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Notes, Tasks & Documents

Notes, tasks, and documents turn your CRM from an address book into a relationship management system. This is where the real value lives.

Notes

Purpose: Record what happened — meeting summaries, call notes, interaction logs.

Adding a Note

GHL Guide: Adding and Managing Notes

  1. Open a contact record
  2. Click the Notes tab or Add Note button
  3. Type your note
  4. Click Save

The note is automatically timestamped with your name and appears in the activity timeline.

Note-Writing Best Practices

The note formula

Date + Context + Key Points + Next Steps. That's it.

Example:

Met at LP Conference 1/15/2026. Discussed Q1 allocation timeline. Interested in healthcare PE. Wants to see track record materials.

Key habits:

  • Put the date at the front — makes scanning the timeline easier
  • End with next steps — "Wants to see track record materials" is a cue for what to do next
  • Keep it concise — five sentences captures a meeting; you don't need transcripts
  • Log every real conversation — phone calls, meetings, substantive emails. If you talked about business, write it down.

Who Can See Notes

Notes are visible to everyone on the team with access to that record. There are no private notes in GHL. This is a feature — it means anyone on the team can prep for a call by reading the history.

Tasks

Purpose: Track follow-ups, deadlines, and action items.

Creating a Task

GHL Guide: Internal Tasks

From a contact or company record:

  1. Click Add Task
  2. Fill in:
    • Task title — Be specific: "Send track record materials to Sarah" not just "Follow up"
    • Due date — When this needs to happen
    • Assigned to — Who owns it (yourself or a teammate)
    • Priority — If available
  3. Click Save

From the Tasks sidebar:

  1. Click Tasks in the left sidebar
  2. Click + Add Task
  3. Fill in the same fields
  4. Link it to a contact or company

Managing Tasks

The Tasks dashboard (left sidebar → Tasks) shows your master task list:

  • Due today — What needs attention now
  • Overdue — What you missed (handle these first)
  • Upcoming — What's coming this week

To complete a task, click the checkbox or mark it done.

Task Best Practices

Every note should generate a task

If there's a next step, create a task. Note without a task is just history. Task is what moves things forward.

  • Be specific in the title — "Send Q4 report to Kaiser team" beats "Follow up with Kaiser"
  • Set realistic due dates — Don't set everything for tomorrow
  • Reassign when needed — If a teammate should handle it, assign it to them

Why Tasks Beat Calendar Reminders

Tasks are attached to the person. When you look at Sarah's record, you see the task with full context. A calendar reminder just says "follow up" with no context about what or why.

Documents

Purpose: Store files attached to specific contacts or companies — pitch decks, due diligence materials, agreements.

Uploading a Document

GHL Guide: Documents via Client Portal and CRM

  1. Open a contact or company record
  2. Find the Files or Documents section (scroll down if needed)
  3. Click Upload or drag a file into the drop zone
  4. Add a description if prompted
  5. The file is now attached to this record

Supported File Types

  • PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint
  • Images (JPG, PNG)
  • Most standard business file formats
  • Size limit: typically 25-50MB per file

Document Tips

  • Name files clearly before uploading — Pharos_Pitch_Q1_2026.pdf beats deck_final_v2.pdf
  • Use notes to reference docs — When you upload a pitch deck, add a note: "Sent pitch deck on 1/15, per their request after the conference meeting"
  • Keep sensitive docs in the right place — Documents on the record are accessible to anyone with CRM access

Documents vs. email attachments

When docs live in email, only one person has them. When docs live on the record, anyone on the team can pull up exactly what was sent. That's the shift.