--- title: How do I use annotations? description: Learn how to add, edit, and review annotations in Clean Smarts to track call-outs and other dated notes about employees, locations, and shifts. --- [Skip to content](https://support.cleansmarts.com/how-do-i-use-annotations#main-content) [![](https://support.cleansmarts.com/hs-fs/hubfs/cleansmarts_logo_white_med.png?width=320&height=110&name=cleansmarts_logo_white_med.png)](https://www.cleansmarts.com/) Open main navigation Close main navigation - [Contact us](mailto:support@cleansmarts.com) [Contact us](mailto:support@cleansmarts.com) How can we help you? - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. 1. [Clean Smarts Knowledge Base](https://support.cleansmarts.com/?hsLang=en-us) 2. [Web Portal](https://support.cleansmarts.com/web-portal?hsLang=en-us) 3. [Quality](https://support.cleansmarts.com/web-portal?hsLang=en-us#quality) # How do I use annotations? ## Use annotations to record dated notes about people, locations, and shifts, such as call-outs or coverage changes, then filter, count, and export them. **Annotations** are dated notes you write about a person, a location, or a shift. Use them to record a last-minute call-out, why you made a one-day coverage change, a follow-up, or a recognition, then filter and count them later instead of keeping a spreadsheet or a long text box on the user's profile. Applies to: Managers and administrators on the Expert plan whose role includes **Manage Account**, or both a **Locations** module (**View** or **Edit**) and a **Users** module (**View** or **Edit**). You only see notes about the people and locations your role can access. ### Before You Start - **Annotations don't change anything else.** Saving a note doesn't edit the schedule, time entries, payroll, or PTO. It's a record, nothing more. Employees can't see annotations. - **Each annotation is about one person at most.** If you tag three people in one note, Clean Smarts saves three separate annotations with the same text. You can edit or delete each one on its own. - **A category is optional.** A note with no category is still a note, and it counts the same way when you filter. Clean Smarts starts every company with three categories: **Call-out**, **Discipline**, and **Recognition**. - **The date is the day the note is about,** not the day you typed it. A call-out you enter on Monday for Friday gets Friday's date. Clean Smarts also records when the note was created and who created it. ### Add an Annotation You can start a note from several places. All of them open the same form. - **From anywhere:** click the notebook icon beside the search bar at the top of the left navigation (hover to see **Add annotation**). - **From the Annotations page:** open **Quality** and choose **Annotations**, then click **Add annotation**. - **From the schedule:** click the notebook icon next to the save button when you edit a shift or a work order, or in the confirmation window after you drag or change a calendar event. The form opens with the people, location, shift or work order, and date already filled in. Then fill in the form: 1. Type your **Note** (required, up to 2,000 characters). 2. Check the **Date**. It defaults to today, or to the date of the shift you started from. It's required. 3. Optionally choose a **Category**, or leave it as **None**. 4. Optionally choose a **Location**. 5. Optionally choose a **Shift/Work Order**. This field turns on after you pick a location and lists the shifts and work orders for that location on the date you chose. Changing the location clears it. 6. Optionally add one or more **Users**. If you opened the form from a shift, everyone on that shift is already added. Remove anyone the note isn't about. 7. Click **Save**. **Save** stays disabled until the note and date are filled in. After you save, you see **Annotation saved**. > **Call-out on a shift:** On the calendar, open the person's shift, click the notebook icon, keep only the person who called out, type what happened, choose **Call-out**, and save. Then update the shift to the fill-in. These are two separate saves. If the note fails to save, your schedule change isn't affected, and the reverse is also true. ### Review Annotations Open **Quality** and choose **Annotations**. 1. Set the **date range** (pay period shortcuts are available). The page matches annotations by their **Date**, and it doesn't load anything until a range is set. 2. Optionally choose a **location** or a location group. Notes that have no location don't appear when you pick a specific location or group. 