Format A: Regular Enquiry

1. Metadata

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2. Business Overview (for Developers)

The Regular Enquiry (Regular Lead) is the standard workflow for high-value, commercially interesting legal and professional services such as Property Purchase, Inheritance, Divorce, Litigation, Business Set-Up, etc. It covers all channels through which a serious client can arrive: Website forms, telephone calls to the Elevenlabs AI Receptionist, and email enquiries (both direct to lawyers and via generic inboxes like info@).​

Business-wise, this workflow exists to ensure that commercially attractive leads are contacted fast, on-platform, and progressed through a consistent lifecycle: Intake → Strategy → Offer → Engagement → Payment → Completion → Closure, with clear audit trails and commission tracking. It differs from Paid Consultation and Direct Service in that it assumes a full engagement is the target outcome, with a formal Strategy Guide and an Offer Email generated and sent from within BackOffice, and full application of the 24-Hour Rule and reminder/expiry logic.

Success is defined by:

• AA (Admin) taking control of the first contact with the client to avoid losing them to competitors and to prevent off-platform communication.​

• Users working strictly via BackOffice (emails, strategy, payments) so that commission and performance can be monitored and invoiced correctly.

• Leads either converting to ongoing work (In Progress → Completed → Closed) or being clearly eliminated/frozen, with appropriate follow-up rules and GDPR anonymisation.

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3. Goals & Non‑Goals

Goals

• Competitive retention: Ensure high-value leads are contacted within 24 hours so they are not lost to competitors.​

• Centralised contact: AA/BackOffice makes and tracks the initial contact on behalf of the User; clients know their enquiry was received and assigned to a named professional.​

• On-platform workflow: Force Quote/Offer and subsequent emails to originate from BackOffice to avoid off-platform deals and untracked revenue.​

• Structured lead qualification: Require Strategy Guide completion and formal offer before marking the case as Ongoing/Completed.

• Accurate revenue/commission: Enforce payment recording rules before Completed and before certain eliminations.

Non‑Goals

• Does not cover consultation-only one-off calls (Paid Consultation flow).

• Does not automate detailed fee optimisation (Intelliquote ideas are future enhancements, not current behaviour).​

• Does not attempt to automatically decide multi-ET compositions; multi-service offers are possible but still relatively manual/complex.​

• Does not manage full internal legal task breakdown; it orchestrates the client-facing lifecycle and data capture.

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4. Actors & Scope

Actors

• Client

  • Submits Website forms.

  • Calls the Elevenlabs AI Receptionist.

  • Sends email enquiries (to a lawyer directly, or to an AA inbox such as info@).​

• Admin (Advocate Abroad)

  • Monitors all incoming channels (Website, Elevenlabs, email).

  • Reviews and classifies each new contact as Regular Enquiry, Paid Consultation, Direct Service Offer, or Reject.​

  • Schedules initial meetings between User and client.

  • Manages NPD, Expired, auto-unassignment by the 24-Hour Rule.

• User (Lawyer/Professional)

  • Receives Regular Enquiries matching their Profession and Country tags.​

  • Prepares Strategy Guide, sends Offer Email, conducts meeting, performs work, declares payments, changes statuses.

• System

  • Website forms, Elevenlabs integration, email ingestion, Laravel admin for ET and routing, BackOffice for lead lifecycle.

Scope

• Included:

  • Website form enquiries mapped to Regular ETs.​

  • Elevenlabs telephone calls: captured, structured, and passed into Laravel Assignment Interface as potential Regular Enquiries.​

  • Email-originated enquiries:

    • Client emails a lawyer directly (e.g. after a personal referral).

    • Client emails a generic address (e.g. info@) expecting a response.​

  • All statuses and automation around New Enquiry, Created Lead, Ongoing/In Progress, Waiting for Response, Frozen, Eliminated, Completed, Closed.

• Preconditions

  • Enquiry Type (ET) configured as Regular in Laravel, with proper Website URL mapping if web-based.

  • Strategy Guide template exists for ET/Country; otherwise quotation cannot be produced and Admin/User must request template setup.​

  • User calendar and notification settings configured for scheduling meetings.

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5. Step-by-Step Workflow

Phase 1 – Intake & Classification

Preconditions

• At least one Regular ET configured for the relevant country/profession.

Actors

• Client, Admin, System.

