IT Glue Contacts Management

Overview

Contacts in IT Glue represent people associated with organizations, including clients, vendors, and partners. Proper contact management enables quick access to communication details, role information, and establishes clear points of contact for each organization.

Key Concepts

Contact Types

Contacts are classified by type to identify their role:

Contact Hierarchy

Organizations can have multiple contacts with different roles:

Organization: Acme Corporation
├── Primary Contact: John Smith (CEO)
├── Technical Contact: Jane Doe (IT Manager)
├── Billing Contact: Bob Wilson (CFO)
└── End Users:
    ├── Alice Brown (Sales)
    ├── Charlie Davis (Marketing)
    └── Diana Evans (HR)

Field Reference

Core Fields

Communication Fields

Location Fields

Documentation Fields

PSA Integration Fields

Metadata Fields

API Patterns

List Contacts

GET /contacts
x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY
Content-Type: application/vnd.api+json

By Organization:

GET /organizations/123/relationships/contacts

With Filters:

GET /contacts?filter[organization-id]=123&filter[contact-type-id]=456

With Pagination:

GET /contacts?page[size]=100&page[number]=1&sort=name

Get Single Contact

GET /contacts/789
x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY

With Includes:

GET /contacts/789?include=organization,location,contact-type

Create Contact

POST /contacts
Content-Type: application/vnd.api+json
x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY

{
  "data": {
    "type": "contacts",
    "attributes": {
      "organization-id": 123456,
      "first-name": "John",
      "last-name": "Smith",
      "title": "IT Manager",
      "contact-type-id": 12,
      "contact-emails": [
        {
          "value": "[email protected]",
          "label-name": "Work",
          "primary": true
        },
        {
          "value": "[email protected]",
          "label-name": "Personal",
          "primary": false
        }
      ],
      "contact-phones": [
        {
          "value": "555-123-4567",
          "label-name": "Office",
          "primary": true
        },
        {
          "value": "555-987-6543",
          "label-name": "Mobile",
          "primary": false
        }
      ],
      "notes": "<p>Primary technical contact. Available M-F 9-5.</p>",
      "important": true
    }
  }
}

Update Contact

PATCH /contacts/789
Content-Type: application/vnd.api+json
x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY

{
  "data": {
    "type": "contacts",
    "attributes": {
      "title": "Senior IT Manager",
      "notes": "<p>Promoted to Senior IT Manager. Still primary contact.</p>"
    }
  }
}

Delete Contact

DELETE /contacts/789
x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY

Search by Various Fields

By Name:

GET /contacts?filter[name]=John Smith

By Organization:

GET /contacts?filter[organization-id]=123

By PSA ID:

GET /contacts?filter[psa-id]=54321

Contact Emails

Email Structure

{
  "contact-emails": [
    {
      "value": "[email protected]",
      "label-name": "Work",
      "primary": true
    }
  ]
}

Label Names:

• Work
• Personal
• Other

Update Email

To update emails, include the full array in your PATCH request.

Contact Phones

Phone Structure

{
  "contact-phones": [
    {
      "value": "555-123-4567",
      "label-name": "Office",
      "primary": true,
      "extension": "123"
    }
  ]
}

Label Names:

• Office
• Mobile
• Home
• Fax
• Other

Common Workflows

New Contact Creation

async function createOrgContact(orgId, contactData) {
  const emails = contactData.emails.map((email, i) => ({
    value: email.address,
    'label-name': email.type || 'Work',
    primary: i === 0
  }));

  const phones = contactData.phones.map((phone, i) => ({
    value: phone.number,
    'label-name': phone.type || 'Office',
    primary: i === 0,
    extension: phone.extension
  }));

  return await createContact({
    'organization-id': orgId,
    'first-name': contactData.firstName,
    'last-name': contactData.lastName,
    title: contactData.title,
    'contact-type-id': contactData.typeId,
    'contact-emails': emails,
    'contact-phones': phones,
    notes: contactData.notes,
    important: contactData.isVip
  });
}

