CRM — Client Management

Turn prospects into clients — without the guesswork

❖ Goal

Help you add clients, manage contacts and rates, track prospects, and build stronger relationships — all from one centralized place in NextCrew.

❖ Overview

Your CRM in NextCrew is where client relationships are built and maintained. From the moment you meet a prospect to the day they become a long-term active client, every detail — contacts, rates, preferences, notes, and follow-up tasks — lives in one profile. When your CRM is clean and current, your team closes faster, bills correctly, and never misses a follow-up.

❖ Typical Challenges

• Prospects fall through the cracks because follow-ups are not tracked and no one knows who owns the relationship.
• Rates get entered incorrectly on jobs because there is no centralized rate agreement for each client.
• Client contacts, preferences, and notes are scattered across emails and spreadsheets — invisible to the rest of the team.

✅ How to Do It in NextCrew

a) How to add a client

Go to CRM → Clients → + Add Client. Enter the client name, line of business, office location, and account type (Prospect or Active). Add their address, lead source, and any key notes. Assign the account to a team member and set a follow-up status so the relationship stays moving.

• Adding a New Client — Step-by-Step Guide
• How to Create a Client — Quick Steps

b) How to set client rates

Go to Settings → Company Profile → Rate Configuration. Click + New, name the rate (e.g., 'Client A — Warehouse Rate'), and for each position enter the pay rate, markup, and bill rate. Once saved, assign the rate configuration to the client — it will automatically apply to all future job orders for that client.

c) How to add crew preferences

Open a client's profile and go to the Crew Preferences section. Add crew members as Preferred (always prioritize for this client's jobs) or Do Not Return / DNR (never assign to this client). These preferences are automatically respected when sending offers and doing smart matching.

d) How to add client contacts

Open any client profile and go to Contacts → + Add Contact. Enter the contact's name, title, email, phone, and role. You can add unlimited contacts per client and optionally grant them portal access so they can submit job requests or view schedules directly.

• How to Manage & Add Client Contacts in NextCrew CRM
• Allow Your Clients to Access the Self-Service Portal

e) How to manage prospects and active clients

Go to CRM → Clients and filter by Account Type = Prospect to see your pipeline. Update each prospect's Follow-Up Status and add a task with a due date so nothing slips. When a deal closes, change the Account Type from Prospect to Active — they instantly become available for job orders.

⚡   Automation & AI — What Happens Automatically

• Rate configurations assigned to a client automatically apply to every new job order created for that client — no manual rate lookup needed.
• Tasks and follow-up reminders notify the assigned team member automatically when a due date approaches — no one forgets a prospect follow-up.
• Crew preferences (preferred/DNR) are enforced automatically during smart matching and offer sending.
• Client portal access lets clients submit job requests directly into NextCrew, creating orders automatically without back-and-forth emails.

❖ Integrations

• Client rate configurations flow directly into job orders, timesheets, payroll, and invoicing — set the rate once in CRM and it never needs to be re-entered.
• Client portal access connects directly to Workspace so client-submitted job requests appear as orders immediately.

❖ Best Practice Guide

• Always assign an Account Owner to every client and prospect — unassigned accounts get ignored.
• Use Lead Source every time you add a new prospect so you know which channels are actually bringing in business.
• Set a Follow-Up Status and task on every prospect — 'no next step' means a deal is dying.
• Build one rate configuration per client type (not per individual client) wherever possible — it saves hours of maintenance when rates change.
• Grant key client contacts portal access early — clients who can self-serve are more engaged and less likely to call for status updates.

❖ Measure Your Success — Key Reports & Dashboards

• Number of active clients vs prospects in your pipeline.
• Lead source breakdown — which channels bring in the most clients.
• Follow-up task completion rate — are your team's next steps actually getting done?
• Rate configuration coverage — percentage of active clients with a rate table assigned. 

➡️  Next Best Actions

• Once a client is added and rates are set, create your first order for them in Workspace so the full job cycle can begin.
• Invite key client contacts to the self-service portal so they can submit requests and see job status without calling your team.
• Add the new client's preferred crew to their profile right away so smart matching works correctly from the first job.

➤ FAQ

Q: Can I have both a Prospect and an Active status for the same company?

A: Yes. Simply update the Account Type from Prospect to Active when the client signs on. All history and contacts carry over.

Q: Do I need to set up a separate rate configuration for every client?

A: Not necessarily. If multiple clients share the same rate structure, you can assign one configuration to all of them and only update it in one place when rates change.

Q: Can client contacts log in and see job status themselves?

A: Yes. You can grant portal access to any contact so they can view their jobs, timesheets, and schedules directly — reducing your team's inbound calls significantly. 

➤ Call to Action

Advanced Setup: CRM Configuration Settings — Admin Guide