Before creating a new customer, check whether the customer’s information already exists in the customer registry.
A customer entry is also created in the customer registry automatically in the following situations:
- People who have submitted a purchase offer via DIXU.
- A customer has been created as a lead (a potential client), for example through the agency’s website.
- A lead has been created for a listing, for example via Oikotie (a potential buyer / tenant).
In these cases, the customer card will show a note either in Additional information (Customer was added to CRM automatically based on the purchase offer information made in Dixu) or in Classification (Buyer, Potential buyer / tenant / seller).
Creating a new customer
If the customer is not found in the customer registry, a new customer must be created. A new customer can be created directly from the customer registry or anywhere a customer entry is required (e.g. when creating a listing or an offer) by clicking Create a new CRM customer.
Note: All parties with whom the agent interacts through Linear (e.g. when sending documents, signature requests, etc.) must first be added to the customer registry, and their email address must be entered into their customer details.
Start by selecting the customer type: Private person, Business customer or Estate. Below you will find more detailed information about the differences between these types. When entering customer information, please note that all fields marked with an asterisk are mandatory in order to create the customer.
Adding a private person
Although there are not many mandatory fields (marked with an asterisk), we recommend filling in the customer’s information as thoroughly as possible already when creating them. For example, the customer’s personal identity code is required so they can sign agreements and documents sent from Linear. Missing information can also be updated later in the customer card.
The Language selected for the customer determines the language used in emails sent to them, such as signature requests. Language also determines the user interface language the customer sees in the Signicat signing service. By default, the Language field is prefilled with the main language of the brokerage’s home country (for example, Finnish in Finland and Estonian in Estonia).
Note: If your company uses message automations (e.g. Typeform feedback surveys), you can mark Do not send agency-specific automatic messages at the bottom of the customer details. When enabled, the customer will not receive messages sent through these automations. This does not affect other messages sent from the system, such as signature requests.
Adding a business customer
When creating a new company, at least one contact person must be added, but multiple contacts can be included. A contact person can be selected from existing customers or created as a new private person.
You can also specify who is responsible for signing on behalf of the company. Signature requests are sent to those marked as primary contacts. If no primary contacts are defined, all contact persons will sign the agreements.
Adding an estate
When entering an estate, start by entering the estate’s name. We recommend adding an identifier such as "Estate" or "Est." at the end of the name (e.g. Estate of Matti Meikäläinen) so the customer type is easily recognizable in documents such as assignment agreements and deeds of sale.
Next, enter the parties to the estate. These can include private persons, companies or other estates. The parties are the estate’s shareholders or others responsible for the estate’s affairs (e.g. a law firm or attorney). Different roles can be assigned to the parties, such as Shareholder, Signatory and Contact person. These roles determine who signs on behalf of the estate, for example the assignment agreement, and which information is displayed in documents such as the deed of sale.
Note: If a party has authorized another party to sign on their behalf, their Signatory role must be removed. If an estate shareholder has authorized another party to sign for them, we also recommend adding the power of attorney to the listing’s archive so it can be easily found in Linear.
The example below shows an estate with three parties: Anton Asikainen, Niina Virtanen and the Estate of Matilda Fagerlund. All three have the roles Shareholder and Signatory.
For the Estate of Matilda Fagerlund, three additional parties have been added: Antero Heikkilä, Niina Nurmi and Asianajotoimisto Heikkinen Oy. Antero and Niina have only the shareholder role, as they have authorized the law firm to sign on their behalf.
Therefore, if this estate were a customer in an assignment, the signature requests would be sent to: (1) Anton Asikainen, (2) Niina Virtanen and (3) the representative of Asianajotoimisto Heikkinen Oy.