Home 9 Contacts 9 Using Contacts

Using Contacts

Contacts are the clients you invoice or quote. You can either save clients to your address book for reuse, or enter details directly on a document for one-time use.

Saved vs One-Time Contacts

Documents are not exclusively tied to saved contacts. You have two options:

  • Saved contacts: Added to your address book for reuse across multiple documents. Ideal for repeat clients.
  • One-time contacts: Enter client details directly on the invoice or quote without saving to your address book. Perfect for one-off jobs where you won’t invoice the client again.

To use a one-time contact, simply type the client name and details in the document’s client fields without selecting from or adding to your contacts list. The details are stored with that document only.

Adding a Contact

Quick Add (While Creating a Document)

The fastest way to add a contact is while creating a document. Click the client dropdown, type a name that doesn’t exist, and click Add New Contact. Fill in the details and save—you’ll be right back to your document with the new client selected.

From the Contacts Page

Click Contacts in the main navigation, then Add client. This gives you access to all the contact fields.

Required Fields

Only the name is required. Enter a company name for businesses, or first and last name for individuals. Everything else is optional.

Recommended Fields

For a useful contact, also add:

  • Email address: Required for sending invoices
  • Billing address: Appears on documents
  • Phone number: For your reference
  • Default payment terms: Auto-populates on new invoices (e.g., 30 days)

Viewing Contact Details

Click any contact in the list to expand and see key details at a glance—email, phone, address, and Xero sync status. From the expanded view you can:

  • Assign to Invoice: Quickly select this contact for your current document
  • Edit: Open the full edit form
  • Export VCF: Download as a vCard file

Editing a Contact

Opening the Edit Form

From the Contacts list, expand a contact and click Edit, or double-click the contact name. The edit form opens with two tabs:

  • Contact: Name, email, phone, website, and contact person details
  • Addresses: Street and postal addresses

Business Details

For advanced settings like discount percentage, currency, or tax information, expand the Business Details section on the Contact tab.

Making Changes

Edit any field, then click Save or press Cmd/Ctrl + S to save your changes.

Changes and Existing Documents

Editing a contact doesn’t update documents you’ve already created. If you need to correct the client name or address on an existing invoice, open that invoice directly and edit it there.

Xero Integration

If you’re connected to Xero, contacts sync automatically in the background via Auto-Sync:

  • New contacts added in LiteWork are pushed to Xero automatically
  • Changes to contacts sync between both systems
  • You can also import existing contacts from Xero—see Importing & Exporting Contacts

Sync Status Overview

When connected to Xero, a sync status button (refresh icon) appears in the Contacts modal header. Click it to open the Sync Status panel, which shows summary counts:

  • In Sync: Contacts that match between LiteWork and Xero
  • Need Attention: Contacts with conflicts (edited in both systems)
  • Not Synced: Contacts not yet linked to Xero

For any contacts needing attention, click Resolve to open that contact and choose which version to keep—LiteWork, Xero, or merge both. See Resolving Sync Conflicts for details.

Related Articles