User Actions (Admin Intent)

• Website form intake

  • Website → Laravel → BackOffice creates a New Enquiry record automatically (as in previous version).​

  • Admin reviews new record in Laravel Assignment Interface / BackOffice.​

• Elevenlabs call intake

  • Client calls the AI Receptionist.

  • Elevenlabs captures caller data and enquiry summary.

  • Admin reviews the call transcript/summary in the Assignment Interface and converts it into a structured lead, selecting Regular/Paid Consultation/Direct Service/Reject.​

• Email intake

  • Existing client or referral emails the lawyer directly.

  • New client or random browser emails info@ or other AA-managed inbox.​

  • Admin:

    • Imports/creates a client record in BackOffice.

    • For direct-to-lawyer emails, first sends an Authorisation / GDPR-consent email so client consents to AA handling their PII on the platform.​

    • Classifies the enquiry as Regular/Paid Consultation/Direct Service/Reject.​

System Behaviour

• For all sources, once Admin chooses Regular Enquiry:

  • A BackOffice client record is created or updated with:

    • Status: New Enquiry.

    • ET: appropriate Regular ET.

    • Source: web / phone / email.

  • Autoassign or Admin assignment sets the User.

UI Elements

• Laravel Assignment Interface (Admin).​

• BackOffice New Enquiry record (Overview + Enquiry Details).​

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Phase 2 – 24-Hour Rule, Assignment & Scheduling

Preconditions

• Record is created as Regular New Enquiry and visible to Admin.​

Actors

• Admin, User, System.

User Actions

• Admin:

  • Uses the Assignment Interface to schedule an initial appointment between User and client as soon as possible.​

  • Confirms date/time; the meeting is stored in the record/calendar.​

• User:

  • Receives New Client Assigned notification and appointment details; may adjust appointment time.​

• Client:

  • Receives Enquiry Received / Assigned to [Professional] email with scheduled appointment; may also propose changes.​

System Behaviour

• When a User is assigned:

  • Sends New Client Assigned notification.​

  • Schedules the appointment in the configured calendar integration.

• 24-Hour Rule:

  • If the assigned User does not Accept or Reject the New Enquiry within 24 hours:

    • System automatically unassigns and changes status to NPD - Awaiting Assignment.​

    • Admin notified; lead appears in Unassigned/NPD contexts.

UI Elements

• Status: New Enquiry.

• Scheduling controls (Admin side).​

• Auto-unassignment under 24-Hour Rule.​

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Phase 3 – Strategy Formulation (Strategy Guide)

Preconditions

• Enquiry confirmed as Regular (not Paid Consultation / Direct Service).

• User assigned and appointment scheduled.​

Actors

• User, System (Strategy Guide).

User Actions

• Before the meeting, User:

  • Opens the Client record, goes to Strategy Guide tab.

  • Selects an appropriate Strategy template (e.g. “EU Citizen Property Purchase”) and edits questions/proposals and fees.

  • Inputs or adjusts the quotation.

  • Downloads the Script automatically generated for use during the appointment, to ensure consistency and professionalism.​

System Behaviour

• Loads ET/Country-specific Strategy Guide template.

• Enforces that Strategy Guide must be completed before:

  • Full visibility of client contact details (email/phone masking until wizard completion).​

  • Generating the Offer Email.

• Saves the Strategy data to the client record and logs event in Updates Record.​

UI Elements

• Strategy Guide tab: templates, fee fields, script download.

• Contact detail masking in Overview until Strategy Wizard completion.​

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Phase 4 – Meeting & Offer Email

Preconditions

• Strategy Guide prepared; appointment scheduled.

Actors

• User, Client, System.

User Actions

• Conducts the meeting (video/phone/in person) using the Strategy script and guidance.​

• After the meeting:

  • Decides whether to send an Offer Email, or

  • Mark status as Eliminated (client not interested, already hired, not commercially relevant), or

  • Ask Admin to Freeze if client is interested but needs time.​

• If proceeding:

  • Generates the Offer Email from Strategy Guide: fee, scope, next steps.

  • Sends the Offer Email from within BackOffice.

System Behaviour

• Generating Offer Email:

  • Pulls strategy content (proposals, fees, terms).

  • Sets sub-status to “Offer Email Sent – Pending Reply”.​

• Sending Offer Email:

  • Email stored in Emails tab.

