Contact Management

Contacts are the heart of your CRM. This guide covers everything you need to know about creating, organizing, and managing your contacts in TightBlocks.

Table of Contents

• Overview

• Creating Contacts

• Contact Fields

• Viewing and Editing Contacts

• Contact Activities and History

• Linking Contacts

• Contact Tags and Segmentation

• Searching and Filtering Contacts

• Bulk Operations

• Contact Merge and Deduplication

• Importing Contacts

• Exporting Contacts

• Best Practices

Overview

Contacts represent the people you do business with - leads, prospects, customers, partners, and any other individuals important to your business relationships.

What You Can Do with Contacts

• Store detailed information about people

• Track all interactions and communication history

• Link contacts to companies and deals

• Organize with tags and custom fields

• Send emails and log activities

• Create tasks and set reminders

• View relationship insights and analytics

Creating Contacts

There are several ways to create contacts in TightBlocks:

Manual Creation

Method 1: From Contacts Page

1. Go to Contacts in the sidebar

2. Click + New Contact button

3. Fill in the contact form

4. Click Save

Method 2: Quick Create

1. Press c (keyboard shortcut) or click the + button in the top navigation

2. Select Contact

3. Fill in required fields

4. Click Save

Method 3: From Company Page

1. Open a company record

2. Go to the Contacts tab

3. Click + Add Contact

4. The company will be automatically linked

Method 4: From Deal Page

1. Open a deal record

2. In the contact field, click + Create New Contact

3. Fill in details

4. The contact will be linked to the deal

Importing Contacts

For adding multiple contacts at once, see the Importing Contacts section below.

Automatic Creation

TightBlocks can automatically create contacts from:

• Email integration (when emailing new people)

• Web forms and landing pages

• API integrations

• Workflow automation

Contact Fields

Standard Fields

Required Fields:

• First Name - Contact's first name

• Last Name - Contact's last name

Recommended Fields:

• Email - Primary email address (validated format)

• Phone - Primary phone number

• Company - Organization the contact belongs to

• Job Title - Contact's position

Optional Fields:

• Mobile Phone - Mobile number

• Alternative Email - Secondary email

• Department - Department within company

• LinkedIn URL - Professional profile

• Twitter Handle - Social media

• Address - Physical location (street, city, state, country, zip)

• Birthday - For personal touch in communication

• Website - Personal or professional website

• Tags - Categorization labels

• Description/Notes - Free-form text about the contact

Custom Fields

Your administrator can create custom fields specific to your business needs:

• Text Fields - Short text (e.g., Lead Source)

• Long Text - Multi-line text (e.g., Special Requirements)

• Numbers - Numeric values (e.g., Budget)

• Dates - Date values (e.g., Last Meeting Date)

• Dropdowns - Predefined choices (e.g., Industry Preference)

• Checkboxes - Yes/No values (e.g., Newsletter Subscriber)

• URLs - Website links

• Email - Additional email fields

To view custom fields:

1. Open a contact

2. Scroll to the Custom Fields section

3. Click Edit to modify values

Viewing and Editing Contacts

Contact List View

The contacts list shows all your contacts in a table format.

Columns displayed:

• Name (with profile picture or initials)

• Email

• Phone

• Company

• Tags

• Last Activity

• Owner

Customizing the view:

• Click column headers to sort

• Drag column headers to reorder

• Click the ⋮ menu to show/hide columns

• Use the View dropdown for saved views (All Contacts, My Contacts, etc.)

Contact Detail View

Click any contact to see the full detail view with multiple tabs:

Overview Tab:

• Contact information summary

• Quick actions (Email, Call, Create Task)

• Key metrics (deals, activities, tasks)

• Recent activity feed

Activities Tab:

• Complete history of interactions

• Emails, calls, meetings, notes

• Timeline view (newest first by default)

• Filter by activity type

Deals Tab:

• All deals associated with this contact

• Current stage and value

• Quick access to deal details

Tasks Tab:

• Open and completed tasks

• Create new tasks

• Assign to team members

Email Tab:

• Email correspondence history

• Send new emails

• View threads and replies

Files Tab:

• Attached documents and files

• Upload new files

• Preview and download

Editing Contacts

Quick Edit:

1. Hover over a field in the contact detail view

2. Click to edit inline

3. Press Enter or click outside to save

Full Edit:

1. Click Edit button at the top of the contact detail page

2. Modify any fields

3. Click Save or press Ctrl+Enter / Cmd+Enter

Bulk Edit: See Bulk Operations section below.

