Note: This article covers the Dispatch Beta. If you’re using classic Dispatch, the steps here don’t apply.
A dispatch note is a short message attached to a visit. It’s how the office and the field leave each other updates, like “Gate code changed” or “Customer asked for a call before arrival.” This article shows where notes appear in Dispatch and how to read, add, and find them.
Before you start
Permissions: Anyone who can open Dispatch can add a dispatch note, even with a View Only role.
Visibility: Each note shows who sent it and when.
Editing: Dispatch notes can’t be edited or deleted once they’re sent, so reread before you send.
Dispatch notes vs. other notes
A visit can carry three kinds of notes:
Type | What it is |
Dispatch notes | Messages about the visit between the office and the field |
Visit notes | Details written on the visit itself |
Property notes | Notes about the property |
You’ll see all three in the Work View. This article is about dispatch notes.
1. Spot visits with notes
A yellow notepad icon next to a visit’s name means it has dispatch notes. Hover it to see how many, for example “1 dispatch note” or “X dispatch notes.” You’ll see it in the table and on Board cards.
In the table, dispatch notes can also show as yellow banners under the visit’s row, with the note, who sent it, and when. This is the Dispatch notes inline option, and it’s on by default.
Visits with visit notes show a document icon in their own column.
2. Read and reply to notes
Click the notepad icon. The icon doesn’t select the visit or open the Work View.
A popover lists the visit’s notes, oldest first. Each shows the note and “Sent by [name] at [time and date].”
Type your reply in Send dispatch note, then press Enter or click the send arrow.
You’ll see “Dispatch note added,” and your note appears right away at the bottom of the list, in the inline banner, and in the Work View, with no refresh needed. Blank notes can’t be sent.
3. Add the first note to a visit
A visit with no notes has no notepad icon yet, so you add its first note from the Work View:
Click the visit’s row (away from the checkbox and ⋮ menu) to open its Work View.
In the Notes section, click the Dispatch tab.
Type in Send dispatch note and send it.
Once a visit has a note, the notepad icon appears.
4. See notes in the Work View
The Work View’s Notes section has three tabs: Visit, Dispatch (with a count), and Property. The count on the Dispatch tab matches the number on the notepad icon.
5. Find visits with notes
Click + Filter and choose Dispatch notes.
Choose Has dispatch notes or Does not have dispatch notes.
The table, the map pins, and the footer count all narrow to match. You can filter Visit notes the same way, and combine either filter with others, like Status. Remove a filter by clicking the × on its chip.
Good to know
Notes belong to the visit. If you reschedule a visit, its notes go with it.
A note you add shows up for everyone who opens that visit.