Set up Fifi for any other business

This guide is for any business that doesn't fit one of the other types: a tradesperson with a unique service, a maker, a school, a club, a freelancer, a mix of several things. Fifi gives you the same four always-on screens and a set of modules you add one at a time. You end with Fifi doing the few things you do every day, and nothing you don't. Your workspace uses the standard words Contacts and Deals. This guide doesn't cover any one module in depth. If a guide for another type sounds close to yours, read that one instead: it goes deeper.

Is this the right guide?

• Business type: Other, or "Skip for now" when you created the workspace.
• At the end you'll have: your people and companies in Fifi, your tasks and calendar in use, and the one or two modules that match what you do all day.
• Time: about 20 minutes.
• Plan: Pro covers everything here. Free covers the pipeline, email and reports. During the beta every workspace has every module. See Modules, business types and plans.
• Not sure? Open the nearest sample. Your first hour with Fifi lists them.

Create the workspace

1. On Create your workspace, type your business's name and click Continue.
2. Under What kind of business is this?, choose Other, or click Skip for now on the next screen. Both give the same result.
3. Pick a color scheme and click Create workspace.

What you'll see: your dashboard. Other starts with Deals, Email, Campaigns and Reports on.

Turn on what you need

Start with the four screens that are always on: Contacts, Companies, Tasks and Calendar. Add one module at a time, only when you can say what it will do for you tomorrow.

Open Settings → Modules (owners and admins) and use this table.

Turning a module off hides its pages and pauses its work. It never deletes anything. If you do need booking, forms and invoicing, switch them on one at a time and finish the steps for each before you add the next.

Business details

1. Open Settings → Workspace.
2. Click Upload logo.
3. Under Business address, type your address and click Save address. Campaigns and invoices show it.
4. Pick Colors and click Save colors.

If one of the other types describes you, you can switch under Business type in the same page and Fifi will use its words for people and work. See Set up your logo, colors and business details.

Your team and hours

1. Open Settings → Members. Under Invite a teammate, type each person's Email, choose a Role and click Invite.
2. Each person opens Settings → Profile and chooses their Timezone.
3. If people take bookings, each opens Settings → Booking → Your hours once Online booking is on.

See Set up your team.

The four screens that are always on

Do these in order. Each takes a minute or two.

1. Click Companies, then New company, and add one business you work with. Click Create company.
2. Click Contacts, then New contact. Fill in First name, Last name, Email, Phone and Company. Click Create contact.
3. On the contact's page, click Add task and write a follow-up with a date.
4. In the Activity box, pick Note, write what you talked about, and click Log note.
5. Click Calendar. Your tasks and meetings with a date show here.

What you'll see: the contact's timeline with your note and the task under Open tasks. From here, add one module at a time using the table above. See Contacts, companies and tags, Tasks, reminders and follow-ups and Calendar.

Pipeline and naming

If you track work that moves through steps, use Deals. The four stages never change, so say what each one means for you:

Name each deal "Who: what", for example "Maple Café: new menu cards". Every deal needs a company and at least one contact. If you don't use deals, turn the module off.

Custom fields worth adding

Open Settings → Custom fields and click Add field. Free allows 5 fields per record type and Pro allows 25.

See Custom fields and reminders.

Tags to start with

In Settings → Tags, click New tag.

• Customer
• Prospect
• Supplier
• VIP
• Newsletter

Forms and automations to start with

If you want enquiries from your website, turn on Forms and automations.

1. Open Settings → Forms and click New form.
2. Type a Name ("Contact us") and a Page address.
3. Write a Thank-you message, tick Taking submissions and save.
4. Open Settings → Automations, click New automation, choose A form is submitted, and add Create a task: "Reply to {{name}}", due in 1 day.

Automations create tasks. They never email customers. See Forms and Automations.

Bring in your customers

1. Save your list as a CSV file. Fifi understands First name, Last name, Email, Phone, Address, Job title, Lead status, Source and your custom fields.
2. Open Contacts and click Import.
3. Choose the file and click Continue. Match the columns, choose Skip it (keep what's in Fifi) for duplicates, click Preview import and import.

Import companies the same way from Companies. See Import, export and Trash and Bring in your existing customers.

Email and texting

1. Open Settings → Email and click Connect Gmail on the Gmail card. Outlook shows Coming soon until Fifi's Microsoft connection is set up.
2. Wait for Up to date. Email with your contacts appears on their pages and in your Inbox.

Texting shows Coming soon in Settings → Modules until Fifi's texting service is set up, and it's on Business. See Connecting your email.

Invoicing for this business

Invoicing is off for this type. If you bill customers, turn it on in Settings → Modules, then open Settings → Invoicing and set Prefix, Next number, Default terms, Tax name and Tax rate (%). Start an invoice from Invoices with New invoice. See Choose how you'll invoice.

Your first campaign

Send a short note to people who asked to hear from you. You need your business address saved and a mailbox connected.

1. Open Marketing and click New campaign.
2. Choose contacts with a tag such as Newsletter.
3. Write two or three sentences, and send a test.
4. Send.

See Campaigns and Send your first campaign.

Reports and the dashboard

Pin these from Reports:

• Pipeline by stage: if you use deals.
• New contacts by source: where people come from.
• Overdue tasks by assignee: what slipped.

Ask Fifi's first questions, if it's on, are "How many deals did we win this month, and what were they worth?" and "Who has the most overdue tasks?" See Know your numbers.

Your first week

• To do: You added a company, a contact, a task and a note.
• To do: Your contacts are imported.
• To do: You turned on one module that matches what you do all day.
• To do: You turned off any module you don't use.
• To do: Your mailbox is connected.
• To do: You added two custom fields and three tags.
• To do: You pinned three reports.
• To do: You sent one campaign to a small list.

What Fifi doesn't do for this business yet

• Custom modules. You choose from the modules in the table. You can't add your own.
• Your own stage names or several pipelines. The four stages and one pipeline are fixed.
• Other currencies. Values and invoices are in US dollars.
• Recurring invoices. Duplicate an earlier invoice.
• Importing deals. A CSV imports contacts and companies, not deals.

Troubleshooting and related

Still stuck?

Contact Fifi support with your workspace name, what you clicked and the exact message you saw. The troubleshooting guide covers the common ones.

Related: Modules, business types and plans, Workspaces and teammates, Roles and permissions.

Next: Your first hour with Fifi if you haven't done it, then Know your numbers.