## Overview

The **Contacts & CRM** area is where ConversaLabs keeps track of who your audience is and what is
happening with each business opportunity. Everything revolves around the **contact**: the person you
talk to. From the contact, the platform connects companies, custom attributes, segments, conversation
history and the **deals** in the CRM.

In short, this category brings together four blocks that work as one:

- **Contacts**: the central record of people, with CSV import and organization into segments.
- **Companies**: group contacts that belong to the same organization.
- **Custom attributes**: extra fields you create to store information specific to your business on
  contacts and conversations.
- **CRM**: pipelines, kanban and deals to track opportunities from first contact to close, with
  notes, attachments, checklists, line items, value and order history.

## Prerequisites

- An active ConversaLabs account and a user with access to the Contacts area.
- For the **CRM (pipelines, kanban and deals)**, the CRM module must be enabled for your account —
  it is usually on by default.
- The **Companies** module is optional and may depend on your plan; if you do not see it, ask an
  administrator.
- The **Orders Registry** and **Custom Objects** are advanced capabilities that may require
  activation. Check each dedicated article.

## Step by step

1. Open the **Contacts** area from the sidebar.
2. Create a contact manually or **import** your base via CSV.
3. Organize the base into **segments** (saved filters) to find groups quickly.
4. Define **custom attributes** to store the data that matters to your business.
5. Open the **CRM** and create or pick a **pipeline**; drag deals across stages on the **kanban**.
6. In each deal, log **notes, attachments, checklists and line items**, and track its **value**.
7. Use the **Orders Registry** to see the purchase history of each contact.

## Settings & options

- **Contacts**: standard fields (name, email, phone, identifier, city, country) plus custom
  attributes.
- **Segments**: saved filters by combined criteria (attributes, labels, date, etc.).
- **CRM**: pipelines with their own stages, per-stage probability and per-deal rules.
- **Permissions**: access to the CRM is controlled by the CRM management permission; administrators
  decide who can create and move deals.

## Use cases

- Centralize every customer and lead in one record, coming from multiple channels.
- Track sales opportunities in a visual funnel, from prospecting to close.
- Segment the base for more precise campaigns, follow-ups and reports.
- Record each customer's order history for more contextual support.

## Tips, limits & best practices

- Standardize custom attributes before importing large bases — it avoids rework.
- Use segments instead of loose labels for groups you query often.
- Start with a simple pipeline and refine the stages as the operation matures.
- Keep one contact per person: duplicates pollute reports and history.

## Troubleshooting

- **I do not see the CRM or Companies**: the module may not be enabled for the account or for your
  role — ask an administrator.
- **Duplicate contacts after import**: check the identifier/email column in the CSV before importing
  again.
- **I cannot move a deal**: confirm you have the CRM management permission.

## See also

- [Contacts: create, import (CSV) and segments](/hc/ajuda/articles/contacts-crm-contatos-import-segmentos-en)
- [Contact and conversation custom attributes](/hc/ajuda/articles/contacts-crm-atributos-personalizados-en)
- [Companies and contact linking](/hc/ajuda/articles/contacts-crm-empresas-en)
- [CRM: pipelines, kanban and deals](/hc/ajuda/articles/contacts-crm-crm-pipelines-kanban-negocios-en)
- [Orders Registry in the CRM](/hc/ajuda/articles/contacts-crm-crm-orders-registry-en)