Contact categories
Classify organizations and people by role in the AEC ecosystem.
Overview
Categories describe who they are in the built environment, owner, developer, architect, GC, consultant, using labels that match how AEC firms win work. They power filters, reporting, and ICP presets.
Relationship stage is separate: it tracks whether an organization is a prospect (pipeline target), client (retained or delivery relationship), or not yet in a pursuit bucket. Firm type and relationship stage work together, e.g. a developer you are pursuing vs. a developer you already serve.
Built-in vs custom
| Type | Examples |
|---|---|
| Built-in | Architect, developer, MEP engineer, contractor, owner's rep, lender, AHJ |
| Custom | Workspace-specific labels your team defines (stored as UUIDs) |
Built-ins mirror how AEC firms describe collaborators. Use No category only until you know the role.
Relationship stage
| Stage | Use for |
|---|---|
| Prospect | Pipeline targets you are actively pursuing |
| Client | Retained accounts, delivery relationships, and existing client work |
| Not set | Firm-type-only records (collaborators, referrals) without a pursuit bucket |
Prospect and client both appear in Accounts (your pursuit book). Client alone qualifies an organization for the project client selector and delivery workflows.
Common firm types (sample)
| Category | Use for |
|---|---|
| Developer | Sponsors and owners driving projects |
| Architect | Design firms (peers or collaborators) |
| Contractor | GCs and builders |
| Consultant | Specialty advisors when no finer label fits |
The full list appears in the category picker when editing a record.
Steps
Open a person or organization in Contacts.
Set Firm type and Relationship stage from the detail panel. Prefer organization-level fields when the whole firm is one type.
Filter the table by category or relationship stage before market-planning sessions.
Use Add to accounts (default Prospect) when a firm joins your pursuit book, or Open account when it is already prospect or client. Align client stage with delivery when the firm is on active projects. Not every architect in your graph needs an account.