Contacts vs. leads
The difference between a contact as a core record in the workspace and a lead as a contact within a lead list in the campaign context.
Last reviewed: 2026-07-22
Contacts and leads at a glance
Nexcal uses two closely related terms: contacts and leads. Both describe people or companies you want to call, but they play different roles in the platform. Understanding the difference helps you set up your data and campaigns cleanly.
What is a contact?
A contact is a record with the core data of a person or company, for example name, phone number and optional additional fields. Contacts belong to the workspace and are therefore available to all members who are permitted to see them. You can create contacts manually or import them from a CSV file.
A contact is neutral at first: it is not assigned to any campaign and is not called as long as it is not part of a lead list.
What is a lead?
A lead is created when a contact is grouped into a lead list and used in a campaign. The lead additionally carries a processing status that shows whether and with what result the contact was called as part of the campaign.
The underlying contact remains unchanged in the workspace. A contact can appear in several lead lists; the lead status, however, is tracked in the context of each campaign.
How the layers fit together
- Contact: core data at workspace level.
- Lead list: a thematic or organizational grouping of contacts.
- Lead: a contact within a lead list in the campaign context.
- Lead status: the processing result of a lead in a campaign.
Hinweis: Removing a contact from a lead list does not delete the contact from the workspace. Conversely, deleting a contact removes it from all lists.