Contact Activities and History

Activity Timeline

The activity timeline shows a chronological history of all interactions:

• Emails - Sent and received (synced or logged)

• Calls - Phone call logs

• Meetings - Scheduled and completed meetings

• Notes - Manual notes and observations

• Tasks - Created and completed tasks

• Deal Changes - Deal associations and stage changes

• System Events - Contact created, updated, etc.

Logging Activities

Manual Activity Logging:

1. Open the contact

2. Go to Activities tab

3. Click + Log Activity

4. Select activity type:

   • Call - Phone conversation

   • Meeting - In-person or virtual meeting

   • Note - General observation or information

   • Email - Manual email log (if not auto-synced)

5. Fill in details:

   • Date and time

   • Duration (for calls/meetings)

   • Description or notes

   • Outcome (optional)

6. Click Save

Automatic Activity Tracking:

When email integration is enabled, TightBlocks automatically logs:

• Emails sent to the contact

• Emails received from the contact

• Email opens and clicks (if tracking enabled)

Activity Filters

Filter the activity timeline:

• All Activities - Show everything

• Emails Only - Email correspondence

• Calls Only - Phone call logs

• Meetings Only - Meeting notes

• Notes Only - Manual notes

• Date Range - Specific time period

Linking Contacts

Linking to Companies

During Contact Creation:

1. In the Company field, start typing the company name

2. Select from existing companies or + Create New Company

3. Save the contact

From Contact Detail Page:

1. Click Edit or click the Company field

2. Search for and select a company

3. Click Save

From Company Detail Page:

1. Open the company

2. Go to Contacts tab

3. Click + Link Existing Contact or + Create New Contact

Unlinking from Company:

1. Edit the contact

2. Clear the Company field

3. Save

Linking to Deals

Contacts can be associated with multiple deals.

Primary Contact:

• Every deal has a primary contact

• Set during deal creation or by editing the deal

Additional Contacts:

1. Open the deal

2. Go to People section

3. Click + Add Contact

4. Search and select contacts

5. Specify their role (Decision Maker, Influencer, etc.)

Linking to Activities

Activities are automatically linked to contacts when:

• You send an email to the contact

• You log a call or meeting with the contact

• You create a task assigned to the contact

• Workflows create activities for the contact

Contact Tags and Segmentation

Tags help you organize and categorize contacts for easy filtering and targeting.

Creating Tags

While Creating/Editing a Contact:

1. Click in the Tags field

2. Start typing a tag name

3. Press Enter to create a new tag or select an existing one

4. Add multiple tags as needed

Common Tag Examples:

• Lead Source: website, referral, trade-show, cold-outreach

• Status: hot-lead, warm-lead, cold-lead, customer

• Industry: technology, healthcare, finance, retail

• Priority: vip, high-priority, low-priority

• Campaign: webinar-q4, email-campaign-jan, holiday-promo

Using Tags for Segmentation

Filter by Tags:

1. Go to Contacts list

2. Click Filters

3. Select Tags

4. Choose one or more tags

5. Apply filter

Create Saved Views:

1. Set up your tag filters

2. Click Save View

3. Name your view (e.g., "Hot Leads")

4. Access quickly from the View dropdown

Bulk Tagging: See Bulk Operations section.

Searching and Filtering Contacts

Quick Search

Global Search:

1. Press Cmd+K or Ctrl+K to open global search, or use the search bar at the top

2. Type contact: followed by your search term

3. Or just type to search across all records

4. Select the contact from results

Contacts Page Search:

1. Go to Contacts

2. Use the search box at the top of the list

3. Searches across:

   • First and last names

   • Email addresses

   • Phone numbers

   • Company names

   • Tags

Advanced Filters

Build complex filters to find specific contacts:

1. Go to Contacts

2. Click Filters button

3. Add filter conditions:

Available Filters:

• Name - Contains, starts with, equals

• Email - Contains, equals

• Phone - Contains, equals

• Company - Is, is not, is empty

• Tags - Has, does not have

• Owner - Is, is not

• Created Date - Date ranges

• Last Activity - Date ranges

• Deal Value - Greater than, less than, equals

• Custom Fields - Based on your custom fields

Filter Operators:

• AND - All conditions must be true

• OR - Any condition must be true

• NOT - Exclude matches

Example Filters:

• "Contacts at Acme Corp tagged as 'decision-maker'"

• "Contacts with no activity in the last 30 days"

• "Contacts created this month with email containing '@gmail.com'"

Saving Filter Views

1. Set up your filters

2. Click Save View

3. Name your view

4. Choose visibility:

   • Private - Only you can see it

   • Shared - Your team can see it

5. Click Save

Access saved views from the View dropdown anytime.