  • No separate “sent” conversation appears yet until client replies; this can confuse Users (known issue).​

• If User sets status to Eliminated:

  • System checks payments; if Total Payments > 0, block or special rule (cannot set Eliminated if payment exists, per rules).​

UI Elements

• Offer Email generation controls (within Strategy Guide tab).

• Status dropdown with Eliminated, Freeze, etc.

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Phase 5 – Client Response, Reminders, Freeze & Expiry

Preconditions

• Offer Email sent, sub-status “Offer Email Sent – Pending Reply”.​

Actors

• Client, User, Admin, System.

User Actions

• Monitors client’s response:

  • If client accepts: updates to Ongoing/In Progress and begins service.​

  • If client delays: informs Admin; Admin may set Freeze with a future date.​

System Behaviour

• Reminder Automation:

  • If no response to Offer Email within configured timeframe:

    • System sends Reminder email to client.​

  • If still no response after Reminder:

    • Status automatically set to Eliminated.​

    • A Rejected Survey is sent to client asking why they did not proceed.​

• Client responds to Reminder/Survey:

  • If client indicates interest but needing time:

    • Admin uses Freeze option:

      • Sets status to Frozen / similar.

      • Configures Next Progress Date.​

    • When Next Progress Date is reached:

      • System “unfreezes” the record.

      • User is notified to contact the client.

      • Client may receive a fresh reminder email.​

Expiry logic (Ongoing leads)

• Once the lead is Ongoing/In Progress and has a Next Progress Date:

  • If Next Progress Date is exceeded:

    • Record flagged as Expired.

    • Notification sent to User.​

  • If too many of a User’s leads are in Expired:

    • That User may be prevented from receiving new enquiries, with a warning.​

UI Elements

• Sub-status “Offer Email Sent – Pending Reply”.​

• Freeze controls + Next Progress Date.​

• Expired flag in lists.

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Phase 6 – Engagement, Payment & Completion

Preconditions

• Client accepts the offer; lead is Ongoing/In Progress.​

Actors

• User, Client, System, Admin.

User Actions

• Begins providing service; uses Messages, Documents, Additional Services as needed.

• Records payments in Payments tab (amount, method, date, invoice).​

• Once service complete and payments recorded:

  • Changes status to Completed.

  • Completes Completed Wizard to confirm work and fees.​

System Behaviour

• Payment rules:

  • Cannot mark Completed if Total Payments = €0.00 (hard block).​

  • Cannot set Eliminated if Total Payments > 0.00 (prevents eliminating paying clients).​

• Completion:

  • Shows completion confirmation (Completed Wizard).

  • Validates payment totals; mismatch blocks closure until fixed.

• Admin then uses Daily Updates queue to review Completed cases and may set them to Closed.

UI Elements

• Payments tab, Completed Wizard.

• Status: Completed → Closed.​

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Phase 7 – Closure, Anonymisation & Backend Accounting

Preconditions

• Status Completed, payments consistent.

Actors

• Admin, System.

User Actions (Admin)

• Reviews Completed cases via Daily Updates.

• Confirms, then moves them to Closed.

System Behaviour

• Closed cases:

  • Eligible for GDPR anonymisation after 6 months, particularly Rejected/Eliminated.​

• Commission/invoicing:

  • Small commissions (< €50) may be put into “Accumulation” rather than immediate invoicing to avoid micro-invoices.​

UI Elements

• Daily Updates queue (removes items as they are opened to keep list manageable).​

• Accumulation flags for invoicing.​

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6. Edge Cases, Confusions & Common Errors

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7. Permissions & Access Control

• Visibility

  • Users see Regular Enquiries only if Profession + Country tags match; e.g. lawyers cannot see accounting enquiries.​

  • Admin sees all.

• Status and ET

  • Users:

    • Follow Status Management rules; cannot bypass completion/payment locks.

    • Cannot change ET outside allowed states or ET rules.​

  • Admin:

    • Can override ET (Force Update), reassign, freeze, and fix misclassifications.

• Contact Data

  • Email/phone masked until Strategy Guide process is completed (for Regular Enquiries), to discourage off-platform early contact.​

• Completion/Elimination Locks

  • Cannot set Completed if Total Payments = 0.00.

  • Cannot set Eliminated if Total Payments > 0.00.​

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8. Timing, Automation & Background Jobs

• 24-Hour Rule

  • If User does not Accept/Reject a New Enquiry within 24 hours:

    • System unassigns; status → NPD; Admin alerted.​

• Offer follow-up

  • Reminder Email after no response to Offer.​

  • If still no response → status Eliminated + Rejected Survey.​

• Freeze / Next Progress Date

  • Used when client interested but needs time.

