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Help centre / CRM

Lead Intake

Leads that arrive by themselves - Facebook and Instagram lead forms, your website's enquiry form, and WhatsApp ad clicks - made into CRM leads within a minute.

1Overview #

Money spent on advertising is wasted between the click and the call. This screen closes that gap: an enquiry from a Facebook or Instagram lead form, from your website, or from someone tapping a click-to-WhatsApp ad becomes a CRM lead within a minute, with an owner and a time by which it must be answered.

Nothing is typed twice, nothing sits in a downloaded spreadsheet, and nothing is lost: every arrival is stored the moment it reaches the server, before anything is made of it. If a lead cannot be created - a bad mapping, a lapsed Facebook connection - the arrival waits, is retried, and is finally listed as failed for you to fix and retry.

The page is arranged in the order you set it up: the Meta app, its pages, their forms, then website forms, then click-to-WhatsApp, and last the log of everything that has arrived.

2Who it is for #

  • Take Facebook and Instagram lead form enquiries straight into the CRM.
  • Take your website's contact form without any programming - copy a ready-made HTML form, or point your own form at an address.
  • Turn a click-to-WhatsApp ad conversation into a lead, with the campaign and ad recorded.
  • Acknowledge the person at once by e-mail or WhatsApp template.
  • See every arrival, why one failed, and retry it.

3What it is not for #

  • Deciding who gets the lead. That is CRM > Assignment Rules.
  • Importing an old list. This is for enquiries arriving from now on.
  • Answering the messages. A click-to-WhatsApp conversation is answered in Communications > Inbox & Outbox, on the lead it created.

4Step by step #

  1. Set the owners up first, on CRM > Assignment Rules. - Leads that arrive with nobody to work them are worse than no leads.
  2. On developers.facebook.com make a Meta app (type Business) with Facebook Login for Business and Webhooks. - Its App ID and App secret are on App settings > Basic.
  3. Press Add Meta app, give the name, App ID and secret, and Save (F5). - Then copy the Facebook Login return address shown on the form into the Meta app's Valid OAuth Redirect URIs.
  4. Press Set up webhook. - Meta calls your server at once, so the API must answer on HTTPS from the internet.
  5. Press Connect Facebook. A Facebook window opens - sign in as a page admin, tick the pages (and their Instagram accounts) and allow. - The window is a pop-up: allow pop-ups for this site. Your pages then appear below.
  6. Pick a page, Modify, switch Take leads on, give the lead source, Save. - That subscribes the page with Meta, so new leads are sent here as they come.
  7. Press Sync forms, then check each form's question mapping and save it. - Every answer is kept on the lead whatever the mapping; a mapped answer also fills that lead field.
  8. For your website: Add website form, list its fields, save, and copy the ready-made HTML (or point your own form's action at the post address).
  9. For WhatsApp ads: pick the number, Modify, switch Ad clicks make leads on. - Needs the Communication Hub with a WhatsApp number.
  10. Test: Meta's Lead Ads Testing Tool, and one real submission from your website. - A Meta test lead is marked TEST and kept out of the targets.

