Contact Management Fundamentals

Contact Database Structure #

Core Contact Information #

The contact system provides comprehensive contact management with extensive personal and business information:

Personal Information:

• Name Management: First name (required) and last name with automatic display name generation
• Contact Details: Email addresses, phone numbers, and physical addresses
• Social Profiles: Skype, Telegram, and LinkedIn profile integration
• Personal Data: Birth dates and last contacted timestamps for relationship tracking

Business Information:

• Company Details: Company name field for business associations
• Website Information: Website URLs for professional contact tracking
• Address Management: Complete address with address line, city, zip code, and country
• Professional Notes: Description field for detailed contact information and notes

System Fields:

• Team Assignment: All contacts belong to specific teams for access control
• User Ownership: Each contact has an assigned owner for accountability
• Client Relationships: Optional association with client company records
• Outreach Tracking: Connection to outreach campaigns and lead sources

Contact Creation and Editing #

Creating New Contacts #

Contact creation requires minimal information while supporting comprehensive data entry:

Required Information:

• First name is the only required field for contact creation
• User ID and team ID are automatically assigned based on the creator
• All other fields are optional for flexible contact management

Contact Form Fields:

• Personal details: first name, last name, email, phone, birth date
• Business information: company name, website, description
• Social profiles: Skype, Telegram, LinkedIn
• Address information: address line, city, zip, country
• System associations: client assignment, outreach source

Advanced Creation Features:

• Custom field values can be added during contact creation
• Pipeline assignments can be set up during initial contact setup
• Client company association available during creation
• Automatic display name generation from first and last names

Contact Editing and Updates #

Contacts can be fully updated after creation with comprehensive editing capabilities:

Edit Process:

• All contact fields are editable through the contact edit interface
• Custom field values can be added, modified, or removed
• Pipeline associations can be updated and managed
• Client relationships can be changed or removed

Data Validation:

• Email format validation ensures proper email address format
• Field length validation prevents data overflow
• Required field validation maintained during updates
• Team and user assignment validation for security

Contact Search and Filtering #

Search Capabilities #

The system provides powerful contact search functionality:

Basic Search:

• Search by first name with partial matching support
• Search by last name with wildcard capabilities
• Search by associated client company names
• Combined search across name and company fields

Search Implementation:

• Real-time search with immediate results
• Case-insensitive search for better usability
• Partial matching for flexible search queries
• Search results limited to team contacts for security

Global Search Integration:

• Contacts appear in system-wide search results
• Search results show full name with company in parentheses
• Direct links to contact detail pages from search results
• Search integration with other system entities

Contact Organization and Filtering #

Contacts are organized with multiple filtering options:

Team-Based Organization:

• All contacts are filtered by team membership
• Team isolation ensures proper access control
• Team-specific contact lists and management
• Cross-team contact access is prevented

User-Based Filtering:

• Option to view only contacts owned by current user
• Full team contact visibility for authorized users
• Role-based contact visibility controls
• User assignment filtering for contact management

Display and Sorting:

• Contacts displayed in paginated lists (10 per page)
• Sorting by ID with newest contacts first
• Custom field integration in contact displays
• Pipeline association display in contact lists

Contact Permissions #

Role-Based Access Control #

Contact access is controlled through a comprehensive permission system:

Permission Levels:

• ViewAny: All users can view contact lists
• Create: Limited to users with contact CRUD permissions or sales representatives
• View: Team-based access with role restrictions
• Update/Delete: Based on ownership and role permissions

Access Control Rules:

• Users with “ShowAllAndOwnContactCRUD” permissions have full team access
• Sales representatives can only manage their own contacts
• Team membership required for all contact access
• Role-based restrictions enforce proper access control

User Role Types:

• Super Admin: Full access to all contacts across teams
• Organization Manager: Full team contact access
• Sales Manager/Representative: Limited to owned contacts within team
• Regular Users: Access based on specific permissions

Team Isolation #

Contact data is strictly isolated between teams:

Team Separation:

• Contacts are filtered by team_id in all queries
• Cross-team contact access is completely prevented
• Team-based search and filtering enforced
• Team-specific custom fields and pipelines

Security Measures:

• Database-level team filtering in all contact queries
• Authorization checks on all contact operations
• Team membership validation for contact access
• Automatic team assignment for new contacts

Contact-Client Relationships #

Hierarchical Organization #

The system supports sophisticated contact-client relationships:

Relationship Structure:

• Contacts can be optionally associated with client companies
• Multiple contacts can belong to the same client
• Client information is separate from individual contact details
• Optional relationship allows for independent contacts

Client Association Benefits:

• Organized contact management by client company
• Easy identification of all contacts within a client organization
• Streamlined communication with client teams
• Integrated project and billing management through client relationships

Relationship Management:

• Contacts can be created without client association
• Client assignment can be added or changed after creation
• Client relationships support business hierarchy organization
• Automatic display of client company in contact lists

Display Name Generation #

The system automatically generates display names for contacts:

Display Name Logic:

• Combines first name and last name with proper spacing
• Handles missing last names gracefully
• Automatic trimming of extra spaces
• Consistent display across all system interfaces

Usage Throughout System:

• Display names used in contact lists and dropdowns
• Search results show full display names
• Contact selection interfaces use display names
• Integration with other system components using display names