Contacts & CRM
The Contacts section is your business address book — upgraded. Every customer, lead, and subcontractor lives here, along with their full history of estimates, projects, invoices, and communications. Instead of hunting through emails or spreadsheets, you can pull up anyone in seconds and see exactly where things stand.
Pull up any contact from your phone while on a job site. Tap their phone number to call directly, view their project history, or add a note — all without switching apps.
The Contact List
When you open Contacts from the left navigation, you see a table of every contact in your account.
Searching for a Contact
The search bar at the top of the list searches across names, company names, phone numbers, and email addresses simultaneously. Start typing any part of the information you remember — the list updates as you type.
Examples:
- Type
"John"to find all contacts named John. - Type
"roofing"to find any contact with "roofing" in their company name. - Type a partial phone number to locate a contact when you only remember part of it.
Filtering the List
Use the Filter button to narrow the list by:
- Archived — Show archived contacts only.
- Status — Lead, Prospect, Customer, Past Customer, Lost, or Unknown. Lead is a contact status, not a contact type — a contact can be a Customer by type while their status is still Lead.
- Contact type — Customer, Subcontractor, Business associate, Referral partner, Employee, or Other. (Vendor is also a contact type, but it is not listed in this filter; you can still assign it with the Set type bulk action — see Bulk Actions.)
- Zip code — Type the full ZIP code exactly as it is saved on the contact (for example
12345) to show only contacts with that ZIP. A partial ZIP code shows no results. - Missing fields — Show contacts that are missing a name, an email, or a phone number, so you can find the ones that need filling in.
- Date range — Show contacts created between two dates.
Filters stack — you can combine several at once. A count on the Filter button shows how many are active, and Clear all resets them.
Sorting the List
Use the sort control next to Filter at the top of the list. Click the left half to flip the order (ascending or descending) right away; click the ⇅ half to choose what to sort by:
- Date — When the contact was created. This is the default, newest first.
- Contact Name — Alphabetical.
- Status — By contact status.
Sort by Date and flip the order to bring up the contacts you added longest ago. A quick call or message to a past customer is one of the fastest ways to land the next job.
Creating a New Contact
Click + Contact at the top of the contact list to open the New Contact Wizard. It asks for one thing at a time — Name, Email, Phone, Address, and Notes — and then shows a What's Next? screen. Use Next to move on, Back to return to the previous step, Skip to leave an optional step blank, and Cancel to leave without creating anything. The contact is created when you click Create contact on the last step, Notes.
Step 1 — Name
Enter the contact's name — a person or a business. This is the only required field: Next stays disabled until you type a name.
Step 2 — Email
Optional. If you enter an email address, it has to be a single, plain address such as name@example.com. An address with a space, or with characters such as ?, &, ,, ; or %, is refused, and so is a box holding two addresses. The same rule applies whenever you edit a contact's email.
Step 3 — Phone
Optional. If you enter a phone number, it has to be a valid one.
Step 4 — Address
Optional. Start typing and pick a suggested US address, or enter one yourself. An address has to include a street number (or a PO Box) and a valid 5-digit ZIP code before the wizard lets you continue. If you later choose Create project from this contact, the address is carried into the new project.
Step 5 — Notes
Optional. Add anything useful about this contact right at the start: how you met them, what they're looking for, or important preferences. Press Shift+Enter for a new line. The note is saved to the contact's Notes tab. Click Create contact to save.
What's Next?
Once the contact is saved, the What's Next? screen offers two choices:
- Create project — Opens the new project wizard with this contact already filled in.
- View Contact Details — Opens the contact's detail view.
You can always come back and fill in missing information. You do not need everything complete before saving.
A new contact starts with the status Lead. The wizard does not ask for a contact type — type (what the contact is to your business) and status (where the relationship stands) are two separate settings. Change the type for one or many contacts with the Set type bulk action on the contact list; see Bulk Actions and Filtering the List.
