Clients

Clients are the organizations or companies you do work for. Each client represents a business relationship and can have multiple contacts, projects, and statements of work associated with them. Think of clients as your customers or the organizations that engage your services.

What are Clients?

Clients help you:

Organize Your Business: Keep track of all the companies you work with
Store Contact Information: Maintain details about people at each client organization
Link to Projects: Associate projects and deliverables with specific clients
Track Relationships: See your complete history with each client
Manage Communication: Have all client contacts in one place

Client Properties

Each client has:

Basic Information

Name: The client's company or organization name (required)
Description: Details about the client, their business, or your relationship
Website: The client's website URL
Industry: What industry the client operates in (e.g., "Healthcare", "Finance", "Technology")
Organization: Which of your organizations owns this client (required)

Organization Features

Pinned: Mark important clients to keep them at the top of your lists
Contacts: Multiple people at the client organization
Project Count: How many projects you have with this client
Created/Updated: When the client was added and last modified

Client Contacts

Each client can have multiple contacts with:

Name: Contact person's full name (required)
Email: Contact's email address (required)
Phone: Contact's phone number (optional)
Role: Their job title or role (e.g., "CTO", "Project Manager", "CEO")
Primary Contact: One contact can be designated as the primary point person

Client Hierarchy

Clients fit into the application structure:

Creating Clients

What You Need

Required:

Client company name
Your organization (clients must belong to an organization)

Recommended:

Description of the client and your relationship
Website URL
Industry classification
At least one contact person

When to Create a Client

Create a new client when:

Starting work with a new company
Onboarding a new customer
Beginning a new business relationship
You need to track projects for an organization

Managing Client Contacts

Adding Contacts

Each client should have at least one contact person:

What to Include:

Full name
Email address
Phone number (if available)
Role or job title
Whether this is the primary contact

Primary Contact

One contact per client can be marked as "primary":

Primary contacts:

Show up first in contact lists
Are used as the default for projects
Typically the main decision-maker or point person
Can be changed at any time

When to use primary:

The person who signs contracts or approvals
Your main communication point
The project sponsor or executive
The person who manages the relationship

Managing Multiple Contacts

Clients often have multiple contacts:

Common Contact Types:

Executive Sponsor: Decision-maker and budget owner
Project Manager: Day-to-day coordinator
Technical Lead: Technical decisions and architecture
Procurement: Contract and billing contact

Best Practices:

Add all relevant contacts upfront
Keep contact information current
Update roles as people change positions
Remove contacts who leave the organization

Working with Clients

Viewing Clients

You can see all clients in your organization:

All Clients: Every client in your organization
Pinned Clients: Your most important clients at the top
By Project: See which clients have active projects
Search: Find clients by name, industry, or description

Pinning Clients

Pin your most important clients to keep them easily accessible:

Pin clients that are:

Your largest or most important accounts
Currently active with multiple projects
High-priority relationships
Frequently accessed

How pinning works:

Pinned clients always appear first in lists
Each user can pin their own key clients
Pin/unpin anytime
No limit to how many you can pin

Searching for Clients

Find clients quickly:

Search by:

Client name
Industry
Description content
Website domain

Tips:

Search is case-insensitive
Partial matches work
Results update as you type

Client Organization

Required Organization Assignment

Important: Every client must belong to an organization.

Why:

Ensures proper data isolation
All organization members can access the client
Links clients to your team's workspace
Prevents accidental sharing across organizations

What this means:

You must select an organization when creating a client
All team members in that organization can see the client
Clients cannot be shared across organizations
Changing organizations requires special admin action

Access Control

Who can see clients:

All members of the client's organization
Users with explicit access to related projects
Organization administrators

Who can edit clients:

Organization members with editor or admin roles
Project owners for related projects
Client record creator

What you can do:

View: See all client information and contacts
Edit: Update client details and contacts
Delete: Remove clients (if no associated projects)
Merge: Combine duplicate client records

Linking Clients to Projects

Creating Projects for Clients

When you create a project, you can link it to a client:

Why link projects to clients:

See all work for a specific client
Track client relationship history
Report on client activity
Organize work by customer

How it works:

Create or edit a project
Select the client from the dropdown
Optionally choose a primary contact
Project now appears under that client

Viewing Client Projects

See all projects for a specific client:

Active Projects: Currently in progress
Completed Projects: Finished work
All Projects: Complete project history

This gives you a complete view of your relationship with each client.

