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# AI Contact Categories: How do I set up contact types and link contacts to contracts?

A counterparty is rarely just a name. For a supplier you care about certifications and payment terms, for a private individual about the bank details and address, for a customer about the account number. **Contact types** are the mechanism for that: each type has its own sections and fields. You maintain exactly the data that matters per kind of partner — and not twenty empty fields beside it.
This article covers both halves: setting up contact types, and getting those contacts onto your contracts.

## What's in it for you
* **No field desert.** A supplier shows supplier fields, a person shows person fields. Anything that doesn't belong to the type never appears.
* **Clean reporting.** When every supplier carries the same fields, the set can be filtered, exported and analysed.
* **Set up once, use forever.** The type defines the form — every new contact of that kind is structured correctly from the start.
* **One contract, several partners.** When one side of a contract has more than one party, record both instead of picking one.

## Before you start
* Creating and changing contact types, sections and fields requires **admin rights at organisation level**.
* Creating contacts and linking them to contracts works for anyone with write access to the contract in question.

## How it works
### 1. Look at the contact types
Go to **Settings → Field builder → Contact field builder** („Einstellungen → Feldbaukasten → Kontaktfeldbaukasten"). The page has three columns:
* **Your contact types** („Ihre Kontakttypen") on the left — by default **Service provider** („Dienstleister"), **Customer** („Kunde"), **Supplier** („Lieferant"), **Person** and **Company** („Unternehmen"), each with a colour dot.
* **Preview of your contact** („Vorschau Ihres Kontaktes") in the middle — what a contact of the selected type will look like.
* **Your fields** („Ihre Felder") on the right — your organisation's field library, with search and sorting.
Click a type on the left and the preview changes. The difference is easy to see: **Company** has the sections *Generell, Standort, Ansprechpartner, Weitere Ansprechpartner* and *Rahmenbedingungen*; **Person** has *Generell, Standort, Finanzielles* (with IBAN and VAT ID) and *Rahmenbedingungen* instead.

### 2. Create your own contact type
Click the **⊕** above the type list (*Add new contact type* / „Neuen Kontakttyp hinzufügen"). The **"Create new contact type"** („Neuen Kontakttyp erstellen") dialog asks for four things:
* **Name** — required, for example *Authority* or *Insurer*.
* **Colour** („Farbe") — the dot you will recognise the type by in lists.
* **Description (optional)** — the hint in the dialog says what for: *"helps the AI decide during analysis when a contact is of this type"* („hilft der KI bei der Analyse zu entscheiden, wann ein Kontakt dieser Typ ist"). If you use AI analysis for contacts, one clear sentence pays off here.
* **Contact type template (optional)** („Kontakttypvorlage") — *"Select a category to copy its fields and sections into your new category."* You start from an existing type instead of from scratch.
**"Create"** („Erstellen") adds the type; it appears in the list on the left straight away.

### 3. Set up sections and fields for the type
The preview in the middle is the blueprint of the type.
**Header.** At the very top sits the **Title** („Titel") area with the note *"Contact header: add up to two single-line text fields here, shown at the top of the contact page, e.g. a name field."* That is the line that later appears in bold above the contact.
**Sections.** The **⊕** next to *Preview of your contact* opens **"Create new section"** („Neuen Abschnitt erstellen") — you only give it a name. The icon on the section itself lets you rename or remove it later.
**Fields.** The library sits on the right under *Your fields*. Drag an existing field into the section you want. If one is missing, create it via the **⊕** (*Add new field* / „Neues Feld hinzufügen"). The **"New field"** dialog asks for:
* **Field name** — required.
* **Field type** („Feldtyp") — *Date, Single-line text, Monetary amount, Link, List, Multi-line text* or *Number*.
* **Required field** — a toggle for fields that must always be filled.
* **Field description** — help text for whoever fills the contact in later.
The settings icon on a field also lets you store an **AI prompt**, so the analysis fills that field from contracts automatically.
> **Don't forget:** changes to the structure only take effect once you click **"Save"** („Speichern") in the top right.

### 4. Create a contact
Open **Contacts** and click **"New contact"** („Neuer Kontakt"). First pick the **contact type** at the top — only then does the matching form appear, with exactly the sections and fields from step 3.
On the right you will see **"Save the contact first — contracts and tasks become available once you have saved this contact."** („Speichern Sie zuerst den Kontakt…"). The **Contracts**, **Tasks** and **Activity** tabs unlock after saving.

