What a module is and when to use one
Modules are record types you build yourself, such as Properties, Tickets or Client payments, with their own fields, board and links.
Leads, deals, contacts and companies cover selling. Most businesses also track something else: properties for an estate agent, site visits for a contractor, tickets for a support desk, or the payments each customer still owes. A module is a kind of record you add for that yourself. It gets its own list, its own fields, and, if you want, its own board with stages, just like deals.
What a module gives you
Every module you make works the same way as the built-in parts of the CRM:
- A place in the left menu. Your modules are listed under Modules, with the icon you chose. They are also in the Create menu in the top bar.
- A list and a board. Search, filter, sort, choose the columns, and drag records from stage to stage. See Work with a module's list and board.
- Your own fields. Text, numbers, money, dates, choices, files, people, and fields that point at another record. See Add and arrange a module's fields.
- Stages, if you want them. A board with stages, including won and lost ones. See Set up a module's stages.
- A record card. Each record has a card like a deal's, with activities, comments, tasks, messages and its history. See Add module records and work in the card.
- Links to the rest of the CRM. Attach records to deals, leads, contacts, companies, team members or other modules, and see them as a tab on those records. See Attach a module to other records.
- Automations, access rights, import and export, the same as for deals.
Each module also counts its own records: the first property is #1, the second #2, whatever else is in the CRM.
When to use a module, and when not to
Use a deal for anything you are trying to sell. Deals already have pipelines, products, estimates, invoices and payments, and they feed the sales reports.
Use a module for things that are not a sale but belong with one, or stand on their own:
- Things attached to a deal or customer: site visits, service jobs, contracts, support tickets.
- Things you own or manage: properties, vehicles, equipment.
- Money that is not an invoice: what a client owes you in instalments, vendor bills, expense claims, commissions. A module can count as money received or money spent on a deal. See Money modules: money in and money out.
- Processes of your own: recruitment, events and webinars, approvals.
If you would only add one or two fields, a custom field on deals or contacts is simpler. See Add custom fields and arrange the form.
Ready-made modules
You do not have to start from nothing. Settings → Modules lists Business solutions: ready-made modules with their fields, stages and links already set. Among them are Client payments, Vendor payments, Support tickets, Site visits, Service jobs, Recruitment, Expense claims, Contracts and Events & webinars.
Who can build modules
Only owners and admins can create, change or delete modules. Everyone else sees a note to ask an owner or admin. Which records each person can see and change in a module is set under Settings → Access. See Decide who can see and change a module.