> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.carstoragesoftware.com/docs/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Link cars and documents to a customer > Connect vehicles, contracts, and uploaded files to the correct customer record. Use this guide when a customer record needs the right cars and paperwork connected before billing, portal access, or service work. ## What you will accomplish You will link vehicles and documents to one customer so your team and the customer portal show the correct information. This is one of the most important steps before you send a portal invite or ask a customer to pay an invoice online. Linking cars helps your team know who owns each vehicle, schedule the right work, send accurate updates, and show the correct vehicles in the customer portal. Linking documents keeps contracts, agreements, and uploaded files in the same place as the customer history. ## Before you start * The customer record must already exist in [All Contacts](https://www.carstoragesoftware.com/dashboard/contacts/all). * The car must already exist in [Cars](https://www.carstoragesoftware.com/dashboard/cars), unless you plan to add it from the Cars area first. * Have any PDF files, signed agreements, or other documents ready if you plan to upload documents. * Make sure you are linking records to the correct customer, especially if two customers have similar names. ## Open the customer record Open the [All Contacts page](https://www.carstoragesoftware.com/dashboard/contacts/all). Use the **Search** field to search by name, email, phone number, or company. Click the customer row or click **View Details**. Customer detail page showing personal and contact information for a customer *The customer detail page is where you connect cars, documents, contacts, notes, billing, and CRM information.* ## Link a car to the customer Scroll to the **Customer's Cars** section. Customer's Cars section showing linked vehicles and an Assign Car button *The Customer's Cars section shows every vehicle currently linked to this customer.* In the **Customer's Cars** section, click **Assign Car**. In the **Assign Car to Customer** dialog, click **Search and select a car...** and type the make, model, year, VIN, or license plate. Select the car from the search results. If the car is already assigned to another customer, pause and confirm whether you are correcting ownership or choosing the wrong vehicle. **Why this matters:** A car can only have one owner at a time in the system. Assigning it here moves ownership to this customer. Click **Assign Car** to save the link. **Expected result:** The vehicle appears in **Customer's Cars**. The car's owner on the vehicle record should match this customer. Assign Car to Customer dialog with a car search field and Assign Car button *Use the Assign Car dialog to search for an existing vehicle and connect it to this customer.* ## If the car does not exist yet If you cannot find the car in the search field, create the car first. Go to [Cars](https://www.carstoragesoftware.com/dashboard/cars). Follow [Add a car](/docs/cars/add-a-car) to create the vehicle record. Go back to the customer record in [All Contacts](https://www.carstoragesoftware.com/dashboard/contacts/all). Use **Assign Car** in the **Customer's Cars** section. ## Link a car from the Cars page (alternate path) Some teams start on the vehicle record first—for example after photographing a new arrival. You can link the owner from there instead of starting on the customer page. Go to [Cars](https://www.carstoragesoftware.com/dashboard/cars), find the vehicle, and open its detail page. Look for the customer or owner area on the car page (often near the top of the record). Type the customer's name or email and select the correct person from the results. **Why this matters:** Linking from the car page achieves the same result as **Assign Car** on the customer record—the car appears under **Customer's Cars** and in the customer's portal. Save your changes. **Expected result:** The customer detail page shows the car under **Customer's Cars**, and the car record shows the correct owner. **Pick one starting point** Use the **customer record** when you are setting up a new account (cars, documents, then invite). Use the **car record** when the vehicle already exists and you only need to fix ownership. ## Link or upload documents Customer documents can include storage agreements, signed contracts, insurance files, liability waivers, and other paperwork. Keeping documents on the customer record helps your team find paperwork quickly and helps customers see the right files in the portal (when your portal settings allow it). Documents and Contracts section on a customer detail page showing linked files and a New Document button *The Documents & Contracts section keeps agreements and uploads with the customer—not scattered in email or on someone's desktop.* Find the customer in [All Contacts](https://www.carstoragesoftware.com/dashboard/contacts/all) and open the record. **Expected result:** You see sections such as **Personal & Contact**, **Customer's Cars**, and **Documents & Contracts**. Scroll until you see **Documents & Contracts**. The header shows how many documents and contracts are on file. You can use the **Search** box in this section when the list grows long. Click **New Document** in the top-right of the **Documents & Contracts** section. **Expected result:** The app asks what kind of document you are adding. Pick the type that matches your goal: * **Contract** — The customer must sign electronically (storage agreement, liability waiver, and similar). For the full signing flow, read [Send a contract for signature](/docs/contracts/send-a-contract-for-signature). * **General Document** — You only need to store a file (insurance card, registration copy, appraisal PDF). No signature required. Add New Document window showing Contract and General Document choices *Choose Contract when the customer must sign. Choose General Document when you only need to store a file.* **Why this matters:** Contracts follow signing rules and reminders. General documents are for reference only. Follow the prompts to pick a contract template or upload a file. Attach the correct vehicle if the app asks which car the document belongs to. **Expected result:** The new item appears in the list under **Documents & Contracts**. Name the file so anyone on your team understands it—examples: **Storage Agreement – Alex Morgan** or **Insurance Card – Porsche 911**. **Expected result:** Months later, you can still find the right PDF without opening every file. **Empty documents section?** If you only need a signed storage agreement, start with [Send a contract for signature](/docs/contracts/send-a-contract-for-signature). That guide walks through templates and the customer signing link. **Why this matters** Customers may see cars, billing, and shared documents in the portal depending on your portal settings. Linking records correctly helps prevent a customer from seeing missing or wrong information. Customer portal car detail page showing one vehicle record *When a car is linked correctly, the customer can open it from the portal and review the shared vehicle information.* ## Check your work After linking cars or documents, review the customer record: * The **Customer's Cars** section shows the correct vehicles. * The vehicle owner shown on each car is correct. * Contracts or uploaded files appear under the correct customer. * Anything the customer should see in the portal is ready before you invite them. ## Recommended next steps After the cars and documents are connected, you can: * [Invite the customer to the portal](/docs/contacts/invite-a-customer-to-the-portal) * [Guide the customer through the portal](/docs/contacts/guide-a-customer-through-the-portal) * [Send a contract for signature](/docs/contracts/send-a-contract-for-signature) * [Create an appointment](/docs/schedule/create-an-appointment) * [Create an invoice](/docs/payments/create-an-invoice) ## Troubleshooting **The car is assigned to the wrong customer** Open the car record from [Cars](https://www.carstoragesoftware.com/dashboard/cars) or the customer record, confirm the correct owner, and reassign the car carefully. Review billing and documents afterward if they depended on the old customer link. **The car does not appear in the customer's portal** Confirm the car is listed in **Customer's Cars** on the customer detail page. If it is listed there, ask the customer to refresh the portal page. **I uploaded a document to the wrong customer** Download a copy if needed, remove it from the wrong customer, then upload or attach it to the correct customer. Avoid leaving duplicate or incorrect files in customer records. ## Related topics - [Invite a customer to the portal](/docs/contacts/invite-a-customer-to-the-portal.md) - [Find and filter contacts](/docs/contacts/find-and-filter-contacts.md) - [Handle duplicate or merged customer records](/docs/contacts/handle-duplicate-or-merged-customer-records.md) - [Guide a customer through the portal](/docs/contacts/guide-a-customer-through-the-portal.md) - [Understand portal access levels](/docs/contacts/understand-portal-access-levels.md) This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.