---
id: KB-ET-018
url: https://app.codecontract.io/help/your-workspace/when-a-contact-changes-company
idioma: en
categoria: espacio-de-trabajo
subcategoria: contactos
audiencia: usuario
nivel: intermedio
actualizado: 2026-08-13
tambienEn: [es]
relacionados: [KB-ET-003, KB-ET-015, KB-ET-020]
citadoPor: [KB-ET-019, KB-TL-020, KB-TL-025]
---

# When a contact changes company

_Editing the card looks like the natural move, and it is exactly what erases the information you needed later._

**Responde a:** a contact has changed company what do I do · change a contact's email · a supplier's address no longer exists · duplicate or edit a contact card

It happens constantly: the person you have dealt with for three years moves to another company, or the email domain changes, and someone opens their card and updates it. It looks obvious. The problem shows up months later, when you need to know who something was sent to and which company they answered from.

## What gets rewritten and what does not

| Element | What happens when you edit the card | Why |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Address used from now on | Changes | Which is what you wanted |
| Messages already sent | Do not change | They keep the address of the time: that is the proof of who it went to |
| Company shown on the card | Is overwritten | The card reflects now; it has no history |
| Files they took part in | Still point at that card | And start reading with the new company |

> [!IMPORTANT]
> The third row is the trap. **An old message keeps the real address it went to, but the card now says that person was always at the new company.** Pull a listing by company and two-year-old work will show up attributed to a firm that had nothing to do with it then. What was sent is right; what is said about it is not.

## The rule, in one line

**En corto**

- Same person, same role, only the address changes → edit the card.
- Same person, different company → new card, and mark the old one inactive.
- Different person, same role → always a new card, even if they inherit the mailbox.

> [!WARNING]
> The third case is the touchiest, and it is not about tidiness but about access: **a link sent to an address keeps working for whoever reads that mailbox**. If the leaver's mail is inherited by their replacement, that person can open things addressed to their predecessor. When a supplier changes contact, anything in flight is resent to the new address rather than trusting the internal forward.

## How to leave it clean without losing the past

1. **A new card with the new company** — And the current address, which is where you will write from now on.
2. **The old one is kept, marked inactive** — It holds everything done through it and stops anyone reusing it.
3. **A note linking the two** — One line on each is enough: whoever searches a year from now will be grateful.
4. **And anything in flight repointed to the new card** — What is closed stays as it was: it reflects what happened.

> [!NOTE]
> If the person asks you to stop writing to their previous address, that is handled like any other request about their data, and it is separate from keeping the record of what was sent.

**Should I delete the old card?**

No: everything done through it hangs off it. Mark it inactive.

**What if they go back to the previous company?**

Reactivate the card from then; that is why it was kept.

**Is it worth it for a contact with two messages?**

Edit and move on. The rule is for those with history behind them.

## Ejemplos

**A supplier's contact moves to another company and keeps dealing with you.**

- Creates a new card, marks the old one inactive and links both with a note

→ The history still says where they answered from then, and new messages go to the right place.

**A contact changes company and stays on the old record.**

- Updates the contact at their new company

→ Notices reach the right person.

**Emails keep going to their previous address.**

- Checks the bounce and updates

→ Notices stop getting lost.

**There is a wish to move their contribution history with them.**

- Keeps the history at the company where it happened

→ The record stays true.

**Nobody knows who replaces them at the old company.**

- Asks for the new contact before chasing

→ The request reaches somebody who can act.

**The contact is duplicated across two companies.**

- Keeps one record per company

→ Each relationship has its own contact.