Concepts

Learn how organizations, workspaces, lists, records, fields, views, automations, and user roles fit together in Blue.

Blue organizes repeatable work through organizations, workspaces, lists, records, fields, views, automations, and user roles.

Organizations

An organization is the top-level container for workspaces and their data. You can belong to multiple organizations and switch between them with one Blue login.

The notification bell shows activity and mentions from all your organizations. You do not have to switch organizations to check for new notifications.

Workspaces

Each workspace contains one process or project. It holds its own records, custom fields, automations, files, and users.

Only invited users can see and collaborate on a workspace’s data. This separation lets each workspace have a different team and process.

Keeping work in a workspace creates a history that new team members can review. After work ends, archive the workspace to retain its information and files for later access.

Use Sidebar Folders to organize workspaces. These folders are shared across the organization, so members see the same sidebar structure.

A workspace can contain a continuous process or a project with an end date:

  1. Processes continue without a fixed end date. Examples include customer service, helpdesks, sales tracking, and recruitment.
  2. Projects have defined goals, start dates, and end dates. Examples include an event launch, branding update, or website redesign.

Lists

Each list represents a step in a process. Combine lists with automations to apply repeatable actions as records move through that process.

The following examples show lists for four common processes.

Sales

  • Unqualified Prospect: Identify a possible customer.
  • Qualification: Assess the prospect’s fit and interest.
  • Writing Proposal: Prepare a proposal for the prospect.
  • Proposal Sent: Send the proposal for review.
  • Final Negotiations: Agree on final terms and resolve concerns.
  • Closed Won: Record a successful deal.
  • Closed Lost: Record the prospect’s decision not to proceed.

Customer onboarding for SaaS

  • Initial Contact: Contact the new customer.
  • Product Demonstration: Show the product’s features.
  • Pilot Program Setup: Set up a proof-of-concept for evaluation.
  • Feedback Gathering: Collect feedback during or after the trial.
  • Subscription Discussion: Review subscription options and confirm the customer’s choice.
  • Onboarding Complete: Complete the steps required for the customer to use the product.
  • Follow-up for Future Enhancements: Continue communication about support and product updates.

Software product development

  • Ideas: Collect possible product changes.
  • Backlog (Long Term): Prioritize ideas and features for future work.
  • Spec & Design: Define requirements, architecture, and user experience.
  • Backlog (Short Term): Schedule records for an upcoming development cycle.
  • In Progress: Develop and test the feature.
  • Code Review: Review code for quality, performance, and standards.
  • Dev Environment: Test the feature and make it available to the wider team.
  • Beta Environment: Release the feature to selected customers for testing and feedback.
  • Shipped: Release the tested feature to all customers.

Hiring

  • Received Applications: Collect candidate applications.
  • Screening Candidates: Review applications and select candidates.
  • Initial Interview: Assess each candidate’s suitability and interest.
  • Skill Assessment: Evaluate skills through tests or practical work.
  • Final Interview: Conduct detailed interviews with the leading candidates.
  • Offer Extension: Send a formal offer to the selected candidate.
  • Candidate Onboarding: Provide orientation and training to the new team member.

In these examples, a record represents a prospect, customer, feature, or candidate. Moving a record between lists shows its current process step.

An automation can run when a record moves to a specified list. For example, Blue can:

  1. Create a preset checklist from a standard operating procedure (SOP).
  2. Assign a person to the record.
  3. Set a due date relative to the process step or event.
  4. Add tags to the record.
  5. Send a custom email notification when specified conditions match.

Records

Records hold the information that moves through a workspace’s process. A record can represent a customer interaction, sale, project milestone, inventory item, feature, or candidate.

You can rename records to match the item that a workspace manages. Each record keeps its fields, description, activity, and related collaboration in one location.

Fields

Fields store structured information on records. Every record has default fields, and you can add custom fields for workspace-specific data.

Default fields

All records contain the following fields:

  • Name: Identifies the record with a title or short description.
  • Assignee: Identifies the person or people responsible for the record.
  • Date: Stores start dates, due dates, and other timeline information.
  • Tags: Categorize records by properties such as priority, type, or department.
  • Dependencies: Define the order between related records. A blocking record must finish before its blocked record can finish.
  • Description: Stores detailed context, requirements, or instructions as free-form text.

Custom fields

Custom fields store additional information such as sales amounts, stock details, or project updates. Available types include text, number, dropdown, date, and references to other records.

Views

Views display the same workspace records in different layouts:

  • Board view: Organizes records into lists that represent process steps.
  • Calendar view: Displays records by date and time.
  • Database view: Displays records in a table for filtering, sorting, and bulk editing.
  • Timeline view: Displays record schedules, deadlines, and dependencies in a Gantt-style timeline.
  • Map view: Plots records that contain location data on a map.

User roles

User roles control access and permissions in each workspace:

  • Project Administrator: Has full access to workspace settings, data, and user management. This role can create custom roles and assign permissions.
  • Team Member: Can create and edit records and manage the workflow. This role cannot delete the workspace or access administrative settings.
  • Client: Can view records and add comments. This role cannot change the workspace structure.
  • Comment-Only: Can add comments but cannot create, edit, or delete records or workspace elements.
  • View-Only: Can view workspace data but cannot change it.

Project Administrators can create Custom User Roles. A custom role can:

  • Allow specified actions, including viewing, editing, or deleting records.
  • Control access to lists and custom fields.
  • Give multiple users the same permissions.
  • Limit users to records assigned to them.
  • Control whether users can invite new workspace members.

Get started

Blue tiers start with a one-time payment of $99 and include a 30-day money-back guarantee. Choose a plan or request a demo, then create your first workspace.

For help, contact support@blue.app.