Find Primary Contact

async function getPrimaryContact(orgId) {
  const contacts = await fetchContacts({
    filter: {
      'organization-id': orgId,
      'contact-type-id': PRIMARY_CONTACT_TYPE
    }
  });

  // Return first primary contact or null
  return contacts[0] || null;
}

Contact Directory

async function generateContactDirectory(orgId) {
  const contacts = await fetchContacts({
    filter: { 'organization-id': orgId },
    include: 'contact-type,location'
  });

  return contacts.map(contact => ({
    name: contact.attributes.name,
    title: contact.attributes.title,
    type: contact.included?.find(i =>
      i.type === 'contact-types' &&
      i.id === contact.relationships['contact-type']?.data?.id
    )?.attributes?.name,
    emails: contact.attributes['contact-emails']?.map(e => ({
      email: e.value,
      type: e['label-name'],
      primary: e.primary
    })),
    phones: contact.attributes['contact-phones']?.map(p => ({
      number: p.value,
      type: p['label-name'],
      ext: p.extension,
      primary: p.primary
    })),
    important: contact.attributes.important
  }));
}

PSA Contact Sync

async function syncContactFromPsa(psaContact, orgId) {
  // Check if contact already exists
  const existing = await findContactByPsaId(psaContact.id);

  if (existing) {
    // Update existing contact
    return await updateContact(existing.id, {
      'first-name': psaContact.firstName,
      'last-name': psaContact.lastName,
      title: psaContact.title,
      'contact-emails': [{
        value: psaContact.email,
        'label-name': 'Work',
        primary: true
      }],
      'contact-phones': [{
        value: psaContact.phone,
        'label-name': 'Office',
        primary: true
      }]
    });
  } else {
    // Create new contact
    return await createContact({
      'organization-id': orgId,
      'psa-id': psaContact.id,
      'first-name': psaContact.firstName,
      'last-name': psaContact.lastName,
      title: psaContact.title,
      'contact-emails': [{
        value: psaContact.email,
        'label-name': 'Work',
        primary: true
      }],
      'contact-phones': [{
        value: psaContact.phone,
        'label-name': 'Office',
        primary: true
      }]
    });
  }
}

VIP Contact Alert

async function getVipContacts() {
  const contacts = await fetchAllContacts({
    filter: { important: true },
    include: 'organization'
  });

  return contacts.map(c => ({
    name: c.attributes.name,
    organization: c.included?.find(i =>
      i.type === 'organizations' &&
      i.id === c.relationships.organization?.data?.id
    )?.attributes?.name,
    title: c.attributes.title,
    email: c.attributes['contact-emails']?.find(e => e.primary)?.value,
    phone: c.attributes['contact-phones']?.find(p => p.primary)?.value
  }));
}

Error Handling

Common API Errors

Validation Errors

Error Recovery Pattern

async function safeCreateContact(data) {
  try {
    return await createContact(data);
  } catch (error) {
    if (error.status === 422) {
      const errors = error.errors || [];

      // Handle invalid email
      if (errors.some(e => e.detail?.includes('email'))) {
        console.log('Invalid email format. Removing invalid emails.');
        data['contact-emails'] = data['contact-emails']?.filter(
          e => isValidEmail(e.value)
        );
        return await createContact(data);
      }

      // Handle missing contact type
      if (errors.some(e => e.detail?.includes('contact-type'))) {
        const types = await getContactTypes();
        console.log('Valid contact types:', types);
      }
    }

    throw error;
  }
}

Best Practices

1. Use contact types - Classify all contacts for filtering and organization
2. Set primary contact - Each organization should have a primary contact
3. Include multiple methods - Add both email and phone when available
4. Mark VIPs - Use important flag for key stakeholders
5. Document notes - Include availability, preferences, special instructions
6. Link to PSA - Set psa-id for cross-platform lookups
7. Verify emails - Ensure email addresses are current
8. Associate locations - Link contacts to their physical location
9. Regular cleanup - Remove departed employees promptly
10. Maintain titles - Keep job titles current for proper escalation

Related Skills

• IT Glue Organizations - Parent organization management
• IT Glue Passwords - Contact-related credentials
• IT Glue Documents - Contact documentation
• IT Glue API Patterns - API reference