Why a caller's name isn't showing up

When Cradle shows you a raw phone number instead of a contact's name, or the wrong name, the cause is almost always one of three things. Work through these in order, the first one fixes most cases.

Quick checks (try these first)

Is the contact in one of your connected systems? Cradle only shows names it can match. Search HubSpot, XPM, Xero, or FYI (whichever you use) for the number that called. If the contact isn't there, that's the cause.
Is the phone number stored in the right format? Cradle matches numbers in their full international form (+64 9 555 0101, +61 2 5550 0404, +44 20 7946 0111). If your CRM has the number written as 09 555 0101 or (02) 5550 0404 only, Cradle may not match it. See the number-format section below.
Has anything changed with the integration recently? If your admin has just reconnected HubSpot, XPM, Xero, or FYI, the next sync will pick the change up. For HubSpot that's within minutes. For Xero, XPM, FYI, and your work-account contacts the regular sync is once a day, so the change may not appear straight away unless your admin triggers a resync.

Common cause: the contact isn't in any of your connected systems

Cradle only shows names for callers it can find in the systems it's connected to. If the caller is someone new, or someone who only exists in a system Cradle isn't connected to, the call will come through as a number.

Fix: Add the contact to whichever system you usually keep contacts in (HubSpot, XPM, Xero, or FYI), or save them to your Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 address book. HubSpot changes appear in Cradle within minutes. Xero, XPM, FYI, and work-account changes sync once a day, so a contact added today might not match the next call unless your admin triggers a resync.

For a refresher on where Cradle looks for contacts, see Where your contacts come from.

Common cause: the phone number format doesn't match

Cradle matches calls on the international form of the number. Incoming calls always arrive in international format with the country code, but the same number in your CRM can be stored a few different ways.

Region	International form (what Cradle sees)	Common local form (what your CRM might have)
New Zealand	`+64 9 555 0101`	`09 555 0101`, `(09) 555 0101`
Australia	`+61 2 5550 0404`	`02 5550 0404`, `(02) 5550 0404`
United Kingdom	`+44 20 7946 0111`	`020 7946 0111`, `(020) 7946 0111`

Cradle tries to normalise the number before matching, but it doesn't always succeed, especially when the country code is missing entirely or the leading zero has been dropped without a country code in front.

Fix: Edit the contact in your CRM and store the number with the country code. The next sync will line it up.

Common cause: two contacts share the same number

If you have a contact for a head office on +64 9 555 0101 and a second contact for someone who sits at that desk on the same number, Cradle has to pick one. It'll show the same match every time, which can be the wrong one.

Fix: Open the matching contacts in your CRM and decide which one should hold the shared number. Move the number to a single contact, or set it as the primary number on the person you most often talk to. The next sync sorts it out.

Cradle doesn't ask you mid-call which contact you'd like to see. The match is made before the call rings.

Less common: the integration has been disconnected

If HubSpot, XPM, Xero, or FYI has been disconnected (often after a permissions change on the CRM side), Cradle stops syncing contacts from it. Recent contacts in that system won't appear in Cradle.

Fix: Ask your admin to confirm the integration is connected. If it isn't, they can reconnect it from the admin portal. Once it's back on, the contacts come with it.

If everything looks right and the name still isn't showing

Sync timing depends on the source. HubSpot updates in minutes. Xero, XPM, FYI, and your work-account contacts refresh once a day, so a recent change might not be visible until the next sync. When that's not fast enough, the resync flow has two halves: the admin portal pulls fresh data into Cradle, and the desktop app pulls fresh data from Cradle.

Step 1: Resync the source in the admin portal

Ask your admin (or do it yourself if you have admin access):

Sign in to the admin portal at admin.cradle.io.
Open Integrations.
Click the integration that owns the contact (HubSpot, XPM, Xero, or FYI).
In its settings, run Resync contacts. For HubSpot, also run Resync companies if a company name is what's missing.

This pulls the latest from the source into Cradle.

Step 2: Resync the desktop app

In the Cradle desktop app, open Settings → Contacts and click Sync. The desktop pulls the freshly-synced data down from Cradle. After this, the next call should show the right name.

Step 3 (if Step 2 didn't fix it): wipe and redownload contacts

Occasionally the desktop app holds onto a stale local cache. To force a clean rebuild:

In the Cradle desktop app, open Settings → Contacts.
Click Delete contacts and redownload.
Wait for the redownload to finish. Larger contact sets can take a minute or two.

Still no?

If a name still isn't showing after a Step 1 + Step 2 + Step 3 cycle:

Note the time of the call and the calling number.
Email help@cradle.io with the time, the number, and which system the contact is supposed to be in.
Cradle support hours are 8:30 am – 5:00 pm New Zealand time, Monday to Friday.