What is Search?
This will be one of the first screens new users should become acquainted with. You can think of this section as your address book; it contains all existing records within Smart Service.
We encourage you to create new customers as well as edit your existing customers via Smart Service. We’ll make sure to instantaneously and automatically make those updates in QuickBooks for you!
Quick Search
A “Quick Search” version of contacts is also available via the ribbon at the top of your screen. When using this section, make sure to double-click the “Contacts” section to lock it in place. Doing so will pin that section to the top of the screen regardless of which scheen you enter later.
Search For
At the top of the screen, you will have several search and filter options to find the record you’re looking for.
Contacts Search screen will perform a comprehensive search covering all records available Smart Service. To begin, type in any information you have about the person, building, or service you’re looking for and press the enter key to initiate the search. You may consider using a relevant phone number or address to find the desired record.
Pro Tip
Searching * will show all results in Smart Service for the record type you're searching for. You can use this to view a list of customers, which would be much more like QuickBooks' customer center.
Search In
This option will tell Smart Service what kind of record you are searching for. For example, are you looking for a customer? Or a job for a customer? You may also search by “All” to see any record related to your search.
Match Option
Match dictates where you will perform your search for the criteria you have entered. Anywhere will give the broadest results which include partial matches, “Whole” provides exact matches and Start of Field will give exact and partial matches beginning with your search criteria.
Pro Tip
Remember that if you change the match option to "start of field" or "whole field", that choice will persist unless you reopen the screen or change it back to "Anywhere."
Show Inactives
You can check the “Show Inactives” checkbox to include customers, jobs, prospects, or prospect jobs that you have made inactive manually, by posting or converting. Searching for inactive jobs will allow you to re-enter a job needing to be corrected after it has been posted. These jobs can always be made active and reposted to reflect changes on an invoice in both Smart Service and QuickBooks. Don’t forget to delete any previously created invoices in QuickBooks if the job is posted a second time!
Column Customization
The columns inside of this contacts search screen can also be customized per record type.
The changes made are saved to the current user profile, meaning that when a user logs into the program, their settings for this tab are imported.
Each record type can be customized and set to only display relevant columns. Select the desired record type from the “Search In” drop-down and follow the steps below.
Create New Records
To add a new customer or prospect from Contact search, click on the “New…” button. You will be prompted to choose a new, unique name for the customer or prospect being created. Not sure if you need to make a customer or a prospect? You can check out the specifics by clicking on the image to the left.
Advanced Filtering
Selecting the “Filter” button will display a new section of the Contacts search screen. The options available in the filtering menu will vary depending on which type of records you are currently searching. Any user definable fields you’ve created will also be available as filter options.