> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.nextlevelmca.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How do I follow up with merchants who didn't finish the application?

> The online application saves as merchants type, and your CRM tags and triggers let you follow up with the ones who stop.

When a merchant starts your online application and stops before submitting, NextLevel MCA saves what they typed and tells your CRM. You follow up from the CRM, with tags and a workflow trigger. There's no list of unfinished applications inside NextLevel MCA, and it sends no reminders of its own.

Setting up the follow-up workflow needs access to workflows in your CRM.

## How it works

<Steps>
  <Step title="The merchant starts typing">
    Once they've entered a first name and an email or phone number, the application saves as they go.
  </Step>

  <Step title="A CRM contact is created">
    The merchant is added to your CRM as a contact tagged **Application started**, assigned to the rep whose link they used.
  </Step>

  <Step title="They stop for 30 minutes">
    After 30 minutes without activity, the contact is tagged **Application abandoned** and the **Application Abandoned** workflow trigger fires. This happens once per application.
  </Step>

  <Step title="They submit">
    When they submit, the contact is tagged **Application submitted** and the other two tags are removed, so a workflow can stop its reminders.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Set up the follow-up in your CRM

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create a workflow">
    In your CRM, create a workflow and add the **Application Abandoned** trigger.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Filter on texting consent if you'll text">
    If the workflow sends texts, set the **Texting consent** filter to **Yes**. Merchants give consent by ticking *Text me about my application* under their phone number on the form. Email follow-ups can go to everyone.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Include the resume link">
    Put the trigger's **Resume Link** in your message. It reopens the application with their answers filled in.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Stop when they submit">
    Add a step that ends the workflow when the contact has the **Application submitted** tag.
  </Step>
</Steps>

The trigger also carries the owner's name, email and phone, the business name, how far they got (**Progress (%)**), the rep's name and email, and when they started and last typed. See [CRM workflow triggers](/help/workflow-triggers).

## Finding unfinished applications

In your CRM, filter contacts by the **Application abandoned** tag.

## Picking up where they left off

A merchant can come back and continue:

* **From the resume link** in your follow-up message, on any device.
* **On the same device**, by opening the application link again. The browser remembers their progress, unless it blocks site storage (private windows, for example).

If they come back and carry on typing, the application counts as active again, but the trigger doesn't fire a second time.

## What is and isn't saved

* **Never saved:** Social Security numbers, signatures and uploaded files. The merchant enters those again when they return, and bank statements are attached when they submit.
* **Deleted after 60 days:** unfinished applications, and their resume links stop working. A submitted application's resume link stops working straight away.

## Common problems

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="The merchant says the resume link has expired">
    The application was already submitted, or is more than 60 days old. They need to start a new application.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="No contact was created in the CRM">
    The merchant didn't get as far as a first name and a valid email or phone number, so nothing was saved. Contacts also aren't created, and the trigger doesn't fire, while your subscription is locked. See [Subscription and access](/help/subscription-access).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="The abandoned contact isn't assigned to anyone">
    They opened a link without a rep code, such as the workspace's direct link or your website embed. Only rep links assign the contact. See [Application form and share link](/help/application-form).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>


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