce as our main CRM across both the CS and Sales departments, but Airtable has made it easy to pull core customer details from Salesforce, while allowing our CS team have visibility on priorities and action items when it comes to the customer lifecycle.
Pros
Permissioning.
Project Management.
Customization.
Cons
Mobile experience.
Certain relation-dependent action between cells can be limiting.
Data fitting into each cell nicely for visibility (you'll have to expand certain fields to see all of the information).
Likelihood to Recommend
Really great for any cross-departmental project planning/management. With its multiple view capabilities, it allows a lot of freedom as to how you want to see our data and what makes the most sense for your team. If your team is heavy on document editing, I wouldn't necessarily see it as a good use case (i.e. internal knowledge base/content management).
We use it to manage our budget, track expenses, and provide project financial details to our teams. We create our project reports through Airtable and use it to submit AP invoices to our accounting dept. Project teams also use it to manage other aspects of their projects from inventory to scheduling.
Pros
Sharing and distribution.
Privacy and security.
User friendly.
Cons
Editing and backtracking on mistakes.
Pasting from large Excel files.
Exporting to Excel.
Likelihood to Recommend
It’s great for distribution of different filters of the same data via using different views. I can use one Airtable with a bunch of data and create views that are unique filters of the same data for different users and I can update just the base/master view and it automatically updates the others.
When my organization first looked into using Airtable, it was as a means of keeping better records of the NonProfit Organizations that OUR NonProfit supported, or wanted to support in the future. As we got to know the tool more we started realizing its potential for solutions across all departments of our organization. Airtable is now not only part of our workflow in operations, sales, recruiting, and outreach - but serves as a default front-end for internal tools we're developing.
Pros
Data Management and Collection.
Gone are days of collecting information from users, clients, partners, or employees and then having to re-enter that data elsewhere. The same tool you use to manage the data has the tools for collecting them.
Robust API for Scalable Individualized Solutions.
No software is going to be able to be everything for every organization, but the things that Airtable doesn't already provide ( and Airtable already provides solutions for many, many more things than you'd expect ) your company can build solutions for with an API that auto-publishes for every "Base" you create.
Re-contextualizing and Displaying Data.
Chances are your company already HAS data that would provide meaningful insight, but processing that data in a way that provides the clarity you're looking for can be a bit of a challenge. Between its basic features and "Blocks" Airtable takes most of the challenge out of presenting and contextualizing your data to provide clarity on all aspects of your business.
Cons
Airtable's Freemium Pricing Model is fair - but the first paid tier doesn't offer much for what amounts to half the cost of the next tier up. That could perhaps be better balanced.
Some data at your organization applies to all projects, so it's disappointing to find that there isn't a way to have a "Base" with data that is available to all other "Bases". That said, I've already been told they're working on implementing this, and in the meantime, it was very easy for us to use the Airtable API to produce the same result ourselves.
Likelihood to Recommend
Airtable has me super, super impressed. I honestly can hardly think of scenarios where Airtable isn't suited, but that might be my Rose Colored Glasses. Honestly I think it would only fall short if you had extensive needs for customized representation of data - but I'm willing to bet Airtable can do more than you expect it could.
We use Airtable across our entire organization from database management, to outreach and information collection. It helps us keep everything organized in a way that makes sense to us while also allowing the flexibility to integrate with other tools we use as well.
Pros
Airtable is extremely flexible which is great for our varied needs.
Airtable allows you to build forms that will take collected data and store it neatly within a spreadsheet.
Airtable has many templates that make it easy to get started while also providing ideas to make our work more efficient.
Cons
I would like to see the ability to integrate mail chimp signups into the platform.
Likelihood to Recommend
Airtable is great for organizations that are just beginning and those who are already established. It might be hard to move a team over if they are used to a regular spreadsheet but it is easy to learn and worth the effort.
After years of managing volunteers and interns for our busy non-profit environmental management organization, I wanted to replace our current system with something that was Excel-compatible, cloud-based, and had relational database capabilities. I especially wanted a solution that was intuitive, customizable, visually stimulating without being overwhelming, and shareable. Airtable fits the bill. It is simple to learn but offers robust features that address reporting needs.
Besides using it for volunteer-intern management, I’ve begun using it to track equipment, inventory management, and partnership development. Other program managers are going to adapt it to their needs.
Pros
Great user interface that is clean and balanced. It's easy to create and save 'views' to isolate and compare data.
Helpful tutorials and useful examples from Airtable users.
The ability to share and interact with staff and partners on common projects and goals.
Being able to link PDFs and Word docs.
Cons
I would like to see the ability to detect duplicate rows and values.
Improved functionality and editing via the Android app.
More calendar view options.
Likelihood to Recommend
For us, Airtable is well suited to volunteer management, event tracking, and asset management. Love the ability to share views and data with other programs and partners.
Since our experience with Airtable is limited, where it is less appropriate is an open question. Possibly when it comes to more advanced data and statistical analysis.
