Contacts overview

The Contacts section is where your team keeps customer records. A customer record connects a person or company to their cars, billing history, documents, portal access, tags, notes, and communication history.

What you will accomplish

After reading this overview and the linked how-to guides, your team will be able to:

Add or import customers and keep contact details accurate.
Find customers quickly using search, filters, and table, card, or board views.
Organize leads and active customers with CRM stages, types, sources, and tags.
Link the right cars and documents before billing or portal invites.
Invite customers to the portal and help them sign in with confidence.

Use Contacts whenever you need to answer questions like:

Who owns this car?
What is the best email or phone number for this customer?
Has this customer been invited to the portal?
What will this customer see after they sign in?
Which customers are leads, active customers, or former customers?
Which documents, invoices, and cars belong to this customer?

All Contacts page in the dashboard showing the customer table, type tabs such as Storage and Events, and columns for name, email, phone, cars, and CRM stage — Click Contacts in the sidebar, then All Contacts (or a customer-type page) to see your full customer list.

How the Contacts area is organized

The Contacts item in the left sidebar opens a whole area of the app—not just one page. Think of it as your customer directory with shortcuts for different kinds of relationships.

Page in the sidebar	Best for	Direct link
All Contacts	Everyone—leads, active customers, and former customers in one list	All Contacts
Storage	Customers who use vehicle storage	Storage contacts
Events	Social event attendees and event prospects	Events contacts
Detailing	Detail, wash, and cosmetic service customers	Detailing contacts
Ancillary Services	Transport, maintenance, and other non-storage work	Ancillary Services contacts
Marketplace	Marketplace buyers and sales prospects	Marketplace contacts
Vendors	Outside companies you pay (detailers, transport, and similar)	Vendors

Open Contacts from the sidebar
Click Contacts in the left sidebar.
Expected result: The sidebar expands (on desktop) or you land on a contacts list. The page title at the top says All Contacts or the name of the type you chose (for example Storage).
Pick the list that matches your task
- Use All Contacts when you need to search everyone or you are not sure where someone belongs.
- Use Storage, Events, or another type page when your team only works with that group today.
Why this matters: A shorter list is easier to scan. A storage coordinator does not need to scroll past marketplace buyers every morning.
Use the same tools on every list
Search, Filters & Settings, Create New Customer, and Report work the same on every contacts page. You do not need to learn different buttons for each type.

Contacts sidebar expanded showing All Contacts, Storage, Events, Detailing, Ancillary Services, Marketplace, and Vendors links — Click the arrow beside Contacts to expand the list. Each link opens customers filtered by customer type.

What you can do from Contacts

Add a customer - create one customer record at a time.
Import customers - bring in a spreadsheet when you are moving from another system.
Find and filter customers - search by name, email, phone, company, status, stage, type, or source.
View and edit customer details - update name, email, phone, address, company, birthday, notes, and CRM information.
Review activity and history - see emails, texts, invoices, and event changes on the customer timeline.
Manage billing on the record - add the customer to payment processing and review payment methods.
Export the customer report - sort and download customer data for reviews and follow-up lists.
Link cars and documents - connect vehicles, contracts, files, billing, and history to the correct person.
Manage additional contacts - add a spouse, assistant, bookkeeper, or vehicle manager with their own communication preferences.
Invite a customer to the portal - send a sign-in link so the customer can view the information your team has prepared for them.
Guide a customer through the portal - help customers sign in, find cars, review events, and understand billing or onboarding steps.

Customer journey from record to portal

Most customer portal problems start before the customer signs in. Use this simple flow to give customers a smooth first experience:

Prepare the record
Add the customer, confirm the email address, link cars, and attach any documents or billing items the customer should see.
Invite the customer
Send the portal invite only after the record looks ready. This helps the customer trust what they see when they sign in.
Help the customer get oriented
Explain the main portal areas in simple terms: Events, Cars, Shop, Billing, Documents, and Settings.
Keep the record current
When cars, documents, billing, or contact details change, update the customer record so the portal stays accurate.

