Which record should carry the note
The rule is: attach to the thing the note is about. A customer's dog bites — customer note, forever true. The gate code for this property — property or customer, not this one job. The crew found asbestos siding on Tuesday — job note. The caller sounded ready to buy but wants spring — lead note. The homeowner asked the tech to also look at the garage — job note today, and a new lead if it becomes real work.
People break this rule constantly because they attach to whatever screen is in front of them. The cost shows up later, when someone searching the customer record cannot find the fact that was buried on a job from two years ago.
Customer and property notes: the permanent layer
These are facts that stay true across every job you ever do for this person: access constraints, who actually makes the decision, payment behaviour, a difficult neighbour, a preference about arrival times. They are the notes worth reading before you show up.
Keep them short and factual. A customer note is read cold, months later, by someone who has never met the person. Anything editorial reads badly and can be seen by more people than you expect.
Lead, appointment and deal notes: the sales layer
- Lead notes: why they called, what they think they need, budget signals, urgency, competing priorities.
- Appointment notes: what to bring, who will be present, what the visit is supposed to establish.
- Deal notes: objections raised, what was quoted verbally, what the customer said they would do next.
- These are the notes that stop a second rep re-asking questions the customer already answered.
Job, task and internal notes: the execution layer
- Job notes: conditions found, work performed, changes approved on site, things the next visit needs to know.
- Task notes: the detail for one piece of work, and why it is not done yet.
- Internal notes: context for staff only — a warning, a pricing rationale, a reason for a decision.
- Internal is a visibility setting on the note, not a different place to store it.