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Contacts: Settings And Preferences

Configure Contact Types, default communication options, retained preferences, report cover details, and automatic Contact redaction.

Written by Adelle Naidoo

Inventory Base includes several settings that control how Contacts behave across your account.

Owners and Admins can use these settings to:

  • Customise Contact Types

  • Set default Contact communication options

  • Retain property Contact preferences

  • Display Contact details on report covers

  • Automatically redact Contact information

This guide explains how each setting works and when it is applied.

Looking For Another People & Contacts Guide?

This guide is part of our People & Contacts collection. You may also find these helpful:

Before You Start

Only users with an Owner or Admin profile can access and change the settings in this guide.

Changes to Contact Options normally affect new inspections. They do not update Contacts already saved against existing inspections.

🔽 Some sections are collapsed to make this guide easier to scan. Select any heading with an arrow to expand the instructions.

Customising Contact Types

Inventory Base includes standard Contact Types such as Tenant, Landlord, Agent and Site Manager.

You can add new Contact Types or edit the existing list to match the terminology used by your business.

🔽 Select a heading below to expand the instructions.

Add a Contact Type

  1. Go to Settings.

  2. Open Dictionary.

  3. Select Contact Types.

  4. Enter the new Contact Type.

  5. Select Add.

The new type will then be available when adding property and inspection Contacts.

Edit a Contact Type

  1. Go to Settings > Dictionary > Contact Types.

  2. Select the Contact Type you want to change.

  3. Select the three-dot menu.

  4. Choose Edit.

  5. Update the name and save your changes.

ℹ️ Notes

  • Renaming a Contact Type updates the list for future use.

  • Existing Contacts using the previous type are not automatically updated.

Delete a Contact Type

  1. Select the Contact Type.

  2. Open the three-dot menu.

  3. Select Delete.

  4. Confirm the deletion.

ℹ️ Notes

  • Deleting a Contact Type removes that type from existing Contact records.

  • The Contact itself remains, but the deleted type will no longer be assigned to them.

  • Before deleting a type, check whether it is still being used by property or inspection Contacts.

Where Custom Contact Types Are Available

Custom Contact Types can be used for:

  • Property Contacts

  • Inspection Contacts

  • Contact Options

  • Report cover settings

  • Automatic Contact redaction rules

Advanced Contact Preferences

The Contact Options setting allows you to preselect communication and signing options for each Contact Type.

You can configure defaults for:

  • Signee

  • Notify

  • SMS

  • Deliver

These settings help ensure that Contacts are created with the correct options when they are added to an inspection.

🔽 Select a heading below to expand the instructions.

Enable Contact Options

  1. Go to Settings.

  2. Open Reports.

  3. Scroll to Advanced Settings.

  4. Find Contact Options.

  5. Switch the setting On.

  6. Select the required options for each Contact Type.

  7. Save your changes.

Configure Contact Options By Inspection Type

You can apply different Contact Options to different Inspection Types.

  1. Go to Settings > Reports.

  2. Select the required Inspection Type.

  3. Scroll to Contact Options.

  4. Configure the options for each Contact Type.

  5. Save your changes.

For example, you may want Tenant Contacts marked as Signee for Check In inspections but not for other Inspection Types.

Configure Contact Options By Client

You can configure Contact Options for a specific Client.

  1. Go to Clients.

  2. Open the required Client.

  3. Open the Client’s Settings.

  4. Go to Reports.

  5. Configure the Contact Options.

  6. Save your changes.

ℹ️ Notes

  • You can also select a specific Inspection Type within the Client settings.

  • This lets you create Contact Options for a particular combination of Client and Inspection Type.

Contact Options Priority Order

When more than one set of Contact Options applies, Inventory Base uses the most specific configuration.

The priority order is:

  1. Matching Inspection Type and Client

  2. Client

  3. Inspection Type

  4. Global Report Settings

  5. Property Contact preferences, where Retain Contact Preferences is enabled

  6. No options selected

ℹ️ Notes

  • This means a Client and Inspection Type setting takes priority over Client-only, Inspection Type-only, and account-wide settings.

  • Contact Options also take priority over preferences saved against the property Contact.

How Contact Options Are Applied

How The Contact Is Added

What Happens

A property Contact is copied while creating a new inspection

The applicable Contact Options are applied.

Import from Property is used on an existing inspection

The applicable Contact Options are applied.

A Contact is added manually to an inspection

The options selected by the user while adding the Contact are saved.

An existing inspection Contact is edited

Contact Options are not reapplied automatically.

ℹ️ Notes

  • Contact Options apply to new or newly imported inspection Contacts.

  • They do not update Contacts that already exist on an inspection.

