Your contact database is the foundation of everything in Novala. Every customer interaction — quotes, invoices, work orders, inspections — connects back to the companies, sites, and contacts you manage here. This page explains how to structure your customer data and keep it clean.
Novala uses a three-level hierarchy:
- Company — a business organization (e.g., Acme Corp)
- Site — a physical location that belongs to a company (e.g., Acme Corp – Chicago Warehouse)
- Contact — an individual person at a company (e.g., Jane Smith, Facilities Manager)
A company can have multiple sites, and each site can have multiple contacts. This structure lets you track where work happens, not just who’s involved.
Add a company
Go to Companies
Navigate to Directory → Companies in the left sidebar.
Create a new company
Click New Company in the top-right corner. Fill in the company name, address, and any other details.
Save the record
Click Save. The company record opens, where you can immediately add sites and contacts.
Add a site
Sites represent physical locations. Add them from inside the company record.
Open the company
Go to Directory → Companies and open the company you want to add a location for.
Add a site
Click the Sites tab, then Add Site. Enter the site name and address.
Save
Click Save. The site now appears on the company and can be linked to work orders, inspections, and equipment.
Open the company or site
Navigate to the company or site where the person works.
Add a contact
Click the Contacts tab, then Add Contact. Enter the person’s name, email, phone, and role.
Save
Click Save. The contact is now associated with that company and site.
You can also add contacts from Directory → Contacts and link them to a company afterward.
Go to Import
Navigate to Settings → Import, or ask the AI Copilot: “Take me to the import page.”
Download the template
Download the CSV template for companies or contacts to ensure your columns match the expected format.
Upload your file
Select your prepared CSV file and click Upload. Novala will preview the first few rows for you to confirm the mapping.
Run the import
Click Import. You’ll see a progress indicator and a summary of records created or skipped.
Imports do not automatically merge duplicates. Run the duplicate check after importing to clean up overlapping records.
Go to Contact Lists
Navigate to Directory → Contacts, then open the Lists tab.
Create a list
Click New List, give it a name and optional description, then save.
Add contacts
Open the list and click Add Contacts. Search and select the contacts you want to include.
Use lists to target specific groups when sending bulk emails or SMS messages — for example, all facility managers at warehouse sites in a particular region.
Duplicate detection and merging
Novala automatically identifies contacts that may be duplicates based on name, email, and phone number.
Open the Duplicates queue
Go to Directory → Contacts → Duplicates. Novala shows pairs of contacts it considers potential duplicates.
Review candidates
Click a pair to compare their details side by side.
Merge or dismiss
Choose which record to keep as the primary, then click Merge. All linked records (work orders, invoices, etc.) are reassigned to the primary contact. If the pair isn’t a duplicate, click Dismiss.
Merging is permanent. The non-primary contact record is removed after merging. Review carefully before confirming.
Custom fields
If you need to track additional information on companies, sites, or contacts beyond the default fields, you can add custom fields. See Custom fields for setup instructions.