Owners and admins set account defaults: how aggressive email sync is, how WhatsApp treats new numbers, which People record type new rows land on, and whether users may change those choices. A mailbox or a personal WhatsApp can then override the default, if the account allows it.

That split matters. The firm can say “email is selective, WhatsApp is review first,” and still let an admin tighten one advisor’s personal WhatsApp further. The next lesson, Advanced settings and permissions, is where those policies live. Here, remember this: invite and assign a Max seat first, then connect. Sync follows the person who connected, and the defaults you set for the account.

When a mailbox is connected, Frontline can create People from the addresses it sees. You choose how wide that net is.

All contacts creates a person for senders and recipients as mail flows, including inbound. It fills the CRM quickly. It also pulls in newsletters, vendors, and one-off threads if you have not ignored them.

Selective is narrower. Frontline auto-creates from the address book, and from people you email outbound. Inbound-only strangers do not become records until you know them. For a wealth firm, selective is usually the right default. James Harrington gets a record when you write him, or when he is already in Google or Outlook contacts. A random inbound pitch does not.

You can also turn auto-create off and only sync activity onto people who already exist. Use that when the book is already in Frontline and you do not want new rows from mail.

New people land on the record type you chose as the sync default, often Lead. Email and phone stay unique across Lead and Contact. If James already exists, sync links to him. It does not invent a second James.

WhatsApp offers two sync approaches: all contacts or manual review. The right default depends on whether the connected number is for business or personal use.

For a WhatsApp Business number, use All contacts by default. This is the preferred type of WhatsApp account for Frontline: anyone who messages the business number is a business contact, so Frontline creates a person immediately and marks them as Added.

For a personal WhatsApp number, use Manual review. New WhatsApp people land in Pending review. They are not in People yet. They do not get a timeline on James, and they do not hit Company Brain, until someone clicks Add. Ignore sends them to Ignored and keeps them out. This is the difference between “my phone is connected” and “my entire personal life is the CRM.”

You can also create nobody from WhatsApp and only attach chats to people you already have. Pair that with ignore rules for groups you never want in Frontline.

Open Contact sync after you connect. You will see totals: how many contacts, how many pending review, how many ignored. On a personal WhatsApp, watch Pending review. That queue is the job. Do not set all contacts and hope ignore rules catch up later.

Contact sync is the list of people Frontline saw on your connected accounts. Each row has a source, Gmail, Google Contacts, Outlook, or WhatsApp, plus a status.

Added means they are in the CRM. Activity can attach. Max can find them.

Pending review means they are waiting. This is the manual-review WhatsApp path. Add them if they belong in the book. Ignore them if they do not.

Ignored means a rule or a person kept them out. They will not become People until you remove the ignore and restore them. The Ignore rules lesson covers domains, addresses, numbers, and groups.

Internal is for your own firm. Teammate emails, and addresses on domains you mark as internal, show as Internal instead of cluttering People. Use Add internal when someone is the company, not a client. Harrington Family Office is a Company. Your operations lead at your own domain is Internal. Do not make them a Lead.

From the row menu you can add, ignore, or mark internal. Bulk-select when a weekend of personal WhatsApp filled Pending review. Search and filter by status so you are not scrolling 500 Added rows to find two pending ones.

Connect work email on selective, or all contacts only if the mailbox is clean. Prefer a WhatsApp Business number and set it to All contacts by default. If you connect a personal WhatsApp number, use Manual review and work through Pending review instead. Set the default record type so new people arrive as Leads. Mark the firm internal. Ignore the noise. James, his family office, and the mandate stay the story. Your brother-in-law’s chat does not.

Next: Advanced settings and permissions, where account defaults, overrides, email labeling, and WhatsApp sync scope live.