Creating and Managing Contacts in CRM

This article provides a comprehensive guide on how to create and manage contacts in CRM. Understanding these steps is crucial for efficient customer relationship management and seamless operations.

Creating a New Contact

To create a new contact, select "CRM" from the top menu, followed by "Contacts" in the side menu. select “New contact” and you will be presented with a "New contact" form to complete. Populate all mandatory fields before saving.

Adding the Contact Location

The easiest way to add a contacts location, is to begin typing an address in the map search bar. This step is essential because the system needs to geotag each location it holds to enable accurate tracking.

Alternatives way to add a contacts location:

If the contact you are adding is a business, you can search the business name.
Search by street address, particularly useful for domestic and residential locations.
The map tool is powered by Google Maps; provided the address can be searched within Google Maps, you will be able to find the address using search.
Use the what3words app to determine a precise location.

Hint

what3words is a geocode system that simplifies location identification. It divides the world into 3-meter squares and assigns each square a unique combination of three words. These addresses are precise, allowing you to specify building entrances and other specific locations, unlike traditional street addresses that identify entire buildings.

Select the relevant address from your search; you will notice the Geo tag appears on the map. The location information stored within Google will be brought through into the fields of the contact.

Select a group for your contact and then "Save".

Need a Guided Tour?

To help you get the most out of BigChange, we've created interactive in-app walkthrough guides.

Simply select the link below to start the walkthrough guide. You'll receive real-time step-by-step instructions and tips directly from within the application.

In-App Guide: Create a CRM Contact

Understanding the General Tab within a Contact

In the "General" tab, from within a contact, you can enter the name or address. The system will auto-populate the form with details sourced from Google Search. If the contact does not appear in Google Search, you can manually enter the postcode and other details.

Key fields in the General Tab include:

Parent Contact: This field is used to link contacts in a parent/child relationship. This might be a head office with satellite offices, for example, or could be used for relationships such as Landlord and Tenant, or invoice address and site address.
Flagged: This indicator is used to highlight any customer-specific issues. If the Contact's Parent has been flagged, then the flag will also appear on the Child's Contact window.

The information contained here will be displayed to Web Users, and not resources using the BigChange App.

On Stop: This field is used when a contact has exceeded their agreed credit terms.
No access hours defined: This field is used to enter the business opening hours.

If you create a job outside of these access hours, you will be alerted to the fact that the job shouldn’t take place. If no access hours are entered, it is assumed that the business is open 24/7.

Expiry date: With default settings, setting an expiry date on a contact will cause the contact to be deleted on that set date. For information on how to manage this, please visit our support article, Preventing Accidental Contact Deletion

Managing Geofence and Location

On the right-hand side of the window, you can manage the Geofence and location of your contact. You can toggle between Map/Satellite views, change the shape of the Geofence, and adjust its size.

The default size of the geofence is 20m however, this can be changed.

By dragging the Person icon onto the map, you will be presented with the street view.