Manage contact follow-up tasks

What this does

Use Tasks to give a contact a concrete next action and a due date/time. Tasks appear above the contact panel's tabs, so you can review the next step without opening Notes or Details.

The earliest-due open task is marked Upcoming task. Overdue open tasks have a highlighted due time. Completed tasks are kept under Completed, rather than staying in the active list.

Before you start

• Open Contacts in the correct workspace and find the existing contact.
• You need write access to the tasks category to add, edit, complete, reopen or delete tasks. Reading the contact alone does not grant this.
• Viewers cannot change tasks, and frozen contacts cannot be edited.
• Prepare task text of up to 200 characters and a valid date and time. Both are required.
• For calendar placement, remember that the target is the contact owner's Google Calendar, not necessarily your own. A teammate's request needs that owner's approval.

Add a follow-up task

1. Click the contact's name or card. The contact panel opens; find Tasks above the tabs.
2. Click Add task. An inline editor opens with task text, Due, reminder choices and Add to Google Calendar.
3. Enter a specific next action, such as calling to confirm a decision. Text cannot be empty or whitespace-only and is limited to 200 characters.
4. Set Due to the intended date and time. An incomplete or invalid date/time will not save.
5. Under Reminder:, choose the available In-app, Email and/or WhatsApp chips. A selected chip shows a checkmark. The last active reminder chip cannot be switched off.
6. Optionally select Add to Google Calendar. If you are not the contact owner, this option is unavailable when the owner has no connected calendar.
7. Click Add. During saving, the controls are disabled. After success, the new task appears in the list and the text/date inputs clear. If it is the earliest open task, it is marked Upcoming task.
8. If you requested a teammate's calendar, check for Waiting for {owner}'s approval with the owner's name. A saved CRM task is not proof that its calendar request has been approved.

Cancel discards the new-task draft and closes its editor. Enter submits the new task when focus is in a non-button control; Escape cancels the draft when no save is pending.

Choose reminders

Option or message	What it means
In-app	Use the in-app reminder channel.
Email	Use email reminders when available for this workspace.
WhatsApp	Selectable when WhatsApp reminders are available and your WhatsApp is connected.
Email reminders are not available right now.	The email chip is unavailable; do not rely on email delivery while this message is shown.
WhatsApp isn't connected, so these reminders go by email for now.	A remembered WhatsApp choice is retained, but email is used while WhatsApp is disconnected and email is available.
Reminds you as set in your notification settings.	This task has no explicit channel selection and follows notification settings.

Your changed reminder-chip selection is remembered for the next new task. Editing another task can also update that remembered choice. Older tasks with no explicit channels can follow notification settings instead of showing a fixed selection.

When WhatsApp is selected in the saved choice but disconnected, its chip appears off. The saved choice can become active again after connecting. Connect WhatsApp takes you to the connections page when that connection can be made. If WhatsApp reminders are unavailable for the workspace, do not assume connecting alone will enable them.

Google Calendar and owner approval

Selecting Add to Google Calendar requests a 30-minute event at the task's due time on the contact owner's calendar.

• For your own contact, calendar synchronization uses your connected Google Calendar.
• For another person's contact, adding a task to their calendar requires approval. If their calendar is not connected, the checkbox is disabled and the panel names the owner whose calendar is missing.
• Moving an existing calendar-linked task as a teammate also requests approval. The original due time stays in place until the move is approved; the pending request displays the proposed time.
• The contact owner sees the request in their contact panel and chooses Approve or Decline. An owner must be able to edit the nonfrozen contact to use those decision controls.
• Only the contact owner can turn off calendar placement for an already calendar-enabled task. The editor explains this with Only the contact owner can remove an item from their calendar.
• The calendar checkbox is disabled on a completed task.

Calendar status is separate from saving the task:

Status	How to read it
Syncing with Google Calendar	Calendar synchronization is in progress.
On Google Calendar	The task is on the calendar.
Not on Google Calendar	The task is not currently on the calendar; check the owner's connection.
Google sync failed	The calendar operation failed; the CRM task and calendar placement are not the same result.
Waiting for {owner}'s approval	The owner has not yet decided the requested add or move.

Edit, complete, reopen or delete

Edit a task

1. Click the task text. Its editor opens below the row.
2. Change its text, Due, reminder chips or permitted calendar option.
3. Click Save. Changed values are submitted and the editor closes after success. Unlike inline contact details, task edits are not saved simply by leaving a field.

Enter saves when focus is in a non-button control; Escape closes the editor without saving the draft when no request is pending.

Mark complete and reopen

1. Click the circle beside an open task. Its accessible action is Mark completed, followed by the task text.
2. After success, the task leaves the active list and appears under Completed. Its pending due reminder is cancelled.
3. Click Completed to expand the saved completed tasks.
4. Click the checked circle beside the task, whose action is Reopen. It returns to the active list and its due reminder is armed again using its due time.

Reopening does not choose a new date for you. If the old due time is no longer appropriate, open the task editor, change Due and click Save.

Delete a task

Click the task text, then Delete in its editor. The action removes the task from the list and cancels its reminder. Use completion rather than deletion when you want to retain the completed work in Completed.

If something goes wrong

Symptom	Likely cause	What to do
Add task or completion/edit controls are missing	Tasks are read-only, your role is viewer, or the contact is frozen	Ask the contact owner/admin to review task access and contact status.
Missing: Tasks	Task text is blank or whitespace-only	Enter the action you want to take.
Missing: Due	Date/time is missing, incomplete or invalid	Choose a complete, valid Due value and submit again.
Text cannot grow past 200 characters	The task text limit is reached	Shorten the action; put longer background in Notes.
Saving fails but the editor still contains your text	The request failed and the draft was retained	Read the panel error, resolve it and retry Add or Save.
A reminder chip cannot be clicked	The channel is unavailable, or it is the only selected chip	Check the accompanying message; select another available channel before disabling the last one.
The calendar checkbox is disabled	Owner calendar is disconnected, removal is owner-only, or the task is completed	Follow the explanation in the editor; ask the owner to connect/manage their calendar, or reopen the task when appropriate.
A teammate's date change is not reflected in the row	A calendar move is awaiting owner approval	Check the proposed time and ask the contact owner to review the request.
This request has expired or This request was already handled or changed	The displayed approval request is no longer current	Reopen the contact to review the current task and request before trying again.
Completed work seems missing	Completed is collapsed	Expand Completed to find it or reopen it.

Related pages

• Contacts overview
• Add a contact with an upcoming task
• Keep notes
• Edit details and tags
• Calendar overview
• Connections and destinations