3. Optionally choose one or more **users**. Archived users are available in the picker. Notes that aren't about a person don't appear when you pick users. 4. Use **Search** to narrow the rows on screen. It looks at the note, category, location, user, who created it, and the shift or work order. Search doesn't reload the page. 5. Click a column heading to sort. The table shows these columns: **Date**, **User**, **Created**, **Created By**, **Category**, **Note**, **Location**, and **Shift/Work Order**. The count at the bottom of the page, shown as **Annotations: 12**, matches your current filters and search. The table shows 50 rows per page. If you see **Too many annotations to show. Narrow the date range or location.**, the range holds more than 1,000 annotations and only the first 1,000 loaded. Shorten the date range or pick a location. If nothing matches, the page says **No annotations found**. Widen the date range or clear the location, user, and search filters. #### Count call-outs for a person 1. Set the date range to the week or month you want. 2. Choose the person in the **users** filter. 3. Type the category name, such as **Call-out**, into **Search**. 4. Read the count at the bottom of the page. #### Export Click the export button in the toolbar to download the rows that match your current filters and search. The file name includes the date range. ### Edit or Delete an Annotation 1. On the **Annotations** page, click the row. 2. In the **Edit annotation** form, change the note, date, category, location, shift or work order, or user. An existing annotation holds one person, so adding a different user replaces the current one, and removing the user leaves the note about no one. 3. Click **Save**. To delete a note, open it and click **Delete annotation**, then confirm. Deleted annotations no longer appear on the page or in exports. If you edit a note that uses a category that has since been removed, the category stays on the note, so fixing a typo doesn't force you to pick a new one. ### Manage Categories Account administrators with **Manage Account** can add, rename, recolor, and remove categories. 1. Open the **Add annotation** form, or edit an existing annotation. 2. Open the **Category** list and choose **Manage categories** at the bottom. 3. To add a category, enter a **Description** and pick a **Color**, then click **Add**. 4. To change one, click the pencil icon next to it, update the description or color, then click **Save**. 5. To remove one, click the trash icon next to it and confirm. What to expect: - **Renaming or recoloring** a category updates every existing annotation that uses it, along with the badges and search results on the Annotations page. - **Removing** a category takes it out of the **Category** list for new notes. Older annotations that used it keep showing its name and color. - Categories are listed alphabetically. - If you remove all your categories, Clean Smarts doesn't add the default three back. ### Tips - **Tag the shift when you can.** A note tied to a shift or work order is easier to find later than a free-floating one. - **Use one category name for one meaning.** Counts are only as good as the labels. Rename a category instead of creating a near-duplicate, so earlier notes follow along. - **Write a note, not a story.** One or two sentences about what happened and why is enough. - **Time off isn't a category here.** Annotations don't create PTO or change accruals. Use your normal time-off process for that. ### Troubleshooting **I don't see Annotations under Quality, or I don't see the notebook icon.** Annotations requires the Expert plan, and your role needs **Manage Account** or both a **Locations** and a **Users** module. Schedule-only roles don't see it. Ask an account administrator to check your role. See [What does each of the user modules do?](https://support.cleansmarts.com/what-does-each-of-the-user-modules-do?hsLang=en-us). **I saved a note but it isn't on the page.** Check the date range against the note's **Date** (not the day you created it), and clear the location, user, and search filters. A note with a location won't show if you've picked a different location, and a note about a person won't show if you've picked other users. **I can't tag someone.** You can only tag people in your user list. Ask an administrator to check your role's location and user access. **I can't choose a shift or work order.** Pick a **Location** first, then check the **Date**. The list shows shifts and work orders for that location on that day. **I tagged several people but the page shows several rows.