Some characters are not allowed in a contact's name — for example, HTML tags such as <script> — and are removed when the contact is saved. When that happens, the What's Next? screen shows a Name adjusted notice: "Some characters weren't allowed and were removed." The contact, and any project you create from it, uses the adjusted name. The same notice appears when you add a contact from the New Contact pop-up on a project, and a "Contact name adjusted" message appears when an estimate's customer details automatically create a contact. On the full-page wizard you can dismiss the notice; in the pop-up it simply stays on the screen. Either way it never blocks you from continuing.
If you add a contact whose name matches a contact you already have, and the email address also matches (or, when you enter no email, the phone number matches), the wizard does not create a second one. A same-name contact also counts as a match when you enter neither an email nor a phone number and the existing contact has no email address. Names are compared ignoring capitalization, but phone numbers must match exactly as typed — 555-123-4567 and (555) 123-4567 are different. Internal records that don't appear in your contact list, such as records an integration marks as vendors (not contacts you set to the Vendor type) and your own company's record, never count as a match on email.
When there is a match, the wizard takes you to the same What's Next? screen for the existing contact, without the "Contact created" confirmation. The email, phone, and address you typed are not added to that contact, but a note you entered is saved to it.
If you ask Scout to create a contact instead, it checks for existing matches by email or phone (updates the existing contact automatically) or by name/address (asks you before creating a separate one). Either way, an incomplete address (missing city, state, or ZIP) is fine for Scout — it saves the contact and you can fill in the rest later.
The Contact Detail View
Clicking any contact's name opens their full detail view. This is the single source of truth for everything related to that person or business.
Contact Information Panel
The left panel shows all stored contact information: name, company, phone numbers, email addresses, physical address, tags, lead source, and any notes. Click View all details to open the details modal, then use its Edit mode to update any of this information.
The Social icons on the panel hold the contact's Website / Link, Facebook, LinkedIn, X (Twitter), and Instagram. Click an empty icon to add a link, or a filled one to open it. For Facebook, LinkedIn, X, and Instagram, enter only the profile name that comes after the slash. For Website / Link, type the address (for example example.com); the link dialog adds https:// for you. In View all details → Edit you type the full address yourself, starting with http:// or https://. Anything else (including javascript: links and addresses with spaces) is refused. To remove a link, empty the box and save.
Activity Summary
Across the top of the detail view, summary cards show:
- Open estimates — Estimates that have been sent but not yet accepted or declined.
- Active projects — Projects currently in progress.
- Outstanding invoices — Invoices that have not been paid.
- Total billed — Lifetime revenue from this contact.
Tabs
The tabbed area on the right side of the detail view organizes all related records.
Estimates Tab
Lists every estimate ever created for this contact. Each row shows the estimate number, title, total amount, status (Draft, Sent, Accepted, Declined), and date. Click any estimate to open it.
Use the New Estimate button on this tab to start a new estimate pre-linked to this contact — you will not have to re-enter any contact information.
Projects Tab
Lists all projects associated with this contact. See Projects for details on how projects work. Click New Project to create one directly from this contact record.
Invoices Tab
Lists all invoices for this contact. See Invoicing for details. Click New Invoice to create one directly.
Proposals Tab
Lists all proposals sent to this contact. See Proposals for how proposals work.
Agreements Tab
Lists all service agreements for this contact. See Service Agreements for details.
Files Tab
Attach any files relevant to this contact: signed contracts, permits, photos, or documents. Drag and drop files here, or click Upload. Files are stored securely and accessible from any device. A project's Files tab and the estimate wizard's Uploads step show only that project's files, and each has an Open the contact's files link that opens this tab.
Communication History
The Activity feed on the right side of the contact detail view shows a chronological log of every interaction recorded for this contact:
- Emails sent — Estimates, invoices, and proposals emailed from ContractorScope AI appear here automatically.
- Notes — Manual notes you or your team add.
- Status changes — When an estimate is accepted, a project is closed, or an invoice is paid.
- Calls logged — Phone calls you log manually.