### 5. Link a contact to a contract
The link is made **inside the contract**, through the **counterparty** („Vertragspartner") field:
1. Open the contract and switch from **"View"** („Einsehen") to **"Edit"** („Bearbeiten") at the top.
2. Hover the **counterparty** field — a **⊕** appears in its top right corner, labelled **"Link existing contact"** („Bestehenden Kontakt verknüpfen").
3. In the dialog, start typing under **"Select contact"** („Kontakt auswählen") and pick the right one.
4. Confirm with **"Add"** („Hinzufügen").
If the contact does not exist yet, click **"New contact +"** („NEUER KONTAKT +") in the same dialog. The **"New contact"** form opens right inside the contract — including the **contact type** picker. You create the contact without leaving the contract.

### 6. Several contacts on one contract
Simply repeat step 5. The new contact is added **alongside** the existing one rather than replacing it. That is the normal case for contracts with more than one party on a side — two companies of a group, or a tenant plus a guarantor.
Each contact in the field offers five actions:
| Action | What it does |
| **Expand** / **Collapse** („Ausklappen" / „Einklappen") | Shows the contact's fields inside the contract |
| **Go to contact** („Zum Kontakt") | Opens the full contact page |
| **Edit contact** („Kontakt bearbeiten") | Opens the contact for editing |
| **Remove from this field** („Aus diesem Feld entfernen") | Removes only the link — the contact itself stays |
| **Verify all data of this contact** („Verifiziert alle Daten dieses Kontakts") | Confirms all AI values on that contact at once |

### 7. Maintain contact data from inside the contract
**"Expand"** reveals the contact's sections — *Generell, Standort* and so on — below the name. Each field shows its value; AI-filled fields also show the **"Verify"** („Verifizieren") button, and each section has **"Verify all"** („Alle verifizieren"). You can review and confirm master data without leaving the contract.

## Common questions
### Can I add a second contact field to a contract, for example "Purchasing contact"?
No. When you create a new contract field the available types are *Checkbox, Date, Single-line text, Formula, Monetary amount, Interval, Link, List, Multi-line text, Number* and *Duration* — **Contact is not among them**. **Counterparty** is therefore the only field that holds real contacts on a contract. For names that do not need a link, create an ordinary text field.
### Can I link an existing contract from the contact page?
No. The contact page has a search and **"New contract"** („Neuer Vertrag") under **Contract list** — the latter creates a *new* contract with this contact. An **existing** contract can only be linked through the counterparty field in the contract itself.
### What happens to the contacts if I delete a contact type?
Check which contacts use the type first. A type defines the form — remove it and those contacts lose their structure. When in doubt, create the new type, move the contacts over, and delete the old one afterwards.
### How do I see why a contract is attached to a contact?
On the contact page, each contract in the contract list carries the note **"Linked via: Counterparty"** („Verknüpft über: Vertragspartner").
### Do I have to give every contact type its own fields?
No. Fields from *Your fields* can be used in several types — *Address* or *Email* only need creating once. Custom fields pay off for whatever is genuinely type-specific.
### What is the contact type description for?
It helps the AI decide during analysis when a contact belongs to that type. Without AI analysis it is simply documentation for your team.
### A contact exists twice — what now?
Use **Merge duplicates** („Duplikate zusammenführen") in the contact list. The related article walks through it.

## Good to know
* **Type first, contact second.** The contact type is one click at the start — the later you switch, the more rework it creates.
* **Start from a template.** A new type that is 80 % identical to an existing one is set up in seconds via *Contact type template*.
* **The header holds two fields at most.** Worth a moment's thought: usually the name for companies, first and last name for people.
* **Remember to save.** Sections and fields only go live after **"Save"** in the field builder.
* **A link is not the contact.** **"Remove from this field"** only cuts the connection to the contract. You delete the contact itself via **"Delete contact"** („Kontakt löschen") on the contact page.

## Related articles
* [AI analysis for contacts: fill counterparty master data from contracts](https://support.contracthero.com/en-us/article/ai-analysis-for-contacts-fill-counterparty-master-data-from-contracts-1gbkbxz/)
* [Contact field builder: manage different types of contacts](https://support.contracthero.com/en-us/article/contact-field-builder-manage-different-types-of-contacts-1mwzozz/)
* [How is partner management handled in the system?](https://support.contracthero.com/en-us/article/how-is-partner-management-handled-in-the-system-1pvuxge/)
* [How do I merge duplicate contacts?](https://support.contracthero.com/en-us/article/how-do-i-merge-duplicate-contacts-6qju6q/)
* [Visibility of contacts — who sees which contacts and contracts?](https://support.contracthero.com/en-us/article/visibility-of-contacts-who-sees-which-contacts-and-contracts-4mavsl/)
* [Contact activity: track changes to your contacts](https://support.contracthero.com/en-us/article/contact-activity-track-changes-to-your-contacts-1frpgtd/)