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This guide walks you through creating a new contact in Odoo from start to finish. Whether you are adding an individual customer, a personal vendor, or a full company record with multiple employees underneath it, the process follows the same straightforward flow. By the end, your new contact will be available across every connected module — Sales, Purchase, Accounting, and more.

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Creating a New Contact

1

Open the Contacts Module

From the main Odoo menu, select Contacts. This opens your full contact list, showing all existing individuals and companies your business has on record.
2

Click Create

Select the Create button in the top-left corner of the contacts list. A blank contact form opens, ready for you to fill in.
3

Enter the Contact Name

Type the full name of the individual or the official name of the company in the Name field. This is the primary identifier for the contact across all modules, so make sure it is accurate and consistent with how you refer to them elsewhere.
4

Select Contact Type

Below the name, choose either Individual or Company:
  • Select Individual for a specific person — a customer, employee, or sole trader.
  • Select Company for a business entity such as a client organization, supplier, or partner.
Your selection determines which fields are displayed and how the contact is categorized in your address book.
5

Fill in Contact Details

Complete the relevant fields for your contact. Not every field is required, but the more information you provide, the more useful the record is across modules:
  • Address — Street, city, state, ZIP/postal code, and country.
  • Email — Primary email address for correspondence and invoicing.
  • Phone — Main contact phone number.
  • Tax ID / VAT Number — Required for tax reporting on vendor or customer invoices, if applicable.
  • Website — The contact’s website URL, useful for company records.
  • Title — Honorific or job title for individual contacts (e.g., Dr., Manager).
6

Add Sub-contacts (Companies Only)

If you selected Company, navigate to the Contacts & Addresses tab within the form. Here you can add individual employees, department contacts, or alternative addresses — such as a billing address separate from the shipping address — all linked under the same company record. This keeps your address book clean and avoids duplicate top-level entries.
7

Save the Contact

Click Save to store the record. You can also navigate away using the breadcrumb — Odoo will auto-save your changes automatically. Your new contact is now available across Sales, Purchase, Accounting, and every other connected module.

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Contact Fields Reference

Use the field reference below to understand what each field accepts and when it is required.
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Name
string
required
Full name of the contact (for an individual) or the official company name. This field is required and serves as the primary identifier across all Odoo modules.
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Individual / Company
toggle
required
Determines the contact type. Choose Individual for a person or Company for a business entity. This selection affects which fields and tabs are displayed on the form.
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Address
string
The contact’s physical address, broken into sub-fields: Street, City, State, ZIP/Postal Code, and Country. Used on invoices, purchase orders, and delivery documents.
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Email
string
Primary email address for the contact. Used for sending invoices, quotes, and other automated communications from Odoo.
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Phone
string
Main phone number for the contact. Also surfaced in the Sales and POS modules when looking up a customer.
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Tax ID / VAT
string
The contact’s tax identification or VAT registration number. Optional for individuals, but important for company contacts involved in invoicing or tax reporting.
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Website
string
The URL of the contact’s website. Optional, and most commonly used for company records.
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Title
string
An honorific or job title for individual contacts (e.g., Dr., Ms., Director). Optional, and used primarily for formal correspondence.
For companies, always add employees and department contacts as sub-contacts under the company record using the Contacts & Addresses tab — rather than creating them as separate top-level contacts. This keeps your address book organized, makes the company relationship clear, and ensures that all related records are easy to find in one place.