Client notes are your team's shared record of everything you need to know about a client: how they like things done, details, one-off arrangements, or anything else worth writing down.
Notes are grouped by Topics on the Notes page, so anyone on your team can find them.
Notes become even more useful when you link them to your templates. A linked note shows up on that client's task, right where your team is doing the work. Nobody has to remember the client's quirks or go looking for them, and anyone who picks up the task, including new staff or someone covering leave, sees the same instructions.
How notes fit together
There are three parts:
Type | What it is | What it does |
Client Notes | A note you write on the Notes page. It can be for one client, or for no client. | Holds information your team needs about a client. Without a client, it holds information for every client on a template. |
Note Topics | A category you create in Settings > Note Topics. Each note belongs to one topic. | Groups your notes on the Notes page. Topics are listed down the left, so your team can find notes by subject (for example Payroll, Tax or Bookkeeping). |
Note Link Tags | A tag you create in Settings > Note Link Tags, then add it to a note and to a template or subtask. | Connects the note to the template. When a task's template or subtask has the same tag as a note, the note shows on that task. |
Give every note a Topic so it's easy to find. Add a Link Tag when you want the note to appear on tasks automatically. Without one, the note stays on the Notes page and won't appear on tasks.
š” Good to know
Notes only appear on tasks created from a template that has the Note Link Tag, and that template needs a schedule to create those tasks.
ā
š Read more here: How To: Add a Schedule
1. Create your Note Topics
Click the gear icon in the bottom left, above your profile picture, to open Settings.
Under Notes & Collaboration, select Note Topics.
Type a topic name into the top field and click the + icon.
From here you can also:
Rename a topic: click its name and type. Changes save automatically, and the notes inside it aren't affected.
Reorder topics: drag them into the order you want or click click here to set to alphabetical order above the list.
This is the order they appear in on the Notes page.
Delete a topic: click the bin icon next to it.
š” Best practice
Keep topics broad and consistent, for example:
BAS Agent Services
Payroll
Bookkeeping
Tax
General
2. Create your Note Link Tags
In Settings, under Notes & Collaboration, select Note Link Tags.
Type a tag name into the top field and click the + icon.
You can rename, reorder and delete tags the same way as topics, or click click here to set to alphabetical order above the list to sort them A to Z, the same way as topics.
š” Best practice
Start each tag with the Note Topic, then the template name. If the tag is for one particular subtask in a template, add the subtask name at the end, for example
Bookkeeping - Accounts Payable - Batch Payments.
Your team can then tell at a glance which template, and which part of it, the note belongs to.
3. Add the tag to your template
Go to Automation > Templates and open the template.
Decide where the note should appear:
On the whole task: select the tag in the template's Note Link Tag field.
On one subtask only: select the tag in that subtask's Note Link Tag field.
Click Save on the template.
4. Create the client note
Go to the Notes page and click Add Note.
On the right, choose the note's Status and Visibility:
Draft or Published: Draft shows your team the note isn't finished yet. Published shows it's complete.
Public or Private: Public notes are visible to your whole team. Private notes are only visible to you.
Select the Topic and Note Linking Tag, then choose who the note is for:
One client: select the Client. The note only appears on that client's tasks.
Every client on the template: leave Client blank. The note appears on the tasks of every client using that template. Use this for instructions that apply to everyone, but that you don't want to add to the template itself.
Add a title, write the note, and attach any files.
Your note will auto-save as you write.
Close the note.
ā ļø Note won't save?
The Note Link Tag is already used for this client. A tag can only be on one note per client, including someone else's private note. XBert tells you which note already has it. Pick a different tag, or remove the tag from the other note.
The title is too long. Titles can be up to 500 characters.
You pasted text from another document. Paste it again as plain text with Ctrl+Shift+V, or Cmd+Shift+V on a Mac.
Accidentally overwrite important note content? Need to track who made changes and when?
š Read more here: Notes Version - History and Restore
Formatting your note
Click the + to the left of any line in your note, or type / at the start of a line, to add a block:
Table - insert a table
Heading 1, 2 or 3 - add a large, medium or small section heading
Bullet List or Numbered List - add a simple list
Task List - add a checklist with tickable checkboxes
Quote - set a paragraph apart as a quote
Code Block - insert a code block
Divider Line - add a line to split sections
Formatting text
Select any text and a toolbar appears where you can:
make it bold, italic, underlined or crossed out
change the font size or font
turn it into a heading
align it left, centre or right, or justify it
highlight it, add a link, or insert a table or an emoji
How a (note) Task List works on tasks
Your team can tick a checklist straight from the task. Each task keeps its own ticks, so ticking a box on one task doesn't affect any other task.
5. See the note on the task
On the client's tasks:
Notes linked to the template appear on the main task.
Notes linked to a subtask appear only on that subtask.
Once the Note Link Tag is on the template, any note you add with that tag, for a client on the template, shows up on that client's tasks straight away. That includes tasks that already exist.
ā ļø A new note says Title is too long and won't clear
Unsaved notes are kept in your browser, so a stuck draft can keep coming back. Clear your browsing data for XBert, then open Notes again. If XBert works in a private or incognito window, the stuck draft was the cause.
Need help?
If you have any questions, our support team is here to help!
Reach out via the chat widget on the bottom left of your XBert screen (Help), or email us at support@xbert.io