Managing Contacts

This guide covers how to effectively manage contacts saved from your permit discoveries, including editing, organizing, and maintaining your contact database.

Saving Contacts

From Directory

1. Browse Contact Directory
2. Find contact to save
3. Click contact name to view details
4. Click "Save Contact" button
5. Contact appears in Saved list

From Permit Details

1. Open permit details page
2. Scroll to Parties section
3. Click party name
4. Click "Save Contact"

Manual Creation

1. Go to Saved Contacts
2. Click "Add Contact"
3. Fill in contact details
4. Click Save

Editing Contacts

Access Edit Mode

1. Open contact from Saved list
2. Click "Edit" button
3. Modify fields as needed
4. Click "Save Changes"

Editable Fields

Contact Notes

Add detailed notes:

• Communication history
• Preferences
• Important context
• Follow-up reminders

Notes are timestamped and attributed to the user who added them.

Organizing with Tags

Tags help categorize and filter contacts.

Creating Tags

1. Open contact edit
2. Click in Tags field
3. Type new tag name
4. Press Enter to create

Common Tag Strategies

By relationship:

• prospect
• active-client
• past-client
• vendor

By project type:

• residential
• commercial
• industrial

By geography:

• tampa
• hillsborough
• south-florida

By status:

• high-priority
• needs-followup
• do-not-contact

Filtering by Tags

1. Go to Saved Contacts
2. Click tag filter
3. Select tag(s)
4. View filtered results

Contact Details

View Full Details

Click any contact to see:

• All contact information
• Associated permits
• Activity history
• Notes and tags

Associated Permits

The contact card shows all permits where this contact appears:

• Permit number (clickable)
• Role on permit
• Permit status
• Applied date

This helps understand the contact's scope of work.

Bulk Operations

Select Multiple

1. Use checkboxes in Saved list
2. Select contacts to modify

Bulk Actions

• Add Tags: Apply tag to all selected
• Remove Tags: Remove tag from selected
• Export: Download as CSV
• Delete: Remove from Saved

Exporting Contacts

Export Options

1. Select contacts (or select all)
2. Click Export button
3. Choose format:
   • CSV (spreadsheet compatible)
   • JSON (developer use)

Export Fields

Exports include:

• Name
• Company
• Phone
• Email
• Role
• Tags
• Notes
• Associated permits count

Use Cases

• Import to CRM
• Marketing campaigns
• Offline reference
• Backup

Merging Duplicates

When same person appears multiple times:

Identify Duplicates

1. Search by name or email
2. Compare contact details
3. Check associated permits

Manual Merge Process

1. Determine primary record
2. Copy notes from duplicates
3. Add alternate name/info to notes
4. Delete duplicate records

Contact Maintenance

Regular Review

Schedule periodic reviews:

• Verify phone numbers still work
• Update changed email addresses
• Archive inactive contacts
• Add new relevant contacts

Data Quality Tips

• Use consistent naming (First Last format)
• Include company for context
• Add role for clarity
• Keep notes current

Archiving Contacts

For contacts no longer relevant:

1. Add archived tag
2. Or delete from Saved
3. Original Directory entry remains

Privacy and Compliance

Data Sources

Contact data comes from:

• Public permit records
• Your manual entries
• Team contributions

Best Practices

• Use for legitimate business purposes
• Honor unsubscribe requests
• Keep sensitive info secure
• Don't share externally without consent

Deletion

To fully remove contact:

1. Delete from Saved
2. Cannot remove from Directory (public record)

Troubleshooting

Related Documentation

• Contact Directory Overview
• Contact Activities
• Portfolio Overview