Both quotes and invoices in ATB Invoicing include fields for Internal Notes and Customer Notes. While they look similar when creating or editing a document, they serve completely different purposes.
Key differences at a glance
- Internal Notes: Private remarks visible only to you and your team within your ATB Invoicing account.
- Customer Notes: Public messages printed directly on the document viewed by your client.
Internal notes
Use Internal Notes to store context, internal reminders, or tracking information that should remain private.
- Visibility: Never shown to the customer. They appear only on the internal management view of the quote or invoice within your account.
- Common Uses:
- Recording payment habits (e.g., "Customer always pays exactly on the due date").
- Logging internal project codes, purchase order references, or sales rep names.
- Noting specific verbal agreements made prior to issuing the document.
Important reminder: Under Canadian privacy legislation (such as PIPEDA and provincial privacy acts), customers have the legal right to request access to all personal information and records a business holds about them—including internal notes. Ensure any internal comments written about a customer are professional, factual, and appropriate to share should a formal access request be made.
Customer notes
Use Customer Notes to communicate important transaction details directly to your client, with the option to save notes for future use.
- Structure and fields: Include an optional title (rendered as a bold header) and a mandatory description.
- Visibility: Printed clearly at the bottom of customer permalinks and PDF downloads.
- Saved notes: Store reusable messaging for quick access on future quotes and invoices, such as thank-you messages, payment instructions, or terms and conditions.
Updating notes after sending
If you edit a note on an existing quote or invoice:
- Customer Notes: Updating the text instantly refreshes what the client sees when opening their shared web link (permalink), as well as any future PDF downloads.
- Internal Notes: Updating the text saves immediately to your internal record without sending any notifications or affecting the client's view.