  • Unfreeze on date; notify User; optionally send new reminder to client.​

• Expired (Ongoing)

  • When Next Progress Date exceeded, mark as Expired and notify User.

  • Too many Expired leads may block new assignments to that User.​

• GDPR anonymisation

  • Rejected/Closed files scheduled for anonymisation 6 months after closure.​

Underlying jobs use:

• Status, Next Progress Date, Last Activity, and NPD flags.

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9. Related Processes & Dependencies

Prerequisites

• ET configuration and Website form mapping in Laravel.

• Strategy Guide templates per ET/Country.​

• Elevenlabs and email ingestion linked to Assignment Interface.​

Dependencies

• Strategy Guide: mandatory for Regular Enquiries before Offer Email.

• NPD Recovery Process, OOO handling, Expired logic, Payment/Commission rules.

Downstream triggers

• Offer Email → Sub-status “Offer Email Sent – Pending Reply”.​

• Reminder/Survey flows.​

• Payment declarations → invoicing/commission processes and Accumulation.​

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10. Error Recovery & Retry Logic

Most user-level retries (resend Offer, re-save Strategy, re-change status within rules) are safe but may generate duplicate client emails; automated retries should be implemented cautiously to avoid spam.

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11. Configuration & Customisation

• Fee defaults / Intelliquote inputs (current, not future AI)

  • Laravel > Enquiry Types > Pricing: default fee ranges per ET used to guide Users.​

• Strategy templates

  • Admins can add/remove questions and proposals in Strategy Guide templates per ET/Country without code changes.​

• Enquiry Type mapping

  • Laravel > Website > Forms: map URLs (e.g. /portugal/nif) to ET.​

• 24-Hour Rule parameters, reminder delays, survey triggers

  • Business-configured; actual locations may be in Laravel settings or configuration tables (as per existing implementation).

• Accumulation threshold

  • Commission threshold (~€50) above which invoices are generated immediately; below which amounts are accumulated.​

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12. Notifications & Communication

• User Alerts

  • “New Client Assigned” on assignment/scheduling.​

  • “Expired” when Ongoing lead passes Next Progress Date.​

• Client Messages

  • “Enquiry Received” immediately after Website submission.

  • “Enquiry Assigned to [Professional]” with appointment details.​

  • Offer Email + subsequent Reminder and Rejected Survey.​

• Admin Alerts

  • “URGENT: Unassigned Lead” when autoassign fails or 24h rule unassigns.

• 3rd Party Logic

  • If a lawyer CCs the client from outside, system captures email and ensures only a single notification to the User to avoid spam loops.

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13. Compliance & Legal Considerations

• GDPR / PII consent

  • Website forms require T&C consent; Elevenlabs and email-origin leads must result in an Authorisation email to clients whose PII is handled on-platform, especially when first contact was direct-to-lawyer.​

  • Right to be forgotten, data export/anonymisation tools are supported.​

• Payment / audit

  • Every payment creates an immutable log; deletions are restricted; corrections go via Credit Notes or structured adjustments.​

  • Completion and Eliminated rules tied to payment presence guard against mis-reporting.​

• Contractual network standard

  • 24-Hour Rule is part of the network’s performance expectations and is enforced programmatically (auto-unassignment).​

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14. Backend Processes & Code Mapping (for Developers)

(High-level; map to actual class/method names in your codebase.)

• Channels → Intake

  • Website → Laravel form endpoints → BackOffice API to create New Enquiry.​

  • Elevenlabs → API / webhook into Laravel → Admin Assignment Interface → BackOffice record creation.​

  • Email → Mail ingestion / manual intake → BackOffice record + Authorization email workflow.​

• Status & ET Management

  • Status transitions and locks (Completed requires payments; Eliminated blocked with payments).

  • ET change validations and Admin Force Update logic.​

• Automation

  • 24-Hour Rule job/timer (unassign & NPD).​

  • Reminder/Survey job for unanswered Offers.​

  • Expired/Freeze/Next Progress Date job.​

  • Anonymisation job (6-month elimination/closure).

  • Accumulation logic in invoicing pipeline.​

• Strategy & Offer

  • Strategy Guide templates per ET/Country; script generation; Offer Email generator.

  • Masking logic for contact details until strategy is completed.