** That's expected. Each person gets their own annotation, so you can edit or delete one without touching the others. **I don't see Manage categories.** Only roles with **Manage Account** see it at the bottom of the **Category** list. ### Related Articles - [What does each of the user modules do?](https://support.cleansmarts.com/what-does-each-of-the-user-modules-do?hsLang=en-us) — Check which modules your role has. - [Getting started](https://support.cleansmarts.com/getting-started?hsLang=en-us) - [Mobile App](https://support.cleansmarts.com/mobile-app?hsLang=en-us#main-content) - [Getting Started](https://support.cleansmarts.com/mobile-app?hsLang=en-us#getting-started) - [Timekeeping](https://support.cleansmarts.com/mobile-app?hsLang=en-us#timekeeping) - [Geofences](https://support.cleansmarts.com/mobile-app?hsLang=en-us#geofences) - [Shifts, Jobs & Work Orders](https://support.cleansmarts.com/mobile-app?hsLang=en-us#shifts-jobs-work-orders) - [Checklists, Tasks, and Scan Points](https://support.cleansmarts.com/mobile-app?hsLang=en-us#checklists-tasks-and-scan-points) - [Issues and Service Requests](https://support.cleansmarts.com/mobile-app?hsLang=en-us#issues-and-service-requests) - [Inspections](https://support.cleansmarts.com/mobile-app?hsLang=en-us#inspections) - [Supplies](https://support.cleansmarts.com/mobile-app?hsLang=en-us#supplies) - [Messaging and Notifications](https://support.cleansmarts.com/mobile-app?hsLang=en-us#messaging-and-notifications) - [Manager Features](https://support.cleansmarts.com/mobile-app?hsLang=en-us#manager-features) - [Offline, Sync & Troubleshooting](https://support.cleansmarts.com/mobile-app?hsLang=en-us#offline-sync-troubleshooting) - [Profile and Help](https://support.cleansmarts.com/mobile-app?hsLang=en-us#profile-and-help) - [Training](https://support.cleansmarts.com/mobile-app?hsLang=en-us#training) - [Web Portal](https://support.cleansmarts.com/web-portal?hsLang=en-us#main-content) - [Checklists, Tasks, and Scan Points](https://support.cleansmarts.com/web-portal?hsLang=en-us#checklists-tasks-and-scan-points) - [Users](https://support.cleansmarts.com/web-portal?hsLang=en-us#users) - [Custom Fields](https://support.cleansmarts.com/web-portal?hsLang=en-us#custom-fields) - [Geofences](https://support.cleansmarts.com/web-portal?hsLang=en-us#geofences) - [Inspections](https://support.cleansmarts.com/web-portal?hsLang=en-us#inspections) - [Issues and Service Requests](https://support.cleansmarts.com/web-portal?hsLang=en-us#issues-and-service-requests) - [Locations and Sub-locations](https://support.cleansmarts.com/web-portal?hsLang=en-us#locations-and-sub-locations) - [Messaging](https://support.cleansmarts.com/web-portal?hsLang=en-us#messaging) - [Pay Rates and Job Costing](https://support.cleansmarts.com/web-portal?hsLang=en-us#pay-rates-and-job-costing) - [Shifts and Scheduling](https://support.cleansmarts.com/web-portal?hsLang=en-us#shifts-and-scheduling) - [Supplies](https://support.cleansmarts.com/web-portal?hsLang=en-us#supplies) - [Time and Attendance](https://support.cleansmarts.com/web-portal?hsLang=en-us#time-and-attendance) - [Translation](https://support.cleansmarts.com/web-portal?hsLang=en-us#translation) - [Work Orders](https://support.cleansmarts.com/web-portal?hsLang=en-us#work-orders) - [Assets and Equipment](https://support.cleansmarts.com/web-portal?hsLang=en-us#assets-and-equipment) - [Billing and Subscriptions](https://support.cleansmarts.com/web-portal?hsLang=en-us#billing-and-subscriptions) - [Integrations](https://support.cleansmarts.com/web-portal?hsLang=en-us#integrations) - [Payroll](https://support.cleansmarts.com/web-portal?hsLang=en-us#payroll) - [Quality](https://support.cleansmarts.com/web-portal?hsLang=en-us#quality) - [Customer Portal](https://support.cleansmarts.com/customer-portal?hsLang=en-us#main-content) - [Getting Started](https://support.cleansmarts.com/customer-portal?hsLang=en-us#getting-started) - [Completed Work](https://support.cleansmarts.com/customer-portal?hsLang=en-us#completed-work) - [Quality](https://support.cleansmarts.com/customer-portal?hsLang=en-us#quality) - [Service Requests](https://support.cleansmarts.com/customer-portal?hsLang=en-us#service-requests) - [Messages](https://support.cleansmarts.com/customer-portal?hsLang=en-us#messages) - [Supplies](https://support.cleansmarts.com/customer-portal?hsLang=en-us#supplies) - [Notifications](https://support.cleansmarts.com/customer-portal?hsLang=en-us#notifications) [![](https://support.cleansmarts.com/hs-fs/hubfs/cleansmarts_logo_white_med.png?width=320&height=110&name=cleansmarts_logo_white_med.png)](https://www.cleansmarts.com/) Copyright © 2026, Clean Smarts