Adding Notes in Batch

This guide covers importing notes from a spreadsheet or adding them to a batch one at a time, for example when moving history over from another CRM.

Understanding Imported Notes

An imported note records something that happened with one contact or one organization: a phone call, a meeting, a report you submitted.

Each imported note keeps the date it happened. It appears on the record's Activity timeline under that date, and the record's Notes tab lists notes by that date, newest first.

Imported notes have no author. They show Imported where a typed note shows who wrote it. Any admin who can edit the record can edit or delete an imported note. Imported notes are always shared, never private.

Importing notes sends no email and does not start any automation.

Before You Start

Notes attach to contacts and organizations that are already in CauseVox.

1. Import your contacts and organizations first, with their ID from your old system in reference_id
2. Process that batch and let it finish
3. Then create a separate batch for the notes

A note whose contact or organization isn't in CauseVox yet fails with an error when the batch is processed. Fix the record, then click Reprocess Failed Lines.

Creating a New Batch

1. Go to Data > Batch Import
2. Click Create and confirm — the batch is named with the date and time; rename it on the batch page if you like (e.g., "Notes from old CRM")
3. Under What do you want to import?, choose Notes

Importing from Spreadsheet

1. Click Import from Spreadsheet at the bottom of the batch
2. Select your CSV or Excel file
3. Map your columns to the correct fields
4. Review the imported rows

See Importing from Spreadsheet for detailed instructions on the import process.

Save the file as CSV UTF-8

In Excel, choose File > Save As > CSV UTF-8. A plain "CSV" saved on Windows stores accented letters and curly quotes in a way the import can't read, and those rows arrive empty.

Supported CSV Columns

Required

Column	Description
contact_id or crm_organization_id	The one contact or organization the note is about: its CauseVox ID, or its reference ID. Fill in one, not both. A reference ID that more than one contact or organization has is flagged when you upload, and processing refuses the row until you use the CauseVox ID
created_at	The date the call, meeting or other interaction happened, e.g. 2010-03-05 or 3/5/2010
text	The note itself, as plain text. Line breaks are kept

Optional

Column	Description
type	The kind of note, such as "Phone call" or "Report submitted"
reference_id	The note's ID in your old system. Re-importing a row with the same reference ID updates that note instead of adding a second one. If more than one note already has that reference ID, the row is refused

Dates

created_at must be a whole date. A row with only a year ("2004") or a month ("3/2004") is refused when you upload, so you can fix it before processing.

A date in the future is refused the same way ("Date can't be in the future."). Tomorrow is still accepted, so teams ahead of UTC can log their own today.

Note Types

Each note's type is matched to your organization's list of note types, ignoring capitals. The list is managed in CRM Settings > Notes — see Note Settings. When you import a spreadsheet, a type that isn't on the list yet is added to it. A type longer than 255 characters is refused when you upload, usually a sign the wrong column was matched to type.

A note added by hand on the batch page must use a type that's already on the list.

Adding Notes Manually

Click Add Note Row to open the note form. Fill in the contact or organization, the date and the text.

Processing the Batch

1. Review the rows
2. Click Process Batch
3. Confirm the action

Important

Batch processing cannot be undone. Once processed, each note becomes a permanent record on its contact or organization.

After Processing

• Each note appears on its contact's or organization's Notes tab, with its date and type
• Each note appears on the record's Activity timeline under the date it happened