Choosing Enquiry Categories

Start with how you actually search, not how enquiries are made

Categories should reflect the questions you ask later, such as show me everything for this client, rather than mirroring internal production steps nobody else needs to see.

Keep the category list short

A handful of clear categories, such as client-facing, internal, contracts and templates, is far more usable than twenty overlapping options that are hard to tell apart.

Avoid categories that duplicate status

Categories should describe what an enquiry is, not what stage it is at. Intake status already covers where an enquiry has reached in the process.

Use consistent naming from day one

Deciding on category names early and sticking to them avoids ending up with near-duplicate categories such as Contract and Contracts.

Enquiry categories as your work changes

A category structure that suited a smaller range of work may need a light update as you take on new types of enquiries or clients.

Combine categories with search

Categories narrow things down; free-text search finds the rest. Together they make locating a specific enquiry, even an old one, straightforward.

Enquiry your category definitions

A short written definition of what belongs in each category keeps everyone using them the same way, particularly once more than one person is adding enquiries.

In summary

A clear enquiry process becomes easier to sustain once there is a structure around it: defined intake stages, organised follow-up notes, tracked records and useful follow-up notes. IntakeHarbor organises that information; the enquiry and intake decisions themselves always remain with you and your contacts.

This article is general information about enquiry-enquiry practice. It is not legal advice and does not constitute enquiry or signature certification.