--- title: "Custom Activities" slug: "custom-activities" description: "Custom Activities allow you to create a custom action type to record a specific type of activity. The most common examples include forms filled in by prospects, support tickets, call outcomes, invoice/payment items, and various structured notes such as call playbooks. In our samples below we'll use ..." updated: 2026-03-12T05:43:19Z published: 2026-03-12T05:43:19Z --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.close.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Custom Activities Custom Activities allow you to create a custom action type to record a specific type of activity. The most common examples include forms filled in by prospects, support tickets, call outcomes, invoice/payment items, and various structured notes such as call playbooks. > [!WARNING] > Plan Limitations > > Custom Activities are **not** available on the **Solo**, **Essentials** and **Base** (legacy) plans. In our examples below, we'll use a`Custimer Onboarding checklist` Custom Activity for reference. ![](https://cdn.document360.io/b5cf4edd-8d9e-4649-a50a-2d7591eba26b/Images/Documentation/CleanShot 2025-03-31 at 00.51.21@2x.png) *Customer Onboarding Checklist example* Custom Activities behave like any other default activity (email, SMS, call, note) - you can create, edit, search/filter, and report on them. You can also add them via our API or Zapier if you want to integrate Close with other services (e.g., automatically create an Inbound Form custom activity when a prospect fills out a form). ## Creating a Custom Activity Type Before creating an instance of a custom activity on a lead page, we have to define its structure by using Custom Activity Type. Common examples of types are: - Intercom ticket - Sales Qualifying Call - Onboarding checklist - Stripe invoice - NPS Feedback To create a new Custom Activity Type, go to `Settings > Custom Activities > + New Custom Activity`, give it a name, and click `Save`. Limits When creating custom activity types, the following limits will apply depending on your plan: - **Solo, Essentials, and Base (legacy):** No custom activity type - **Startup (legacy):** 5 custom activity types - **Professional (legacy):** 5 custom activity types - **Enterprise (legacy):** 200 custom activity types - **Growth:**Unlimited - **Scale:**Unlimited Enabling `Restrict Editing` will prevent other users from adding/editing/deleting instances of this type - for example, you'd want to restrict Sales Qualifying Call activity to Sales Team only. To control who can add/edit/delete custom activity types - make sure that the user has `Manage Customizations` permission enabled on a [Roles & Permissions](/v1/docs/roles-permissions) page. ![](https://cdn.document360.io/b5cf4edd-8d9e-4649-a50a-2d7591eba26b/Images/Documentation/Screenshot 2025-08-28 at 18.28.47.png) If you are using the custom field exclusively through an integration (API or Zapier), you can enable `Hide (for API use only)` so that type is not visible on a lead page, and as such Close users can't create one from the app user interface. ## Custom Activity Fields Upon creation of the new activity type, you'll be automatically redirected to add some fields to this activity type. Each field is just like a [Custom Field](/v1/docs/custom-fields) you can use on Leads and Contacts - there are field options for Number, Text, Date & Time, etc. We'll create several ones for our Sales Qualifying Call activity type: - `Text` Are they qualified? - `Choices (single)` What is their current CRM? - `Number` How many users do they anticipate having? - `Choices (single)` How did they hear about us? - `Text` What is their sales process like? ![](https://cdn.document360.io/b5cf4edd-8d9e-4649-a50a-2d7591eba26b/Images/Documentation/image-1691094803769.png) Custom Activity Types without any fields Fields are not required. You can have an activity type without any field, such as `Connected on LinkedIn` that serves as a touchpoint indicator. Limits You can have a maximum of 50 fields per activity type, independent of your billing plan. You can also mark any field as `Required` - users won't be able to create an instance of this type without including this field. ## Creating a Custom Activity Instance Custom Activities are created through the Lead page view, just like any other activity. Go to the `Lead page > Activity > Sales Qualifying Call` to add a new instance. Fill in all the details and click `Save`. ![](https://cdn.document360.io/b5cf4edd-8d9e-4649-a50a-2d7591eba26b/Images/Documentation/image-1691094884718.png) If you fill in some details and navigate away from the page without clicking `Save`, we'll **automatically save** it as `Draft` that you can delete or save it later on. Required fields are optional for drafts. If you marked your Custom Activity Type as `Restrict creation to API only` then you won't see it here, but you'll be able to create one only [through the API](/docs/custom-activities#api-documentation). Limits When creating custom activity instances, the following limits will apply depending on your plan: - **Startup (legacy)**: 250 instances/calendar month - **Growth and Professional (legacy)**: 10,000 instances/calendar month - **Scale and Enterprise (legacy)**: 50,000 instances/calendar month Limits are per calendar month, which means they reset on the 1st of the month, independent of your billing cycle. ## Searching and Filtering Custom Activities Each Custom Activity Type will be visible within the search on a Leads page. You can search & filter by: - date created - date last updated - created by - last updated by - any field within a custom activity ![](https://cdn.document360.io/b5cf4edd-8d9e-4649-a50a-2d7591eba26b/Images/Documentation/image-1691095004796.png) ## Reporting You can report how often you've created a specific custom activity via [Activity Overview](/v1/docs/custom-activities) and [Activity Comparison](/v1/docs/custom-activities) reports. Simply add a new tile, and you can immediately start tracking your new metrics: ![](https://cdn.document360.io/b5cf4edd-8d9e-4649-a50a-2d7591eba26b/Images/Documentation/image-1691095218601.png) *Custom Activities in Activity Overview Report* The same applies to Activity Comparison, where you can select the custom activities as well: ![](https://cdn.document360.io/b5cf4edd-8d9e-4649-a50a-2d7591eba26b/Images/Documentation/image-1691095321730.png) *Custom Activities in Activity Comparison Report* Reporting on different metrics Currently, only the **Created** metric for each custom activity type is supported. ## Archiving Custom Activities If a Custom Activity is no longer needed, consider archiving it. ![](https://cdn.document360.io/b5cf4edd-8d9e-4649-a50a-2d7591eba26b/Images/Documentation/Screenshot 2024-09-10 at 9.24.00 AM.png) When a Custom Activity is archived, new instances cannot be created on Leads. Previously created instances are still shown on Leads, and they can also be searched for. Archived Custom Activities can be used to keep Custom Activity logs on file even when not a actively used. Archived Custom Activities do not count against an organization’s plan limits. They can be unarchived later if needed. ## Importing and Exporting Custom Activities If you need to move that data in or out of Close in bulk, whether you're migrating from another system or analysing activity data externally, you can use the support tools below to import and export Custom Activity instances via CSV. > [!WARNING] > 💡 Both tools require a Close API Key. Go to Settings → Developer → API Keys and click + New API Key to generate one before getting started. ### Importing Custom Activities Create new Custom Activity instances or update existing ones from a CSV file. The tool supports both creating new records and updating properties on records that already exist in Close. > [!CAUTION] > ❗ All CSV column headers are case-sensitive and must match exactly as shown below. For example, **Date_Created** will not work, it must be **date_created**. > [!NOTE] > Import Custom Activities > > Create or update Custom Activity instances from a CSV file > > [Open Tool ➡️](https://support-tools.close.com/tools/custom-activities/import-custom-activities) #### Creating new Custom Activities Use this CSV Format when importing Custom Activity records that don't yet exist in Close. Your CSV should include the following columns: | Column | Description | | --- | --- | | Activity type ( required) | | `type` | The Custom Activity Type name or ID. You can find this in your Close account under the Custom Activities settings. | | Lead identifier ( include at least one) | | `lead_id` | Close lead ID | | `lead_name` | Lead name | | `lead_email` | Lead email address | | `lead_phone` | Lead phone number | | Activity properties ( include at least one) | | `user` | The Close user to associate with the activity. Accepts name, email, or user ID. If omitted, the activity is attributed to the user running the import. | | `date_created` | Date the activity occurred, in `YYYY-MM-DD` or `YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm` format. If omitted, today's date is used. | | `custom.Field name` | Any custom field defined on the Custom Activity Type, e.g. `custom.Deal Value` or `custom.Campaign Name`. Add one column per custom field. | #### Updating existing Custom Activities Use this when you need to edit properties on Custom Activity records that already exist in Close. Your CSV should include: | Column | Description | | --- | --- | | `id` | The Custom Activity identifier in Close | | `custom.Field name` | The custom field(s) you want to update, e.g. `custom.Deal Value`. Include one column per field being updated. | ### Exporting Custom Activities Download all Custom Activity instances from your Close account as CSV files. You can filter by a specific Custom Activity Type, or download all types at once. Each exported file contains all instances of a single Custom Activity Type. > [!NOTE] > Export Custom Activities > > Run the tool, select a Custom Activity Type to filter by or choose to export all types at once. Each file downloaded will contain all instances of one Custom Activity Type. > > > > [Open Tool ➡️](https://support-tools.close.com/tools/custom-activities/export-custom-activities) ## API Documentation If you’re interested in connecting to our API to automate your Custom Activities, review our [API documentation](https://developer.close.com/resources/custom-activities/) for a list of different endpoints. ###