A practical contact-capture checklist for your next event

Before the event: agree on the basics

Create the collection before the first visitor arrives. Give it a name that will still be obvious several months later, such as “Autumn exhibition 2026”. Invite the colleagues who will capture contacts and check that each can open the correct workspace.

Decide what a useful record looks like for this particular event. That does not need to be a long form. A correct name and company, a way to reach the person when available, and a meaningful note are a practical starting point.

• Name the shared collection clearly.
• Check access for every attending team member.
• Agree on how you will use priority or rating.
• Review the available scan and analysis allowance.
• Make sure each person knows how to open the scanner.

Swops keeps personal collections separate from the company workspace. Check that the team is capturing into the event’s shared collection rather than a private one.

Plan scans and research separately

You may want to capture everyone you meet but research only a smaller group of relevant companies. Treat those as separate volumes when choosing a plan.

A Team Pass includes 500 scans and 50 analyses shared by up to five people. Those are totals for the team, not 500 scans for each person. The allowance is available during the pass’s 12-month validity.

Use the plan and top-up estimator to explore your own quantities. It starts from the included allowance and assumes you have no existing balance or rollover.

During the event: capture, then add context

Scan the card or badge when the introduction happens. Review the essential details before moving on, especially when the card design is unusual or the company name is ambiguous.

Add a short note that captures the business context. “Interested in our range” is better than nothing. “Looking for a supplier for a new regional operation; asked about minimum order quantities” is much easier to act on.

Keep your team’s priority labels consistent. A high-priority contact should mean the same thing to each colleague. You can agree on your own practical definition before the show.

• Capture the contact into the event collection.
• Check the name, company and available contact details.
• Record the subject of the conversation.
• Add a priority that reflects your agreed approach.
• Save any later corrections or notes.

Choose the conversations that benefit from research

AI research is most useful when the extra context can improve a real conversation. If you have never heard of a company, an overview may help you understand its role. If you already know the business well, you may prefer to keep talking and save the credit.

Check that the website or company identity matches the business you are meeting. Similar names can refer to entirely different organisations. Use the person in front of you to clarify uncertainty.

Open the overview first, then explore relevant signals and sources. Treat commercial relevance as a possibility to discuss, not proof of interest. Saved research remains available when you open the contact again.

Keep the team’s view understandable

Shared collections bring different conversations into one place. Individual logins help colleagues work without passing a phone around or sharing a password.

When several people meet contacts from the same business, existing research can be useful again. In Swops, opening a saved report—or reusing it for another contact at that company within the workspace—does not consume a fresh analysis.

Keep notes factual and useful to colleagues. Avoid unexplained shorthand and record any important distinction between the person’s role and the wider company’s activities.

After the event: review, export, archive

Review the collection while the event is still familiar. Correct incomplete details, make unclear notes understandable and check that priorities reflect the conversations rather than the pressure of a busy moment.

Export a CSV when you need to move the information into your business’s existing process. Check the column headings and a few sample rows before handing it over or importing it elsewhere.

Archive the finished collection if you want to make it read-only. Archiving is an organisational choice; it does not extend how long the collection is retained.

The most useful outcome is a collection your team can understand: who you met, what you discussed and what you learned about the business. See how shared collections work.