Enquiries and follow-ups

Before you start

• You can make and send quotations (see the Quotations and invoices lesson).
• The customer can already be in Kade, or you can add them as a new prospect from the enquiry form.

Step by step

1. The enquiry board

Enquiries live in Customers › Enquiries. The board has a column for each stage: New, Contacted, Quoted, Won and Lost. Sent quotations already show under Quoted.

2. Start an enquiry

A contractor calls about roofing sheets. Click New enquiry, then search for the customer.

3. What they want

Note What they want, an Estimated value, and where the enquiry came from in Source.

4. Save the enquiry

Save it. The enquiry gets its own number and opens at the New stage.

5. Log the call

Log activity records the call, its direction and the outcome. Inside an enquiry, Ctrl+L does the same.

6. Contacted

Save. Logging an activity moves the enquiry from New to Contacted by itself, and the call appears under Activity.

7. Set a follow-up

New follow-up sets a reminder to call back. Give it a title and a due date, then save.

8. Back on the board

Back on the board, the card has moved to Contacted. Stages move by themselves as you log calls and send quotations.

9. Follow-ups

Every follow-up waits in the Customers › Follow-ups list. Sent quotations get one automatically, so no customer is forgotten.

Good to know

• Stages follow what you do: a sent quotation linked to the enquiry moves it to Quoted, and converting that quotation moves it to Won. The Won and Lost columns show the last 30 days.
• The automatic follow-up for a sent quotation is due 3 days after sending by default. It closes by itself once the quotation is converted, lost, cancelled, revised or expired.
• Overdue follow-ups show up in Needs attention. From the Follow-ups list you can Mark done, or move one on by +1 day, +3 days or +1 week.
• Sources include Walk-in, Referral, Phone, WhatsApp, Social media, Website and Site visit.

Try it yourself

1. Open Customers › Enquiries and press New enquiry (or Ctrl+E).
2. Choose a customer, write what they want, and save.
3. Press Ctrl+L to log a call, then add a follow-up for tomorrow and check it in Follow-ups.

Recap

The enquiry board shows every lead by stage, and the stages move by themselves as you log calls and send quotations. Follow-ups, made by you or by Kade for sent quotations, make sure nobody forgets to call back.