Customer portal Events page showing upcoming customer appointments and events — The portal gives customers a self-service view of the information your team has prepared for them.

Finding customers quickly

The All Contacts page (and each customer-type page) supports search, filters, and three view modes so you can find the right customer on the first try.

View	Best for	How to switch
Table	Daily office work, sorting, and quick actions	Open Filters & Settings, then choose Table
Card	Visual browsing with photos	Open Filters & Settings, then choose Card
Board	Sales follow-up and moving leads through stages	Open Filters & Settings, then choose Board

Filters and Settings panel on Contacts showing Table, Card, and Board view buttons plus status and CRM filters — Open Filters & Settings near the search bar to change views, show or hide table columns, and narrow the list.

Contacts page in Card view showing customer cards in a grid with names, emails, and CRM details — Card view helps your team browse customers visually—useful when you recognize people by photo or name at a glance.

Contacts Board view with customers grouped in columns by CRM pipeline stage — Board view groups customers by pipeline stage. Drag a card to another column when their stage changes.

For step-by-step help with search and filters, read Find and filter contacts.

The customer detail page

Click any customer to open their detail page. This single page is the source of truth for everything about the customer:

Personal & Contact — name, company, email, phone, address, birthday, profile photo, and location assignment.
CRM Information — pipeline stage, customer source (with detail), customer groups (types), and freeform tags.
Cars — all vehicles linked to this customer, with quick actions to assign more.
Contacts — additional people associated with the customer account (spouse, assistant, bookkeeper, etc.) with individual communication preferences and portal access.
Documents — contracts, agreements, and uploaded files tied to the customer.
Activity — a timeline of communications, events, and changes. See Review customer activity and history.
Billing — payment methods, payment history, and fee configuration (when payments are enabled). See Manage billing on a customer record.

Customer detail page showing the personal information section with fields for name, email, phone, company, and address — The top of the customer detail page shows personal information and quick-edit fields.

How-to guides

Add a customer
Create a new customer record with contact details and CRM classification. Read the guide →
Import customers and cars from a spreadsheet
Bring existing customer and vehicle lists into the system during onboarding. Read the guide →
Find and filter contacts
Use search, filters, table view, card view, and board view to find the right record quickly. Read the guide →
Export and use the customer report
Review portal sign-in, payment status, and monthly recurring totals—and export CSV when needed. Read the guide →
Manage contact tags and CRM fields
Use tags, pipeline stages, customer types, and sources to organize and segment your customer base. Read the guide →
Link cars and documents to a customer
Connect vehicles, contracts, and uploaded files to the correct customer record. Read the guide →
Review customer activity and history
See messages, notes, invoices, and schedule changes in one timeline. Read the guide →
Manage billing on a customer record
Connect payment processing and review payment methods from the customer page. Read the guide →
Edit customer details
Update contact information, CRM fields, notes, and account status safely. Read the guide →
Manage additional contacts
Add assistants, spouses, bookkeepers, and other people who help manage the account. Read the guide →
Invite a customer to the portal
Send a sign-in link so the customer can access their cars, billing, documents, and schedule from the customer portal. Read the guide →
Understand portal access levels
Learn Full vs Ticket-only access and when Send Invite appears on the list. Read the guide →
Guide a customer through the portal
Help a customer sign in, understand what they can do, and complete common portal tasks with confidence. Read the guide →
Handle duplicate or merged customer records
Migrate duplicates, restore deleted customers, or delete mistaken records safely. Read the guide →

Recommended first-time setup order

If your facility is new to Car Storage Software, use this order:

Set up CRM fields
Review Configure CRM settings so your stages, sources, and customer groups match your process.
Add or import customers
Add one customer with Add a customer, or bring in a spreadsheet from Import Data using Import customers and cars from a spreadsheet.
Add or import cars
Create the vehicles and link them to the correct customers.
Attach documents and contracts
Add the paperwork customers need before they use the portal.
Invite customers to the portal
Invite customers after their record looks complete.
Support their first sign-in
Use Guide a customer through the portal to explain what customers see and how your team should answer common portal questions.