New lead assignment decides who owns a lead the moment it comes in from a lead form, call, text, ad or chat. Shop owners and admins set it once, and the owner shows up on every lead card in the Leads hub. It's a Growth-plan feature (Growth and Pro).
Where to find it
Either:
- Go to Settings, and under Marketing & Communication click Leads, or
- Open Leads in the sidebar and click the gear button (Lead settings) next to the search box.
The page is titled Leads, with the subtitle "How new leads reach your team". The setting lives in the New lead assignment card.
The Settings card and the gear button only show for owners and admins. Anyone else who opens the page sees the choices read-only, with the note "Only the shop owner or an admin can change this."
Choosing how leads are assigned
Click one of the three options. It saves as soon as you click, and you'll see "New lead assignment saved".
- Leave unassigned: new leads arrive with no owner, and anyone on your team can pick one up. This is the default.
- Take turns: each new lead goes to the next front desk or service writer in line. With none on your team, it goes to the shop owner.
- Shop owner: every new lead is assigned to the shop owner.
When you pick an option, a second line under it tells you what will actually happen with your team today. For example:
- "Right now 3 people take turns."
- "Right now 1 person is in the rotation, so they get every new lead."
- "You have no front desk or service writer yet, so new leads go to the shop owner."
- "Your shop has no active owner, so new leads stay unassigned."
How "Take turns" works
Only active team members with the front desk or service writer role are in the rotation. Technicians aren't. When someone joins or leaves your team, they simply enter or drop out of the line. If two leads come in at the same moment, they still go to two different people.
What assignment never changes
- Leads your team types in themselves (for example, with New lead in the Leads hub, or online bookings) are left as they are.
- A lead that already has an owner keeps them. Assignment only fills in an empty owner.
- Repeat contacts from someone who already has an open lead don't trigger a new assignment.
You can always change a lead's owner by hand from the lead panel in the Leads hub.
Online bookings with a deposit
If your shop requires a deposit for online bookings, a second section called Online bookings with a deposit appears with two switches. Both are off by default:
- Assign leads from online bookings waiting on a deposit: when someone books online but hasn't paid the deposit yet, their new lead is assigned the same way as other new leads. If your assignment is set to Leave unassigned, these stay unassigned too.
- Remind customers who didn't finish booking: if the deposit isn't paid in time and the slot is released, a customer who opted in to marketing messages gets one text with a link to book again. Texts only go out between 8 AM and 8 PM, and only if your team recorded that the customer agreed to texts. The booking page's appointment-text checkbox alone doesn't count.
Each switch saves when you click it, and you'll see "Lead setting saved".
If your shop doesn't require deposits, this section doesn't appear.
Related
Frequently asked questions
Q: Who is in the Take turns rotation?
A: Active team members with the front desk or service writer role. If you have none, new leads go to the shop owner instead. If there's no active owner either, they stay unassigned.
Q: Will this reassign leads that already have an owner?
A: No. It only fills in the owner on a brand-new lead that doesn't have one yet. Existing owners are never overwritten.
Q: Does it apply to leads my staff add by hand?
A: No. Leads your team types in themselves are left as they are. Assignment applies to leads that come in from lead forms, calls, texts, ads and chat.
Q: Why can't I change the setting?
A: Only the shop owner or an admin can change it. Everyone else sees it read-only.
Q: Why don't I see the deposit options?
A: They only appear when your shop requires a deposit for online bookings.