Pomio CRM uses the company record as the home for contacts, deals, the owner, the industry category and labels. The name on that record is what the team searches for, what shows on every linked deal and what ends up in a CSV export. Many businesses have two names: the one on the shopfront and the one in the trade register. Deciding which goes where avoids duplicates and awkward quotes later.
Two names, two jobs
The trading name is the name people use: “Jansen Bakery”, “Bakker IT” or a brand that has nothing to do with the owner’s surname. The legal name is the registered entity, such as “J. Jansen Holding B.V.” or “Bakker Automatisering GmbH”. Sales works with the first; finance and contracts need the second. Problems start when one colleague creates the company under the trading name and another under the legal name, and the CRM ends up with two records for the same customer.
A practical rule for most SMEs
Use the trading name as the record name, written the way the customer writes it. Keep the full legal name with its legal form, plus the registration number and VAT number if you have them, on the same company record. That way search finds the company by the name everyone uses, while whoever prepares a quote or contract finds the exact entity in the same place. Apply the same choice when you name deals, so a deal naming convention that starts with the company name matches the record.
Spelling, legal forms and small details
Agree on a few small rules so names stay searchable. Leave the legal form, such as B.V., Ltd or GmbH, out of the record name and keep it with the legal name. Do not add the city to the name unless you genuinely work with two branches that need separate records. Pick one way to write “&” or “and” and stick with it. Avoid capitals-only names unless that is how the brand is written. These details look trivial, but they decide whether search and a duplicate check before importing catch the same company or miss it.
Groups with several legal entities
When a customer has a holding company and several operating companies, create one company record per entity you actually quote, contract or invoice. If you only ever deal with one operating company, one record is enough, even if the group is larger. Give the records names that show the relationship, for example “Jansen Bakery – Utrecht” and “Jansen Bakery – Wholesale”, and note the group structure on each record. Each record still needs its own owner, and every contact should be linked to the entity they actually work for.
Use the registration number to find duplicates
Names change and get spelled differently; a Chamber of Commerce or company registration number does not. When the number is recorded, two records with different names but the same number are clearly a duplicate. Include missing registration numbers for active customers in the monthly data-quality check. When you find a duplicate, move the contacts and deals to the record you keep and archive the other one instead of deleting it, so history is not lost.
When a company changes its name
Rebrands, mergers and takeovers happen. Update the record name to the new trading name, and write the former name and the date of the change in the notes, so colleagues who remember the old name understand what happened. If the legal entity itself changes, for example after a takeover, update the legal name and registration number as well. Do not create a new company record for a rename; the contacts, deals and history belong to the same relationship.
How Pomio CRM helps
In Pomio CRM contacts and deals are linked to companies, and each company carries its owner, industry category and labels. Live search across deals, companies and tasks finds the company by the name the team actually uses, and notes keep the legal name, registration number or former name on the same record. Companies can be archived instead of deleted when you clean up a duplicate, and a CSV export of companies makes it easy to scan the full list for inconsistent names. An overview of the capabilities is on the features page.
A practical checklist
Use the trading name as the record name; keep the legal name with legal form, registration number and VAT number on the same record; leave legal forms and city names out of the record name; agree on spelling for “&” and capitals; one record per legal entity you quote or invoice; note group relationships; use the registration number to spot duplicates; archive rather than delete merged records; on a rename, update the record and note the former name; check names in the monthly data-quality check.
Further reading
What if the customer has no trading name?
Then the legal name without the legal form is the record name. The rule stays the same: the name people use goes in front, the full legal details sit on the record.
Should sole traders and private customers be companies?
Only if you treat them as a business account. Otherwise keep them as a contact and use the name the way it is stored on the contact record.
Should we clean up all old company names at once?
Start with active customers and companies with open deals. Old, inactive records can be corrected when they come up, unless a wrong name causes real confusion in reports.
Does the industry category depend on the legal entity?
No. Give each company record the industry category that describes what that entity does for you, even when the group is active in several sectors.