What is the Directory and How to Use It

The Directory in Contractor Foreman is the central place where you manage and organize all your contacts. Whether you’re dealing with employees, contractors, vendors, or customers, the Directory ensures that you have all the information you need at a central place. Keeping this information well organized allows you to streamline communication, track important details, and ensure smooth project management.

Categories of Contacts

In Contractor Foreman contacts are grouped into specific categories to help keep your different types of contacts organized and easy to manage.

Employees: Your company’s staff members.
Customers: The clients or companies you are doing work for.
Leads: Prospective customers who might become future clients.
Contractors: Subcontractors or other outside professionals working on your projects.
Vendors: Suppliers who provide materials or services for your projects.
Miscellaneous Contacts: Any other contacts that don’t fit into the above categories.
Users: These can be only the employees and contractors who have access to Contractor Foreman with their own account with set permission levels based on their role in the company (click here to see how to create user profiles for your employees and contractors).

Widgets and Information

When you access the Directory module in Contractor Foreman, you will be presented with a list of all the contacts in your system.

However, there are several features designed to help you quickly find and manage specific types of contacts:

Filter by Contact Type: A drop-down menu located just above the contact list on the right-hand side allows you to filter contacts by type (e.g., Employees, Customers, Contractors). This makes it easy to narrow down the contact list and find exactly who you’re looking for without scrolling through all the contacts.
Contacts by Type Widget: In the top left of the Directory module, there is a widget that shows how many contacts you have for each category. This provides a quick overview of your total number of contacts for each type. Also, If you need to bulk import multiple contacts at once, Contractor Foreman provides an option to import contacts for each type. You can do this by clicking the three dots next to each contact type in the widget and selecting the import option. (Click here to see how to import contacts).
Certificates Expiring (Within 60 Days) Widget: This widget shows certificates that are expiring within the next 60 days. These certificates could include important documents like insurance certificates for your employees, contractors, and vendors. This feature helps you stay on top of expiration dates and ensures that you’re always compliant.
Upcoming Off Days: This widget displays the upcoming off days for your employees and contractors. It’s a useful tool for project managers to know in advance if anyone is unavailable due to planned time off.

How to add New Contacts

To add a new contact of any type, click the “+Contact” button on the top right of the Directory module. Select the contact type you want to create from the list (e.g., Employee, Customer, Vendor). Enter the contact’s information, such as their name, phone number, email address, and any other relevant details. Fields marked with an asterisk (*) are mandatory. Finally, save the contact. Once you’ve saved the contact, you will automatically be redirected to the profile of the newly created contact. From there, you can add even more details. For example, you might add additional contact information, add certificates, and upload important files.

Let’s walk through an example of adding an employee to the Directory. Click the “+Contact” button, click “+Employee“, enter the employee’s basic information such as First Name, Last Name, Phone Number, Email, and Address.

Once you’ve filled in the necessary fields, click Save.

You’ll be redirected to the employee’s profile, where you can now add more details like their job title, employee ID, and wage rate by using the widgets. Also, you will see several tabs in the left panel where you can add certificates, time off requests, documents, files, and notes. These tabs can be used to add and view important information for the specific employee.

Click here to see how to add certifications to your employees, contractors, and vendors.
Click here to see how to add time off requests for your employees and contractors.