CRM Tags, Filters & Search
How to organise and find contacts and companies - tags for labelling, list filters for narrowing, view modes for browsing, and global search for finding anything from anywhere.
This article covers the four main ways to organise and find data in PrimeCRM: tags on contacts and companies, list filters on the Contacts and Companies pages, view modes for switching between card and list layouts, and global search that includes contacts and companies as result types.
Some of this material appears in the Contacts and Companies articles. This article goes deeper on tags (which the list page articles don't fully explore) and on global search (which is a cross-cutting feature that works from anywhere in the app).
PrimeCRM is a Pro feature
Everything in this article requires a Pro license with CRM enabled. See License Settings.
What you can do
Tag contacts and companies
with short text labels for ad-hoc grouping
Filter the Contacts list
by search, priority, status, contact source, or linked project
Filter the Companies list
by search, status, company size, or linked project
Switch between card view and list view
on both pages
Search globally
for any contact or company by name, email, or other fields - from anywhere in the app
Use type-prefix syntax
in search to scope results to contacts or companies only
Things worth knowing
Tags - ad-hoc labels for contacts and companies
Tags are short text labels you can attach to a contact or company. They're useful for grouping that doesn't fit neatly into the built-in fields like Status, Priority, or Source - things like "VIP", "Key 2026 Q2", "Holiday gift list", or "Conference attendee".
Where tags appear: On contact and company cards in both view modes on the Contacts and Companies pages, and on the Contact Details and Company Details pages.
How to add tags: Open a contact or company, click Edit, and use the Tags field. Type a new tag or select from existing ones - PrimeTask suggests matching tags as you type so you don't end up with inconsistent spelling ("vip" on one contact and "VIP" on another).
Tags don't have a dedicated list filter
The Contacts and Companies filter bars do not currently have a Tag filter. Tags work well as visual labels, but you can't filter the list to show only contacts with a specific tag. To find tagged contacts, use Global Search (see below) or view analytics via CRM & Reports.
What tags are not:
- Not a hierarchy - tags are flat, with no nesting or grouping
- Not searchable as a primary filter from the list pages (see the warning above)
- Not a replacement for custom fields - if you need structured data (contract values, account tiers, dates), use custom fields instead
For the broader tag system in PrimeTask (tag templates, tag management, the Ghost Tag Scanner), see Category Management Settings.
List filters on Contacts and Companies pages
Both CRM list pages have filter bars. A summary:
| Page | Filters available |
|---|---|
| Contacts | Search, Priority, Status, Source, Project |
| Companies | Search, Status, Size, Project |
Filters combine with AND logic - selecting Priority High and Source LinkedIn shows only contacts matching both. Status options differ per page: contacts use Active / Inactive / Do Not Contact; companies use Prospect / Customer / Partner / Inactive plus any custom statuses you've added in CRM Settings.
Use the right filter for the right question
Status filters are great for funnel queries ("show me all prospects"). Priority helps triage. Source helps marketing attribution. The Project filter is essential when you want contacts or companies linked to a specific project. For everything else, use search.
View modes - card view and list view
Both the Contacts page and Companies page support two layouts:
- Card view - visual cards showing avatar/logo, name, contact info, tags, and status. Best for browsing visually.
- List view - compact rows showing name, email, phone, company/industry, linked projects, source, and status. Best for scanning many entries.
Your view preference is remembered per Space. There's no Kanban or Calendar view for contacts/companies (those exist for tasks). For pipeline-style visualisation, see the Deal Pipeline and LinkedIn Pipeline.
Saved views - not currently available for CRM lists
PrimeTask's task system supports saved views (named filter/sort combinations you can reload). Saved views are not currently available for the CRM contact and company list pages. Filter combinations don't persist as named presets.
If you repeatedly apply the same filter combination, the workaround is to bookmark the page or use the CRM Dashboard's quick links. For analytical views with persistent filters, CRM & Reports is the better tool.
Global Search - find contacts and companies from anywhere
PrimeTask has a global search that indexes everything across the app: tasks, projects, notes, embeds, contacts, and companies. When CRM is enabled, contacts and companies are included in the search index automatically.
How to search:
- Command palette: Press ⌘+K (or Ctrl+K) and start typing
- Search from the sidebar or header: Click the search entry point and type your query
Results show matches across all types. You can scope results to a specific type by clicking the Contacts or Companies filter tab on the results page.
Type-prefix syntax lets you scope directly from the search bar:
| Prefix | Shows |
|---|---|
type:contact john | Only contacts matching "john" |
type:company acme | Only companies matching "acme" |
What's indexed for contacts: Name, email, phone, company, title.
What's indexed for companies: Name, industry, email, phone, website.
Clicking a search result opens the entity's detail page (Contact Details or Company Details).
CRM in search is a Pro feature
Global search itself works on every license. The Contacts and Companies result types are part of PrimeCRM, which requires Pro.
When to use which tool
| If you want to… | Use |
|---|---|
| Browse all contacts or companies in one place | The Contacts or Companies page |
| Filter by built-in fields (status, priority, source, size) | The list page filter bar |
| Find a contact or company by name from anywhere | Global search or ⌘+K |
| Find contacts or companies by tag | Global search (list pages don't filter by tag) |
| Group contacts with custom labels | Tags (via the contact/company editing form) |
| Track structured data (contract value, account tier) | Custom fields, not tags |
| See analytics across many contacts or companies | CRM & Reports |
| Track progression through stages | Deal Pipeline or LinkedIn Pipeline |
Common questions
"I tagged a contact 'VIP' last week. How do I find them?"
The Contacts page doesn't filter by tag. Use global search: press ⌘+K, type type:contact VIP (or just VIP and click the Contacts tab), and click the matching result.
"I want to filter contacts by both Priority High AND Source LinkedIn."
Open the Contacts page, open the filter bar, set Priority to High and Source to LinkedIn. Filters combine with AND logic - only contacts matching both appear.
"I want to mark all my key sales prospects with a tag."
Open each prospect's detail page, click Edit, add a tag like "Key Q2" in the Tags field, and save. There's currently no bulk-tag operation, so it's one contact at a time. For larger campaigns, consider a custom field instead - custom fields support batch editing more efficiently.
"I want to find a contact without navigating to the CRM page first."
Press ⌘+K from anywhere in PrimeTask, type the contact's name, and click the result. The command palette works from every page.
"Can AI agents search my CRM?"
Yes. The MCP server includes search tools for contacts and companies. See CRM & MCP.
Where to go next
| If you want to… | Read this |
|---|---|
| Manage contacts in detail | Contacts |
| Manage companies in detail | Companies |
| Track structured data with custom fields | CRM & Custom Fields |
| Add custom company statuses | CRM Settings |
| Manage tags across the app | Category Management Settings |
| See CRM analytics | CRM & Reports |
| Use the LinkedIn Pipeline | LinkedIn Pipeline |
| Use AI agents to search CRM | CRM & MCP |
| Return to the CRM hub | PrimeCRM Overview |