While traditional spreadsheets can be used to manage contacts, standalone contact management software has evolved into a standard feature of customer relationship management (CRM) software. Contact management software offers features such as searching and filtering contacts, adding notes and reminders, scheduling events and tasks, importing and exporting contact data, and merging duplicate contacts. Most free plans include these features, making it easy for small businesses to get started with contact management. Examples of standalone contact management software include Google Contacts, which is ideal for small or fledgling businesses, and monday.com, which is better suited for large or quickly scaling businesses looking to manage omnichannel communications. Good contact management software should also offer filter functionality, access contacts on the go, and simple data import and export capabilities. To ensure effective contact management, companies must implement best practices such as securing their contact data, collecting only necessary information, using password management tools, adopting company-wide data entry guidelines, cleaning up contact data regularly, and assigning a team member to oversee database cleanup.