Adding a Note
Click Add Note to write a note against this contact. Notes are timestamped and attributed to whoever wrote them. Use notes to record:
- What was discussed on a call.
- Customer preferences or complaints.
- Follow-up reminders.
- Site visit findings.
Logging a Call
Click Log Call to record a phone call. Enter the date, duration, and a brief summary of what was discussed. This keeps a complete record of every conversation without relying on memory or separate notes apps.
Get in the habit of logging calls immediately after hanging up. Even a two-sentence summary can save you a lot of confusion weeks later when you are trying to remember what the customer said about materials or budget.
Linking Estimates and Projects
When you create an estimate or project from the contact detail view, it is linked automatically. You can also link existing records:
- Open the Estimates or Projects tab.
- Click Link Existing.
- Search for the estimate or project by number or title.
- Click Link to attach it.
Linked records appear in the tab and in the activity feed.
Archiving a Contact
Archiving removes a contact from your active list without deleting any of their history. This is useful for past customers you do not expect to hear from again, or leads that went cold.
To archive a contact:
- Open the contact detail view.
- Click the More menu (three dots) in the top-right corner.
- Select Archive Contact.
- Confirm in the dialog.
Archived contacts do not appear in the default contact list. To see them, apply the Archived filter. You can unarchive a contact at any time.
Archiving a contact does not affect any linked estimates, projects, or invoices. Those records remain intact and searchable.
Unarchiving isn't only manual: if a new web-form submission or a lead from a connected CRM/marketing integration comes in and matches an archived contact by phone or email, that contact is automatically reactivated and the new inquiry is logged on its activity feed — except when the phone number is on your do-not-call list, or when it matches more than one contact, in which case the new inquiry is flagged for manual review instead. Otherwise, a past customer or cold lead who reaches back out becomes an active lead again without anyone having to notice and manually unarchive them first.
A lead from your website's web form, or from a connected CRM or marketing integration's webhook, that does not match an existing contact creates a new contact with the status Lead, marked Needs attention, and whatever the person wrote in the request is saved as a note on it. A contact that already exists keeps its current status.
Bulk Actions
From the contact list, check the boxes next to multiple contacts (or the box at the top of the column to select every contact shown). A bar appears between the search toolbar and the table with the number selected and these actions:
- Archive — Archive all selected contacts. You are asked to confirm first; archived contacts are hidden from the default list and can be restored later.
- Restore — Bring selected archived contacts back to the active list. It is most useful with the Archived filter on, and harmless on contacts that are not archived.
- Set type — Customer, Subcontractor, Vendor, Business associate, Referral partner, Employee, or Other. Pick one from the Set type menu to change the contact type of all selected contacts at once.
- Set status — Lead, Prospect, Customer, Past Customer, Lost, or Unknown. Pick one from the Set status menu to change the status of all selected contacts at once.
Click Clear to deselect everything.
Importing Contacts
If you have an existing customer list in a spreadsheet or another CRM, you can import it:
- From the contact list, click Import.
- Download the CSV template to see the required column format.
- Fill in the template with your data.
- Upload the completed CSV.
- Review the import preview — the system highlights any rows with missing required fields.
- Click Confirm Import.
The import process matches on email address to avoid creating duplicate contacts. If an email address already exists, the importer updates the existing record instead of creating a new one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I have two contacts with the same name? Yes, unless the email address (or, when you enter no email, the phone number) also matches a contact you already have — then the New Contact wizard opens the existing contact instead of creating a second one. Contacts are identified by their unique ID, not their name, so otherwise duplicate names are allowed. Use company name, phone number, or email to distinguish between them.
Can I assign contacts to specific team members? Yes. Open the contact detail view, click the Assigned To field in the contact panel, and select a team member. That person will see this contact highlighted in their personal view.
Is there a limit to how many contacts I can have? No hard limit — ContractorScope AI scales to as many contacts as your business needs.
Next Steps
Now that your contacts are set up, here's where to go next: