📇 CRM Dashboard for NotePlan

A lightweight CRM plugin for NotePlan that helps you manage contacts, log interactions, and schedule follow-up reminders—all stored as notes in a configurable folder (default: @CRM).

Features

• ✅ Manage Contacts — Create and organize contacts by category (Client, Colleague, Friend, Family, Business, etc.)
• ✅ Log Interactions — Track every interaction with flexible timestamp formats (date only or date + time)
• ✅ Schedule Reminders — Automatically create follow-up reminders via Apple Reminders (native notifications) or NotePlan Tasks (visible in notecard/dashboard views), with a fully customizable message prefix and tag
• ✅ CRM Dashboard — Visual overview of all contacts, upcoming reminders, and overdue follow-ups
• ✅ Flexible Configuration — Customize tags, timestamps, interaction ordering, and navigation behavior
• ✅ Sidebar View — Quick access to your CRM dashboard from NotePlan's sidebar

Installation

1. Clone or download this plugin to your NotePlan plugins folder:

   ~/Library/Containers/co.noteplan.NotePlan3/Data/Library/Application Support/Plugins/
   

2. Enable the plugin in NotePlan's Plugin Manager
3. Configure settings as needed (see Settings section)

Quick Start

Command Palette Access

Open the Command Palette (Cmd+J) and search for any of these commands:

Command	Shortcut	Description
Add Contact	ac	Create a new contact with category and reminder frequency
Log Interaction	li	Record an interaction without scheduling a reminder
Log Interaction & Schedule Reminder	lir	Log an interaction and automatically schedule next follow-up
Set Reminder	sr	Manually set a specific reminder date for a contact
Show CRM Dashboard	crm	Open the CRM Dashboard in the sidebar
CRM Settings	crms	Update plugin configuration

Sidebar View

The CRM Dashboard can be accessed from the NotePlan sidebar by clicking the CRM icon or running the Show CRM Dashboard command.

Commands in Detail

1. Add Contact (ac)

Create a new contact in your CRM:

1. Run Add Contact command
2. A single form appears with three fields:
   • Name — the contact's name (required)
   • Category — Client, Colleague, Friend, Family, or any custom categories from Settings (required)
   • Connect frequency — Every day, week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, month, 2 months, 3 months, 6 months, yearly, or Never (required)
3. Press Create (or Cmd+Return) to save

The contact is created as a .md file in your CRM folder (default: @CRM, configurable via Settings) with the following structure:

---
category: Category Name
frequency: Connection frequency
frequency_key: frequencyKey
last_contact: Never
tags: contact/Category
---
# Contact Name

## Photo

## Tasks

## Interactions

Properties are stored in YAML frontmatter so they appear as columns in NotePlan's notecard and column views. The tags field is used internally to identify and filter contacts.

Automatic Reminder: A follow-up reminder is automatically scheduled based on your chosen frequency and reminder backend (Apple Reminders or NotePlan task). If you select Never, no reminder is created.

2. Log Interaction (li)

Record an interaction with a contact without scheduling a new reminder:

1. Run Log Interaction command
2. Select a contact from the list (supports fuzzy search)
3. A form appears with two fields:
   • Interaction Type — dropdown with your configured types (defaults: ☎️ Call, 📧 Email, 🤝 Meeting, 💬 Text, 📱 Social, 📝 Other — customizable via Settings)
   • Notes — optional multi-line text area
4. Press Log (or Cmd+Return) to save

The interaction is logged in the contact's note under the Interactions section with a timestamp.

Example:

2026-04-07 | 14:30 ☎️ Call - Discussed Q2 project timeline

3. Log Interaction & Schedule Reminder (lir)

Record an interaction with a contact AND automatically schedule the next follow-up reminder:

1. Run Log Interaction & Schedule Reminder command
2. Select a contact (supports fuzzy search)
3. A form appears with Interaction Type and Notes fields
4. Press Log — the current reminder is completed automatically
5. Next reminder is scheduled based on the contact's configured frequency

This is the primary workflow for maintaining regular contact.

4. Set Reminder (sr)

Manually schedule a one-time reminder for a contact:

1. Run Set Reminder command
2. Select a contact with fuzzy search (type to filter through large contact lists)
3. A form appears with two fields:
   • When — Today, Tomorrow, Next week, In 2 weeks, or Next month (required)
   • Reminder — optional reminder text (e.g., "Discuss proposal", "Birthday gift")
4. Press Set (or Cmd+Return) to save

The reminder appears in NotePlan's calendar.

5. Show CRM Dashboard (crm)

Open the CRM Dashboard, which displays:

Statistics:

• Total contacts
• Reminders due this week
• Overdue reminders

Sections:

1. Upcoming Reminders — Shows overdue and upcoming reminders for the week
2. Contacts — Displays all contacts with filters by category; click any contact to open their note
3. Action Buttons — Quick access to all major commands

Features:

• Click on a contact card to open the contact's note directly
• Filter contacts by category
• Click any button to execute commands directly from the dashboard
• Real-time reminders with visual distinction for overdue items (⚠️ in red)

6. CRM Settings (crms)

Configure plugin behavior through a settings interface. See Settings section.

Settings

All settings are accessible via the CRM Settings command (crms).

Contact & Folder

CRM Folder (crm-data-folder)

• Default: @CRM
• Description: The NotePlan folder where all contact notes are stored. You can use any folder name or a nested path.
• Example: @CRM, Work/CRM, Contacts
• Use Case: Move your CRM data to a different folder without losing existing contacts (update the setting then move the files)

Contact Tag Prefix (crm-relationship-tag)

• Default: contact
• Description: The hashtag prefix used to categorize contacts
• Example: With default value, contacts are tagged as #contact/Client, #contact/Friend, etc.

Custom Categories (crm-custom-categories)

• Default: Empty
• Description: Additional contact categories beyond the built-in defaults (Client, Colleague, Friend, Family). Enter a comma-separated list.
• Example: Mentor, Investor, Partner
• Use Case: Extend the category list to match your specific relationship types

Interaction Logging

Interaction Types (crm-interaction-types)

• Default: Empty (uses built-in defaults)
• Description: Comma-separated list of interaction types shown in the form when logging an interaction. You can use any emoji + label combination.
• Default types: ☎️ Call, 📧 Email, 🤝 Meeting, 💬 Text, 📱 Social, 📝 Other
• Example: ☎️ Call, 📧 Email, 🗓️ Check-in, 🍕 Lunch, 📝 Other
• Use Case: Remove types you never use or add domain-specific ones like "Demo" or "Coffee"

Timestamp Format (crm-interaction-datetime)

• Options:
  • Date Only: 2026-04-07 ☎️ Call - ...
  • Date + Time: 2026-04-07 | 14:30 ☎️ Call - ...
• Default: Date + Time
• Use Case: Choose "Date Only" for a cleaner log; choose "Date + Time" for precise tracking

Interaction Position (crm-interaction-position)

• Options:
  • append: New interactions added at the bottom (chronological order)
  • prepend: New interactions added at the top, below the ## Interactions heading (reverse chronological order)
• Default: append
• Use Case: Use "prepend" to see recent interactions first; use "append" for traditional chronological logs

Reminders

Reminder Backend (crm-reminder-backend)

• Options:
  • Reminders: Apple Reminders — generates native system notifications
  • NotePlan: Tasks written inside the contact note under ## Tasks, scheduled with >YYYY-MM-DD syntax — visible in NotePlan's notecard views and compatible with third-party dashboard plugins
• Default: Reminders
• Use Case: Choose "NotePlan" if you use a NotePlan dashboard plugin that aggregates tasks across notes

Reminder List (crm-reminder-list) (Apple Reminders only)

