This article explains how to capture information about a potential client during an initial enquiry.
An enquiry is a key opportunity to gather information about a potential client. The system helps you to capture details about the person making the enquiry and the person who requires services. It can also capture how they heard about your organisation. If the prospect becomes a client, the outcome section can be used to convert this information into an intake or client record.
While the enquiry form can also be used to capture information about potential workers or volunteers, we recommend creating worker records directly from the Contacts tab.
Your enquiry form may look different to the example in this article. This could be because the organisation you work for has customised the form to suit your specific requirements. If you have concerns about the layout of the enquiry form, contact your system administrator or the Lumary Customer Success team.
The New Enquiry form is divided into several sections:
- General Enquiry
- Enquirer's Details
- Client Details, Client Contact Details and Client Address
- Details, and
- Outcome Details.
To capture an enquiry:
- Click on the Enquiries tab. If you can't see this tab, you may need to check under the More drop-down list or click on the App Launcher nine ball grid
and search for enquiries. - This will open a list view of enquiries. Click on the New button.
General Enquiry
- The first part of the form is the General Enquiry section. Click in the mandatory Date Received field.
- This will open a popup calendar. You can either navigate to the date the enquiry was received or click on the Today text link to use the current date.
- How you use the other fields in this section will depend on how you plan to use the information for tracking and reporting. Each field is explained in the following table.
| Field | Purpose |
| Is the Enquirer the Client? | Enquiries are often made on behalf of other people, for example, a parent enquiring for services for a child. Use the drop-down list to select Yes or No. |
| Assigned To | Assigns enquiries to workers within your organisation. Click in the search field and search for the relevant worker or employee. |
| Client | If the enquiry is for a new client, this field can be left empty. It will auto-fill when the enquiry or intake is converted into a client. If the enquiry is for an existing client seeking new services, you can click in the field and search for the relevant client. |
Enquirer's Details
- If the enquiry is being made on another person's behalf, you can capture details of the enquirer. As this person will typically have a relationship with the client, this is a good time to capture their contact details. You can also use the drop-down list to indicate the enquirer's relationship to the client.
Some options in the Relationship with the Client field will create new contact records based on the enquirer's role. For example, selecting:
- Self creates a client record
- Associated Provider creates a provider record, and
- most other options create a general record.
These records will only be created if the functionality for automating record creation has been turned on and the Relationship with the Client field is filled before you save the enquiry for the first time. Editing an existing enquiry won't create new records or modify existing records. If you select Self and leave the Enquiry Outcome field blank, the record that's created will use the first and last name from the Enquirers Details section.
Client detail sections
- The next three sections of the form capture information about the client. The fields you fill out here will depend on how you plan to use the information for tracking and reporting.
- The main fields you'll need to complete are Client's First Name and Client's Last Name. These are required fields if the outcome of the enquiry is an intake or client. We recommend adding as much detail as possible. The following table explains how to use some of the other key fields.
| Field | Purpose |
| Region | If your organisation operates across multiple regions, this field will help identify the nearest available services. |
| 3rd Party Agency Consent? | If the enquirer is a 3rd party agency, for example, another care provider, this field is used to confirm that the agency has obtained consent to enquire about services for the client. |
| Preferred Communication Method | This drop-down list will allow you to indicate the best way to contact the client. The method selected will then require the addition of information to support that method. For example, if email is selected, you'll need to fill in the Client's Email field. |
Details
- The Details section captures information about how the enquirer heard about your services.
- Information from the Reason for Enquiry field can be used to generate waiting lists for services or accommodation. To add a reason to the enquiry, click on the reason in the Available list. Then click on the right arrow to move the reason to the Chosen list.
In some environments, selecting Work or Volunteer from Reason for Enquiry and leaving the Relationship with the Client field blank may automatically create a worker record. We recommend creating worker records directly from the Contacts tab.
Outcome Details
- The final section of the form is where you record the outcome of the enquiry. You may need to save your progress and come back later to add the outcome. There are a range of options, from none, to providing information to converting the enquiry to a client. Some of the key options are described in the table below.
Leaving the Enquiry Outcome field set to None may create additional records if a Relationship with the Client option has been selected.
| Enquiry Outcome option | Outcome |
| Convert to Intake |
Uses information in the enquiry to create an intake record. This can be used for further assessment before making an individual a full client. This option only works if you have not already converted the enquiry into a client. The Client's Last Name field must be filled in for this option. Find out how to convert an enquiry into an intake record. |
| Convert to Client |
Uses information in the enquiry to create a client record. This option only works if you have not previously converted the client to intake. The Client's Last Name field must be filled in for this option. Find out how to create a client from an enquiry. |
| Referred to Another Service Provider | Shows that the outcome of the enquiry was to redirect the enquirer to another service provider. Selecting this option will make the Referred to Service Provider field mandatory. You'll need to click in the Search Accounts... field and either locate the relevant provider or create a new provider account. |
| --None-- | Leaving the Enquiry Outcome field set to None may generate new records if a Relationship with the Client option has been selected. |
- Once you've filled out as much information as you can, click on the Save button. If you're entering more than one enquiry, clicking on Save & New will save the enquiry and open another New Enquiry form.
