Contact Us Form & Lead Capture (Customer Portal)

Schedule a call

Schedule a call

Contact Us Form & Lead Capture (Customer Portal)

Customer Inquiry Capture Management Pipeline

The Contact Us link in the OctopusPro Customer Portal gives customers a simple way to submit an inquiry (lead) when they’re not ready to book yet, or when they have questions before committing. Each submission is captured in your Inquiries (Lead Management) pipeline, where your team can respond, track contact attempts, set follow-ups, and convert qualified leads into a Quote/Estimate or a Booking.

This is ideal for service businesses that want to:

  • Capture leads 24/7 (even when your office is closed).
  • Reduce missed calls and eliminate “phone tag”.
  • Centralise lead handling (contact history, notes, labels, files, follow-ups).
  • Improve conversions by responding faster and keeping everything in one system.

Customer Portal menu showing the Contact Us link

Jump to

What the Contact Us link does

When enabled, a Contact Us option appears in the Customer Portal menu. Customers can open a branded inquiry form and submit details such as:

  • Name
  • Email
  • Mobile / phone number
  • Service address (if applicable)
  • Comments / request details
  • Preferred appointment date/time (optional)

When the form is submitted, OctopusPro automatically creates an Inquiry record. Your team can then:

  • Respond quickly (phone/email/SMS outside of OctopusPro, depending on your workflow).
  • Log each contact attempt and outcome.
  • Assign a representative and set a follow-up reminder.
  • Add notes, internal discussion, attachments and labels.
  • Convert the inquiry into a Quote/Estimate or Booking when qualified.
  • Mark spam submissions and ban abusive IPs.

Before you start

To use the Contact Us link effectively, make sure you have:

  • Customer Portal / Online Bookings enabled (the Contact Us option is part of the portal experience). If you can’t see the feature flag, ensure online bookings are enabled: Enable Online Bookings Through Your Website.
  • Your lead handling workflow defined (who receives notifications, who follows up, expected response time, etc.).

How to enable the Contact Us link

  1. Go to Settings → Customer Portal → Flags & Permissions.
  2. Find the option “Display link to ‘Contact us’ page in menu”.
  3. Toggle it ON.
  4. Save your changes.

Toggle setting: Display link to Contact us page in menu

Tip: If you want the Contact Us form available beyond the portal (e.g., on your website landing pages), you can embed the lead capture form too. See: Lead Capture Form (Embed Inquiry Form on Your Website).

What customers see

Customers access the Customer Portal and select Contact Us from the menu. They fill in the form and click Send. This creates an inquiry in your system so your team can respond and progress the lead.

Example inquiry form customers submit via Contact Us

Common use cases

  • “I need a quote first” – customer submits requirements and photos, then you send an estimate.
  • Availability questions – customer asks about dates, timing, service areas, or pricing.
  • Complex jobs – customer submits details before booking (e.g., multi-room work, large commercial job, special access requirements).
  • Lead qualification – you can ask clarifying questions before offering booking availability.

What admins see & how to manage inquiries

All submitted inquiries appear under your Inquiries section (Lead Management). From there you can manage them like a CRM pipeline:

  • Status: track New, Qualified, Unqualified, and Spam (depending on your configuration).
  • Representative/Owner: assign a team member to follow up.
  • Follow-up reminders: set a date/time so leads never slip through the cracks.
  • Contact history: log call attempts, outcomes, and timestamps.
  • Discussion: keep internal notes and collaboration in one place.
  • Attachments: store files/photos provided by the customer or your team.
  • Labels/Tags: categorise leads (e.g., “Hot Lead”, “Commercial”, “Needs Photos”).

Inquiries list showing new inquiries, follow-up timing, representative, and filters

Recommended workflow (simple and effective)

  1. Respond fast: contact the customer as soon as possible (phone/email/SMS).
  2. Log the contact attempt: record what happened so anyone on the team can continue the conversation.
  3. Qualify: confirm scope, location, timing, and budget suitability.
  4. Set a follow-up reminder if no response or if waiting on customer details.
  5. Convert once qualified:

Helpful inquiry management guides

Track performance

Use the inquiries reporting dashboard to monitor lead volume, conversion, and outcomes over time: Inquiries Statistics.

Best practices to increase inquiry conversion

  • Keep the form simple: ask only for what you need to respond (name + phone/email + message is often enough).
  • Offer a preferred time/date field: reduces back-and-forth and speeds up qualification.
  • Follow up consistently: use follow-up reminders so no lead is forgotten.
  • Use labels/tags: make it easy to segment and prioritise (e.g., “Urgent”, “High Value”, “Needs Site Visit”).
  • Convert quickly: once qualified, convert to a quote or booking so the job enters your operational workflow.
  • Reduce spam: mark spam inquiries and ban abusive IPs to keep the pipeline clean.

Troubleshooting

I can’t see the “Display link to ‘Contact us’ page in menu” option.

The Contact Us link is enabled, but it doesn’t match my branding.

I’m getting spam inquiries.

To stay updated, please subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Scroll to top