# Activities
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User permission: CRM
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Activities are records you can add to an account, a contact, or a lead. There are different types of activities:
* **Business note** (doesn't show in calendar): Non-scheduled, informational activity useful for recording any relevant information that needs to be shared, such as an email discussion.
* **Time-based activity** (shows in calendar):
* **Meeting**: Details about future or past meetings, such as date, time, attendees and location.
* **Phone log**: Details about a phone call, including subject, date and duration.
* **Task**: Internal activity to be done within a timeframe, such as ‘*Send copy of the latest invoice to the customer*’. Can be assigned to other users. Can have a status, such as In Progress or Complete.
* **Personal appointment**: Special type of activity that can only be viewed by you (the person who created them). It isn't connected to the rest of CRM and only displays in your own view of the **Activities** and **Agenda** pages.
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Desktop version
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Mobile-friendly version
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## View a list of all activities
Select the CRM menu button > **Activities**.
The **Activities** screen opens by default on the **List** view. This is a list of all your activity records, so you can see the activity of what is going on across all your accounts, contacts and leads. In other words, you can see what needs to be done, by whom and by when.
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Desktop version
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Mobile-friendly version
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You can also view activities directly within [account](https://docs.phocassoftware.com/crm/accounts) and [contact](https://docs.phocassoftware.com/crm/contacts) records, on the **Activities** tab.
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On the **Activities** screen, by default, the activities are listed by date and the activity grid has the following columns:
* **Activity**: Displays the type of activity, such as a **meeting, email, phone log, task, business note**, or **personal appointment**.
* **Subject**: Displays the subject or description of the activity.
* **Parent**: Displays the name of the account, contact or lead, as applicable, to which the activity relates.
* **Status**: Is only available for meetings and tasks.
* **Campaign**: Displays the campaign each activity is tied to.
* **Date**: Displays the most relevant date for each activity.
* **Owner**: Displays either the CRM user who entered the activity or the CRM user to whom the activity was assigned.
* **Team**: The specific team the activity is allocated to.
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{% tab title="Desktop version 1" %}
On the **Activities** screen, by default, the activities are listed by date and the activity grid has the following columns:
* **Subject**: Displays the subject of the activity, such as a task, meeting, phone log or business note.
* **Parent**: Displays the name of the account, contact or lead, as applicable, to which the activity relates.
* **Status**: Is only available for meetings and tasks; will be blank for business notes and phone logs (can be customized by administrators).
* **Campaign**: Displays the campaign each activity is tied to.
* **Date**: Displays the most relevant date for each activity.
* **Phone Log**: The date of the phone log.
* **Business Note**: The date the note was entered into CRM.
* **Meeting**: The start date of the meeting.
* **Task**: When the task is due, i.e. the end date of the task.
* **Owner**: Displays either the CRM user who entered the activity or the CRM user to whom the activity was assigned.
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On the **Activities** screen, all activities are listed by date. You can scroll down to view all activities.
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## Find an activity
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On the **Activities** screen, you can find a particular activity using the filter and search options above the grid or by sorting the list.
* Use the **View** filter to switch between viewing your activities as a list, by month, week, or day, or in your [Agenda](https://docs.phocassoftware.com/crm/agenda).
* Use the **Search** box to search for a specific activity. This performs an *is like* search on all columns in the grid.
* Use the **Activity** filter to specify the type of activity you want to view, such as a **meeting, email, phone log, task, business note**, or **personal appointment**.
* Use the **Parent** filter to specify the account, contact, or lead, to which the activity relates.
* Use the **Status** filter to display activities with a specific status, such as in progress, completed, cancelled, etc.
* Use the **Campaign** filter to search for activities by the campaign they are tied to.
* Use the **Date** filter to view activities for future or past dates, or the present (today, this week, this month). In CRM, a week starts on Sunday. By default, activities are filtered on **This Week**.
* Use the **Owner** filter to display only your activities or activities that belong to another user (that you have permissions to view).
* Use the **Team** filter to display activities allocated to a specific team to which you belong.
* Select a column heading to sort data into ascending or descending order.
Filters remain active until you turn them off, so if you apply a filter and move away from the screen and then return, the filter will remain. To clear any filter you have applied, choose **Select none** from the dropdown list.
Learn more about [filtering and searching in CRM](https://docs.phocassoftware.com/crm/overview-of-crm).
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{% tab title="Desktop version 1" %}
On the **Activities** screen, you can find a particular activity using the filter and search options above the grid or by sorting the list.
* Use the **Date** filter to view activities for future or past dates, or the present (today, this week, this month). In CRM, a week starts on Sunday. By default, activities are filtered on **This Week**.
