The 'Activity Type' field appears on activities added directly to the Activity Log and tasks. You can then count the number of interactions you've had with a record and/or you can measure which activity types are most used in your workflow.
In this module, we'll tackle the following:
Understand the 'Activity Type' field
The 'Activity Type' field is one you select when adding an activity to the Activity Log on a record (left) or when adding a Task to your workflow (right):
This tells you what action was specifically taken. By default, your 'Activity Type' field comes with three options:
Phone Call
Meeting
To-do (must be enabled under Settings > Manage Activity Types)
Phone Call and Meeting activities count toward your interaction stats across the top of a record to help you count the level of contact you've had with potential business. You can also measure Phone Calls and Meetings in the 'Activity by User' report available on Professional and Business subscriptions.
The 'To-Do' activity type does not count toward your interaction stats or the 'Activity by User' report.
When you create an activity above the Activity Log on a record's profile, it will immediately be reflected in the interaction stats and the 'Activity by User' report. When you complete a Task that had an 'Activity Type' set, this will not be reflected in the interaction stats or the 'Activity by User' report until you log the activity type.
The 'Activity Types' settings page lets you add custom activity types to your list of default types, so your reporting is more accurate to the actions your team is taking.
Define your Workflow
For help deciding how you'll use the Activity Type field, ask yourself the following questions:
Do you want to log activities before or after an action has been taken?
If before, create a task. You can set a reminder date to notify you when the task is coming due.
If after, create an activity in the record profile. This is a quicker way to get the data into your interaction stats and your 'Activity by User' report.
How will you engage your contacts and opportunities? Will it be more than a phone call, meeting or to-do?
If yes, create custom activity types.
Is it important to know how long it's been since you're interacted with a contact, or how many times you've interacted?
This is measured in the interaction stats for a record. If this is important to measure, you should not use the 'to-do' activity type, as this won't count as an interaction. You can use 'phone call' or 'meeting' or any custom activity type you've created.
Note: When you mark a Task as complete, the activity won't count toward your interaction stats until you log the activity type.
Do you want to report on how many interactions your team members are having across all contacts and the most common interaction types each team member has?
If yes, you'll want to ensure your team members log activity type after marking a task as complete.
Note: When you mark a Task as complete, the activity type won't be sent to the 'Activity by User' report until you log the activity type.
Customize the 'Activity Type' field
Sign into Copper, and click 'Settings' from the left-hand menu.
Scroll down to the 'Customize' section and select 'Manage Activity Types".
Click the 'Create New Activity Type' button.
Name your activity type.
Select an icon to represent it in the list of activity types.
Check a box to make this count as an interaction.
Click 'Save.'
You can have up to 30 custom activity types enabled at a time. If you max out your custom activity types, you will need to disable some before you can create more.
Please note: If you'd like the option to filter your records by a custom activity type, you must check “Count as interactions” when creating your custom activity.
Create an activity in a record profile
When you create an activity in a record's profile, it is immediately added to your interaction stats and your 'Activity by User' report.
Sign into Copper, and click a record type ('Leads,' 'People,' 'Companies,' 'Opportunities,' or 'Projects') from the left-hand menu.
Click the name of an individual record.
In the center of the record's profile, you'll see the Activity Log.
Above the Activity Log, you'll see an option to 'Log Activity.' Directly below those words, you'll see a drop-down menu that asks you to select an 'Activity Type.' Make your selection.
Below the activity type drop-down menu, enter the details of your activity. You can @mention a colleague if you want to include someone else in this information.
Adjust the date and time of the activity if necessary.
Click the 'Save' button when you're done.
Create an activity via a task
When you create a task that has an 'Activity Type' filled out, this will not show up in interaction stats or the 'Activity by User' report just because you mark the task as complete. This will only show up when you mark the task as complete followed by clicking the 'Log Activity' pop-up window that then appears at the bottom of the screen. Check out the gif below and read our article on 'Working with the Activity Type Field' for more info.