Merging Clients

When to Merge

Merge clients when:

You have duplicate client records
A client changed their company name
Multiple divisions should be consolidated
Cleaning up your client list

What Happens During a Merge

The merge process:

Select a target client (the one to keep)
Select source clients (ones to merge into target)
All contacts move to the target client
All projects move to the target client
Source client records are deleted

Important:

This action cannot be undone
All source client data moves to the target
Projects maintain their history
Contacts are preserved

Before merging:

Review both client records
Ensure they're truly the same organization
Verify all clients are in the same organization
Update any information you want to keep

Client Maintenance

Keeping Client Data Current

Regular updates:

Review client information quarterly
Update contact details when they change
Add new contacts as relationships grow
Remove outdated contacts

What to update:

Description as relationship evolves
Website if they rebrand
Industry if they pivot
Primary contact as roles change

Cleaning Up Client Records

Good practices:

Merge duplicate clients
Archive clients you no longer work with
Keep contact information accurate
Document key relationship details in description

Don't:

Delete clients with project history
Create duplicate records
Leave contact info outdated
Mix different companies in one client

Best Practices

Client Setup

Clear Naming:

Use the client's official company name
Include "LLC", "Inc.", etc. if relevant
Be consistent with client branding
Avoid abbreviations unless that's how they refer to themselves

Complete Information:

Always add a description
Include the website
Specify the industry
Add multiple contacts from the start

Contact Management:

Get contact information during onboarding
Mark the primary contact clearly
Include role/title for context
Add phone numbers when available

During the Relationship

Keep It Current:

Update contacts when people change roles
Adjust primary contact as needed
Document important relationship notes
Link all projects to the client

Communication:

Use contact information to coordinate projects
Keep client contacts informed of progress
Update description with key relationship milestones
Note preferences or special requirements

Organization:

Pin your most active clients
Link projects as they're created
Review client list regularly
Consolidate duplicates promptly

Client Reporting

Track Activity:

How many projects per client
Which clients are most active
Project success rates by client
Length of client relationships

Use This Information To:

Identify your best clients
Plan resource allocation
Recognize relationship patterns
Report to leadership

Common Workflows

Onboarding a New Client

Create the Client Record
- Add official company name
- Write description of who they are
- Add their website
- Specify their industry
- Assign to your organization
Add Contacts
- Create contact for your main point person (mark as primary)
- Add executive sponsor
- Add technical leads or project managers
- Include any procurement or billing contacts
Create Initial Project
- Link the first project to this client
- Choose the primary contact for the project
- Set up initial statements of work
Document the Relationship
- Update description with relationship context
- Note any special requirements or preferences
- Add any relevant background information

Managing Client Contacts Over Time

When someone joins:

Add new contact with their information
Include their role and contact details
Update primary contact if they're taking over

When someone leaves:

Update the contact's information
Remove them or mark them inactive
Change primary contact if needed
Notify team of the change

When roles change:

Update contact's role field
Adjust primary contact if appropriate
Update any project contacts
Inform your team

Handling Duplicate Clients

When you find duplicates:

Identify the Records
- Search for similar client names
- Check for slight variations
- Verify they're truly the same organization
Choose the Target
- Select the most complete record
- Or the one with the most projects
- Or the most recent/accurate
Review Differences
- Check contacts in both records
- Compare descriptions
- Note any unique information
Update Before Merging
- Add any missing contacts to target client
- Update description with any unique details
- Ensure all information is captured
Perform the Merge
- Use the merge function
- Select target client
- Select source clients to merge
- Confirm the merge
- Verify the result