Example Of Contact Options Taking Priority

A property Contact is saved with:

  • Contact Type: Site Manager

  • Notify selected

  • All other options unticked

The Contact Options for Site Manager are configured with:

  • Signee

  • Notify

  • SMS

  • Deliver

When a new inspection is created, the Site Manager Contact is added with all four options selected.

This is because the configured Contact Options take priority over the preferences saved against the property Contact.

ℹ️ Notes

Retain Contact Preferences

The Retain Contact Preferences setting controls whether the communication and signing options saved against a property Contact are copied into an inspection.

This setting is used when no applicable Contact Options have been configured.

It is a global account setting.

🔽 Select a heading below to expand the instructions.

Enable Retain Contact Preferences

  1. Go to Settings.

  2. Open General.

  3. Find Retain Contact Preferences.

  4. Switch the setting On or Off.

What Happens When The Setting Is On Or Off

Setting

What Happens

On

The property Contact’s existing Signee, Notify, SMS, and Deliver selections are copied into the inspection, unless Contact Options apply.

Off

The Contact is copied into the inspection with all four options unticked, unless Contact Options apply.

Property Contacts are still copied into the inspection regardless of whether this setting is on or off.

The setting only controls whether their saved preferences are retained.

How Contact Options And Retained Preferences Work Together

Configuration

Result

Contact Options are configured

The most specific Contact Options are applied.

No Contact Options apply and Retain Contact Preferences is on

The property Contact’s saved preferences are retained.

No Contact Options apply and Retain Contact Preferences is off

Signee, Notify, SMS, and Deliver are all unticked.

A Contact is added manually to an inspection

The user chooses which options to select.

Displaying Contacts On Report Covers

You can choose which Contact Types should appear on report covers.

The report displays:

  • The Contact Type

  • The Contact’s name

For example:

  • Tenant: Steve Rad

  • Landlord: James Taylor

🔽 Select a heading below to expand the instructions.

Enable Contacts On All Report Covers

  1. Go to Settings.

  2. Open Reports.

  3. Find Layout and Cover Page.

  4. Select the Contact Types you want to display.

  5. Save your changes.

Any available Contact Type can be selected.

Show Contacts On One Inspection Report

You can override the account-level setting for an individual inspection.

  1. Open the inspection.

  2. Go to the inspection’s Settings.

  3. Find Layout and Cover Page.

  4. Select the Contact Types you want to display.

  5. Save your changes.

ℹ️ Notes

  • The inspection-level selection overrides the account default.

  • Any Contact Type can be selected.

  • There is no Use Default Setting option. To match the account setting again, you will need to update the inspection’s selected Contact Types manually.

ℹ️ Notes

  • The Contact’s email address, phone number, and Reference are not displayed.

  • The Contact Type and name appear on both:

    • Web reports

    • Downloaded PDFs

What To Check If A Setting Does Not Work

🔽 Select a heading below to expand the instructions.

Contact Options Are Not Applied

Check that:

  • Contact Options are switched on.

  • The correct Contact Type is being used.

  • You are viewing the correct Client and Inspection Type settings.

  • The inspection was created after the settings were changed.

  • The Contact was copied or imported from the property.

  • A more specific Contact Option setting is not overriding the global setting.

Contact Options do not update Contacts already saved against an inspection.

Property Contact Preferences Are Not Retained

Check whether:

  • Retain Contact Preferences is switched on.

  • Contact Options are configured for the Contact Type.

  • Client or Inspection Type settings apply.

Contact Options take priority over preferences saved against the property Contact.

A Contact Type Is Missing

Check whether:

  • The Contact Type was renamed.

  • The Contact Type was deleted.

  • The type is still listed under Settings > Dictionary > Contact Types.

Deleting a Contact Type removes it from existing Contact data.

A Contact Has Been Redacted

Go to: Settings > General > Data Management

Review both:

  • The time-based redaction rule

  • The event-based redaction rule

  • The Contact Types selected for each rule

⚠️ Important: Redacted Contact information cannot be recovered.

A Contact Does Not Appear On The Report Cover

Check that:

  • The correct Contact Type is selected under Layout and Cover Page.

  • The Contact is linked to the inspection.

  • The inspection-level setting is not overriding the account setting.

  • The report has been regenerated after the setting was changed.

What To Do Next

You may also find these guides helpful:

Need Help?

If Contact settings are not applying as expected, contact our Support team through the chat icon in your Inventory Base account.

Please include:

  • The Client name

  • The Inspection Type

  • The Contact Type

  • The options you configured

  • Whether Retain Contact Preferences is enabled

  • A screenshot of the relevant settings

  • An example inspection where the behaviour occurred

  • Full details of the issue you are having.

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