5The fields #

  • The Meta app - One app is enough for all your pages.
  • Name - What to call it here. Up to 100 characters, unique
  • Active ? - Off: Meta's calls are refused and nothing is fetched. Switch
  • App ID - The number at the top of the app's dashboard. 5 to 30 digits
  • App secret - App settings > Basic. Facebook Login and every webhook call use it. Stored encrypted, never shown again. Required when first saved
  • Verify token - A phrase Meta repeats when the webhook is set up. Blank = one is made for you. 12 characters at least
  • Graph API version - Like v21.0. vNN.N
  • Callback URL - Made by the server; it never changes. Set up webhook gives it to Meta for you.
  • Facebook Login return address - Add it to the Meta app under Facebook Login > Settings > Valid OAuth Redirect URIs, exactly as shown. Without it, Facebook refuses the connection.
  • A page - The Facebook pages the login gave, with their Instagram accounts.
  • Take leads ? - On: Meta sends this page's new leads here as they come. Saving switches it with Meta at once. This is the switch that actually starts the flow. Switch
  • Lead source - The source its leads get unless a form says otherwise. Its first-response target applies (Assignment Rules), and the source reports group by it. From CRM > Masters
  • Lead type - The type its leads get unless a form says otherwise. From CRM > Masters
  • A lead form - The page's Instant Forms, read from Meta by Sync forms.
  • Take its leads ? - Off: its leads are recorded as arrivals but no lead is made. For a form you use elsewhere. Switch
  • Lead source / Lead type - Blank = the page's. From CRM > Masters
  • Acknowledge by e-mail - An e-mail template sent to the person at once. Blank = no e-mail. From Settings > Email Templates
  • Acknowledge on WhatsApp - number and template - An approved WhatsApp template sent at once. Pick both or neither. A first message to somebody must be a template - Meta's rule. {{1}} is filled with the lead's name. From Communications > Channel Setup
  • Questions -> lead fields - Each question of the form, and the lead field it fills. Every answer is kept on the lead (Intake answers) whatever the mapping; a mapped one also fills that field. Blank = answer only. A new question is guessed for you
  • A website form - One address per form, and a form you can paste into your site.
  • Name - Which form this is, e.g. "Contact us - website". Up to 100 characters, unique
  • Active ? - Off: posts to its address are refused. Switch
  • Lead source / Lead type - What its leads get. The source decides the first-response target. From CRM > Masters
  • Allowed sites - One address per line, e.g. https://www.example.com. A browser post from any other site is refused. Blank = any site - then require a signature instead. Site addresses, no paths
  • Robot trap field - A hidden field people never fill. When a robot fills it, the post is thanked and thrown away. The ready-made form already has it. Letters, digits, _ and -
  • Thank-you page - A page of your site to go to after sending. Blank = a small thank-you page with the text below. A full address
  • Thank-you text - Shown after sending when there is no thank-you page, and answered to a script. Up to 500 characters
  • Signed posts only ? - For a server that posts for your site: the body must carry X-Intake-Signature. A browser form cannot sign - leave it off for those. Switch
  • Secret - Used for the signature. Stored encrypted. 16 characters at least; required for signed posts
  • Form fields -> lead fields - The name each input has on your site (name="...") and the lead field it fills. Typing a name guesses the field. Fields you do not list are still kept as answers. At least one; the last row is always blank for the next
  • Post address - Made by the server on first save; it never changes. Your website posts here.
  • Click-to-WhatsApp - Per WhatsApp number of the communication hub.
  • Ad clicks make leads ? - On: a WhatsApp message that came from one of your ads makes a lead. Unless the person is already on an open lead - then a follow-up is added to that one. Switch
  • Lead source / Lead type - What those leads get, e.g. "WhatsApp Ads". From CRM > Masters
  • Arrivals - The last 200, newest first.
  • Status - Done, Pending (waiting to be made into a lead), Failed, or Ignored. Failed rows are red; Retry puts them back in the queue.
  • Came through - Which page, form or number it arrived by.
  • Result - What was made of it, or why it could not be.
  • Retry / Retry all failed - Sends failed arrivals through again. Fix the cause first - a mapping, a page token.

6Rules and integrity #

  • Stored first, always - An arrival is kept the moment it reaches the server, before any lead is made. Nothing is lost because a rule, a token or a mapping was wrong.
  • The same person does not get a twin - If an open lead already has that mobile or e-mail, the arrival adds a follow-up ("Enquired again") to it instead of creating a second lead.
  • Every answer is kept - Mapped answers fill lead fields; unmapped ones are kept on the lead as "Intake answers". An e-mail that is not a real address is kept as an answer rather than put in the E-mail box.
  • A new lead is timed - It gets a first follow-up at the next working moment and a first-response target from its source; the owner is told at once on the bell.
  • Test leads are marked - Meta's testing tool produces leads flagged TEST - kept, but left out of the targets and the reports.
  • Failures back off, then wait for you - A failed arrival is retried after 2, 4, 8 ... minutes and then listed as Failed - it never spins forever.
  • The Facebook connection lapses - It lasts about 60 days. A warning appears here and on the bell before it does (setting 262); press Connect Facebook again.
  • Website posts are guarded - Origin must be an allowed site when any are listed; the robot trap must be empty; a signature is checked when required; at most 10 posts a minute come from one address.

