Glossary
What is a multi-workspace CRM?
A multi-workspace CRM lets one login hold several separate CRMs, one per business. Each workspace has its own contacts, companies, deals and outreach lists, and a person added to one does not exist in the others.
The definition
A workspace is a self-contained set of CRM records. A multi-workspace CRM is a CRM that lets you keep several of them side by side under one account, and switch between them without logging out. The point is separation of records: your studio’s clients never show up in your SaaS’s trial list, and a mail merge in one cannot reach the other.
The same idea goes by other names. Some products call it a sub-account, a business unit, a brand, an organisation or a separate instance. What matters is whether the contacts and companies are separate, not what the box is called.
What it is not
- Not a pipeline. A pipeline separates deals boards inside one shared database. A workspace separates the whole database. The difference, in full.
- Not a permissions wall. In FounderPipe a workspace keeps records apart; everyone on the account can open every workspace. If you need to hide a business from some of your staff, you want separate accounts or an enterprise multi-entity tool.
- Not multi-company accounting. It does not consolidate books or legal entities. That is accounting software’s job.
- Not a shared team inbox. “Workspace” is also what chat and project tools call a team space. Here it means a CRM for one business.
When one makes sense
You probably want one if:
- You run two or more businesses whose customers do not overlap.
- You do outreach for each and do not want lists, notes or senders to mix.
- You want one place to see what is overdue across all of them, rather than five tabs.
You probably do not need one if your businesses sell to the same people. Then one shared database with a pipeline per offer is simpler, and a person appearing once is a feature.
The trade-off
Separation costs you a merged view. If one customer buys from two of your businesses they are two records, one per workspace. A good multi-workspace CRM makes up for that with a single view across workspaces: in FounderPipe it is the Today screen, which lists overdue follow-ups and what is coming up from every workspace, each tagged with its business.
Next: how FounderPipe workspaces work, a CRM for multiple businesses, how the options compare, or workspace vs pipeline.
Questions about multi-workspace CRMs
What is a multi-workspace CRM?
A CRM that keeps a separate set of contacts, companies, deals and outreach lists for each of your businesses under one login. A person added to one workspace does not exist in the others.
Is a workspace the same as a pipeline?
No. A pipeline separates deals boards inside one shared database. A workspace separates the whole database. See workspace vs pipeline.
Does a workspace hide data from my team?
Not in FounderPipe. A workspace separates records, not access: everyone on the account can open every workspace, and owners manage the team and the workspaces.
Can I see everything across workspaces at once?
In FounderPipe, yes: the Today screen shows overdue follow-ups, upcoming work and pipeline numbers from every workspace, each tagged by business.
Which CRMs have workspaces?
Several do, in different shapes. See the comparison of options for how workspaces, pipelines and agency sub-accounts differ.
Try a workspace per business
Import one list into each and see how Today pulls them together.
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