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One of the most common questions I am asked about Act! is should I save contact information in HISTORIES or NOTES.
I’II explain when to use each and why it matters. Due to the significant differences between NOTES and HISTORIES, choosing the wrong one will severely limit your data insights.
Uses in real life NOTES “Frank is a big GAA fan,” “Fiona loves Kerry,” and “John is fanatical about Golf.”
HISTORIES: Track correspondence. Note if Frank’s appointment ended on time, if a follow-up was needed, and how long Fiona’s call was. NOTES lacks time, follow-up, type, and subject fields. Fiona and John love Kerry and Golf, so these facts are irrelevant.
To simplify the reasoning. NOTES are observations, not conclusions.
HISTORIES are conclusions that contain meeting times, call results. record the sort of activity – phone, email, appointment, etc. HISTORIES need this data since actions might have varied outcomes. This is why clearing an Activity requires us to produce a HISTORY instead of a NOTE.
Sadly, NOTES are not meant to record results. Why It Matters? Qualitative reporting is fastest to clarify. Knowing the number of hours spent on calls and meetings, the number of emails sent and received, and the frequency of meetings started or left unfinished can help you calculate how much time you spend with a client in a year. Only HISTORIES has this information. Instead, NOTES include numerical data like the number of NOTES by user, group, or contact. Due to the lack of “types” and topic lines, NOTES cannot provide qualitative reporting.
Finally, knowing when to use HISTORIES and NOTES is vital. Business owners who confuse the two risk missing out on data insights and making bad judgements. Early good habits improve data, which helps business owners make data-driven decisions.
