Manual new contact

There are two ways to enter a new contact into FreeAgent. You can either import several contacts at once from your e-mail programme such as Outlook, Google Mail or Mac Mail, or you can enter individual contacts one by one. In this article you'll read how to enter individual contacts.

To do this, click the Add New Contact button here on the Contacts screen.

This brings up the New Contact screen.

Most of the information there's spaces for on this screen is optional. The boxes that have to be filled in are marked with red asterisks.

Names

You can enter both a contact's own name and the organisation name, but you don't have to. You can enter just one or the other name.

Invoicing Options for this contact

Under the address boxes is the Invoicing Options section which we'll look at in a bit more detail. These are relevant if the contact is a client rather than a supplier.

Invoice numbering sequence

You may want to tick this box to set a specific sequence for invoices you issue to this contact. For example, you might want to prefix the number with the client's or business's initials.  

Display names on invoices

You have the option to display the contact's individual name as well as the organisation's name on the invoices. This is useful if you need to mark the invoice for a particular person's attention, for example the bookkeeper or purchase ledger clerk.

Charging VAT - or not

Sometimes you may have clients for whom you may or may not need to add VAT to the invoices you issue to them, depending on where you are delivering services to the client. So you have the option to charge VAT only if the client is based in the UK, which is the default, or always charge VAT, or never charge VAT. And you can put in the client's VAT registration number.

Choice of language

And you do also have the option to issue invoices and estimates to your clients in several different languages. Choose your language by clicking the drop-down arrow here.

Once you've finished making changes, click Create New Contact to save your new contact, Create and Add Another if you want to save this new contact and add another one, or Cancel to exit from this screen without setting up the new contact.