• Default: Empty (uses system default)
• Description: Choose which Reminders list all CRM reminders should be saved to. Leave empty to use NotePlan's default reminder list. Not used when the backend is set to "NotePlan".
• Use Case: Organize reminders by creating a dedicated "CRM" list or store them in "Work", "Personal", etc.
• Configuration: Set via the CRM Settings command to see all available reminder lists

Reminder Message Prefix (crm-reminder-prefix)

• Default: Follow up with
• Description: The text placed before the contact name in all automatic reminders.
• Examples: Follow up with, Reach out to, Check in with
• Result: Follow up with John Smith

Reminder Tag (crm-reminder-tag)

• Default: Empty (no tag)
• Description: An optional tag appended to automatic reminder titles.
• Example: setting #follow-up produces Follow up with John Smith #follow-up
• Use Case: Tag reminders for filtering in Apple Reminders or NotePlan views

Navigation

Open Contact Note After Logging Interaction (crm-navigate-after-interaction)

• Options: true or false
• Default: true
• Description: When enabled, NotePlan navigates to the contact's note after logging an interaction. When disabled, you stay in your current context.
• Use Case: Enable for detailed editing; disable for quick logging without disrupting your workflow

Data Structure

Folder Organization

All contacts are stored in your configured CRM folder (default: @CRM) as individual markdown files.

@CRM/
├── John Smith.md
├── Jane Doe.md
├── Acme Corporation.md
└── ...

Contact Note Format

Each contact note follows this structure:

---
category: Client
frequency: Every 2 weeks
frequency_key: twoWeeks
last_contact: 2026-04-07
tags: contact/Client
---
# Contact Name

## Photo

## Tasks
* [ ] Follow up with Contact Name >2026-04-21

## Interactions
<timestamp> <interaction_type> - <notes>
<timestamp> <interaction_type> - <notes>

Example:

---
category: Client
frequency: Every 2 weeks
frequency_key: twoWeeks
last_contact: 2026-04-07
tags: contact/Client
---
# John Smith

## Photo

## Tasks
* [ ] Follow up with John Smith #follow-up >2026-04-21

## Interactions
2026-04-07 | 14:30 ☎️ Call - Discussed Q2 deliverables
2026-03-24 | 10:15 📧 Email - Sent proposal
2026-03-10 | 15:45 🤝 Meeting - Initial kickoff

Note Metadata

• YAML Frontmatter: category, frequency, frequency_key, last_contact, and tags are stored as frontmatter properties, which appear as columns in NotePlan's notecard and column views
• tags field: Used internally by the plugin to identify and filter contacts (e.g., contact/Client)
• Photo heading: Reserved section for attaching a contact photo
• Tasks heading: When using the NotePlan reminder backend, follow-up tasks are written here with a >YYYY-MM-DD scheduled date
• Interactions heading: All logged interactions are stored here with a timestamp

Workflow Examples

Example 1: Weekly Check-In

1. Run Log Interaction & Schedule Reminder (lir)
2. Select a contact
3. Log the interaction details
4. The next reminder is automatically scheduled for 1 week later

Example 2: Quick Note Taking

1. Use Log Interaction (li) to quickly log a brief interaction without scheduling a reminder
2. Continue working without interruption
3. Set a dedicated reminder later if needed using sr

Example 3: Bulk Contact Creation

1. Create multiple contacts at once using Add Contact (ac)
2. Set each contact's reminder frequency based on how often you want to connect
3. Access the CRM Dashboard (crm) to see all upcoming reminders

Tips & Best Practices

✨ Maximize Effectiveness

• Be Consistent: Regularly use Log Interaction & Schedule Reminder to maintain accurate follow-up schedules
• Use Categories Wisely: Organize contacts by role or relationship type for better filtering and insights
• Set Realistic Frequencies: Choose reminder frequencies that match your actual capacity to connect
• Dashboard as Hub: Use the CRM Dashboard as your jumping-off point for all CRM activities

