Best Uses of Activities & Notes in CRM: Finding the Right Balance

Activities & Notes – Flexibility Comes at a Price

Dynamics 365 offers remarkable flexibility, allowing users to track and manage communications in various ways. But flexibility isn’t always free—it can create inconsistencies if not used wisely. In many cases, less truly is more.

Best Practices for Tracking Activities & Notes in Dynamics 365

Dynamics 365 users can log Activities (like emails, phone calls, and appointments) and Notes directly within records. While both are easy to create and timestamped automatically, it’s important to understand their differences before choosing what fits your business process.

Where do I Create or Track my Activity?

We recommend creating Activities or Notes at the most specific record level available.
For example:

• If you’re working with an Opportunity, log the Activity there.
• If only a Contact exists, then use that record.

This ensures accurate context and better visibility across your CRM data.

Activities vs. Notes: What’s the Difference?

Dynamics 365’s Activities and Notes offer different functionality—especially when it comes to searchability and visibility:

Feature	Activities ✅	Notes ❌
Searchable	Yes	No
Roll-up to Account	Yes	No
Attach Files	Yes	Yes
Date/Time Stamp	Yes	Yes

Activities also “roll up” to related records. For example, if an Activity is logged under a Contact, it will automatically appear in the parent Account timeline. Notes do not share this functionality.

Why We Recommend Avoiding Notes

While Notes seem convenient, they:

• Can lead to data being hidden or lost in workflows
• Can’t be searched
• Don’t roll up to Accounts

Have the Best of Both Worlds– Our Recommendation

At Dominic Systems, we recommend creating a custom “Note Activity”—an Activity type that functions like a Phone Call but mimics a Note. This gives users a familiar note-taking option that is:

• Searchable
• Visible across related records
• Structured consistently with other Activities

To reduce confusion, we can hide the standard Note function, making workflows cleaner and data more reliable.

Final Thought
When it comes to Dynamics 365, sometimes less is more. Standardizing how your team logs interactions can lead to better data visibility, easier reporting, and smoother processes.

Want help setting this up? We’re happy to walk you through it—get in touch with us today.

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