Follow-Up Statuses and Actions: Track the Stage of Every Client, Invoice and Document

Follow-up statuses help you see which stage each client, invoice or document has reached, such as Potential client, Contacted or Awaiting payment, using statuses you define with names and colors that suit your business. Actions are a list of what is done with the client, such as Phone call or Visit, and are recorded with notes and appointments. This guide explains how to set up statuses and actions, assign them, filter by them, and change them for several records at once.

Where are statuses and actions managed?

Records	Statuses	Actions
Clients	Client statuses	Client actions
Sales invoices	Invoice Statuses	Invoice actions
Estimates	Estimate Statuses	Estimate actions
Purchase invoices	Purchase invoice statuses	Purchase invoice actions
Work orders	Work order statuses	Work order actions
Sales orders	Sales Order Statuses	—

Bookings, purchases, manufacturing orders, construction projects and workflows also have statuses, managed from each module’s settings.

Adding statuses

1. Open the statuses page for the records you need from the table above.
2. Click Add to add a new row.
3. Enter the Name and choose the Color. For work orders, construction and workflows, choose the Type: Open or Closed.
4. Drag the statuses to reorder them, then save. The message Statuses have been updated appears.

Clients have two extra options: Sticky, to make the status a primary status, and Requires Follow-up, with a number of hours.

Enabling statuses for invoices and documents

• Invoices: enable Invoice Custom Statuses in Invoice Settings, where you also find Manage Custom Statuses.
• Estimates: enable Enable Estimate Manual Statuses in the estimate settings.
• Sales orders: enable sales order statuses in their settings.

Setting a record’s status

• Open the record, such as the invoice or client, and choose the status from Select Status.
• Or, when adding a note, choose the new status from Update Status to.

The message Invoice status has been updated or Client status has been updated appears, and the change is recorded in the activity log.

Primary and secondary statuses for clients

A client has two statuses: the Sticky status stays as the primary status, and the other status shows the latest stage. When you choose a sticky status, it becomes the primary one; when you choose a non-sticky status, it becomes the secondary one. Both statuses appear in the clients list, and filtering by status covers both.

Example

Sticky statuses: Potential client, Active client, Inactive client. Non-sticky statuses: Contacted, Estimate sent, Awaiting reply.

Filtering and bulk changes

• Filter the invoices, clients or purchase invoices list by status using the Status filter.
• To change the status of several invoices, select them in Manage Invoices and choose Change Follow Up Status from Actions.
• To change the status of several clients, select them in the clients list and choose Change Status.

The actions list

Actions are a list you define of what is done with the record. You choose from it when adding a note, in the Action Performed field, or when scheduling an appointment, in the Actions field.

1. Open the actions page for the records you need.
2. Click Add New Action and type its name, such as phone call, visit or sending an estimate.
3. Save. The message Actions have been updated appears.

Error messages and solutions

Message	Cause	Solution
You need to enable the Client Follow Up plugin first	The Follow Up Clients app isn’t enabled.	Enable it from Apps Manager.
You can’t delete this status because it is assigned	The status is used on records.	Change the status of those records first, or rename the status.
Valid number required	The number of hours for Requires Follow-up isn’t valid.	Enter a valid number.
The Select Status list doesn’t appear on the invoice	Invoice statuses aren’t enabled, or the app isn’t enabled.	Enable Invoice Custom Statuses and the Follow Up Clients app.

FAQ

How do I add a new status for clients?

In Client statuses, click Add, enter the name and color, and save.

What’s the difference between an invoice’s follow-up status and its payment status?

The system sets the payment status automatically (paid, unpaid…). You set the follow-up status yourself to track the invoice’s stage.

Can statuses have colors?

Yes. Choose a color for each status; the color appears in the lists.

How do I change the status of 50 clients at once?

Select them in the clients list and choose Change Status from the bulk actions.