How do I track clients and leads in MONA?

Quick answer: click Contacts in the sidebar for your address book of clients, vendors and trades, and Pipeline for the board. On the board each column is a stage (Lead, Prospect, Active client, Past client, Lost by default) and you drag client cards between them. Click Projects at the top of Pipeline if your studio would rather track jobs than people.

MONA’s CRM is one address book with two screens. Contacts is the directory: everyone your studio works with. Pipeline is the lead pipeline, or sales funnel: where each prospective and current client stands. The CRM also fills itself in as you work, from your contact form, bookings, client messages, proposals and invoices.

What is the difference between Contacts and Pipeline?

Both screens are in the sidebar under Work. Older links to the Clients page still open Contacts.

In Directory, the chips across the top filter by type: All plus one chip for each kind of contact you have. The search box (Search name, email, company…) searches your whole address book, and under All it also lists matching vendors and companies above the people. Turn on Show archived to include archived contacts.

How do I add a contact by hand?

1. Click Contacts in the sidebar, then New contact at the top right.
2. Type a Name. Email (optional), Phone (optional) and Company (optional) can wait.
3. Pick a Type: Client, Vendor, Contractor, Tradesperson, Architect, Designer, Referral partner or Other.
4. For a client, pick a Stage. Other types do not get one.
5. Click Add contact.

The contact opens in a panel where you can edit Details, write Notes, Log a touch (a call, a meeting, a note of what happened, with a date), and see Activity and Projects. To add a company on its own, switch to Vendors and click New company.

How do I import my contacts from another tool?

MONA imports a client list, vendor list or address book from a spreadsheet or phone export.

1. In Contacts or Pipeline, click Import CSV.
2. In These contacts are, pick what the file holds, such as Clients or Vendors. If your file has a type column, it wins row by row. It accepts client, vendor, contractor, tradesperson, architect, designer, referral and other.
3. Click Choose a CSV, Excel or vCard file, or drag it in. CSV, Excel (.xlsx, .xlsm) and vCard (.vcf) files are accepted, up to 2000 rows.
4. On Match your columns, every column in your file is listed with a sample value and an Import as dropdown. MONA suggests a match for each one. Change any that are wrong, or choose Ignore, then click Continue.
5. On Check before importing, read the first rows as they will land. Under If a contact already exists, pick:
   • Update existing fills in blanks on the contact you already have. It never overwrites what you typed and never changes their stage.
   • Skip leaves the existing contact alone.
   • Create anyway adds a second contact with the same email.
6. Tick Also match rows with no email by name if your list is mostly names without emails, so re-importing it does not create duplicates.
7. Click the Import button, which shows your row count. Import complete shows how many were created, updated, merged, skipped and failed. Download error rows gives you the failed rows to fix and upload again.

Fields you can map to include Name, First name, Last name, Email, Secondary email, Phone, Secondary phone, Website, Company, Role at company, Parent company, Account #, Type, Stage, Trade type, Tags, Notes, Birthday, Anniversary and a full postal address. A company name that matches one of your project names links the contact to that project. Any other company name becomes a company record with the contact linked to it.

Moving over from Houzz Pro or DesignFiles? See How do I switch from Houzz Pro to MONA? and Can I bring my projects over from DesignFiles?.

How do I use the Pipeline board?

1. Click Pipeline in the sidebar. With Contacts selected at the top, each column is a stage and each card is a client, showing their company or email and how long since you last touched them.
2. Drag a card into another column to change the stage. Click a card to open the contact, or use the card’s menu for Ask MONA about this.
3. Turn on Stale >14d to see only clients with no touch in over 14 days.
4. Click Edit stages to open Pipeline stages. Rename a stage by typing over its name, pick a color, move it earlier or later, or add one under Add a stage and click Add stage. Deleting a stage that still holds contacts asks where to move them first (Move contacts to), then Delete stage.

A stage with its Done switch turned on in Pipeline stages shows Done on the board too. Clients in a Done stage are never counted as stale. Past client and Lost start that way.

What moves on its own?

MONA moves clients forward when something real happens, never backward:

• A client’s first reply in a message thread moves Lead to Prospect.
• Sending an invoice, or the client signing a proposal, moves them to Active client.
• Past client and Lost are always your call.