* Use the **Type** filter to view activities for a specific activity type, such as Meetings.
* Use the **Status** filter to view activities with a specific status. Only Meetings and Tasks have a status.
* Use the **Campaign** filter to display only those activities that are tied to a campaign.
* Use the **Team** filter to display activities allocated to a specific team to which you belong.
* Use the **Owner** filter to display only your activities or activities that belong to another user (that you have permissions to view).
* Use the **Search** box to search for a specific activity by name. This performs an *is like* search on the name column.
* Click a column heading to sort data into ascending or descending order.
More than one filter can be applied at the same time. Filters remain active until you turn them off, so if you apply a filter and move away from screen and then return, the filter will remain. To clear any filter you have applied, select **All** from the dropdown list.
Learn more about [filtering and searching in CRM](https://docs.phocassoftware.com/crm/overview-of-crm).
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To find the activity you require**,** type your search term into the box, such as a name, company, or status and any matching results will instantly be displayed.
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## Switch to a calendar view
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Calendar view is only available in the **desktop version** of CRM.
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On the **Activities** screen, you can switch from the default **List** view to a calendar view (Daily, Weekly, Monthly) to get a different perspective of the activities. Calendar views show only time-based activity types (meetings, tasks and phone logs). Business notes don't appear in calendar views as they are non-scheduled, informational activities.
Select the **View** dropdown menu in the top left corner, then select one of the three **Calendar** views; **Month**, **Week** or **Day**.
For example, if you select the **Month** calendar view, the current month displays.
After you select a calendar view, CRM will remember that view for the duration of your browser session.
### Activity summary and status
For each activity in the selected calendar, the following information displays:
* Activity name and type, such as phone log, meeting or task.
* Related account, contact or lead.
* Scheduled time.
* Status (see description of status color codes below).
| Status | Color |
| ----------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Default | |
| Cancelled | |
| Completed | |
| In Progress | |
| Overdue | |
### Actions
All calendar views share the following action controls:
* Select an option from the **View** dropdown menu to switch between month, week and day, or switch to your [Agenda](https://docs.phocassoftware.com/crm/agenda).
* Use the date picker to select a specific date, or use the arrows to go to the previous or next period of time. For example, if you are in **Month** view, go to the previous or next month.
* Select **Today** to move directly to today's date within the current view.
* Select whether to include weekends or not in the calendar.
### Activity details
In any calendar view, select an activity to display a tooltip with information about the activity, a link to the activity's page, a link to the owning entity and a **Delete** button.
## View and edit an activity record
* **On desktop:** Select the activity subject from the list view or the activity summary tooltip in calendar view to view or edit the activity.
* **In mobile-friendly version:** Select the activity to open its record, then select **Edit** to make changes.
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Desktop version
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## Add an activity
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Add an activity
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Activities can be logged against [accounts](https://docs.phocassoftware.com/crm/accounts), [contacts](https://docs.phocassoftware.com/crm/contacts), and [leads](https://docs.phocassoftware.com/crm/leads).
* When added to a contact, the activity becomes a child of the associated account.
* Activities can be set as part of a campaign.
* For activity types, see [the list](#view-list) at the top of this page.
The process for adding an activity (**business note**, **phone log**, **task**, or **meeting**) is the same for accounts, contacts, and leads:
1. Open the account, contact, or lead record.
2. Select the applicable activity button.
3. Enter the activity details.
4. Select **Save.**
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{% tab title="Desktop version 2" %}
Expand the sections below for more information and examples.
Business note
#### Add a note to a contact
1. Open the contact record.
2. Select **Add activity,** and choose **Business note** from the dropdown menu.
3. Enter a subject, assign it to a campaign, and provide a description.
4. When done, select **Save**.
The note displays in the following locations:
* **Activities** page.
* **Activities** tab on the relevant contact record.
* **Account** record for the account that this contact belongs to. Open the account record and go the **Activities** tab.
#### Add a note from the Analytics grid
1. Open Analytics and filter the data to display accounts.
2. Locate and select the account row (it turns blue).
3. Select **Custom actions** > **Actions** > **Add note**.
4. Type a subject and description, and assign a campaign if required (you can leave that section blank).
5. Select **Run**.
The note displays in the list of account activities.
Phone log
Suppose a customer calls to ask about a promotional offer you shared last month. You can record the call as an activity against their account.
1. Open the account record the contact is tied to.
2. Select **Add activity,** and choose **Phone log** from the dropdown menu.
3. Enter the call details (such as duration and description of what was discussed) and select **Save**.
Meeting
Suppose you have scheduled an account review with a customer, and now you want to set up this meeting.
