Scale includes a CRM that works on every conversation: each person who messages your business on WhatsApp, Instagram or Messenger becomes a lead automatically, with a stage, an assigned agent, an AI summary and a record of what they bought. The Leads screen lists every open and closed conversation, and the Customers screen lists everyone who has made a purchase, with what each one has spent. Both screens are in the dashboard sidebar, and any row opens the full conversation in the Inbox.
This guide explains the lead stages and what moves a lead between them, every option on both screens, how purchases are recorded, what closing a conversation or blocking a customer does, and how leads sync to Google Sheets.
How a conversation becomes a lead
You do not create leads yourself. The first time a person writes to a channel you connected to Scale, Scale creates one lead for that number or account and places it at the New Lead stage. Later messages from the same person go to the same record, so a customer is never listed twice in one workspace.
Scale takes the customer's name from their channel profile when the channel provides one. You can change it with the pencil icon next to the name inside the conversation, and a name you type is not replaced afterwards.
If you have a team, a new lead is assigned to the next available team member according to the distribution rules you set; when nobody is available it stays with the account owner. See Team and roles in Scale for how distribution works. A team member sees only the leads assigned to them, while the owner sees all of them.
Contacts you import for broadcasts on the Campaigns screen are saved in the same list, so when one of them writes to you later the conversation continues on the same record. See Campaigns in Scale.
Lead stages and what moves a lead between them
Every lead sits at exactly one stage, which the dashboard calls Qualification. Five stages form the sales funnel, in order: New Lead, Interested, Qualified, Appointment Booked, Customer. Two more stages are outside the funnel: Lost and Not a Lead.
| Stage | What it means | What moves a lead here |
|---|---|---|
| New Lead | The customer wrote and there is not enough evidence yet | Every new conversation starts here |
| Interested | The customer is engaging with what you offer and has shown at least one buying signal | The AI reads the conversation and finds real questions plus a signal such as budget, timing or a comparison with a competitor |
| Qualified | There is strong evidence of intent to buy | The AI finds evidence built up across more than one customer message, or the customer asks to complete the purchase right away |
| Appointment Booked | A specific appointment, call or visit is agreed | The AI records a meeting with a real date and time, or reads in the chat that an appointment was agreed |
| Customer | The person bought | A purchase is recorded on the conversation, by you, by your store, or by the AI when it takes an order in the chat |
| Lost | A real opportunity ended | The customer declined, bought elsewhere or asked not to be contacted. Silence or a price objection is not enough |
| Not a Lead | The person was never a potential customer | The AI finds clear evidence, such as a job seeker, a supplier, a partnership pitch or a wrong number |
Who sets the stage. Each conversation has one of two qualification modes, shown as two buttons under the stage: AI and Manual.
In AI mode, Scale re-reads the conversation shortly after anything changes in it, including conversations a team member is answering by hand, and updates the stage. Every change is written on the conversation's internal timeline, for example that the AI changed the lead status to Qualified, so you know when the stage moved. The customer never sees these lines.
In Manual mode you control the stage and the AI does not change it. Choosing any stage from the list switches the conversation to Manual by itself. Press AI to hand control back, and Scale reads the conversation again and sets the stage.
Facts outrank readings. A recorded purchase always moves the lead to Customer, and a scheduled appointment always moves it to Appointment Booked, even in Manual mode, but only forward: a Customer who books a new appointment stays a Customer. The AI does not move a Customer back to an earlier stage, and it moves an Appointment Booked lead only to Customer or Lost. At the other stages it lowers the stage only when the conversation shows the customer backing away; a quiet conversation keeps its stage.
How to change a stage yourself
Open the lead
On the Leads screen, click the row or the Open button. The conversation opens in the Inbox with the Lead details panel beside it.
Open the Qualification list
Under Qualification, click the current stage to show all seven stages.
Choose the stage
Click the stage you want. The conversation switches to Manual, and the change is saved and written on the conversation timeline with your name.
Record the amount if you chose Customer
When you choose Customer for a lead with no recorded purchase, the purchase form opens so you can enter what they paid.
Hand control back when you want
Click AI under the stage and Scale goes back to updating it automatically.
