Administrate’s CRM filtering system allows you to search and refine data directly from the Accounts and Contacts screens. It is used to create filtered lists of records for operational tasks such as reviewing, exporting, and taking action.
CRM filtering vs Reporting Engine
CRM filtering and the Reporting Engine serve different purposes:
- CRM filtering creates a list of records (Accounts or Contacts) for operational tasks such as reviewing, exporting, or taking action
- Reporting Engine creates structured reports across entities, allowing aggregation, grouping, and analysis
Use CRM filtering when you need a working list of records. Use the Reporting Engine when you need analysis or summarized data.
For more advanced reporting capabilities, see the Reporting Engine .
Use CRM filtering to:
- create filtered lists of records for operational use
- export data for use outside Administrate
- share lists with internal teams
- build targeted marketing or communication lists
How filtering works
CRM filtering creates a list view of records. It does not aggregate data or produce summarized outputs.
- Accounts screen – one row per Account
- Contacts screen – one row per Contact
Filters refine that dataset by including or excluding records based on the conditions you define.
Related data (such as Bookings or Events) can be used in conditions, but the base row structure does not change.
Common use cases include:
- finding all Contacts who attended a specific course
- building a list of Accounts in a specific region for outreach
Account filtering options
When filtering Accounts , you can query fields from:
- Account: fields stored on the account record
- Contact: fields from related contacts
- Parent: fields from the parent account
- Tasks: fields from related tasks
Contact filtering options
When filtering Contacts , you can query fields from:
- Account: fields from the related account
- Attended: attendance records
- Contact: fields on the contact record
- Delegate: event registration data
- Booking: booking records
- Staffed: events where the contact was instructor/admin
- Tasks: related task data
Filter logic
Filters use logical conditions to determine which records are included.
- Match All (AND) – all conditions must be true
- Match Any (OR) – at least one condition must be true
You can combine conditions using groups to create more advanced logic.
Example:
- (Industry = “Finance” AND Country = “UK”)
- OR (Industry = “Technology” AND Country = “US”)
Using groups
Groups control how conditions are evaluated. Without grouping, filters are processed sequentially, which may not produce the intended result.
Use groups when combining AND and OR logic to ensure conditions are applied correctly.
Build and apply a filter
- Click Edit to open the filter builder
- Add a Condition and select a field
- Choose Match All (AND) or Match Any (OR)
- Use + Group to create advanced logic
- Select and arrange output columns
- Choose how results are sorted
- Click Apply to run the filter
Examples
Example: Target contacts for outreach
Find Contacts in a specific city with executive job titles:
- Account → City → begins with “Edin”
- Contact → Job Title → contains “CEO”
- OR Contact → Job Title → contains “COO”
Example: Identify existing customers
- Account → Customer → Yes
- Account → Source → specific value
- Contact → No Mail → No
Example: Use grouping for complex logic
Find Contacts who:
- registered for an Event within a date range
- AND are located in either the UK or USA
This requires two groups:
- Group 1 (Match ALL): Event + date + not cancelled
- Group 2 (Match ANY): Country = UK OR Country = USA
Save and reuse filters
Save a filter
Click Save to store the filter for reuse. Saved filters are available to other users.
Load a filter
Click Load to apply a previously saved filter.
Export results
Click Export to download results as a CSV file. Contacts can also be exported to a Marketing Activity.
An Excel-only Rotation option allows you to swap rows and columns.
Common mistakes
- Expecting row structure to change: filtering does not change the base record type (Account or Contact)
- Incorrect logic grouping: mixing AND/OR without groups can return unexpected results
- Filtering on related data incorrectly: conditions on related records may include or exclude more records than expected