> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.carstoragesoftware.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Add and manage customer notes

> Leave short notes on a customer record so your team remembers preferences, promises, and follow-up without digging through messages.

Use this guide when your team needs to remember something about a customer that does not belong in a name, phone, or address field.

Notes live on the customer record in [Contacts](https://www.carstoragesoftware.com/dashboard/contacts). They help the next teammate understand context quickly—without searching through [Inbox](/docs/inbox/overview.md) or guessing from memory.

## What you will accomplish

* Add a note on a customer record from the **Customer Notes** section.
* Choose whether a note is **Customer visible** or **Internal only**.
* Read notes from the customer page and from the combined activity feed.
* Know what belongs in a note versus a tag, CRM field, or Inbox message.

## When to use customer notes

* A customer prefers email over text, or only wants calls for urgent issues.
* Your team promised a follow-up that is not yet on the calendar.
* A tour, inspection, or paperwork step finished and the next person needs context.
* An assistant or spouse handles scheduling—you want that written where every teammate can see it.

> [!NOTE]
>
> **Notes are not text messages**
>
> Notes are for your **team's memory** on the customer record. They do not send a text or email to the customer. To message a customer, use [Inbox](/docs/inbox/overview.md).

## Before you start

* The customer already exists in [Contacts](https://www.carstoragesoftware.com/dashboard/contacts).
* You know whether the note should be visible to the customer in the portal (**Customer visible**) or only to staff (**Internal only**).
* Keep notes short and factual. Avoid storing passwords, gate codes, or payment card numbers in notes.

## Open the Customer Notes section

**1. Open Contacts**

Click **Contacts** in the left sidebar, then open the customer—for example from [All Contacts](https://www.carstoragesoftware.com/dashboard/contacts/all).

**2. Scroll to Customer Notes**

On the customer detail page, scroll past **CRM Information** until you see the **Customer Notes** card.

**Expected result:** You see existing notes (if any), who wrote them, and how long ago they were added.

![Customer detail page showing the Customer Notes section with a saved note, author initials, Internal only label, and Add Note button](https://mintcdn.com/carstoragesoftware/ggah6moKlxnkQYNH/images/contacts/contacts-customer-notes-section.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=ggah6moKlxnkQYNH\&q=85\&s=8448f6a43080f3947421dfd132e68bf9)

***Customer Notes** appears on every customer record. Notes show the author, time, and whether the customer can see them in the portal.*

## Add a note

**1. Click Add Note**

In the **Customer Notes** section, click **Add Note** in the top-right corner of the card.

**2. Write a short, useful message**

Type what the next teammate needs to know.

Good examples:

* "Prefers email for scheduling. Do not text unless urgent."
* "Tour completed May 18. Waiting on signed storage agreement for the Huracan."
* "Assistant Jordan handles all pickup times—see Additional Contacts."

**Why this matters:** The best notes answer one question: "What should the next person do or avoid?"

**3. Choose who can see the note**

Below the text box, pick one option:

* **Customer visible** — the customer may see this note in the portal (use for friendly reminders they already know).
* **Internal only** — only staff on your team can see the note (use for internal preferences and follow-up).

**Why this matters:** **Internal only** keeps scheduling preferences and staff reminders off the customer portal. Use **Customer visible** only for notes you would say politely to the customer in person.

**Expected result:** The toggle highlights the option you chose.

**4. Click Add note**

Click **Add note** to save.

**Expected result:** The new note appears at the top of the **Customer Notes** list with your name and a **Just now** or time label.

![Add note dialog with a text area, Customer visible and Internal only toggle, and Add note button](https://mintcdn.com/carstoragesoftware/R5kE8xRstcG_Arf7/images/contacts/customer-notes-add-dialog.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=R5kE8xRstcG_Arf7\&q=85\&s=08fdf71ff6023790955d610df1a5c184)

*Choose **Customer visible** or **Internal only** before you save. When unsure, use **Internal only**.*

## Read notes from the activity feed

Customer notes also appear in the customer's **Activity** timeline alongside messages, invoices, and schedule changes. This helps your team see notes in context with everything else that happened on the account.

**1. Open Activity on the customer page**

On the same customer record, find the **Activity Feed** section (usually on the right side of the page on a wide screen).

**Expected result:** Recent events appear at the top—messages, billing, schedule changes, and notes your team added.

**2. Look for note entries in the feed**

Notes show up as their own lines in the timeline, often with the author's name and whether the note was **Internal only** or **Customer visible**.

**Why this matters:** A porter might add a note about parking preferences while a billing teammate adds one about payment timing. Activity puts both in one place so the next caller sees the full story.

![Activity Feed on a customer detail page showing recent messages, notes, and billing events in one timeline](https://mintcdn.com/carstoragesoftware/R5kE8xRstcG_Arf7/images/contacts/customer-activity-feed.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=R5kE8xRstcG_Arf7\&q=85\&s=c740429fd6afaba9f52422427f5eb201)

*Notes appear in the Activity Feed together with messages and billing—use **View all** when you need to search a longer history.*

**3. Open View all for a longer history**

If many events exist, click **View all** to open the full **Customer activity** page.

**Expected result:** Notes appear in time order with other customer events. You can filter to **Notes** or search by keyword on that page.

For a full walkthrough of the activity timeline, see [Review customer activity and history](/docs/contacts/review-customer-activity-and-history.md).

## Delete a note

Only remove a note when it is outdated or was added by mistake.

**1. Find the note in Customer Notes**

Scroll to the note you want to remove.

**2. Click the trash icon**

Click the small **trash** icon on the right side of the note row.

**Expected result:** The note disappears from the list. This cannot be undone—copy important text elsewhere first if you might need it later.

## What belongs in a note vs other fields

> [!NOTE]
>
> | If you need to… | Use this instead |
> | - | - |
> | Label a customer (VIP, winter storage) | [Manage contact tags and CRM fields](/docs/contacts/manage-contact-tags.md) |
> | Change phone, email, or address | [Edit customer details](/docs/contacts/edit-customer-details.md) |
> | Message the customer | [Inbox](/docs/inbox/overview.md) |
> | Track what car they want to buy | [Track customer market interests](/docs/contacts/track-customer-market-interests.md) |
> | Log a phone call or text thread | [Inbox](/docs/inbox/overview.md) — messages stay in the conversation timeline |

## What success looks like

* New teammates can open a customer and understand preferences without asking around.
* Internal-only notes stay off the customer portal.
* Customer-visible notes match what you would say politely to the customer in person.

## Troubleshooting

> [!WARNING]
>
> **I do not see Customer Notes**
>
> Scroll further down the customer page—it sits below **CRM Information**. If you still do not see it, confirm you opened a **customer** record, not a [vendor](/docs/contacts/work-with-vendor-contacts.md) record.

> [!WARNING]
>
> **The customer says they see a note they should not**
>
> Edit your process: use **Internal only** for staff preferences. Customer-visible notes may appear in the portal.

> [!TIP]
>
> **Add note is grayed out**
>
> Type at least one character in the note box. The **Add note** button stays disabled until there is text to save.

## What to do next

* [Review customer activity and history](/docs/contacts/review-customer-activity-and-history.md) — see notes together with messages and billing.
* [Manage additional contacts](/docs/contacts/manage-additional-contacts.md) — add assistants or spouses when notes mention who handles scheduling.
* [Respond to a conversation](/docs/inbox/respond-to-a-conversation.md) — reply to the customer when they need a real message, not just an internal note.


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