Core concepts

Objects, records, flows, lists, workflows and permissions — the vocabulary used across klerc.

A handful of ideas run through every part of klerc and through the API. Learn these and the rest of the product reads naturally.

The vocabulary#

Term	What it means
Organisation	Your workspace. Settings, members, features and data belong to one organisation.
Object	A kind of thing you track — Person, Company, or one you design, such as Policy or Patient.
Field	A property of an object: text, currency, date, lookup, formula and 24 more types.
Record	One entry in an object — a single policy, patient or project.
Flow	A kanban pipeline layered over an object, made of stages.
Flow item	A record on a flow's board. The API calls these states.
List	A saved set of records: dynamic (a live query) or frozen (a snapshot).
Workflow	An automation that runs when something happens or on a schedule.
Template	A reusable WhatsApp, SMS, email or chat message with merge fields.
Agent	An AI teammate with its own instructions, knowledge, tools and budget.
Scope	A permission an API token carries, such as `objects:use`.

Objects hold everything#

Most business software gives you fixed objects — Leads, Deals, Tickets — and asks you to squeeze your business into them. In klerc you design the objects. A clinic might create Patients, Appointments and Treatments; an agency Clients, Projects and Retainers. Once an object exists, every module understands it: flows, the inbox, workflows, reports, Molly and the API.

Flows sit on top of objects#

A flow doesn't copy your data. It adds stages to records of an existing object, plus any fields that only matter to that process. One Policy record can be on a Renewal flow and an Endorsements flow at the same time, and moving it on one board doesn't touch the other.

Lists are saved queries#

A dynamic list, such as Health policies expiring in 30 days, re-runs its query every time you use it. A frozen list, such as Diwali greetings 2026, keeps the members it had when you froze it. Broadcasts send to lists.

Workflows act on everything#

Workflows fire on records, flow items, tasks, notes, form submissions and chatbot sessions, or on a schedule. They can update fields, create tasks and notes, move cards between stages and send messages through your connected accounts. Every run is logged step by step.

Permissions follow the data#

Access is resolved per request from your role, your teams, the role hierarchy and any records shared with you. Field-level rules hide or lock individual fields. The same rules apply in tables, search, reports, Molly's answers and API responses. An API token can never do more than the person who created it.

Three ways to ask a question#

Every record can be queried three ways:

SOQL — structured queries with filters, grouping and aggregates;
SOSL — full-text search across objects;
SAQL — analytics pipelines on a columnar engine.

You can also just ask in plain English and klerc picks the right dialect. For example:

sql

SELECT insurer, COUNT(Id) FROM motor_policy GROUP BY insurer

See Querying for the API side.