Notes is the per-application record in Permits2Go: a day-by-day log your team writes to as the file moves, with attachments, pinned items, search, a full edit history and a switch that shares a selected note with your client by email. Notes written by the platform, from reviewer calls and the application inbox, land in the same log, so the file’s history is complete and in one place.
How the record of a permit gets kept today
Every application accumulates decisions and facts that are not on any form: the examiner's verbal steer on a setback, the owner's agreement to a change of scope, the engineer's promise of a revised detail by Friday, the reason a submission was held back a week. Where those live today depends on who was in the room.
- Email threads. Half the record is in replies to replies, searchable only by the person who sent them.
- Notebooks and phone notes. The site visit, the call with the city, the conversation at the counter.
- Chat messages. Quick agreements between the designer and the coordinator that nobody copies to the file.
- The spreadsheet's notes column. One cell, overwritten each time, with no memory of what it said last month.
- Client updates on demand. The owner asks where things stand and someone reconstructs an answer from all of the above.
When the person who held the threads moves on, or simply goes on holiday, the file loses its memory.
What the current process costs
| Failure mode | Consequence |
|---|---|
| A verbal steer from the examiner is not written down | The revised drawings miss it; another comment cycle |
| The owner's agreement lives in one person's inbox | Scope disputes later, with no record to settle them |
| The notes cell is overwritten | Nobody can say why a decision was taken or when |
| Client updates are reconstructed on the phone | Hours of reactive calls; the relationship reads as disorganised |
| Handover between staff | The new coordinator starts from the forms and guesses the rest |
The wider system compounds the problem. Arash Shahi, writing in Residential Builder, describes applicants co-ordinating "dozens of stakeholders" across municipalities and agencies with data "scattered across incompatible formats, portals, PDFs and disconnected databases." Each of those stakeholders produces a conversation, and without a shared record each conversation is known to one person.
How Notes works in Permits2Go
1. One log per application, grouped by day
Every application has a Notes tab at the end of its workspace. Notes are listed by day, newest first, each with its author's name and time. A composer at the top takes a quick line or a longer entry, and files from the site or the city can be attached to any note.
2. Pin what matters, find anything
Pin the notes the whole team needs in front of them (the examiner's name and extension, the agreed scope, the resubmission deadline) and they stay at the top of the tab. Filter by type or search the text to find the note about the sump pump from two months ago in seconds.
3. Edit with history
Edit a note and the previous wording is kept. Every version is listed with the time it was current, and any earlier version can be restored. A note can be corrected without losing the record of what it said before, which is exactly what a file needs when a disagreement surfaces later.
4. The platform writes to the same log
Notes are not only what your team types. An automated reviewer call leaves a summary note when it ends. An email that reaches the application inbox and is not a comment letter or an inspection notice becomes a note with the sender, subject, a short summary and the attachment names. Those notes are marked as written by the platform so they read differently from your own, and they can be pinned like any other.
5. Share a note with the client
Every note is internal by default. Switch a note to client-visible and it is emailed to the owner on the application, with the reply address set so that their answer comes back onto the file as a note of its own. The client gets a written update without a phone call, and the conversation with them sits on the same record as the conversation with the city. Notes can also be exported for a handover or a dispute.
What you stay in control of
- Nothing leaves the file unless you mark it client-visible; internal is the default.
- Edit history keeps every version; nothing written on the file is lost.
- Notes written by the platform are clearly marked and never edit yours.
- You choose what is pinned and what the client sees.
The workflow after
| Step | Before | With Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Where the record lives | Threads, notebooks, chat, a spreadsheet cell | One log per application |
| Finding a decision | Search five inboxes | Search one tab |
| Correcting a note | Overwrite and lose the original | Edit with history and restore |
| Calls and emails | Typed up later, or not | Logged by the platform as they happen |
| Client updates | Reconstructed on the phone | A client-visible note, emailed, with the reply on file |
| Handover | Starts from the forms | Starts from the whole history |
The dashboard tells you where every file stands; Notes tells you why. Together with the site inspections log that picks up once the permit is issued, the application keeps its own memory from first description to final sign-off.
Frequently asked questions
Can my client see every note on the application?
No. Notes are internal by default. Only a note you switch to client-visible is emailed to the owner, and their reply is filed back onto the application as a note. Everything else stays with your team.
What happens when I edit a note?
The previous wording is kept as an earlier version with the time it was current. You can compare versions and restore any of them, so a note can be corrected without losing the record of what it said before.
Which notes does the platform write on its own?
A summary note after each automated reviewer call, and a note for every email that reaches the application inbox and is not a comment letter or an inspection notice, with the sender, subject, a short summary and the attachment names. Those notes are marked as written by the platform.
This guide is general information, not legal or professional advice. Permit requirements, by-laws and fees change and vary by municipality — always confirm the current rules with your local building department before you design or build.
Industry figures cited above are from “Enough is Enough” by Arash Shahi, CEO of LandLogic, published in Residential Builder magazine.