1. Open the account record.
2. Select **Add activity,** and choose **Meeting** from the dropdown menu.
#### Meeting tab
On the meeting tab, you can enter details about the meeting.
**For internal use:**
* **Account**: This is set automatically to the account you opened and cannot be changed.
* **Campaign**: The corresponding campaign, if applicable. In this example, the meeting is a follow-up from a campaign that ran in Spring.
* **Status**: This field must be manually populated. It will not automatically switch to Completed when the meeting is finished. The options in the **Status** list can be edited by administrators using the CRM Picklists feature.
**Details shared with attendees:**
* **Subject**: Required, as the subject appears in the activity list.
* **Owner**: The default setting assigns the meeting to you.
* **Location**: Where the meeting is taking place. In this example, the meeting is at 3.D. Joinery's main office.
* **Start and End**: The start date and time, and the end date and time, for the meeting. In this example, the meeting is scheduled for 21 December, from 3pm to 5pm.
* **Description**: Optional, although it is useful to enter a brief description of what occurred.
When all the necessary details are filled out, select **Save**. This action saves the details of the meeting, then opens two new tabs: **Attendees** and **Attachments**.
#### Attendees tab
Go to the **Attendees** tab and select **Add attendees**. A panel slides out from the right. There are two options:
* **Attendees**: Select the blue plus icon in the search box to choose from existing contacts. You can also type keywords to search. Note that the activity will only appear in their agenda if it meets their CRM restrictions.
* **Add new**: Add people not yet in CRM by entering their name and email.
**Export meeting**
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The **Export meeting** option is only available in the desktop version of CRM.
If the [Microsoft 365 Outlook calendar integration](https://docs.phocassoftware.com/crm/activities/microsoft-365-outlook-calendar-integration) is active, meetings created in CRM sync automatically with your calendar, so you can skip this step.
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Select **Export meeting** to add the meeting to your default calendar and invite attendees.
* The meeting details are downloaded in a standard .ics file.
* Open the file to display the meeting in your calendar, where you can invite attendees using your calendar’s usual options.
* This is the only way attendees are notified of the meeting.
#### Attachments tab
Add attachments, if required, via the **Attachments tab**. In this example no attachments are added.
Click **Save**. A message displays at the top of the screen to indicate the meeting has been successfully saved.
CRM users can now view this meeting in three places:
* On the **Activities** screen.
* On the **Activities tab** on the account record.
* In their own calendars, if the **Export meeting** button was used, or the [Microsoft 365 Outlook calendar integration](https://docs.phocassoftware.com/crm/activities/microsoft-365-outlook-calendar-integration) is active.
Task
Suppose you want to add a task to a specific lead.
1. Open the lead record.
2. Select **Add activity** and choose **Task**.
3. Enter the required details:
* **Subject, Owner,** and **Start** and **End** time and date (mandatory)
* Optional: **Campaign**, **Status**, and **Description.**
4. (Optional) On the **Attachments** tab, upload any relevant files.
5. Select **Save**.
The task will appear on:
* The **Activities** page.
* The **Activities** tab of the lead record.
* The **Activities** tab of the related account record.
Attachments
You can attach relevant information to activities, such as agendas, business documents, quotations, and so on. This information can be downloaded by anyone who has access to the activity. The maximum attachment size is 10MB.
1. In the activity setup, select the **Attachments** tab.
2. Select **Add attachment**.
3. Select a file, type a name and select **Upload**.
4. The attachment displays in the list on the **Attachments** tab.
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{% tab title="Desktop version 1" %}
Expand the sections below for more information and examples.
Business note
#### Add a note to a contact
1. Open the contact record.
2. Click the **Business Note** button in the top right corner.
3. Type the note and click **Save**.
The note displays in the following locations:
* **Activities** screen.
* **Activities** tab on the relevant contact record.
* Account record for the account that this contact belongs to. Open the account record and go the **Activities** tab. Select **Include child activities** filter option to display any notes against contacts for the account.
#### Add a note from the Analytics grid
1. Open Analytics and filter the data to display accounts.
2. Locate and select the account row (it turns blue).
3. Click **Custom actions** > **Actions** > **Add note**.
4. Type a subject and description, and assign a campaign if required (you can leave that section blank).
5. Click **Run**.
The note displays in the list of account activities.
Phone log
Suppose a customer calls you to inquire about a promotional offer you contacted them about last month. The phone call came from Fred at 3.D. Joinery Inc. You want to record this call against their account.
