Overview
Notes let you keep plain-text records about your claim — observations, reminders, summaries of conversations, or anything else you want to document. Notes are separate from Timeline entries and have their own dedicated tab.
Location: Left sidebar > Notes tab
Creating a Note
Go to the Notes tab in the left sidebar
Click Add Note (or use the Add Entry button from the Timeline and select "Note")
Fill in the form:
- Title (required) — A short name for the note (e.g., "Call with Adjuster re: Roof Estimate")
- Content (optional) — The body of your note. Plain text, no character limit
- Reference Date (optional) — Associate the note with a specific date (this is NOT the creation date — it's the date the note is about, like "When did this happen?")
Click Save
Your note appears immediately in the Notes grid.
Viewing Notes
Notes are displayed in a two-column grid layout (single column on mobile). Each note card shows:
Title
Truncated content preview
Reference date (if one was set)
Editing a Note
Click the ... menu on the note card
Select Edit
Modify the title, content, or reference date
Click Save Changes (button only appears when you've made changes)
If you try to close the edit form with unsaved changes, Brelly will ask if you want to Keep Editing or Discard your changes.
Deleting a Note
Click the ... menu on the note card
Select Delete
Confirm when prompted: "Are you sure you want to delete this note?"
Deleted notes are removed from the Notes tab. A record of the deletion is kept in the Timeline for audit purposes.
Notes vs. Timeline
These are related but different:
Feature | Notes Tab | Timeline |
Purpose | Store text records | Activity log for the claim |
Display | Grid of note cards | Chronological event list |
Content | Your text, title, optional date | Auto-generated + manual entries |
What happens when you create a note | Note appears in Notes tab | A "Note Created" event also appears in Timeline |
Editing | Edit the note directly | Timeline event is read-only |
Deleting | Note is removed | "Note Deleted" event remains in Timeline |
Key point: When you create a note, it shows up in both the Notes tab (as a note card) and the Timeline (as an automatic "Note Created" event). They're the same underlying note, just displayed in two places.
Reference Date Explained
The Reference Date field is optional and often misunderstood. Here's how it works:
What it is: The date the note is about, not when you wrote it
When to use it: When you're documenting something that happened on a specific date
Example: On April 3rd, you write a note about a phone call that happened on March 28th. The creation date is April 3rd, but you set the Reference Date to March 28th
If left blank: The note is just associated with its creation date
Common Questions
Q: Can I format my notes with bold, bullet points, or headers?
Currently, notes are plain text only. Line breaks are preserved, so you can use spacing to organize your content, but there's no rich text formatting.
Q: Is there a limit to how long a note can be?
There's no practical character limit — notes can be as long as you need.
Q: Can other team members see my notes?
Yes — notes are visible to anyone in your organization who has access to the claim. They're not private.
Q: I see a "Note Created" event in my Timeline but I want to edit the note. Where do I go?
Go to the Notes tab in the left sidebar. The Timeline shows a read-only record of when the note was created, but you edit the actual note in the Notes tab.
Q: Can I search my notes?
The Notes tab displays all notes for the current claim in a grid. For full-text search across timeline events (including note creation events), use the search bar in the Timeline tab.