Managing Contact Records

This article was written to provide instructions on managing contacts, specifically how to add, edit, and delete contacts, as well as assigning contacts within the CRM. This article is broken down into the following topics:

• Adding a Contact
• Editing a Contact
• Deleting a Contact
  • 30-Day Recycle Bin Option
• Assigning a Contact
  • Making a Contact Public or Private
  • Assigning Contacts and Shared User Data
  • FAQs

Adding a Contact

NOTE
Depending on your permissions, some options may not be available.

1. Check to ensure that the Mark Contact as Test checkbox is enabled in the Contacts module section within the Role Permissions Page under the Admin tab.
   
2. Click the Contacts tab, click Add a Contact.
   
3. You will then be taken to a blank intake form on the Add Contact page.
   
4. First, take a look at the Text and Public checkboxes, then the Company and Assigned To options above the form table at the top right of the page.
   

• Test - marking the contact as "Test" excludes this contact from system reports, ensuring reports are accurate while still allowing users to create, manage, and troubleshoot test scenarios within the CRM.

  • Excluding test contact functionality is also present as an option on the following pages within the FORTH CRM:
    • Enrollment Reports via the Enrollments Tab
    • Debts Report via the Creditors Tab
    • Accounting Tab
    • Ready to Settle Page - Settlements Tab
    • Calendar Tab
    • List Builder via the Contacts Tab
    • Contacts Tab
    • Reports & Statistics - via the Reports Tab > My Reports

   

  • To ensure that contacts flagged as test contacts are not displayed in the user interface when viewing records in the CRM nor through the search bar:

    • Click the Admin tab. 
    • Select Settings from the navigation bar
    • At the bottom of the General section, locate the Show Test Contact setting. The system defaults this setting to OFF (disabled) for all accounts.

    • Toggle the setting to ON to make test contacts visible across the system.

    • Click Save to apply the changes.

• 

  When this checkbox is active, a warning banner is displayed just under the Contact's name (see red arrow below). See the FAQ section at the end of this article for more information on the Test Exclusion feature.
  

• Public - marking the contact as "Public" gives everyone access regardless of their user role permission or other limitations on viewing data.
• Company - The company assignment designates the company to which the contact will be assigned. If left as "--Select--," the system will automatically assign the contact to the same company the user creating the contact is assigned to.
• Assigned To - User the contact is assigned to, if left alone the system will automatically assign the contact to the user creating it.
   

5. Fill in the fields listed on the page. If there is a co-applicant, a duplicate set of fields will appear to be filled out for the co-applicant.
   

Note: If you see **, that designates a required field. The user must fill that information in before saving the contact.

6. On the left-hand side of the page, you will find the different form groups; click any of the listed form groups (such as Address Information, Employer Information, Additional Information, Hardship Info) to access more sections of the form.
   
7. Once you've completed entering information, do one of the following: 
   • Click Save, at any point, to create the contact but continue editing. If there are required fields that you missed, you will receive a warning indicating which fields require completion.
     • If you have multiple form groups to fill out, you also click Save after you complete the current form, then click the next form group; or 

   • Click Save and Exit to create the contact and go to the client dashboard. This is used if you only have one form to complete.

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Editing a Contact

IMPORTANT
You can only delete a contact if they have not been enrolled. Additionally, we do not 
recommend deleting contacts. We suggest you edit the contact and unassign it.

30-Day Recycle Bin Option

The FORTH system offers the use of a 30-Day Recycle Bin. To use this feature, follow the five steps below. 

1. Go to the Admin Tab, 

2. Select Roles in the Navigation Bar.

3. Scroll down to the Contacts section (shown in the image below). 

4. Click the Recycle Bin checkbox to activate it. 

5. Click Save at the top of the page to save your permissions update.

When you delete a contact via the user interface, API, or Mass Delete, it isn't gone forever right away. Instead, it is moved to a new Recycle Bin for 30 days.

The Recycle Bin is available via the Admin tab (see below).

If you delete someone by mistake, you can easily restore them from the Recycle Bin within this 30-day period by finding the deleted contact and clicking Recover (see the right side of the image below).

After 30 days, the contact's data is deleted automatically. If they weren't a FORTH Pay user, their data is permanently deleted.

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Assigning a Contact

1. From the Contacts tab, click the right-facing green arrow () next to the contact you want to assign.
2. Do one of the following:
   • Click Change Secondary Assignments and go to Step 3; or
   • Click Edit Contact and go to step 5.
     
3. If you selected Change Secondary Assignments, a Change Assignments window opens. There may be fewer or more fields than shown in the example below, depending on the contact.
   
4. Select an option from the various dropdown menus to match your needs and click Update Assignments when finished.
5. If you choose Edit Contact, the Add Contact window opens.
   
6. Near the top of the page, select an option from the Company dropdown menu to assign the contact to a different company. 
7. Next, choose a different option from the Assigned To dropdown menu to assign the contact to a different user in the CRM. 
8. Click Save when finished.

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Making a Contact Public or Private

Contact files are private by default.

IMPORTANT
Only the Assigned User (and anyone with Shared User Data access to the Assigned 
User's contacts) has access to the contact.

1. To change the contact's public or private status, go to the Client Dashboard and edit the contact by following the steps in the section titled, Assigning a contact.
2. Do one of the following:
   • Select the Public checkbox to make the contact public. Public contacts are viewable by ALL USERS regardless of a contact's assignments.
   • Clear the Public checkbox to make the contact private.
     
3. Click the Save button when finished.

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Assigning Contacts and Shared User Data

Assigning a contact grants access to a client's data file to a specific CRM user. The shared user data settings determine if other users can also have access.

Shared user data enables a user to view the contact data assigned to or created by the selected users. 

NOTE
Only users with Super Admin Settings privileges can control these settings.

For information on Shared User Data, go to our Help Center article Shared User Data. (Opens New Window)  

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FAQs

Why can I no longer find a specific contact using the global search bar? The contact is likely flagged as a test contact. Ask your system administrator to temporarily enable the Show Test Contact setting to locate the record.

Will hiding test contacts delete their history or associated documents? No. Hiding test contacts only affects UI visibility. The database retains all associated records, documents, and history.

Can I reassign all the leads from one user to another? Yes, please visit our Help Center article on using the Mass Edit tool to reassign contacts.

Can contacts be automatically assigned? Yes, click the Admin tab and select Settings from the navigation bar. Within the General section of the page, enable Auto Assign Contacts by clicking the checkbox next to it.

Are test contacts automatically excluded from custom reports? Yes. Test contacts and associated records are excluded from standard reporting areas. If you enable the Show Test Contact setting, reports will dynamically update to include them. It is also present as an option on the pages within the FORTH CRM shown below.

• Enrollment Reports - Enrollments Tab

• Debts Report - Creditors Tab

• Accounting Tab

• Ready to Settle Page - Settlements Tab

• Calendar Tab

• List Builder - Contacts Tab

• Contacts Tab

• Reports & Statistics - Reports Tab > My Reports

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