A Principal Account is the bridge between the CRM and the Deal Flow Controller.
Contacts and Companies help you organize people and organizations in the CRM. Principal Accounts are platform accounts that can be used as buyers or sellers in actual deals.
The difference between CRM records and Principal Accounts
Item | What it is | Can it appear on a deal? |
Contact | A person stored in the CRM. | Not directly. It must be converted into an Individual Principal Account first. |
Company | An organization stored in the CRM. | Not directly. It must be converted into a Corporate Principal Account first. |
Principal Account | A platform account created from a Contact or Company. | Yes. It can be used as a buyer or seller in the Deal Flow Controller. |
This means a Contact or Company can be useful in the CRM before it is ready for a real transaction.
Individual and Corporate Principal Accounts
There are two Principal Account types.
Convert this CRM record | Creates this Principal Account | Use it for |
Contact | Individual Principal Account | A person transacting in their own name. |
Company | Corporate Principal Account | An organization transacting as a company. |
The conversion reuses details already saved in the CRM, such as name, email, phone, address, and Company information.
When to convert imported Contact or Company
Convert a Contact or Company when the person or organization is ready to become a real transaction party.
Common reasons:
the buyer or seller needs to be selected in a deal;
the party needs to sign documents;
the party needs to go through platform workflows;
the party needs to appear in the Deal Flow Controller.
Many Leads, Contacts, and Companies may stay as CRM-only records.
How to convert a Contact into a Principal Account
To create an Individual Principal Account:
1. Open the Contact.
2. Select Create Principal.
3. Review the pre-filled information.
4. Confirm the conversion.
5. Open the new Principal Account when the conversion is complete.
An email address is required to create a Principal Account. If the Contact does not have an email address, add one before converting.
How to convert a Company into a Principal Account
To create a Corporate Principal Account:
1. Open the Company.
2. Select Create Principal.
3. Review the Company and executive details.
4. Confirm the conversion.
5. Open the new Principal Account when the conversion is complete.
An email address is required to create a Principal Account. If the Company does not have an email address, add one before converting.
What happens after conversion
After conversion:
the original Contact or Company remains in the CRM;
the CRM record becomes linked to the new Principal Account;
the record shows a Principal Account badge or chip;
the Principal Account can be used in the Deal Flow Controller;
connected deals can appear on the CRM record.
Conversion is one-way. A Contact or Company cannot be converted into a second Principal Account from the CRM.
If a record is already linked to a Principal Account, Wingform shows that existing account instead of creating a duplicate.
Principal Account badges in CRM
After a Contact or Company is converted, the CRM makes that status visible.
You may see:
a Principal Account chip on the detail page;
a Principal badge in the Contacts or Companies table;
a Deals count if the Principal Account is connected to deals.
A Principal badge means the platform account exists. It does not necessarily mean the party already has active deals.
How deals appear in CRM
The CRM does not create deals.
Instead, it shows deals where the linked Principal Account is already used as a buyer or seller in the Deal Flow Controller.
For example:
A Company is converted into a Corporate Principal Account.
That Principal Account is selected as the buyer in a deal.
The Company’s CRM detail page can show that connected deal.
If a Contact or Company has not been converted into a Principal Account, it cannot show deal participation directly.
Blank Deals column
A blank Deals column can mean one of two things:
the Contact or Company is not linked to a Principal Account;
the Contact or Company is linked to a Principal Account, but that account has no connected deals to show.
Check the Principal badge or Principal Account chip to understand which case applies.
Relationship rules
Use these rules to understand how CRM records connect:
A Lead can link to one Contact and one Company.
A Contact can belong to one Company.
A Company can have many Contacts.
A Contact can link to one Principal Account.
A Company can link to one Principal Account.
A Contact or Company appears on a deal through its linked Principal Account.
A Task can link to one Lead, one Contact, and one Company.
Recommended workflow
For most teams, the cleanest workflow is:
Import Companies.
Import Contacts.
Create Leads for active opportunities.
Add Tasks for follow-up work.
Convert only real transaction parties into Principal Accounts.
Manage the actual deal in the Deal Flow Controller.