Bulk Operations

Perform actions on multiple contacts at once.

Selecting Contacts

Select Individual Contacts:

• Check the box next to each contact in the list

Select All:

• Check the box in the header row

• To select all contacts beyond the current page, click Select all X contacts

Select by Filter:

1. Apply filters to find the contacts you want

2. Select all from the filtered results

Available Bulk Actions

Once contacts are selected, a toolbar appears with options:

1. Bulk Edit

• Update fields for all selected contacts

• Choose fields to update (e.g., Tag, Owner, Custom Field)

• Enter new values

• Click Update

2. Bulk Tag

• Add or remove tags from selected contacts

• Select Add Tags or Remove Tags

• Choose tags

• Apply

3. Bulk Delete

• Delete multiple contacts at once

• Confirmation required

• Cannot be undone (contacts are permanently deleted)

4. Bulk Export

• Export selected contacts to CSV

• Choose which fields to include

• Download file

5. Bulk Assign

• Change the owner of selected contacts

• Select new owner from your team

• Click Assign

6. Bulk Merge

• Combine duplicate contacts

• See Contact Merge and Deduplication

Best Practices for Bulk Operations

• Always apply filters to ensure you're selecting the right contacts

• Use the preview to verify your selection

• For irreversible actions (like delete), double-check your selection

• Test bulk edits on a small group first

• Export data before performing bulk deletes

Contact Merge and Deduplication

Finding Duplicates

TightBlocks helps identify potential duplicate contacts:

Automatic Detection:

• When creating a contact, you're warned if similar contacts exist

• Based on matching: email, phone, or name similarity

Manual Duplicate Detection:

1. Go to Contacts

2. Click Tools → Find Duplicates

3. TightBlocks scans and shows potential matches

4. Review suggested merges

Merging Contacts

From Duplicate Detection:

1. Review the suggested duplicate pairs

2. Click Merge on confirmed duplicates

3. Choose which contact to keep (master)

4. Select which fields to preserve from each record

5. Click Merge Contacts

Manual Merge:

1. Open the contact you want to keep

2. Click ⋮ menu → Merge Contact

3. Search for the duplicate contact

4. Select fields to preserve

5. Click Merge

What Happens During Merge:

• All activities from both contacts are combined

• All deals are transferred to the master contact

• All tasks are transferred to the master contact

• The duplicate contact is deleted

• A note is added to the master contact's activity log

Important Notes:

• Merging cannot be undone

• The duplicate contact's ID is retired and cannot be reused

• Any API integrations referencing the duplicate will need updating

Importing Contacts

Import contacts in bulk from CSV files or other sources.

Preparing Your Import File

CSV Format Requirements:

• First row must contain column headers

• UTF-8 encoding (for international characters)

• Comma-separated values

• Text fields in quotes if they contain commas

Required Columns:

• First Name (or first_name)

• Last Name (or last_name)

Recommended Columns:

• Email (or email)

• Phone (or phone)

• Company (or company)

• Job Title (or job_title)

Example CSV:

First Name,Last Name,Email,Phone,Company,Job Title
John,Smith,john.smith@example.com,555-0100,Acme Corp,Sales Manager
Jane,Doe,jane.doe@example.com,555-0101,TechStart,CEO

Import Process

1. Go to Contacts → Import button

2. Upload File

   • Click Choose File and select your CSV

   • Or drag and drop the file

3. Map Fields

   • Match CSV columns to TightBlocks fields

   • TightBlocks auto-detects common field names

   • Map custom fields if needed

   • Skip columns you don't want to import

4. Configure Options

   • Duplicate Handling:

     • Skip duplicates (based on email)

     • Update duplicates with new data

     • Create duplicates as new contacts

   • Tag Imported Contacts: Add a tag like import-2026-01 for tracking

   • Assign Owner: Assign all imported contacts to a specific user

5. Review & Import

   • Preview shows first 5 rows mapped

   • Check for any errors or warnings

   • Click Start Import

6. Monitor Progress

   • See real-time import status

   • Success/error counts

   • Download error log if any fail

Import Best Practices

• Clean your data before importing (remove duplicates, fix formatting)

• Test with a small batch (10-20 contacts) first

• Use consistent naming (e.g., always "Phone" not "Phone Number" sometimes)

• Include company names to auto-link contacts

• Tag imports to track which contacts came from each source

• Review imported contacts after completion

• Keep the original CSV file as a backup

Common Import Issues

Issue: Some contacts were skipped

• Check for missing required fields (first/last name)

• Verify email format is valid

• Check duplicate handling settings

Issue: Companies didn't auto-link

• Ensure company names match exactly

• Create companies first, then import contacts

• Or manually link after import

Issue: Custom fields didn't import

• Verify custom fields exist in TightBlocks

• Check field mapping in import wizard

• Ensure data types match (e.g., dates formatted correctly)

Exporting Contacts

Export contacts for backup, analysis, or migration.