1. Open the account record (3.D. Joinery Inc).
2. Click the **Phone Log** button in the top right corner.
3. Enter the call details (such as duration and description of what was discussed) and click **Save**.
Meeting for an account
Suppose you have scheduled an account review with your customer, 3.D. Joinery, and now you want to set up this meeting.
1. Open the account record (3.D. Joinery Inc).
2. Click the **Meeting** button in the top right corner.
3. Enter the meeting details:
* **Subject**: Required, as the subject appears in the activity list.
* **Description**: Optional, although it is useful to enter a brief description of what occurred.
* **Start and End**: The start date and time, and the end date and time, for the meeting. In this example, the meeting is scheduled for 21 December, from 3pm to 5pm.
* **Status**: In this example, the status is left blank. This field must be manually populated. It will not automatically switch to Completed when the meeting is finished. The options in the **Status** list can be edited by administrators using the CRM Picklists feature.
* **Owner**: The default setting assigns the meeting to you.
* **Campaign**: The corresponding campaign, if applicable. In this example, the meeting is a follow-up from a campaign that ran in Spring.
* **Location**: Where the meeting is taking place. In this example, the meeting is at 3.D. Joinery's main office.
4. Click **Save**. This action saves the basic details of the meeting, then opens two new tabs: **Attendees** and **Attachments**.
5. Click the **Attendees** tab and enter those who will participate in the meeting. There are two options:
* **Add**: Add additional people who do not already exist in CRM. A name and email address is required. In the example below, Bill Smith does not exist in CRM, so you 'add' him. Note that the activity will only appear in their agenda if it meets their CRM restrictions.
* **Search**: Search all existing contacts (and accounts) within CRM, and select the correct one. Justin and Daisy already exist in CRM, so you included them. You can also search for other CRM users to add as attendees.
6. Add the meeting to your default calendar (such as Microsoft Outlook) and invite attendees:
* This action transfers the meeting information using the standard .ics format.
* Different browsers handle this download slightly differently but the basic process is to click the **Add To Calendar** button, open the resulting ICS file, then save it.
* The meeting displays in your default calendar, giving you the option of inviting attendees using the typical calendar options. This is the only way to notify attendees of the meeting.
7. Add attachments, if required, via the **Attachments tab**. In this example no attachments are added.
8. Click **Save**. A message displays at the top of the screen to indicate the note has been successfully saved.
CRM users can now view this meeting in three places:
* On the **Activities** screen.
* On the **Activities tab** on the account record.
* In their own calendars, if the **Add to calendar** button was used.
Attachments
You can attach relevant information to activities, such as agendas, business documents, quotations, and so on. This information can be downloaded by anyone who has access to the activity. The maximum attachment size is 10MB.
1. In the activity setup, click the **Attachments** tab.
2. Click **Upload**.
3. Select a file, type a name and click **Upload**.
The attachment displays in the list on the **Attachments** tab.
{% endtab %}
{% tab title="Mobile" %}
On the **Activities** screen, all activities are listed by date. You can scroll down to view all activities.
Expand the sections below for more information and examples.
Business note
**Add a note to a contact**
1. Open the contact record.
2. Select **Add activity**, and choose **Business note** from the dropdown menu.
3. Enter a **Subject** (mandatory). You can then choose assign it to a campaign, and provide a description.
4. When done, select **Save**.
The note displays in the following locations:
* **Activities** page.
* **Activities** tab on the relevant contact record.
Phone log
Suppose a customer calls to ask about a promotional offer you shared last month. You can record the call as an activity against their account.
1. Open the account record the contact is tied to.
2. Select **Add activity,** and choose **Phone log** from the dropdown menu.
3. Enter the call details (such as duration and description of what was discussed) and select **Save**.
Meeting
Suppose you have scheduled an account review with a customer, and now you want to set up this meeting.
1. Open the account record.
2. Select **Add activity,** and choose **Meeting** from the dropdown menu.
#### Meeting tab
On the meeting tab, you can enter details about the meeting.
**For internal use:**
* **Account**: This is set automatically to the account you opened and cannot be changed.
* **Campaign**: The corresponding campaign, if applicable. In this example, the meeting is a follow-up from a campaign that ran in Spring.
* **Status**: This field must be manually populated. It will not automatically switch to Completed when the meeting is finished. The options in the **Status** list can be edited by administrators using the CRM Picklists feature.
**Details shared with attendees:**
* **Subject**: Required, as the subject appears in the activity list.
* **Owner**: The default setting assigns the meeting to you.
* **Location**: Where the meeting is taking place. In this example, the meeting is at 3.D. Joinery's main office.
