Notes in Shape Software

Learn how to create, organize, search, and collaborate using Notes in Shape, including note types, voice dictation, mentions, attachments, and reporting.

Notes

Notes provide a centralized place to document customer interactions, internal updates, follow-up information, and important business details throughout Shape.
Every note becomes part of the record’s history, making it easy for your team to understand previous conversations, track progress, and collaborate without losing context.
Notes can be created manually, automatically by certain system activities, or generated by AI, giving your organization a complete history of customer engagement.

Where You Can Create Notes

Notes are available throughout Shape, allowing you to document interactions wherever you’re working.
You can create notes from:

• Contact File Details
• The Conversations view
• List Page Quick Actions
• The Webphone end-of-call screen
• The Mobile App

For organizations using the Referral Partner Portal, administrators and internal users can also leave Partner Notes, which are visible directly within the partner portal.
This allows referral partners and internal teams to collaborate without relying solely on email.

Creating a Note

Creating a note is quick and flexible. Notes can be created from several areas throughout Shape, including the Notes section within a record, the Add Note button, the Notes quick action, the Conversations view, the Webphone end-of-call screen, and other areas where note-taking is supported.
Simply enter your note, select a Note Type if applicable, and click Save.
When creating a note, you can also:

• Format text using the rich text editor
• Insert images and screenshots
• Add hyperlinks
• Create tables
• Use HTML formatting
• Mention other users using @mentions
• Pin important notes
• Use voice dictation (Google Chrome)
• Categorize notes using Note Types

Rich Text Editor

Notes use Shape’s rich text (WYSIWYG) editor, allowing you to create organized, easy-to-read documentation.
Formatting options include:

• Bold
• Italics
• Underline
• Bullet and numbered lists
• Tables
• Hyperlinks
• Images
• Screenshots
• HTML formatting

Using formatting helps highlight important information and improves readability for longer notes.

Voice Dictation

Instead of typing, you can dictate notes using your microphone.
Simply click the Microphone icon within the note editor and begin speaking.
Shape will automatically convert your speech into text, making it easy to document conversations while working.

Voice dictation is especially helpful for documenting customer conversations immediately after phone calls or meetings.

Note Types

Organizations can categorize notes using Note Types.
Examples include:

• General Notes
• Call Notes
• Email Notes
• SMS Notes
• Appointment Notes
• AI Notes
• System Notes

Using Note Types makes it easier to organize activity, filter history, and report on different types of customer interactions.
Administrators can customize available Note Types by navigating to:
Settings → Manage Note Types
From there, you can create, rename, edit, or organize the Note Types used throughout your organization.

Working with Notes

Once a note has been created, Shape provides several tools to help you organize, update, and collaborate on important information.
Users can pin notes, edit notes, mention coworkers, attach images, and categorize notes to keep customer records organized and easy to navigate.
Notes are visible to users who have access to the associated record. If a user does not have permission to access a record, they will not be able to view the notes associated with it.

Notes Sidebar

The Notes sidebar provides quick access to the most recent activity on a record.
By default, the sidebar displays the five most recent notes, regardless of when they were created.
From the sidebar, you can:

• Create new notes
• View recent note history
• Pin important notes
• Edit your notes
• Delete your notes (if permitted)
• Filter notes
• Expand the full note history

If you need to review older notes, simply select View More or apply filters to narrow your results.

Full Notes Tab

For organizations that need additional workspace, Shape also offers a dedicated Notes tab that can be enabled within the record.
The Notes tab provides the same functionality as the sidebar while offering a much larger workspace for reading, creating, and managing notes.
From the Notes tab, users can:

• View the complete note history
• Create new notes
• Categorize notes by Note Type
• Edit existing notes
• Filter notes
• Review long-form notes more comfortably

The Notes tab is especially helpful for organizations that document detailed conversations or maintain extensive customer histories.

Pinning Notes

Important notes can be pinned so they’re easier to find later.
Pinned notes remain readily accessible and are useful for highlighting:

• Important customer information
• Ongoing issues
• Special instructions
• Compliance reminders
• Internal handoff notes

Pinning helps ensure critical information isn’t lost as additional notes are added over time.

