Accounts: overview, list and views
What an account is, how it connects contacts, deals and quotes, how accounts are added, and how to find them in the accounts list.
Updated 9 October 2026 · 8 min read
An account is a company or organisation you do business with. It keeps everything about that company together: the people who work there, and every deal, quote and contract you have with them.
For example, three people from the same bank book work with you. Without an account, they are three separate names, and you can't easily see everything the bank has bought. With one account for the bank, all three contacts and every deal are linked to it. Open the account, and you see the whole relationship in one place.
Here is how other records link to an account:
| Record | How it links to the account |
|---|---|
| Contacts | Each contact belongs to one account |
| Deals, quotes and contracts | Each one needs an account |
| Leads | Can be linked to an account, but don't have to be |
| Other accounts | An account can have a parent account, such as a branch office and its head office |
Two accounts in your company can't have exactly the same name.
Before you start
| You want to | You need |
|---|---|
| See accounts | The View Accounts permission |
| Create or clone accounts | The Create Accounts permission |
| Edit or lock an account, or add tags | The Edit Accounts permission. You must also be the account's owner, or the person who created it |
| Delete accounts | The Delete Accounts permission. You must also be the account's owner, or the person who created it |
How many accounts your company can have depends on your plan. See Plans and limits.
How accounts get into Salesfresh
Add one yourself
Click Create Account on the accounts list, or click the + button at the top of any page. Fill in the form. See Create and edit an account.
While you add a lead or contact
The lead and contact forms have an Account field. If the company isn't in Salesfresh yet, click Add New next to it. A short form opens with the name, entity type, account type and industry. You become the owner of the new account.
By converting a lead
When you convert a lead, Salesfresh uses the account with the same name as the lead's company. If there isn't one, it creates it. See Convert a lead.
Import a file
Have a list of companies in a CSV or Excel file? Import it. Moving from another CRM? Export your accounts from it, then import the file here. Want a complete migration, including deals and quotes? Contact us and we'll take care of the whole migration. You own all the accounts you import. If a row has a name that is already used by an account, that row is skipped. See Import from CSV or Excel.
The accounts list
Click Accounts in the sidebar. Salesfresh remembers how you left the page, including the view, page size, sort order and switches.
Rating chips
Above the table there is a chip for each rating: Very Cold, Cold, Warm, Hot and Very Hot. Click a chip to see only the accounts with that rating. For example, click Hot to see the companies most likely to buy. Each row has a light colour that matches its rating.
Columns
The table shows Account Name, Industry, Account Type, Employees, Annual Revenue, Ownership, Phone, Last Updated, Owner and Created By. To sort, click a column heading. You can sort by every column except Phone and Owner.
- A lock icon next to the name means the account is locked. Point at it to see who locked it.
- Next Action shows the account's next task, meeting or call. A Draft badge there means the account is a copy that hasn't been saved yet.
Toolbar
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| View list | Switch to another saved view. See Views |
| Created by Me | Show only the accounts you created. You won't see this on My Accounts |
| Deleted | Open the recycle bin. See Delete and restore an account |
| View all records | Shows the accounts of everyone in your company, not just the ones you are allowed to see by default. For example, a sales manager can use it to check all the team's accounts. To see this switch, your role needs the View All Records permission. Ask your admin if you need it |
| Filter (funnel icon) | Show only the accounts that match what you need. See Filter the list |
| Search | Searches name, alias, description, notes, account type, industry and website |
Filter the list
Want to see only certain accounts, for example retail companies with annual revenue over 1,00,00,000? Use the filter to find them.
- Click the funnel icon. The Advanced Filter panel opens.
- Click a saved filter at the top, such as one of your views. Its conditions are loaded below, and you can change them. Or start with an empty condition.
- Build your conditions. Pick a field, how to compare it, and a value. Click + Rule to add another condition, or + Group to add a set of conditions.
- Choose AND to show accounts that match every condition, or OR to show accounts that match any of them.
- Click Apply. The list now shows only the accounts that match.
To see all accounts again, click Clear Filter. The filter isn't saved, so if you want to use the same filter again later, ask your admin to add it as a view. You can't use the filter while View All Records is on.
Views
A view is a saved filter. Every company starts with these:
| View | Shows |
|---|---|
| All Accounts | Every account |
| New This Week | Accounts created this week |
| New Last Week | Accounts created last week |
| Locked Accounts | Locked accounts |
| Unread Accounts | Accounts nobody has opened yet |
| Recently Created Accounts | Accounts created this week, up to today |
| Recently Modified Accounts | Accounts changed this week, up to today |
| My Accounts | Accounts you own |
Admins can add more views and tags in Settings > Data Management > Accounts.
Row actions
Click the menu at the start of a row to see what you can do with that account.
| Action | You see it when |
|---|---|
| Edit | You can edit accounts, you own or created the account, and it isn't locked |
| Clone | Always. It is greyed out if you can't create accounts |
| Lock / Unlock | You own or created the account. Locking stops anyone editing or deleting it. Only the person who locked it can unlock it |
| Delete | You can delete accounts, you own or created the account, and it isn't locked |
In the recycle bin, the menu shows Restore and Delete Permanently instead.
Who can see and change an account
Your admin decides who can see accounts, in Settings > Data Share Policies. It starts as Company Wide.
| Setting | Who sees an account |
|---|---|
| Company Wide | Everyone in the company |
| Team Based | Everyone in the team picked on the account, which is one of the owner's teams |
| Owner Only | Only the account's owner |
| Owner and Team | The owner, and everyone in the team picked on the account |
- The person who created an account can always see it.
- Being able to see an account doesn't mean you can change it. To edit, lock, tag or delete it, you need the permission and you must be the owner or the creator.
To give all of one person's accounts to someone else, open the ⋮ menu at the top right of the accounts list, next to Create Account, and click Change Owner.
Emails owners get
| Who gets it | When | |
|---|---|---|
| New Account Assigned | The new owner | Someone else creates an account for them, or makes them the owner on the account form |
| Account Reassigned to Another Owner | The old owner | Someone else gives their account to a new owner on the account form |
Don't want these emails? Turn them off in Notification settings.
Troubleshooting
| You see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "Account not found" | The sharing rules hide the account from you, it was deleted, or you don't own it and didn't create it | Ask an admin or the account's owner, or look in the recycle bin |
| "You have reached the maximum of N accounts on your current plan. Please upgrade for more." | You have used up your plan's account limit | Delete accounts you don't need any more, or upgrade from My Subscription. See Plans and limits |
Related
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