The Leads screen and every option on it
Open Leads from the sidebar. The screen shows the 500 most recently active open conversations, newest activity first, and the 300 most recently closed ones. Search reaches older conversations. There are no bulk actions on several leads at once on this screen; every action is taken inside the lead's conversation.
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Active | Open conversations, with their count next to the tab name |
| Closed | Conversations you closed, with their count |
| Search by name or phone | Searches every conversation in the workspace by name or number and shows up to 50 results. On the Closed tab it filters the list on screen |
| Qualification | Filters Active leads by one stage: All, or any of the seven stages. The applied filter appears next to the button with the number of results |
| Clear filters | Removes the Qualification filter and empties the search box |
| Sorting by the Lead column | Clicking the column title sorts by name, and clicking again reverses the order |
| Sorting by the Last activity column | The default order, newest first. Clicking reverses it |
| All months | On the Closed tab: shows conversations that started in one chosen month |
| Open | Opens the conversation in the Inbox |
| Refresh | Reloads the list |
| Connect Google Sheets | Starts connecting a Google account. Shown to the owner only, before connecting |
| Synced and Open Google Sheets | Shown after connecting. The button opens the spreadsheet directly and is for the owner only |
| More then Disconnect Google | Ends the Google connection, which stops both the sheet and the calendar sync |
| More then Delete all conversations | Permanently deletes every lead, message, internal comment and recorded purchase in the workspace. It asks for confirmation and then for you to type DELETE. Owner only |
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Lead | The name, with a dot next to it when the conversation has unread messages |
| Phone | The customer's number |
| Qualification | The current stage |
| Last message | The start of the latest message in the conversation |
| Last activity | Time since the last interaction |
| Feedback / note | On Closed: a note you type straight into the cell, saved when you leave the field |
| Handled by | On Closed: who closed the conversation or wrote its note |
| Closed | On Closed: the date and time it was closed |
| Reopen | On Closed: returns the conversation to Active |
Lead details with the assigned agent and expected value
When you open any lead, the Lead details panel appears beside the conversation in the Inbox. This panel is where you manage the lead itself. For replying and taking a conversation over from the AI, see The Inbox in Scale.
| Section | What it does |
|---|---|
| Assigned agent | Shows who owns the lead. The owner can move it from the list to any active team member or to themselves. An unassigned lead is with the account owner |
| Qualification | The current stage and the AI and Manual buttons |
| Status | What the customer wants in their latest messages: Price, Inquiry, Booking, Objection, Support, Job Enquiry, Partnership, Other. The AI sets it, and you can choose a value yourself or return it to automatic |
| Expected value | A number your team types for what the deal is expected to be worth, then Save. Saving an empty field clears it. It does not change the stage, the purchases or the AI's replies |
| Purchases | The recorded purchases and their total, and the Record a purchase button |
| AI summary | An automatic summary of the conversation, shown when one exists |
| Notes | Notes the AI extracted from the conversation |
| Set a reminder | Creates an internal reminder to follow up with this lead |
| Close & archive conversation | Moves the conversation to the Closed tab |
The Customers screen and purchases
Open Customers from the sidebar. The screen lists everyone with at least one recorded purchase, and everyone whose stage is Customer even if no amount has been entered yet. The list is sorted by total spent, highest first, and shows up to 500 customers. The customer count also appears next to the screen name in the sidebar.
A purchase is recorded in three ways: the owner or a team member enters it inside the conversation, it is added automatically when an order is created in your connected store from inside the chat, or the AI records it when it takes an order for the products you keep in Scale. Purchases recorded automatically carry a Recorded automatically mark. See Your store in Scale for connecting a store.
| Item | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Customers | The number of people in the list |
| Total sales | The sum of every recorded purchase since the start |
| Average per customer | Total sales divided by the number of people who bought |
| New this month | The number of people who bought in the date range selected on the Home page, which is the last 30 days unless you changed it |
| Search by name or phone | Filters the list instantly |
| Agent | The team member who owns the customer, or the account owner when nobody is assigned |
| Total spent | Everything the customer paid, with the number of purchases next to it when they bought more than once |
| Add amount | Shown instead of a total for someone whose stage is Customer with no amount recorded. It opens the conversation with the purchase form ready |
| Last purchase | The date of the most recent purchase |
| Open | Opens the customer's conversation in the Inbox |
How to record a purchase
Open the customer's conversation
From the Leads screen, the Customers screen or the Inbox.
