---
title: "Converting a contact"
description: "Turn a lead into a client when they are ready to work with you, or a client back into a lead. Their conversation and history move with them."
last_updated: "2026-10-21"
lang: "en"
canonical: "https://matchai.co/docs/guide/contacts/converting-a-contact"
---

# Converting a contact

> Turn a lead into a client when they are ready to work with you, or a client back into a lead. Their conversation and history move with them.

Source: https://matchai.co/docs/guide/contacts/converting-a-contact

A contact moves forward as your relationship does: a lead becomes a client when they are ready to work with you. You choose when that happens. Matchai never converts a lead to a client on its own.

## Turn a lead into a client [#turn-a-lead-into-a-client]

<Steps>
<Step>
Open **Leads**.
</Step>
<Step>
Right-click the lead on a computer, or press and hold the lead on a phone.
</Step>
<Step>
Press and hold **Convert to client** for 3 seconds. The button fills up as you hold it. Let go early to cancel.
</Step>
</Steps>

Matchai shows **Lead converted to client** and opens **Clients**, with that person selected.

You can also convert from **Clients**: select the **+** button, search your leads in **Add a new client**, and pick the lead. If you try to add someone who is already your lead, Matchai says **This person is already one of your leads.** and offers **Convert to client**.

## Turn a client back into a lead [#turn-a-client-back-into-a-lead]

Things change: a purchase falls through, or a client pauses their search.

<Steps>
<Step>
Open **Clients**.
</Step>
<Step>
Right-click the client on a computer, or press and hold the client on a phone.
</Step>
<Step>
Press and hold **Convert to lead** for 3 seconds.
</Step>
</Steps>

Matchai shows **Client converted to lead** and opens **Leads**, with that person selected.

<Callout title="Why it works this way">
Converting moves a person from one of your lists to another, so a single stray tap should not do it. Holding the button for a few seconds makes it a deliberate choice, and letting go early cancels it.
</Callout>

## What changes, and what stays [#what-changes-and-what-stays]

When you convert a contact:

- **They move lists.** A client is in **Clients**, not **Leads**.
- **Your conversation stays the same.** It is the same chat, with every message, photo, file and link.
- **Their saved listings and files stay attached** to them.
- **Their lead details are kept.** Warmth, stage and budget stay on record. If you turn a client back into a lead, they are still there.
- **The person is not told.** Nothing is posted in your conversation and they get no notification. Which list you keep someone in is your business. See [what the person can and cannot see](https://matchai.co/docs/guide/contacts#what-the-person-can-and-cannot-see).

You can convert someone who is not on Matchai yet, such as a lead you added manually. They stay **Not on Matchai yet** until they accept your invitation.

<Callout title="Why it works this way">
Nothing is copied when you convert a contact. Matchai keeps one record per person and changes its label. That is why the conversation, the files and the history never split between two places, and why switching back is safe.
</Callout>

## Professionals stay in peers [#professionals-stay-in-peers]

Other professionals are always in **Peers**. You cannot turn a peer into a lead or a client. If you try, Matchai says **This person is a professional, so they stay in your peers.**

The reverse happens on its own. When one of your leads or clients turns their regular account into a professional account, Matchai moves them to your **Peers**, and adds you to theirs. Their earlier lead or client details are kept.

<Callout title="Why it works this way">
A professional account belongs to someone you work alongside, not someone you sell to. Matchai files every professional in **Peers**, however the conversation started, so the same person never sits in two lists and you both see each other in the same place.
</Callout>

<Cards>
  <Card title="Contacts" href="https://matchai.co/docs/guide/contacts">
    Leads, clients and peers, and where they come from.
  </Card>
  <Card title="Lead pipeline" href="https://matchai.co/docs/guide/contacts/lead-pipeline">
    Priority, warmth, stage and budget for every lead.
  </Card>
</Cards>

## Sitemap

- [Every page of Matchai Docs](https://matchai.co/docs/sitemap.md)
- [llms.txt](https://matchai.co/docs/llms.txt)