7Shortcut keys #

  • F5 - Save while editing.
  • Esc - Cancel the edit; otherwise close the tab.

8If something does not work #

"That Meta app is no longer there."
Why
The app was removed after the list was read.
What to do
Refresh the list.
"Give the app secret first."
Why
Meta signs every lead it sends with the app secret; without it nothing can be checked, so nothing is accepted.
What to do
Paste the App Secret from the Meta developer console and save.
"Facebook sent no code back - try Connect Facebook again." / "Facebook gave no access token back."
Why
The Facebook sign-in window was closed, refused, or timed out before it handed the connection back.
What to do
Press Connect Facebook again and finish the sign-in, allowing every permission it asks for.
"Meta refused the form list: ..."
Why
Reading the page's lead forms was refused by Meta, in its own words after the colon - usually an expired connection or a missing permission.
What to do
Press Connect Facebook again; if it repeats, check the app's permissions in the Meta console.
"Pick a WhatsApp number."
Why
A click-to-WhatsApp source needs the number its conversations arrive on.
What to do
Pick the number and save.
"Lead intake is not licensed for this company - Facebook / Instagram lead forms, click-to-WhatsApp, website forms and assignment rules need the CRM Lead Intake add-on. Contact your software vendor."
Why
The add-on is missing from the licence.
What to do
Ask your vendor to add CRMINTAKE, then sign out and in.
"Lead intake and assignment are set up by an administrator or a sales manager."
Why
This page changes how every enquiry is taken in, so it is not open to everybody.
What to do
Ask an administrator or a sales manager.
"The Facebook connection of '...' has lapsed - press Connect Facebook again, or its pages' leads stop being read."
Why
Facebook tokens expire. Once lapsed, no lead of that app arrives.
What to do
Press Connect Facebook and sign in again. It renews without changing anything else.
"The Facebook connection of '...' lapses on ... - press Connect Facebook again before then."
Why
The warning band before it expires - setting 262 says how many days.
What to do
Renew it now; nothing is lost if you do it early.
"The browser blocked the Facebook window - allow pop-ups for this site and press Connect Facebook again."
Why
Facebook Login must open in a pop-up, because a full-page redirect would sign you out of the ERP.
What to do
Allow pop-ups for this site, then press it again.
"The Facebook window was closed before the connection finished." / "Facebook did not connect: no code came back."
Why
The pop-up was closed early, or Facebook sent nothing back.
What to do
Press Connect Facebook again and complete every step, including the page list.
"This Facebook Login was not started here, by you, in the last 20 minutes - press Connect Facebook again." / "That is not our Facebook Login - try Connect Facebook again."
Why
The sign-in took too long, or it was begun in another session.
What to do
Start it again and finish it in one go.
"Facebook refused: ..." / "Meta refused the webhook: ..." / "Meta refused to send this page's leads: ..." / "Meta refused the leads: ..."
Why
Meta answered with an error of its own - usually a permission the app has not been granted.
What to do
The message after the colon is Meta's. Check the app's permissions and that you are an admin of the page.
"Meta calls only HTTPS addresses, and this server answers at ... Publish the API on HTTPS (setting 220 / the site address), then try again."
Why
Meta will not post a webhook to a plain http address.
What to do
An administrator publishes the API on HTTPS and sets the site address.
"The page's own address must be HTTPS for Facebook Login."
Why
Facebook Login likewise refuses a plain http return address.
What to do
Open the ERP over HTTPS and try again.
"This page has no token - Connect Facebook again." / "The page has no token - Connect Facebook again."
Why
The page's own token is missing or unreadable.
What to do
Press Connect Facebook and pick the page again.
"Name: what to call this Meta app, e.g. \"Our Meta app\"." / "There is already a Meta app named '...'."
Why
The name is blank, or already used.
What to do
Give it a name of its own.
"App ID: the number on Meta's App dashboard (digits only)." / "App secret: App settings > Basic > App secret - Facebook Login and every webhook call need it."
Why
The app cannot be identified, or its calls cannot be trusted, without both.
What to do
Copy them from the Meta App dashboard. The secret is stored write-only.
"App secret: it is the 32-character secret on App settings > Basic." / "Verify token: 12 characters at least - or leave it blank and one is made for you."
Why
Something too short was pasted.
What to do
