Contacts Overview

Contacts connect names and useful details to the people your organization calls and messages. They help teammates recognize customers, vendors, and other contacts, keep shared context in one place, and start calls or messages without repeatedly entering phone numbers.

External and internal contacts

External contacts are customers, vendors, and other people outside your organization. Internal contacts are teammates and shared inboxes that Waveline creates automatically from your existing setup.

The web Contacts page displays external contacts. On mobile, use the All, Team, and Contacts filters to view both types.

Before you begin

• Confirm that the contact is available to you through its access setting.
• Check whether you can edit it before making changes. Seeing a contact does not always allow editing or posting notes. See Contact access.
• Decide whether new external contacts should be available to the full organization or only particular people and inboxes.

Where to find Contacts

Web app: Select Contacts from the dashboard sidebar.

Mobile app: Select Contacts from the bottom tab bar near Dial.

You can also open or create a contact from a phone number shown in call or conversation details.

Use Contacts on the web app

The web Contacts page displays the external contacts available to you. Use the search field to find a contact by name, email, or phone number.

Select a contact to open its details beside the list. In a narrower web window, the details open in a panel over the page. From the contact details, you can:

• Start a call or message.
• Review contact information and update it when permitted.
• Add the contact to your favorites.
• Read existing contact notes and post a new note when permitted.
• Review or change who can access the contact when permitted.
• Delete the contact when permitted.

Select Add contact to enter one person or Import contacts to upload a CSV or Excel file.

Use Contacts on the mobile app

The mobile Contacts page includes three filters:

• All: Shows the external and internal contacts available to you.
• Team: Shows teammates and shared inboxes from your Waveline organization.
• Contacts: Shows saved customers, vendors, prospects, and other outside contacts.

Use Search contacts to find the person or inbox you need. Select a contact to view its information and available call, message, favorite, and contact-management actions.

Select the plus button to add an external contact. Pull down on the contact list to refresh it.

Search contacts

In the web Contacts list, enter a name, company, email address, or phone number in the search field. On mobile, open Contacts and use Search contacts. Select a result to open its details.

You can also search from elsewhere in the web app: select Workspace search in the sidebar, or press Cmd+K on Mac or Ctrl+K on Windows, enter at least three characters, and select Contacts. The inbox, status, and date filters for call/message results do not restrict contact results.

For more information about opening Workspace search, see Dashboard Overview.

Contact search is separate from searching calls or conversations. See Call History and Conversations for those instructions.

Contacts imported from another service

Provider-owned contact details are read-only in Waveline. Edit them in the connected service. You can add Waveline notes when your contact access permits it. For import, sync, access, and removal behavior, see Sync Contacts with a Connected Service.

For the contact-detail view and notes controls, see Adding and Managing Contacts.

How contacts identify calls and messages

When the phone number on a visible external contact matches a call or message, Waveline can display the saved contact name instead of an unfamiliar number. The contact's company, role, and notes remain available from its details for additional context.

If more than one contact uses the same phone number, Waveline uses the preferred contact for that number and access level. Learn how to review those choices in When a phone number is already in use.

Why teammates may see different contact names

Contact access can affect which saved name Waveline uses for each teammate. For example, one teammate may create a private contact for a phone number while the organization continues using a different workspace contact for that same number.

Each teammate sees the contact available and preferred for their access. Learn more in Contact Visibility and Sharing.

Choose what you want to do

Add or update individual contacts

Learn how to create contacts, edit their details, save favorites, post notes, resolve duplicate phone numbers, and delete contacts in Adding and Managing Contacts.

Import a contact list

Add contacts from a CSV or Excel spreadsheet and review ready, skipped, and failed rows in Importing Contacts.

Control who can access a contact

Make a contact available to the organization, keep it private, or share it with selected people and inboxes using Contact Visibility and Sharing.

What happens as contacts change

• New and updated external contacts become available on web and mobile to teammates who have access.
• Contact notes remain attached to the external contact.
• Access changes can add or remove a contact from a teammate's directory.
• Internal contacts update from your organization's teammate and inbox setup.
• Updated names can appear on future matching calls and messages.

Best practices

• Save recognizable names for customers and other repeat callers.
• Add a company and role when that information will help teammates identify the person.
• Keep phone numbers and email addresses current.
• Use contact notes for business context that will help with future follow-up.
• Choose contact access based on who needs the information.
• Resolve duplicate-number choices carefully so the correct name appears.

Troubleshooting

Related pages

• Adding and Managing Contacts
• Importing Contacts
• Contact Visibility and Sharing
• Making Calls
• Sending Messages
• Inbox Overview
• Roles and Permissions