The timeline is where everything related to a record lives. Notes, emails, calls, tasks—all in one chronological view. Let’s walk through how to actually use it in Microsoft Sales App.
Timeline Basics
Opportunities, leads, contacts, and accounts all have timelines. It’s the middle section of the record where you track interactions, decisions, and next steps.
Anyone who opens the record sees the same timeline. That means when a deal changes hands or a colleague needs context, the full history is right there.
Creating Notes
Click “Create a note” and you get a simple form. Add a title (like “Meeting Memo”), write your content (points discussed, decisions made, whatever matters), and optionally attach files.
Click “Add note” and it appears on the timeline.
You can edit notes later, copy the text to paste elsewhere, pin important notes to the top of the timeline, or delete them if needed. Nothing complicated—just basic documentation that sticks with the record.
Sending Emails
The timeline lets you send emails directly from Dynamics 365. Click to create an email, add recipients, write your message, and send. If you have email sending enabled in your system, it goes out from here without switching to Outlook.
Copilot drafting makes this faster. Instead of writing from scratch, give Copilot a prompt. Something like “write thank you email after completed on-site meeting about potential project.”
Copilot generates a draft. You’ll need to adjust it—it’s not going to be perfect—but you’re starting with something instead of a blank page. Modify what needs changing, attach files if needed, and send.
The sent email appears on the timeline with a timestamp. Everyone who looks at this record later sees what was communicated and when.
Phone Calls
Phone call tracking is straightforward. Create a phone call activity, add:
- Subject
- Who you’re calling (or who called you)
- Phone number
- Direction (incoming or outgoing)
- How long it took
- Any relevant notes in the description
Save it and it’s logged. Not every call needs this level of detail, but for important conversations where you need a record of what was discussed, it’s there.
Tasks and Assignments
Tasks are where work gets tracked. Create a task from the timeline—let’s say “Create an offer”—and add details in the description: “Interested in BC for 10 users.”
When you save it, the task is assigned to you by default. It shows up in your activities list and on the opportunity timeline.
But you can reassign it. Click the more options menu, select “Assign,” and choose who should handle it. You can assign to:
- A specific user: The task goes directly to them
- A team: Anyone on that team can pick it up and assign it to themselves
Once reassigned, the task disappears from your activities list and appears in theirs. The timeline still shows it—tasks stay connected to the record regardless of who owns them.
This matters when work flows between people. Sales qualifies the lead, then assigns a task to pre-sales for scoping. Pre-sales completes their work and assigns a task to delivery for implementation planning. Everyone sees the full chain of activity on the same record.
The “Up Next” Section
As you create activities—emails to send, calls to make, tasks to complete—they appear in the “Up Next” section at the top of the timeline. That’s your queue. What needs to happen next on this deal?
It’s a built-in reminder system. You don’t need a separate task list or calendar for every opportunity. The timeline shows you what’s pending.
Why This Approach Works
Without a timeline, context lives in email threads, scattered notes, and people’s memories. When someone asks “What’s the status of this deal?” you’re reconstructing history instead of referencing it.
The timeline eliminates that problem. Everything related to this opportunity, account, or contact is in one place. New person joins the deal? They read the timeline. Manager asks for an update? You reference the timeline. Deal goes quiet for three months then heats up again? The timeline shows exactly where you left off.
Integration with Outlook
You don’t have to send all your emails from Dynamics 365. If you’re more comfortable in Outlook, you can send emails there and connect them back to the opportunity, contact, or account. They’ll show up in the timeline just like emails sent from the app.
That flexibility matters. People work differently. Some live in Dynamics 365. Others prefer Outlook. The timeline captures both approaches so nothing gets lost.
The Reality
Timeline features are basic—notes, emails, calls, tasks. Nothing revolutionary. But consistency matters more this to a complexity.
When every interaction gets logged in the same place, you have a complete record. When tasks get assigned through the system instead of verbal handoffs, nothing falls through the cracks. When everyone on the team can see what happened and what’s next, you spend less time catching people up and more time actually moving deals forward.
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