Editing Notes

Notes can be updated whenever information changes.
Users can edit notes they’ve created to:

• Correct mistakes
• Add additional information
• Update customer conversations
• Clarify previous documentation

Changes are reflected immediately after saving.

Deleting Notes

Permissions determine who can delete notes.
Typically:

• Users can delete their own notes.
• Administrators can edit or delete any note within the system.

Best Practice: Notes become part of the customer’s activity history. Before deleting a note, verify that it is no longer needed for reporting, compliance, or future reference.

Mentioning Team Members

Need another team member to review a record?
Simply use @mentions within a note.
When you mention another Shape user:

• They receive an email notification immediately.
• The notification includes your note.
• A direct link to the associated record is included for quick access.

Mentions are a great way to collaborate without sending separate emails or messages.

Adding Images and Screenshots

Notes support adding visual context alongside written information.
You can include:

• Images
• Screenshots
• Hyperlinks
• Rich text formatting

If you need to attach files such as PDFs or other documents, we recommend uploading those to the record’s Uploads tab and linking to them within your note when appropriate.

Automatic Notes

Not every note needs to be created manually.
Shape automatically generates notes for many common activities, including:

• AI-generated call summaries and AI Notes
• Calendar events
• Task creation
• Phone calls documented through the Webphone
• Other supported system activities

This creates a complete timeline of customer interactions while reducing manual data entry.

Best Practices

• Keep notes concise but detailed enough for another team member to understand the situation.
• Use Note Types to keep customer histories organized.
• Pin critical information that should remain easy to find.
• Use @mentions instead of sending separate emails when collaborating internally.
• Upload supporting documents to the Uploads tab and reference them within your notes when needed.
• Take advantage of voice dictation to quickly document conversations immediately after calls or meetings.

Searching and Filtering Notes

As your organization documents more customer interactions, quickly finding the right note becomes increasingly important.
Shape provides several ways to search, filter, and review notes, whether you’re working within a single record or across your entire CRM.

Filtering Notes Within a Record

Both the Notes sidebar and the full Notes tab allow you to quickly narrow down a record’s activity history.
Available filters include:

• Note Type
• User
• Date Range

Filtering makes it easy to locate specific conversations, follow-up notes, or customer updates without manually scrolling through the entire note history.

Notes Reports

For organization-wide reporting, Shape includes a dedicated All Notes report.
This report allows administrators and managers to review note activity across the entire CRM instead of one record at a time.
Common uses include:

• Reviewing customer interactions
• Auditing user activity
• Monitoring follow-up efforts
• Searching for specific notes
• Exporting note history

This is especially helpful for managers who need visibility into team activity or customer communication.

User Note Tracker

Shape includes a User Note Tracker report that helps managers review note activity by user and Note Type.
This report displays each user in your organization alongside the number of notes they created during the selected date range, broken down by Note Type.
From the User Note Tracker, you can:

• Filter by user
• Select a date range
• Search within the report
• Export the results
• Review totals by Note Type

This makes it easy to understand how your team is documenting activity across categories such as General Notes, Phone Calls, AI Insights, Meetings, Communications, Billing, Support, and other Note Types configured in your system.
Managers can use this report to monitor note activity, identify documentation patterns, and better understand how users are tracking customer interactions.

Exporting Notes

Notes can be exported in several ways depending on the information you’re looking for.
For record exports, you can include fields such as:

• Most Recent Note
• Notes field

If you need to export the complete note history, use the Manage Notes report, which allows the full note log to be exported.

Importing Notes

Notes can also be imported into Shape.
For standard imports, administrators can use the Append to Notes field mapping to add information directly to a record’s existing notes during the import process.

Best Practices

• Use Note Types consistently to improve filtering and reporting.
• Review the Manage Notes report to monitor team activity.
• Use Append to Notes when importing additional customer information.
• Export note history from the Manage Notes report when a complete activity log is needed.
• Keep historical notes whenever possible to preserve valuable customer context.

Frequently Asked Questions