How to Build a Knowledge Base in CrmLeaf
All editions. Core feature - no add-on required.
Availability: All editions. Core feature - no add-on required.
Overview
The Knowledge Base is a searchable self-service help centre inside CrmLeaf. Articles are organised under categories and can carry files, so customers and colleagues can find an answer themselves instead of raising a ticket. Used well, it is the cheapest way to reduce repeat support volume.
This article covers planning the category structure, writing articles, and keeping them accurate.
How It Works
You create categories first, then articles inside them. Readers find articles by browsing a category or by searching.
Plan categories → Create category → Write article → Attach files → Publish → Review
- Each article belongs to a category, which is how readers browse the help centre.
- Articles are searchable, so the words you use in the title matter more than the ordering.
- Files can be attached to an article, for example a form, a checklist or a specification.
- Because the help centre is self-service, a good article deflects the ticket that would otherwise be raised.
Who Can Use This Feature?
Administrator
- Create and maintain knowledge base categories.
- Create, edit and delete articles and their attached files.
- Decide the structure and review cycle for the help centre.
User
- Search and read articles to answer a question.
- Point a requester to the relevant article when replying to a ticket.
Access depends on the modules and role assigned by your Administrator.
Prerequisites
- An agreed list of the questions your team answers most often - use your existing tickets as the source.
- The files you intend to attach are final and cleared for the intended audience.
For Administrators
Step 1: Plan the categories from real tickets
What to do: Review your recent tickets and group them by the question actually being asked. Turn the largest groups into your first categories. Aim for a small number of obvious categories rather than a deep tree.
What to verify: Every high-volume question you found has a category it clearly belongs in.
Step 2: Create the categories
What to do: Select Add to create each category. Name it in the words your readers would use, not in internal terminology. Select Save.
What to verify: The categories appear in the knowledge base and can be selected when creating an article.
Step 3: Write the articles
What to do: Select Add to create an article, choose its category, and write the answer. Start with the outcome the reader wants, then the steps. Keep one article to one question. Attach any file the reader needs, then select Save.
What to verify: The article is listed under the intended category and its attachments open correctly.
Step 4: Test that the article can be found
What to do: Use Search with the words a customer would type, not the article's exact title.
What to verify: The article appears in the results. If it does not, rewrite the title and opening paragraph using the reader's words.
Step 5: Set a review cycle
What to do: Decide how often the articles are reviewed, and review them whenever the underlying process changes. Edit what is out of date and Delete what no longer applies.
What to verify: No article describes a process your business no longer follows.
For Users
Step 1: Search before answering
What to do: Search for the question you have been asked. If an article covers it, use its wording in your ticket reply so the answer stays consistent across the team.
What to verify: Your reply matches the published answer.
Step 2: Report the gaps
What to do: When you answer the same question a third time and no article exists, tell your Administrator so an article can be written.
What to verify: The question is on the list for the next article review.
Expected Result
The article is saved under its category in the Knowledge Base, its files are attached, and it can be found by searching the words a reader would use.
Why This Matters for Service Organisations
On a support retainer, the same handful of questions consume a disproportionate share of the hours. Every one answered individually is chargeable effort spent on something already explained. A knowledge base turns that answer into an asset the client can reach without an agent, which improves the recovered margin on a fixed-fee retainer and shortens the queue on a time-and-materials one.
How It Supports Professional Services
- Articles sit under categories and are searchable, so a client or a colleague finds the answer without raising a ticket.
- Articles carry files, which makes them a practical home for delivery runbooks, configuration notes and handover documentation produced at project close.
- A category per service line - for example one per implementation type - lets an organisation keep client-facing guidance and internal delivery procedure structured separately.
- New consultants can be pointed at the same articles during onboarding, so the standard approach is written down once rather than transferred by conversation.
- The knowledge base is a core capability in every edition, so it does not depend on an add-on being in the plan.
Typical Service Workflow
Delivery → Handover → Knowledge base article → Self-service → Fewer tickets
Nothing is generated automatically here: turning a repeat ticket into an article, and reusing that article as a canned reply, is an editorial routine the organisation runs. What the product provides is the categorised, searchable, file-carrying store those routines depend on.
Other Product-Type Use Cases
Manufacturing and inventory teams use it for standard operating procedures, a solar or construction business publishes maintenance and safety guidance for site teams, and any organisation can use it as an internal policy library for staff.
Related PSA Capabilities
- How to Create and Manage Tickets — the ticket history that tells you which articles to write.
- How to Use Canned Replies and Internal Notes — the same answer reused inside a reply.
- How to Create and Use Project Templates — the delivery method the runbooks describe.
Important Notes
- Menu names and their position can differ between product editions and can be customised for your account, so your sidebar may not match these paths exactly. Use Search or your Quick Access items if you cannot find a screen.
- Confirm who can read the knowledge base in your account before publishing anything confidential, and keep internal-only detail in ticket internal notes instead.
- A knowledge base only reduces ticket volume if it is accurate. An out-of-date article generates more tickets than no article.
Common Scenarios
Example: turning a repeat ticket into an article. After answering the same question several times, copy the best reply into an article, attach the form the customer needed, and use it as the basis for a canned reply template as well.
Example: internal process documentation. Create a category for your own team's procedures so new agents can look up the standard approach instead of asking a colleague.
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Possible Cause | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| An article cannot be found by search. | The title and text do not use the words readers search for. | Rewrite the title and opening paragraph in the reader's language. |
| An article cannot be created. | No category exists yet, or you do not have permission to manage the knowledge base. | Create a category first, or ask your Administrator. |
| An attached file will not open for a reader. | The file was replaced or removed after publication. | Re-attach the current version of the file. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Can an article have attachments?
Yes. Articles support files.
Do articles have to belong to a category?
Yes. Categories are how the help centre is organised and browsed.
Can I link a ticket reply to an article?
Reference the article in your reply so the requester can find it themselves next time.
Is the knowledge base a paid module?
No. It is a core capability, available in all editions.
Related Articles
Our support team answers on business days. Reference SUP-06 so we can jump straight in.