Click Record a purchase
The button is in the Purchases section of the Lead details panel.
Enter the amount
The Amount field is required and must be greater than zero. The purchase is saved in the workspace currency; there is no currency field.
Choose the date and add a note
Date is filled with today and you can change it. Note (optional) accepts up to 200 characters.
Click Save purchase
The lead moves to the Customer stage, the sale is credited to the lead's assigned agent, a line is written on the conversation timeline, and the figures update on the Customers screen and the Home page.
The dashboard has no button to edit a recorded purchase. To correct an amount or a date, delete the purchase with the trash icon next to it and record it again. Deleting a purchase updates your sales totals, but it does not move the lead back to an earlier stage.
Closing and reopening a conversation and blocking a customer
These actions are taken inside the conversation: the archive button at the top of the conversation or the Close & archive conversation button in the Lead details panel, and the three-dot menu at the top of the conversation for blocking, deleting and downloading.
| Action | What happens |
|---|---|
| Close conversation | The conversation moves to the Closed tab, and you can type an optional note as you close it. Scale records who closed it, writes an AI summary of the conversation and updates its row in Google Sheets. Closing is a label only and does not pause the AI, but it cancels any automatic follow-up that was scheduled |
| Reopen | A button on the Closed tab that returns the conversation to Active. Any new message from the customer also reopens the conversation automatically |
| Block customer (spam) | Owner only. After blocking, this customer's messages are not stored, the AI does not answer them, and they do not use messages from your plan. The conversation moves to Closed and shows a Blocked mark, and any reply or follow-up that was scheduled is cancelled |
| Unblock customer | Returns the conversation to the Inbox, and the customer's new messages reach you again |
| Delete chat | Owner only. Permanently deletes the conversation and everything attached to it |
| Download CSV or JSON | Downloads the messages of this one conversation as a file |
Google Sheets sync of leads
After you connect Google, Scale keeps one row per lead in a spreadsheet on your own account. The row is added to the tab of the month the conversation started, and the same row is updated whenever something changes: a new AI reply, a change of stage, name or assigned agent, closing the conversation, writing a note, or recording or deleting a purchase. Confirmed bookings are written to a separate tab.
You connect from the Connect Google Sheets button on the Leads screen or from Settings → Integrations, and only the owner can do it. The full steps are in How to Connect Google Sheets and Google Calendar to Scale. Scale has no bulk export of all conversations into one file, so the spreadsheet is the supported way to get every lead's data. Each row holds:
- When the lead was created and the last interaction
- Name, phone number and business type
- Stage, interest level and what the customer wants
- Whether a meeting is needed and whether a follow-up is needed
- Last message, conversation summary and notes
- Who handled the conversation and the closing note
- The customer's total purchases and the date of the last purchase
- The name of the assigned agent
Frequently asked questions
Why is a lead's stage not changing?
Most often the conversation is in Manual mode, where the AI does not change the stage. Open the lead and press AI under Qualification to turn automatic updates back on.
Can I add a lead by hand or import a list of leads?
The Leads screen in the dashboard has no add or import button, because a lead is created by the customer's first message. To import contacts, use Import Contacts on the Campaigns screen.
Can I export all my leads?
Connect Google Sheets and every lead is written to a row that updates automatically. Inside any conversation you can also download that conversation's messages as CSV or JSON.
Why does a customer show Add amount on the Customers screen?
Their stage is Customer but no purchase has been recorded for them. Click the button and enter the amount so it counts in Total sales.
What happens to sales when I delete a conversation?
The purchases recorded on it are deleted and your sales and customer figures go down. Scale shows a warning with the number of sales and their value before you confirm.
Does closing a conversation stop the AI from replying?
No. Closing only moves the conversation to the Closed tab. If the customer writes again, the conversation reopens automatically and the AI replies as usual.
Can a team member see every lead?
No. A team member sees only the leads assigned to them on every screen, and the owner sees all of them. Blocking, deleting and opening the Google Sheets spreadsheet are for the owner only.