Internal and External Notes on Customer Orders
In this article, we’ll walk you through the difference between external and internal notes in RoasterTools. You'll learn how each type of note works, where to add them, and how to use them effectively to communicate with your customers—or keep your internal team aligned behind the scenes.
Overview:
Internal & External Notes
When creating or editing an order in RoasterTools, you'll see two note fields available:
Internal Notes and External Notes (to Customers).
You can add notes to any type of order—including Portal orders, Manual orders, and Commerce orders. These notes help you manage communication both within your team and with your customers depending on the type you choose.
Internal Notes
Internal Notes are meant solely for internal team communication. These notes are not visible to customers and do not appear on printed invoices or packing slips.
You might use an internal note for:
- Add important context or instructions about the order
- Communicate customer preferences
Important:
- Customers cannot add internal notes.
- They can be added or edited by your team using the “Edit Order” button.
External Notes
External Notes are visible to both you and your customer. These notes appear on the invoice and packing slip, making them ideal for sharing order-specific instructions or details.
You might use an external note to:
- Indicate a specific delivery contact or location
- Highlight a special request from the customer
How External Notes Can Be Added
There are two ways External Notes can be entered:
- By you – when editing the order manually in RoasterTools
- By your customer – during the checkout process in the customer portal
When customers complete their product selection in the portal, they’ll see a section labeled “Add a Note” where they can leave any special instructions.
How Internal and External Notes Show Up
Here are some examples of what the notes look like and where each type of note will appear in several places through the app.
On the Orders Page
- External Notes will be a clear thought bubble
- Internal Notes will be a black filled thought bubble
You can quickly see what is on the notes by hovering over each thought bubble.
On an Invoice or Packing Slip
- External Notes - Displayed under the header “Note to Customer”
- Visible to customers and will appear on printed invoices and packing slips
- Internal Notes - Displayed under the header “Internal Note”
- Not visible to customers and will not appear on printed invoices and packing slips. They are only visible within the app to your team.
Printed Examples
Invoice:
Packing Slip:
Accounting Software
Some accounting integrations will pull both External and Internal Notes from RoasterTools when syncing invoices.
QuickBooks Online
- Internal Notes → Populate the “Private Notes” field on the invoice
- External Notes → Populate the “Customer Memo” field on the invoice
QuickBooks Desktop & Xero
Currently, notes do not sync to these platforms.
If syncing notes to these systems is important to you, please reach out and let us know—we’d love to hear your feedback.
Shipping & Billing Notes
If you are looking for a way to have a note appear every time an order is placed without manual entry you can add a note to show up under the billing or shipping address. This is a great way to give delivery drivers instructions.
Important: It is recommended that the note is no more than 24 characters long to ensure invoices sync properly with accounting platforms.
How to add Shipping & Billing Notes:
Go to: Edit Customer > Edit Shipping or billing > Find Note Section > Add your note.
FAQs
Q: Can you search by note?
A: No but you can view the internal notes field in the advanced order export