# CRM overview

> Boards, columns, and dynamic deal cards that fill themselves in from conversations. The CRM is where every door's output lands — and the board columns drive workflow cadences.

The CRM is a board — columns for stages, cards for deals — that fills itself in. A lead captured on a call, a form submission, a DM that turned into a quote request: each becomes a card, with the conversation attached, the [contact](/docs/crm/contacts) linked, and the [source recorded](/docs/crm/attribution).

## How cards get created

| Path | What happens |
| --- | --- |
| The AI's lead tool | Mid-conversation on any door, the [lead-capture tool](/docs/ai/tools) collects the card's fields and files the deal. |
| A form | A [CRM form](/docs/crm/forms) submission creates the row + card in the column you chose. |
| The ingest API | Any website or system POSTs to [`/crm/ingest`](/docs/api/crm-ingest) with a [Connections key](/docs/crm/connections). |
| A workflow | A webhook step or automation writes the card as part of a flow. |
| A human | Plain old **Add card**. |

## Dynamic deal cards

What a card shows is a **template per board** — pick a business preset (job cards for trades, consult cards for clinics, order cards for restaurants) or edit the layout yourself. The AI's lead capture binds to a board and column and collects *that card's fields*, so the phone agent asks exactly the questions your card needs. Cards deep-link (`?card=` URLs) so a ticket or a report can point at the exact deal.

## The board drives the follow-up

Because *card created* and *card moved* are [workflow triggers](/docs/workflows/triggers), the columns are your cadence: move a card to *Quoted* and the quote-chase starts; to *Booked* and the reminders start; to *Done* and the review request goes out. Managing the relationship is drag-a-card.

> **ONE BOARD PER MOTION:** A jobs board and a memberships board behave differently — separate boards with their own card templates and cadences beat one giant board with unused columns.