Export Options

Export All Contacts:

1. Go to Contacts

2. Click Export button

3. Choose format (CSV, Excel)

4. Select fields to include

5. Click Export

6. Download the file

Export Filtered Contacts:

1. Apply filters to find specific contacts

2. Click Export

3. Only filtered contacts will be exported

Export Selected Contacts:

1. Select contacts using checkboxes

2. Click Bulk Actions → Export

3. Download the file

Export Fields

Choose which fields to include:

• All Fields - Everything including custom fields

• Standard Fields Only - Name, email, phone, company, etc.

• Custom Selection - Choose specific fields

Export Format

CSV:

• Plain text, comma-separated

• Opens in Excel, Google Sheets, any spreadsheet software

• Best for import into other systems

Excel (XLSX):

• Native Excel format

• Preserves formatting

• Multiple sheets for related data

Scheduled Exports

Set up automatic recurring exports:

1. Go to Settings → Data Export

2. Click + New Scheduled Export

3. Configure:

   • Name - e.g., "Weekly Contact Backup"

   • Frequency - Daily, weekly, monthly

   • Format - CSV or Excel

   • Filter - Which contacts to include

   • Destination - Email or cloud storage (if configured)

4. Click Save

Exports are automatically generated and sent to the configured destination.

Best Practices

Data Quality

1. Maintain Consistent Formatting

• Use standard phone number format: +1-555-0100

• Capitalize names properly: John Smith not john smith

• Use complete email addresses

• Keep company names consistent (don't abbreviate randomly)

2. Regular Deduplication

• Run duplicate checks monthly

• Merge duplicates promptly

• Train team to check for duplicates before creating contacts

3. Required Information

• At minimum, capture: First name, last name, email

• Encourage team to add company and job title

• Add tags for lead source and status

4. Keep Notes Updated

• Log all significant interactions

• Add context to activities

• Update contact information when it changes

Organization

1. Use Tags Strategically

• Create a tagging convention for your team

• Don't over-tag (5-10 tags per contact is usually enough)

• Use tags for actionable segmentation

2. Leverage Custom Fields

• Work with your admin to create fields for important business data

• Use dropdowns instead of free text when possible (for consistency)

• Don't create redundant fields

3. Assign Ownership

• Every contact should have an owner

• Owner is responsible for keeping data updated

• Use bulk assign to distribute new leads

Communication

1. Log All Interactions

• Even brief calls or emails

• Helps team understand relationship history

• Useful for AI insights

2. Set Reminders

• Create tasks for follow-ups

• Use due dates

• Don't let leads go cold

3. Use Email Integration

• Connect your email for automatic logging

• Saves time and ensures complete history

• Enables AI features

Privacy and Compliance

1. Respect Contact Preferences

• Honor unsubscribe requests

• Mark contacts as "Do Not Email" if requested

• Document consent for GDPR compliance

2. Data Retention

• Review and archive old contacts

• Delete contacts who request removal

• Follow your company's data retention policy

3. Access Control

• Only share contact data with those who need it

• Use roles and permissions appropriately

• Be aware of data privacy regulations (GDPR, CCPA, etc.)

Performance Tips

1. Use Saved Views

• Create views for common filters

• Saves time and ensures consistency

• Share useful views with your team

2. Keyboard Shortcuts

• Press Cmd+N or Ctrl+N for quick create, or type n in the command palette (Cmd+K)

• Press Cmd+K or Ctrl+K to open global search

• Learn other shortcuts in Tips & Best Practices

3. Bulk Operations

• Use bulk operations to save time

• Don't edit contacts one by one when you can bulk edit

• Leverage filters before bulk operations

Related Articles

• Getting Started Guide - New to TightBlocks?

• Company Management - Link contacts to companies

• Deal Pipeline Management - Associate contacts with deals

• Email Integration - Sync email communication

• Workflow Automation - Automate contact management tasks

• Tips & Best Practices - Productivity tips

• FAQ - Common questions

Last Updated: January 2026