Copy the real secret; leave the verify token blank to have one made.
"Pick a page." / "That page is no longer there." / "Pick a form." / "That form is no longer there."
Why
The page or form was deleted on Meta's side, or none was chosen.
What to do
Sync the pages and forms again and pick from the new list.
"Mapping: the row for '...' has no form field name." / "Mapping: a row has no form field name."
Why
A mapping row names a lead field but not the form field it comes from.
What to do
Type the form's own field name, exactly as the form sends it.
"Mapping: the form field '...' is listed twice." / "Mapping: '...' is not a lead field."
Why
A source field is mapped twice, or to something that is not a lead field.
What to do
One row per form field; pick the lead field from the list.
"WhatsApp acknowledgement: pick both the number and the template, or neither."
Why
An acknowledgement needs a number to go from and a template to send.
What to do
Pick both, or clear both.
"Name: which form this is, e.g. \"Contact us - website\"." / "There is already a website form named '...'."
Why
The name is blank or already used.
What to do
Name it for the page it sits on.
"Secret: a signed form needs its secret." / "Secret: 16 characters at least."
Why
Signing was asked for without a secret long enough to be worth anything.
What to do
Set a long secret and give it to whoever writes the website.
"Allowed sites: '...' is not a site address like https://www.example.com."
Why
An allowed site must be a bare address - no path, no trailing slash.
What to do
Write only the scheme and the host.
"Thank-you page: a full address like https://www.example.com/thanks." / "Robot trap field: letters, digits, _ and - only."
Why
The redirect is not a full address, or the honeypot name has characters a form field cannot have.
What to do
Correct them; both are optional and can be left blank.
"Form fields: list at least one field the website sends (its name=\"...\")."
Why
Nothing tells the form what the website will post.
What to do
List the fields as the website names them.
"The browser did not allow copying - select the text and copy it by hand."
Why
The clipboard was refused - common when the page is not on HTTPS.
What to do
Select the address or the secret and copy it with Ctrl+C.
An arrival says Ignored: "Page ... is not connected on CRM > Lead Intake." / "...: Take leads is off."
Why
A lead came from a page or form the CRM is not set to take, or whose switch is off.
What to do
Connect the page, or switch Take leads on for it, then Retry the arrival.
An arrival says Failed with a Meta message
Why
Meta refused when the lead was fetched - usually a lapsed connection or a withdrawn permission.
What to do
Press Connect Facebook again, then Retry failed.
An arrival says Duplicate: "This Meta lead is already on the CRM." / "Already an open lead (...) - a follow-up was added to it."
Why
The same person enquired twice. Nothing is lost - the second enquiry is added as a follow-up to the open lead.
What to do
Nothing to do; open the lead to see both enquiries.
"Nobody to give the lead to - set setting 260 (unassigned leads go to) or an assignment rule."
Why
No rule took the lead and there is no fallback owner, so it cannot be created at all.
What to do
Set setting 260, or add an assignment rule with people on it.
"The acknowledgement e-mail failed: ..." / "The WhatsApp acknowledgement failed: ..."
Why
The lead WAS created; only the thank-you failed - the reason follows the colon.
What to do
Check the mail account or the WhatsApp number; the lead needs nothing.
A website form posts but nothing arrives
Why
The form is refused at the door: a wrong key, an origin not on the allowed list, a bad signature, or an empty post.
What to do
The website gets a message back saying which. A filled robot-trap field is answered as success and kept nowhere - by design.
"Too many submissions - please try again in a minute." on the website
Why
More than ten posts a minute came from one address.
What to do
It clears by itself; a genuine flood needs the form's own rate limit on the website.

9For an administrator #

  • The server must be public - Meta's webhook, the SMS/WhatsApp webhooks and the website form all need an address reachable from the internet, on HTTPS.
  • Who may set this up - An administrator, or somebody whose designation category is Sales Manager.

10Settings it uses #

  • Settings 256-262 (the working day, the default target, the fallback owner, the queue, the token warning) live on CRM > Assignment Rules and on CRM Settings under "Lead intake".

This is the help InvoiceNET® ERP shows beside the Lead Intake screen. Whether you have the screen depends on the modules of your licence and the rights your administrator has given you.

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