Stages you add yourself are never filled by these automatic moves.

How do I make the Pipeline track projects instead of people?

Some studios sell jobs, not relationships. A condo lobby renovation has a board, a managing agent and a resident manager, and one card per person splits the deal five ways.

1. Click Pipeline, then Projects in the switch at the top.
2. Each card is a live project with its address, up to four client contacts with their role on the job, a Billing badge on the party proposals and invoices go to, the last activity, and the budget if you can see that project’s money.
3. Columns are your project statuses (Lead, Active, On hold and Complete until you change them). Projects with no status sit in No status.
4. Drag a card to change its status. It is the same status as on the Projects page, so the two never disagree.
5. Click Edit statuses to change the columns, and use Stale >14d and Search project or address… to narrow the board.

Who can change this: when the studio owner or an admin clicks Contacts or Projects, it sets the Pipeline for the whole team. Anyone else who clicks it only changes their own view in that browser.

Where do new leads come from?

• Your contact form. Click Forms in Contacts or Pipeline. Each submission becomes a client contact in Lead. See How do I send an automatic reply when someone fills out my MONA contact form?
• Your booking link. Click Booking link to let prospects book open times. A booking adds them as a Lead and logs the meeting.
• Gmail. With Google connected, Import from Gmail opens Build your client list: MONA proposes the clients, vendors and contractors you actually email with, and you approve who goes in.
• Messages, proposals and invoices. A client message thread with an email address adds that client automatically, and replies, signed proposals and sent or paid invoices land on the contact’s Activity.

Can I just ask MONA?

Yes. In any chat, try "how is my pipeline", "who hasn’t heard from us in two weeks", "add Sarah Lee from Lee Interiors as a referral partner", "move the Hendersons to Active client", or "import this vendor list" with the file attached. MONA works on the same contacts, stages and project statuses you see on the page. See What can the MONA AI agent do, and how do I ask it for help?.

What it does not do (yet)

• No drip campaigns or sequences from the pipeline. Follow-ups are yours, or ask MONA to draft one.
• Companies never have stages. Only client contacts sit on the contact board.
• One import file holds up to 2000 rows. Split a bigger list into several files.

Want a hand?

If you are moving a client list over from another tool and want the columns mapped right the first time, book 30 minutes at calendly.com/mona-justin/30min and bring the export.

Related articles

• How do I give my clients a portal in MONA?
• How do I send an automatic reply when someone fills out my MONA contact form?
• Can my clients review and approve designs directly?
• How do I send a design proposal for my client to sign in MONA?
• How do I find anything in MONA?

Frequently asked questions

What are the default pipeline stages in MONA?

Every studio starts with five: Lead, Prospect, Active client, Past client and Lost. You can rename, recolor, reorder, delete or add stages with Edit stages, up to 30.

Does MONA move clients between stages on its own?

Yes, forward only. A client’s first reply in a message thread moves a Lead to Prospect, and a sent invoice or a signed proposal moves them to Active client. MONA never moves anyone back, and never moves anyone into Past client or Lost. You do that.

Why don’t my vendors show up on the Pipeline board?

Stages apply to clients only. Vendors, contractors, tradespeople, architects, designers, referral partners and others live in Contacts under Directory and Vendors, with no stage.

What file types can I import contacts from?

CSV, Excel (.xlsx and .xlsm) and vCard (.vcf), up to 2000 rows per file. You see every column and choose what it maps to before anything is saved.

How do new leads get into MONA?

Your contact form, your booking link, approved suggestions from Import from Gmail, an import, the agent, or New contact. Form submissions and bookings arrive as clients in the Lead stage.

Can the Pipeline track projects instead of people?

Yes. Click Projects at the top of Pipeline. Each card is a job with its address, the client contacts on it and their role, and the columns are your project statuses. The studio owner or an admin sets this for the whole team. Anyone else who switches only changes their own view in that browser.

What does stale mean?

No touch in more than 14 days. Clients in a stage marked Done, which Past client and Lost are by default, are never counted as stale.

Can I ask MONA about my pipeline instead?

Yes. In chat, ask how your pipeline looks, who has gone quiet, or to move someone to Prospect. MONA reads and updates the same contacts and stages you see on the page.