* **Start and End**: The start date and time, and the end date and time, for the meeting. In this example, the meeting is scheduled for 21 December, from 3pm to 5pm.
* **Description**: Optional, although it is useful to enter a brief description of what occurred.
When all the necessary details are filled out, select **Save**. This action saves the details of the meeting, then opens two new tabs: **Attendees** and **Attachments**.
#### Attendees tab
Go to the **Attendees** tab and select **Add attendee**. A menu will pop up with two options of adding attendees:
* **Attendees**: Select the blue plus icon in the search box to choose from existing contacts. You can also type keywords to search. Note that the activity will only appear in their agenda if it meets their CRM restrictions.
* **Add new**: Add people not yet in CRM by entering their name and email.
#### Attachments tab
Add attachments, if required, via the [**Attachments**](#attachments) **tab**.
When done, select **Save**. A message displays at the top of the screen to indicate the meeting has been successfully saved.
CRM users can now view this meeting in three places:
* On the **Activities** screen.
* On the **Activities tab** on the account record.
* In their own calendars, if the [Microsoft 365 Outlook calendar integration](https://docs.phocassoftware.com/crm/activities/microsoft-365-outlook-calendar-integration) is active.
Task
Suppose you want to add a task to a specific lead.
1. Open the lead record.
2. Select **Add activity** → **Task**.
3. Enter the required details:
* **Subject**, **Owner**, **Start** and **End date/time** (mandatory)
* Optional: Campaign, Status, Description
4. Select **Save**.
5. Add attachments, if required, via the [**Attachments**](#attachments) **tab**.
The task will display on:
* The **Activities** page
* The **Activities** tab of the lead record
* The **Activities** tab of the related account record
Attachments
You can attach relevant information to activities, such as agendas, business documents, quotations, and so on. This information can be downloaded by anyone who has access to the activity. The maximum attachment size is 10MB.
1. In the activity setup, select the **Attachments** tab.
2. Select **Add attachment**.
3. Select a file, type a name and select **Upload**.
4. The attachment displays in the list on the **Attachments** tab.
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## Add a personal appointment
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**Personal appointments** are private and only visible to you. They aren’t linked to the rest of Phocas CRM and appear only on your **Activities** and **Agenda** pages.
{% endhint %}
Open either the **Activities** or **My Agenda** screens. Select the **Add activity** button (the blue plus), and choose **Personal Appointment**.
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Desktop version
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Mobile-friendly version
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From here, it follows the same steps as adding a [meeting](#meeting).
## Delete an activity
{% hint style="info" %}
Activities can only be deleted in the **desktop version** of CRM.
{% endhint %}
If you do not have delete permissions, the **Delete** option might not display or you might see a message at the top of the screen indicating you do not have permission to delete. Talk to your administrator about your permissions. Deleted items can be restored by administrators.
You can delete activities in two ways:
* On the **Activities** page (List view), select the menu button (three dots) at the end of the activity's row, then choose **Delete**.
* In any calendar view, click the activity to display a tooltip with information about the activity, then click the **Delete** button.
|
| Cancelled | 
|
| Completed | 
|
| In Progress | 
|
| Overdue | 
|
### Actions
All calendar views share the following action controls:
Suppose a customer calls you to inquire about a promotional offer you contacted them about last month. The phone call came from Fred at 3.D. Joinery Inc. You want to record this call against their account.
1. Open the account record (3.D. Joinery Inc).
2. Click the **Phone Log** button in the top right corner.
3. Enter the call details (such as duration and description of what was discussed) and click **Save**.
Suppose you have scheduled an account review with your customer, 3.D. Joinery, and now you want to set up this meeting.
1. Open the account record (3.D. Joinery Inc).
2. Click the **Meeting** button in the top right corner.
3. Enter the meeting details:
* **Subject**: Required, as the subject appears in the activity list.
* **Description**: Optional, although it is useful to enter a brief description of what occurred.
* **Start and End**: The start date and time, and the end date and time, for the meeting. In this example, the meeting is scheduled for 21 December, from 3pm to 5pm.
* **Status**: In this example, the status is left blank. This field must be manually populated. It will not automatically switch to Completed when the meeting is finished. The options in the **Status** list can be edited by administrators using the CRM Picklists feature.
* **Owner**: The default setting assigns the meeting to you.
* **Campaign**: The corresponding campaign, if applicable. In this example, the meeting is a follow-up from a campaign that ran in Spring.
* **Location**: Where the meeting is taking place. In this example, the meeting is at 3.D. Joinery's main office.
4. Click **Save**. This action saves the basic details of the meeting, then opens two new tabs: **Attendees** and **Attachments**.
