Managing Client Contacts

Every client can have multiple contact persons. The Contact Manager on the client detail page's Contacts tab is the central place to add, edit, remove, and configure contacts. Contacts are used throughout the system for project assignments, communication, portal access, and invoicing.

Contact fields

Each contact person record contains the following fields:

• Full Name (required) — The contact's full name. If only a full name is provided, the system automatically splits it into first_name and last_name.
• Email (required, validated) — The contact's email address. Required for portal access and communication.
• Phone — Direct telephone number
• Mobile — Mobile phone number
• Job Title — Their role within the company (e.g., Production Manager, Technical Director)
• Position — Organisational position
• Department — Department within the company
• Notes — Free-text notes specific to this contact

Contact number format

When a contact is created, the system automatically generates a unique reference number in the format CON-YYYY-HHMMSSXXXX. For example, CON-2026-0915321f4e. This follows the same pattern as client numbers: prefix, four-digit year, six-digit timestamp, and a four-character random suffix. Contact numbers are permanent and cannot be edited.

Contact type badges

Contacts display visual badges to indicate their role and access level:

• Primary — A star icon with a warning-coloured chip. Indicates the main point of contact for this client.
• Node User — A success-coloured chip. Indicates the contact is synced from a Nexus Client Node account.
• Portal — A primary-coloured tonal chip. Indicates the contact has active portal access.
• Billing Contact — Shown when is_billing_contact is true. This contact receives invoices and financial correspondence.
• Technical Contact — Shown when is_technical_contact is true. This contact handles technical queries and on-site coordination.

Setting the primary contact

Each client should have exactly one primary contact. The primary contact is used as the default recipient for quotes, invoices, and communications. To set a contact as primary, click the star icon next to their name. The previous primary contact is automatically demoted.

The primary contact's details (name, email, phone) are displayed in the client header on the detail page and in the client list table.

Billing and technical contact flags

In addition to the primary designation, contacts can be flagged as:

• Billing contact (is_billing_contact) — Receives all invoice-related emails and payment reminders. A client can have one billing contact who may or may not also be the primary contact.
• Technical contact (is_technical_contact) — Receives technical communications, delivery confirmations, and on-site briefing documents. Useful for events where the booking contact differs from the on-site technician.

Portal access management

Portal access allows individual contacts to log in and view quotes, invoices, project documents, and communication history. To enable portal access for a contact, the following conditions must all be met:

1. The client portal must be enabled globally in Configuration > Client Settings > Portal
2. The contact must have a valid email address
3. The contact must be active (not soft-deleted)

Toggle the portal access switch on a contact to enable or disable their access. When enabled for the first time, the contact receives an invitation email with login instructions.

If an invitation has already been sent, a Resend Invitation button appears. Use this if the original email was lost or expired.

Node-synced contacts

When a client has a Nexus Node account (at nodes.nexusrms.io/clients/{id}), the Node platform automatically syncs its user profiles into the client's contact list. These Node-synced contacts are distinguished by:

• A Node User badge (success chip) displayed next to their name
• The synced_from_node flag set to true
• A node_user_id linking to the UUID in the Node database
• A last_synced_at timestamp showing when the contact was last synchronised

Node-synced fields (name, email, phone, job title) are read-only in the Core system. Changes made by the client in their Node portal are automatically reflected in your contact list. You can still set a Node-synced contact as primary, assign them as billing or technical contact, and manage their Core portal access independently.

Core-only contacts vs Node-synced contacts

• Core-only contacts — Manually created in the NexusRMS admin. Fully editable. The synced_from_node flag is false. These contacts exist only within your tenant database.
• Node-synced contacts — Automatically created from the Nexus Node platform. Core fields are read-only (synced from Node). The system keeps them up to date via periodic synchronisation.

Deleting contacts

To delete a contact, click the delete action on the contact row. A confirmation dialog appears warning that the action uses soft deletion — the contact is marked as deleted but project associations are preserved for historical records.

The following contacts cannot be deleted:

• The primary contact — You must first assign another contact as primary before deleting the current one
• Contacts that are assigned to active projects — The project association must be changed first

Searching contacts

Use the search field at the top of the Contact Manager to filter contacts by name, email, or job title. The search works across all contacts for the current client. For cross-client contact searching, use the global search in the top navigation bar.

Tips

• Set the primary contact early — The primary contact is used as the default recipient throughout the system. Set it when you first create the client.
• Enable portal access for key contacts — Allowing clients to self-serve quote approvals and invoice payments reduces administrative workload.
• Keep Node-synced contacts up to date — If a Node contact's details appear stale, ask the client to update their profile in their Node portal. Changes sync automatically.
• Use billing and technical flags — For larger companies, the person who approves invoices is often different from the person on site. Use these flags to ensure the right person gets the right communications.
• Review contacts before each project — Confirm that the contact assigned to a project is still the correct person, especially for returning clients where personnel may have changed.

Next steps

Continue to the next article to learn about Client Financial Settings, including pricing tiers, credit management, discount types, tax configuration, and e-invoicing support.