Clients and Contacts Overview
Cone's client management system helps you organize and manage your business relationships, integrating client data with your accounting software and providing tools for contact management, project tracking, and client communication.
Understanding clients and contacts
Clients
Clients represent the companies or individuals you do business with. Each client in Cone can be:
Customer: An entity with an established business relationship or accepted proposal
Prospect: A potential client you're actively engaging but haven't converted yet
Business or Individual: Clients can be either business entities or individual persons
You can learn more about clients here
Contacts
Contacts are the individual people associated with your clients. Key aspects include:
Each client must have at least one primary contact
A single contact can be linked to multiple clients
Contacts manage portal access and receive communications
Contact details update across all linked clients when edited
You can learn more about contacts here
Key features
Data import options
Manual entry: Create clients directly in Cone
Accounting software sync: Import from QuickBooks, Xero
Bulk CSV import: Upload multiple clients at once
Companies House: Import UK company details automatically
Client workspace
When you open a client record, you access a comprehensive workspace with multiple sections:
Overview: Summary of client information and recent activity
Tasks: Client-specific tasks and to-dos
Projects: Active and completed projects for this client
Files: Document storage and management
Notes: Internal notes and comments
Emails: Email communication history
Chat: Internal team discussions about the client
Forms: Client-submitted forms and responses
Time Entries: Time tracking for client work
Billing: Invoices, payments, and financial history
Settings: Client-specific configurations
Quick view information
Basic company details and status
Custom fields specific to your business
Billing information and payment terms
Accounting software sync status
VAT/Tax registration details
For UK clients: Companies House information and filing deadlines
Client portal
Clients can access their own portal to:
Manage tasks
View and Download documents
Communicate with your team
Custom fields
Create industry-specific fields to track:
Contract details
Renewal dates
Service preferences
Compliance information
Any data unique to your business
Billing Settings
Configure client-specific billing preferences:
Payment terms (Net 15, 30, 60, etc.)
Preferred payment methods
Auto-charge settings
Invoice delivery preferences
Accounting integration
Two-way synchronization keeps data consistent:
Client information syncs automatically
Invoices and payments update in real-time
Changes in either system reflect everywhere
Conflict resolution for data discrepancies
Contact management
Each client must have at least one primary contact. This contact is pivotal for communication and proposal engagement processes
Adding contacts: Contacts can be added manually to a client's profile or selected from a list of existing contacts. This flexibility allows seamless management of client communications
Multiple associations: A single contact can be associated with multiple clients. Editing a contact's details updates the information across all client profiles linked to this contact. If a contact is removed, it will be detached from all associated clients
Functional actions with contacts: Beyond basic management, contacts allow for direct actions - creating proposals, associating them with existing clients, or initiating deals directly from the contacts page
Getting Started
Connect your accounting software to import existing clients
Add primary contacts for each client
Configure custom fields for your industry needs
Set up the client portal for self-service access
Establish billing preferences for automated invoicing