Misaligned or cluttered data can be detrimental to your organization’s customer insights. In this article, we’ll explore best practices for using activities and notes in Microsoft Dynamics 365 customer relationship management (CRM) applications. Understanding when to use CRM activities vs. notes can be key for keeping your CRM data clean, actionable, and reportable.
To get started, here are some key points:
- Flexibility and Best Practices: Dynamics 365 offers flexibility in creating activities (like emails, appointments, and phone calls) and notes—but it’s important to understand the differences to enhance business processes.
- Activities and Notes: Activities are searchable and can “roll up” from a contact to an account, allowing CRM users to see the communications at the account level. Notes, however, are not searchable and do not roll up.
- Ease of Use: Both activities and notes are simple to create, feature a timestamp, and allow file attachments.
Activities
Activities track interactions and tasks over time, often with specific statuses such as open, completed, or canceled. These can include emails, phone calls, tasks, appointments, custom activities, and more. By tracking activities, you can plan, organize, and monitor customer interactions effectively. This can help automate tasks and improve collaboration in sales-related decisions. In Dynamics 365, activities are integral to the timeline view, providing a chronological history of customer interactions.
Purpose: To log and manage interactions with customers or internal actions related to a record, e.g., opportunity, contact, account, case, etc.
Key Characteristics: Actionable, trackable, time-bound, structured, easily reportable.
Activities in Dynamics 365 can help you streamline your data management, automate tasks, and improve communication throughout the customer journey.
Notes
Notes capture static information, observations, or attachments related to a record. These are primarily informational (instead of actionable). In Dynamics 365, notes are typically accessed through the notes section or timeline view of a record.
Purpose: To capture supplementary information, observations, summaries, or attach files related to a specific record that doesn’t represent a direct interaction or task.
Key Characteristics: Static, timestamped, less structured, not easily reportable.
Notes in Dynamics 365 are commonly used but may not fit the business need.
Here’s a summary of CRM activities vs. notes.
| Feature | Activities | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Use | Tracking Interactions & Tasks | Recording Static Information or Context |
| Nature | Actionable, Dynamic (Statuses, Due Dates) | Informational, Static |
| Structure | Defined Types (Email, Task, Etc.), Fields | Free-Form Text, Attachments |
| Assignment | Yes (Owner) | No |
| Due Dates | Yes | No |
| Status | Yes (Open, Completed, Canceled) | No |
| Reporting | Strong, Aggregated by Type/Status | Less Direct, Primarily Record-Specific |
| Automation | Common Triggers for Workflows/Flows | Less Common Triggers |
SharePoint Integration for Document Management
In addition to the best practices for using activities and notes in Dynamics 365, another resourceful option to consider is SharePoint integration. This integration allows you to attach documents directly to records instead of using attachments on activities or notes.
By storing documents in associated SharePoint folders instead of CRM attachments, you can help reduce clutter and CRM data storage costs. Integrating SharePoint with Dynamics 365 can improve document management by centralizing files in dedicated folders linked to records. This can streamline storage, simplify retrieval, enhance collaboration through features like version control, provide robust security and access control, and help with compliance efforts.
Benefits of Using CRM Activities
Leveraging activities in your CRM system can help streamline processes. Activities can help track your customer’s sales history. Below are some of the potential benefits of using CRM activities.
How Forvis Mazars Can Help
To start improving customer engagement by leveraging CRM activities, managing relationships, coordinating meetings, and advancing customer care—all in one place—connect with the CRM team at Forvis Mazars. Our certified Microsoft technology consultants can help you refresh and update your CRM processes and usage. Let’s get started on your next CRM project today.