Articles on: CRM

Managing Contacts

Managing Contacts


Contacts are the foundation of your CRM. Learn how to create, organize, and manage all your customer and prospect information.


What are Contacts?


Contacts are individual people you interact with - customers, prospects, vendors, partners, or anyone in your network. Each contact record stores all relevant information and connects to related records throughout SWELLEnterprise.


Creating a Contact


Quick Create


  1. Go to CRM → Contacts
  2. Click "New Contact" button (top right)
  3. Fill in the form
  4. Click "Save"


Required Fields


  • First Name: Contact's first name
  • Last Name: Contact's last name
  • Email: Email address (used for communications)


Optional Fields


Basic Information:

  • Phone: Phone number
  • Mobile: Mobile phone number
  • Job Title: Professional title
  • Company: Link to existing company or create new
  • Address: Street address
  • City, State, ZIP: Location details
  • Country: Country


Additional Information:

  • Website: Personal or company website
  • Birthday: Date of birth (for personal contacts)
  • Notes: Free-form notes about the contact
  • Tags: Organize contacts with tags
  • Custom Fields: Fields you've added (see below)


Linking to Company


If the contact works for a company:


  1. Start typing company name in "Company" field
  2. Select existing company from dropdown, OR
  3. Click "Create New Company" to add company on the fly
  4. Contact is automatically linked to company


Editing a Contact


From Contacts List


  1. Go to CRM → Contacts
  2. Click on the contact name
  3. Click "Edit" button
  4. Make changes
  5. Click "Save"


Quick Edit


  1. Hover over contact in list
  2. Click "Edit" icon
  3. Make changes inline
  4. Save


Viewing Contact Details


Click any contact name to view full details:


Information Tabs:

  • Overview: Basic information and summary
  • Activities: Timeline of all interactions
  • Related Records: Invoices, projects, bookings, etc.
  • Notes: Additional notes and comments
  • Custom Fields: Your custom data fields


Organizing Contacts


Tags


Use tags to categorize contacts:


  1. Open contact
  2. Click "Tags" field
  3. Type tag name or select existing
  4. Add multiple tags
  5. Save


Common Tag Uses:

  • Industry (e.g., "Healthcare", "Technology")
  • Customer Type (e.g., "VIP", "Prospect")
  • Source (e.g., "Referral", "Website")
  • Status (e.g., "Active", "Inactive")


Filtering


Filter contacts list by:

  • Tags: Show contacts with specific tags
  • Company: Filter by company
  • Status: Active, inactive, etc.
  • Custom Fields: Filter by any custom field
  • Search: Search by name, email, phone, etc.


Sorting


Sort contacts by:

  • Name (A-Z, Z-A)
  • Company
  • Created date
  • Last activity
  • Any custom field


Custom Fields


Add fields specific to your business:


  1. Go to Settings → Custom Fields → Contacts
  2. Click "Add Field"
  3. Configure field:
  • Name: Field label
  • Type: Text, number, date, dropdown, etc.
  • Required: Make field mandatory
  • Default Value: Pre-fill value
  1. Save field
  2. Field appears in contact form


Field Types:

  • Text: Single line text
  • Textarea: Multi-line text
  • Number: Numeric value
  • Date: Date picker
  • Dropdown: Select from options
  • Checkbox: Yes/No toggle
  • File: Upload attachment


See Custom Fields for detailed guide.


Setting Reminders


Never miss a follow-up:


  1. Open contact
  2. Click "Set Reminder" or "Reminders" tab
  3. Configure reminder:
  • Date & Time: When to be reminded
  • Type: Call, email, meeting, etc.
  • Description: What to do
  • Notify: Email, in-app, or both
  1. Save reminder


See Reminders for details.


Contact Activities


All interactions are automatically tracked:


Automatic Activities:

  • Contact created
  • Contact updated
  • Related invoice created
  • Related project created
  • Related booking made
  • User mentions in notes


Manual Activities:

  • Add note
  • Log call
  • Log email
  • Log meeting
  • Add comment


View Activities:

  • Open contact
  • Go to "Activities" tab
  • See chronological timeline
  • Filter by activity type


Bulk Actions


Perform actions on multiple contacts:


  1. Go to CRM → Contacts
  2. Select contacts (checkboxes)
  3. Choose action:
  • Add Tags: Tag multiple contacts
  • Export: Export selected contacts
  • Delete: Remove contacts
  • Assign: Assign to team member
  1. Confirm action


Importing Contacts


Import contacts from CSV or Excel:


  1. Go to CRM → Contacts
  2. Click "Import" button
  3. Select file
  4. Map columns:
  • Match file columns to SWELL fields
  • Select which columns to import
  1. Preview import
  2. Click "Import"


Supported Formats:

  • CSV (.csv)
  • Excel (.xlsx, .xls)


Required Columns:

  • First Name
  • Last Name
  • Email


Optional Columns:

  • Phone, Company, Address, etc.
  • Custom fields


Exporting Contacts


Export contacts for backup or external use:


  1. Go to CRM → Contacts
  2. Apply filters if needed (export filtered results)
  3. Click "Export" button
  4. Choose format (CSV, Excel)
  5. Download file


Exported Data Includes:

  • All contact fields
  • Custom fields
  • Company information
  • Tags


Deleting Contacts


Single Contact


  1. Open contact
  2. Click "Delete" button
  3. Confirm deletion


Multiple Contacts


  1. Select contacts in list
  2. Click "Delete" from bulk actions
  3. Confirm deletion


Warning: Deleting a contact also removes:
- All activities and notes
- Reminders
- Links to related records (invoices, projects remain but lose contact link)


Best Practices


  1. Complete Profiles: Fill in as much information as possible
  2. Link to Companies: Always link contacts to companies when applicable
  3. Use Tags: Tag contacts for easy organization
  4. Set Reminders: Set follow-up reminders immediately
  5. Add Notes: Document important conversations
  6. Keep Updated: Regularly update contact information
  7. Use Custom Fields: Add industry-specific fields
  8. Import Regularly: Import contacts from other systems


Common Tasks


Adding a New Customer


  1. Create contact with full information
  2. Link to company (or create company)
  3. Add custom fields (industry, size, etc.)
  4. Set reminder for welcome call
  5. Create first invoice or project


Updating Contact Information


  1. Open contact
  2. Click "Edit"
  3. Update changed fields
  4. Save
  5. Change is logged in activities


Finding a Contact


  • Search: Use search bar (searches name, email, phone)
  • Filter: Use filters (tags, company, status)
  • Sort: Sort by various fields
  • Recent: Check "Recently Viewed"


Integration with Other Modules


Contacts link to:


  • Companies: Many contacts can belong to one company
  • Invoices: Track who invoices are sent to
  • Projects: See which contacts are involved
  • Bookings: Link scheduling appointments
  • Proposals: Track proposal recipients
  • Email: Email communications


Troubleshooting


Can't find a contact?

  • Check search/filter settings
  • Try different search terms
  • Check if contact was deleted
  • Verify you have access


Contact not saving?

  • Check required fields are filled
  • Verify email format is correct
  • Check for validation errors
  • Try refreshing page


Import not working?

  • Verify file format (CSV or Excel)
  • Check column mapping
  • Ensure required columns present
  • Check for duplicate emails


For more help, see Common Issues.


Next Steps



Updated on: 10/03/2026

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