Managing Contacts: Cleaners, Managers, and Service Providers

BetterSTR allows you to manage contacts for cleaners, property managers, and other service providers. Using the tag-based system, you can organize contacts and assign them to specific properties for automated notifications.

Accessing Contacts

Navigate to Contacts from the main menu to view and manage your service provider contacts.

Adding a New Contact

1. Click Add Contact
2. Fill in the contact details:
   • Name (required) - Contact's full name
   • Email - Email address for notifications
   • Phone - Phone number with country code for SMS
   • Description - Role or notes (e.g., "Cleaner for beachfront properties")
3. Assign tags to categorize the contact
4. Click Save Contact

Understanding the Tag System

Contacts are assigned to properties through tags, not directly. This provides flexibility:

• Create a tag like "Auckland_Cleaners"
• Assign the tag to multiple properties
• Assign the tag to multiple contacts
• All contacts with that tag receive notifications for all properties with that tag

Creating Tags for Contacts

1. Go to Tags in the main menu
2. Click Add Tag
3. Enter a tag name (letters, numbers, hyphens, underscores only)
4. Add a description
5. Choose a color for easy identification
6. Assign properties and contacts to the tag

Cleaner Notification Tags

For contacts to receive check-in/check-out SMS notifications, they must be tagged with a tag containing "smscleaner" in the name:

• smscleaner
• Auckland_SMSCleaner
• MainStreet_SMSCleaner_Team

Assigning Contacts to Properties

To assign a contact to properties:

1. Create or edit a tag
2. In the tag settings, check the properties this tag applies to
3. Check the contacts who should be associated with these properties
4. Save the tag

Now those contacts will receive notifications for events at those properties.

Viewing Contact Assignments

In the Tags page, each tag card shows:

• Tag name with color indicator
• Number of assigned properties
• Number of assigned contacts
• Expandable list of all assignments

Managing Existing Contacts

Editing a Contact

1. Find the contact in the Contacts list
2. Click the Edit button
3. Update the information
4. Save changes

Deleting a Contact

1. Click the Delete button next to the contact
2. Confirm the deletion

Deleting a contact removes them from all tag associations.

Searching Contacts

Use the search bar to filter contacts by:

• Name
• Email
• Phone number
• Tag name

Best Practices

Organize by Area or Role

Create tags that group properties logically:

• Downtown_Properties_SMSCleaner
• Beach_Houses_SMSCleaner
• Premium_Properties_SMSCleaner

Use Descriptive Names

Add descriptions to contacts noting their specialties or schedules.

Keep Phone Numbers Updated

SMS notifications require valid phone numbers with country codes.