🎯 Productivity Tips

• Use aliases for faster command execution:

  • ac for Add Contact
  • li for Log Interaction
  • lir for Log Interaction & Schedule Reminder
  • sr for Set Reminder
  • crm for Show CRM Dashboard
  • crms for CRM Settings

• Use prepend interaction positioning to see recent activity first without scrolling

• Disable navigate-after-interaction if you log interactions while reviewing notes to stay in your current workflow

• Filter the dashboard by category to focus on specific contact groups

📋 Organization Tips

• Use consistent naming conventions for contacts (e.g., "FirstName LastName" or "Company Name")
• Add context in interaction notes for future reference
• Regularly review the Overdue section in the dashboard to catch fallen-through-the-cracks contacts

Troubleshooting

Contacts not appearing in the dashboard

• Ensure contacts are saved in the folder configured in CRM Settings (crm-data-folder, default: @CRM)
• Check that contact files follow the required markdown format
• Try refreshing the dashboard by running Show CRM Dashboard again

Reminders not triggering

• Verify that reminders are properly scheduled in NotePlan's calendar
• Check that the Calendar API is available in your NotePlan environment
• Ensure you have the correct reminder frequency set on the contact

Settings not applying

• Restart the plugin by disabling and re-enabling it in Plugin Manager
• Clear the settings file if corruption is suspected (located in plugin preferences folder)

Version History

v1.4.0 — Forms UI & customizable interaction types

• All commands now use CommandBar.showForm to collect multiple inputs in a single step instead of chaining prompts:
  • Add Contact: name, category, and frequency in one form
  • Log Interaction / Log Interaction & Schedule Reminder: interaction type + notes in one form
  • Set Reminder: contact selected via fuzzy-search, then when + reminder text in a form
• New Interaction Types setting (crm-interaction-types): customize the list of interaction types shown when logging an interaction via a comma-separated list; leave empty to use the defaults
• Requires NotePlan v3.21.0 or later

v1.3.0 — Customizable reminder messages

• New Reminder Message Prefix setting (crm-reminder-prefix): change the text before the contact name in automatic reminders (e.g. Reach out to, Check in with)
• New Reminder Tag setting (crm-reminder-tag): append an optional tag to all reminder titles (e.g. #follow-up → Follow up with John #follow-up)
• Both settings are available in the CRM Settings command and in NotePlan's Plugin Preferences

v1.2.5 — Configurable CRM folder

• New CRM Folder setting (crm-data-folder): choose any folder (or nested path) where contact notes are stored — defaults to @CRM
• Setting is available both in the CRM Settings command and in NotePlan's Plugin Preferences

v1.2.0 — Custom categories & photo section

• New Custom Categories setting (crm-custom-categories): extend the built-in contact categories with a comma-separated list of your own (e.g. Mentor, Investor, Partner)
• Built-in default categories reduced to Client, Colleague, Friend, Family — add others via the new setting
• Contact notes now include a ## Photo section for attaching a contact photo
• Contact notes now use a tags frontmatter field (e.g. tags: contact/Client) instead of an inline hashtag; contacts are filtered using this field
• Added Never as a valid reminder frequency (no reminder is created)

v1.1.0 — NotePlan task backend & YAML frontmatter properties

• New Reminder Backend setting: choose between Apple Reminders (native notifications) or NotePlan Tasks (tasks stored in the contact note, compatible with NotePlan dashboard plugins)
• Contact notes now use YAML frontmatter for category, frequency, frequency_key, and last_contact — these appear as columns in NotePlan's notecard and column views
• Contact notes now include a ## Tasks heading for NotePlan task scheduling
• Reminder list picker is now skipped when the NotePlan backend is selected

Author

Created by jokky102

License

See LICENSE file for details.

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Questions or Issues? Please submit feedback or report bugs via the plugin's GitHub repository.