> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://learn.withessential.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://learn.withessential.com/customers-and-work/contacts/creating-a-contact.md). # Creating a contact A contact is a person tied to a customer, such as a site manager or billing contact. To create one, open the New contact page (New Contact on the Contacts page, or New > Contact from the top bar) and first choose which customer the contact belongs to; you can select an existing customer or create a new one from here. Search for an existing customer by name or by the complete value of a text or number custom field, such as a customer number. Exact matches appear before partial names and similar spellings. (If you started from a specific customer's page, that customer may already be selected for you.) Next, enter the contact's details. First name is required; last name, email, a primary and secondary phone, title, and notes are optional. Use **+ Add email** under **Email** to save extra addresses; see [Give a contact more than one email address](/customers-and-work/contacts/give-a-contact-more-than-one-email-address.md). Every contact must have at least one role so the system knows what they do on the account. The Customer-level roles section is required unless you add property-level roles instead. If your business has configured contact custom fields, fill them in under **Custom fields**. Required fields show an asterisk and must have a value before saving. Admins configure these in [Settings → Custom Fields](/administration/settings/create-and-manage-custom-fields.md), with **Applies to** set to **Contact**. Customer-level roles apply across the whole customer account, and for each one you can mark the contact as primary or secondary. If the contact's responsibilities are tied to specific properties rather than the whole account, click Add Property-level roles and choose the role plus the properties it applies to; in that case at least one property-level role is required and the customer-level section becomes optional. When the same person covers every property on a large account, the property picker has a **Select all** option at the top of its list that assigns all the properties still available at once, instead of clicking through them one by one. You can also mix both kinds. If the customer has Customer Portal access enabled, you may see an option to give this contact portal access too. When everything looks right, save to create the contact and open their page. While you enter the name and email or phone, a compact orange alert may link to contacts already saved under the selected customer. Select **View matches** to see their details. A name, email, or phone by itself is not enough to identify the same person. Review an existing contact in a new tab while keeping your draft. The alert is informational and never blocks saving: select **Save** to create a separate contact. You can collapse or dismiss the alert at any time. The checks also appear when adding a contact in the visit editor and when choosing **Save to contacts** in document recipient editors. See [Review possible duplicates while creating records](/customers-and-work/contacts/review-possible-duplicates-while-creating-records.md). > **Where to find it:** New Contact on the Contacts page, or New > Contact; the New contact page's customer selector, contact details, and roles section ## Related guides * [Edit a contact's details, or where their roles live](/customers-and-work/contacts/edit-a-contacts-details-or-where-their-roles-live.md) * [Give a contact more than one email address](/customers-and-work/contacts/give-a-contact-more-than-one-email-address.md) * [Contact roles explained](/customers-and-work/contacts/contact-roles-explained.md) * [Give a contact access to the customer portal](/customers-and-work/contacts/give-a-contact-access-to-the-customer-portal.md) * [See and browse all your contacts](/customers-and-work/contacts/see-and-browse-all-your-contacts.md) --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the following URL with the `ask` and `goal` query parameters: ``` GET https://learn.withessential.com/customers-and-work/contacts/creating-a-contact.md?ask=&goal= ``` `ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. `goal` is what the user is ultimately trying to achieve, the reason they need the answer. Sharing it helps GitBook give you a better, more relevant answer. A goal is most helpful when it describes the outcome the user wants rather than restating the question. For example, with `ask=how do I create an API token`, a goal like `automate deployments from our CI pipeline` lets GitBook tailor the answer to that use case. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.