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Adding Contacts

Contacts are people at a company who aren't your primary clients but may be involved in projects or communications. This guide covers how to add and manage contacts.

Contacts vs. Clients​

AspectClientsContacts
Primary relationshipDirectSecondary
Project billingYesNo
Full activity trackingYesLimited
Use caseDecision-makers, main points of contactTeam members, assistants, stakeholders
When to Use Contacts

Add someone as a Contact when they're involved in your work but aren't the primary client relationship.

Adding a Contact​

From Contacts List​

  1. Navigate to CRM → Contacts
  2. Click + Add Contact
  3. Fill in contact information
  4. Click Save

From a Company​

  1. Open the company record
  2. Go to Contacts tab
  3. Click + Add Contact
  4. The company auto-fills
  5. Complete other fields
  6. Save

Contact Information Fields​

Basic Information​

FieldDescriptionRequired
NameContact's full name✅ Yes
EmailEmail addressNo
PhonePhone numberNo
CompanyAssociated companyNo
Title/RolePosition at companyNo

Additional Details​

FieldDescription
DepartmentDepartment within company
NotesAdditional information
TagsOrganizational tags

Linking to a Company​

Associate a contact with their company:

  1. In the contact form, find Company
  2. Start typing the company name
  3. Select from dropdown
  4. Save

Contacts can only be associated with one company. For people at multiple organizations, create separate contact records.

Contact Roles​

Define the contact's role in your relationship:

Common Roles​

  • Decision Maker — Has authority to approve
  • Influencer — Shapes decisions
  • Technical Contact — Handles technical matters
  • Administrative — Manages logistics
  • Billing Contact — Handles invoices/payments

Setting a Role​

  1. Open or edit the contact
  2. Select from Role dropdown
  3. Or type a custom role
  4. Save

Importing Contacts​

Bulk import contacts from a spreadsheet:

  1. Go to CRM → Contacts
  2. Click ⋮ → Import
  3. Download CSV template
  4. Fill in your data
  5. Upload and map columns
  6. Import

CSV Template​

name,email,phone,company,title,department
Alice Johnson,alice@company.com,555-0111,Acme Corp,Project Manager,Operations
Bob Williams,bob@company.com,555-0112,Acme Corp,Developer,Engineering

Converting Contacts to Clients​

When a contact becomes a primary relationship:

  1. Open the contact record
  2. Click ⋮ menu
  3. Select Convert to Client
  4. Review and confirm details
  5. Click Convert

The contact record transforms into a client record, preserving all information.

Quick Add from Email​

When you receive an email from a new person:

  1. Open the email in Shorebird OS
  2. Click the sender's name/email
  3. Select Add as Contact
  4. Information auto-fills from email
  5. Add company and other details
  6. Save

Best Practices​

Keep Information Current​

  • Update titles when people get promoted
  • Remove contacts who leave the company
  • Add new team members promptly

Use Tags Effectively​

Tag contacts for easy filtering:

  • decision-maker
  • technical
  • billing
  • project-alpha

Document Relationships​

Note how contacts relate to:

  • Your primary clients
  • Specific projects
  • Decision-making process