# Manage contacts

Maintain useful contact information alongside conversations and keep records clear for your team.

## Create a useful contact record

Open **Contacts** to create or review a contact. Enter the information your team needs to recognize and help the person, using the fields available in the contact form.

Use consistent names and contact details. Search for an existing record before creating another one, especially when a person uses several channels.

## Keep data purposeful

Collect information that supports the task, such as a preferred contact method or an identifier needed for follow-up. Avoid collecting unrelated personal details just because a workflow can ask for them.

Contacts and [database records](/data/databases/) serve different purposes. Use Contacts for people’s contact information; use databases for structured records such as requests, bookings, or internal lists.

## Make updates carefully

Confirm you are editing the intended person before saving. A customer’s display name in a channel is not always a unique identifier. If your team finds duplicates or incomplete details, agree on a consistent way to reconcile them before deleting information.

Continue with [Inbox](/conversations/inbox/) for the conversation workflow, or [databases](/data/databases/) for structured business data.