CRM

Add A Client

How to Add a Client in Appraisal Inbox There are two ways to add a new Client in Appraisal Inbox: 1. Add a Client while creating a new Appraisal Order (recommended) 2. Add a Client directly from the Clients section Both methods create a Client record and, if applicable, a Contact record for that Client. Note: A Client is the organization or individual the order is for (such as a lender, AMC, portal, or private client), while a Contact is a specific person associated with that Client—or an individual involved in the assignment, such as a property owner, person of contact, etc who may or may not be associated with a Client. Understanding "Ordered By" vs. "Addressed To" Appraisal Inbox supports two types of Clients on an order. When creating an appraisal order, you will see two separate "Client" fields: - Ordered By Client – the party that places the order (e.g., a portal like AppraisalPort or an AMC) - Addressed To Client – the party the appraisal is for (e.g., lender, bank, credit union) These may be the same or different depending on the source of the appraisal assignment. Ordered By Client This is who sent or initiated the order. It might be the party that places the order (e.g., a portal like AppraisalPort, the VA or an AMC), or - the lender, bank or private Client if not an AMC or portal order. Addressed To Client This is the ultimate end-client or institution the appraisal is for. This might be the exactly the same as the Client who ordered. Or, if the ordering client is an AMC or portal like Mercury, the "Addressed To Client" could be a lender, credit union, etc. By default, Appraisal Inbox assumes the Addressed To Client is the same as the Ordered By Client. If they are different, uncheck the box: “Addressed to same Client as Ordered By?” When unchecked, a second Client selector appears for the Addressed To Client. There you can select and existing Client or add a new one. Option 1: Add a Client While Creating a New Appraisal Order (Recommended) This is the most common workflow for appraisers and ensures Clients and Contacts are created as you enter new appraisal orders. Steps 1. Click + Add from the appraisals search view, or go directly to the add appraisal form: https://secure.appraisalinbox.com/appraisals/create 2. In the Engagement section, begin typing in the Ordered By Client field by either the Client name or even by a Contact (person) name who works for the Client. - If the Client already exists, you will see them in the list of results - click their name to set the client on the order - If the Client does not already exist, click: "+ Add “Super Client” Client" A modal will open to add the Client’s details. - Uncheck "Client is a business? Uncheck if an individual." for individuals - Leave it checked to add an Organization unless you'd like to also like specify the Contact person who works for the Client If the Addressed To client is different from the Ordered By client: - Uncheck “Addressed to same Client as Ordered By?” - In the newly visible field, type the Addressed To client’s name. - Select an existing Client or click + Add to create a new one 3. Click Save. When you complete the appraisal order: - A Client record is created for each unique client used - A Contact record is created (either a default one or one you specify) Option 2: Add a Client Directly You can also add a Client independently of entering an appraisal order. Steps 1. Click + Add from the clients search view, or go directly to the add client form: https://secure.appraisalinbox.com/clients/create Enter the Client details. - Leave "Client is a business? Uncheck if an individual." if the client is organizations (e.g., AMCs, lenders). - Uncheck if the Client is an individual or if you are adding a Client along with their primary Contact (a person) 2. Click Save to create the Client and associated Contact record. Notes & Tips - New accounts with no data may not show the inline “+ Add Client” option until visiting the New Appraisal Order page. - Every Client must have at least one primary Contact. If you don’t specify one, Appraisal Inbox will create a default Contact automatically (which you can edit later). - For orders involving both an ordering platform/AMC and a lender, always ensure the Ordered By and Addressed To fields correctly reflect each part for better tracking

Duplicate Management

With any CRM system (customer relationship manager), duplicate contact entries are inevitable as data grows over time — from imports, typos, or simply not realizing a record already exists. Appraisal Inbox tackles this with three layers of protection to both prevent new duplicates and clean up existing ones: search-as-you-type suggestions, a check when saving a new contact or client, and automated nightly scans that detect potential duplicates with a built-in interface for merging them. How It Works Duplicate prevention happens at three levels, each catching what the previous one missed: 1. Search & Select — When you're adding a client or contact, the system searches your existing records as you type, letting you know if they're already in the CRM. 2. Create-Time Check — If you click "Add New" to create a record, the system checks for duplicates before saving. If a potential match is found, you'll see a warning. 3. Nightly Scan — Every night, the system scans all your records for duplicates that may have slipped through — from imports, typos, or other data entry. Search & Select Whenever you add a client or contact on an appraisal form the input field works as a live search. 1. Start typing a name, email, or phone number 2. Matching records appear in a dropdown as you type, showing name, email, phone, and client association (when a contact) 3. Select an existing record to use it — no duplicate created 4. If you are sure no true match exists, click Add "[name]" as new client at the bottom of the dropdown to create one 🧠 Tip: The search looks across all your contacts and clients at once, so even partial matches on email or phone will surface existing records. Create-Time Duplicate Check When you create a new client or contact (from the "Add New" option above, the Client create page, or the quick-create button), the system automatically checks for duplicates before saving. If potential matches are found, a Possible Duplicates warning appears: 1. Review the matches — each shows the name, match type (e.g., "Email Match", "Name Match"), and confidence level 2. Select an existing record to use it instead of creating a new one 3. Or click Create New Anyway if you're sure this is a different person or company You can click the pencil icon next to any match to view the full record before deciding. 📝 Note: If the check can't complete for any reason, your save goes through normally. The nightly scan will catch any duplicates later. Nightly Duplicate Scan Every night, the system scans all recently added clients and contacts across your organization to find duplicates that weren't caught during creation — such as records from imports, bulk data entry, or subtle name variations. Reviewing Duplicates When duplicates are found, a badge appears on the duplicate icon in the top navigation bar showing the number of pending groups to review. 1. Click the duplicate icon to open the Possible Duplicates window 2. Each group shows the records the system believes are duplicates, along with the match type and confidence level. To see the details, click the gray bar or down arrow for the group. Merging Duplicates For each duplicate group, you choose which record to keep and what field values the merged record should have. 1. Select the record to keep — this becomes the primary record going forward 2. Choose field values — for each field (name, email, phone, address), pick which record's value to use, or edit the merged value directly 3. Click Merge to combine the records When records are merged all appraisals, notes, files, invoices, and messages from the duplicate are moved to the retained record. Keeping Records Separate If the system flags two records as duplicates but you are sure they're actually different people or companies: 1. Click Keep Separate on the group (and be thoughtful, you can't undo this decision) 2. The system remembers your decision and won't flag that pair again in future scans Client Duplicates with Shared Contacts When merging duplicate clients, the system also checks if those clients have duplicate contacts between them. You'll see an expandable section showing any contact matches, and you can merge those at the same time, including the ability to change the "primary" contact. Notes & Tips - Search & Select is your best friend — getting in the habit of searching before creating is the most effective way to keep your data clean. - Who can review duplicates — only team members with full access or account owner permissions can see the duplicate badge and merge records. - Smart matching — the system catches name variations like "Bob" vs "Robert", "LLC" vs "Inc", and common typos, so you'll see matches that an exact name search would miss.