Where call records live in Clio Manage
Clio's help centre describes three separate records that touch a client call. Knowing which one does what saves a lot of confusion when a file is reviewed later.
| Clio record | What it is for | Linked to | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Note (Notes subtab) | Important details, updates or reminders on a contact or matter | A contact or a matter | You can add time to a note and filter notes with or without time |
| Phone log (Communications > Logs) | A record that a call took place: who called whom, when, and a description | A matter, a contact or another user. With no matter selected, it is stored on the contact | You can add a billable or non-billable time entry now or later |
| Time entry (Activities) | The billing record | A matter | Duration, rate, activity category, billable or non-billable |
A few details from Clio's documentation are worth knowing:
- All firm users can see phone logs. To restrict one, you set matter permissions, which carry over to that matter's communications.
- Notes can be added, edited, duplicated, deleted, printed and exported from the Notes subtab of a contact or matter. Notes are searchable by title and body.
- Deleting a phone log is permanent and cannot be undone.
- Clio's AI features include a quick way to create a note or a time entry from a typed instruction, which you review before saving.
Phone systems that log calls into Clio
Several phone systems log calls into Clio for you. Dialpad, for example, connects through a third-party app called the ion8 Call Connector. Clio's help page says a call over a Dialpad line creates a phone log automatically, with its duration, if the number belongs to a Clio contact. If that contact has one active matter, the log is linked to it. With several active matters, you link the right one yourself. Each log is created as a non-billable time entry that you can edit.
That is useful. It means the call is on the file and the time is not lost. But a phone log shows that a call happened. It does not show what was said, what you advised, or what the client told you to do. That is the job of the attendance note.
What a good attendance note needs
No single rule says "keep attendance notes". The obligations that make them essential come from several places. The Australian Solicitors' Conduct Rules require clear and timely advice (r 7) and following the client's lawful, proper and competent instructions (r 8). Costs disclosure under the Legal Profession Uniform Law (s 174, and equivalent state Acts outside the Uniform Law states) often happens on the phone. And if a client later disputes what they were told, the note written at the time is your best evidence. Legal file note requirements in Australia goes through the rules in detail.
Whatever system it ends up in, a phone attendance note should cover:
- Date, time and length of the call, and how it happened (phone, video).
- Who was on the call, and in what capacity.
- The matter it relates to.
- What the client told you: facts, documents mentioned, anything new.
- Your advice, including options you raised and why you did or did not recommend them, and any risks you flagged.
- The client's instructions, in words close to their own.
- Costs discussed or estimates given.
- Next steps, who does what, and by when.
For a full walk-through see how to write a legal attendance note, and for finished examples across different practice areas see attendance note examples. If you just want a quick draft from one call, the free attendance note generator will produce one from a pasted transcript.
A worked example
Fictional client, fictional facts. This is the substance you want on the Clio record after a ten-minute phone call, not just "Call with client re lease, 10 minutes".
- What the client told us
Daniel moved out of his rented unit on 31 August. The agent has claimed $1,400 of his $2,200 bond for carpet cleaning and a damaged wall. Daniel says the wall damage was there when he moved in. He has the entry condition report but no photos of the wall.
- Advice given
- Explained that the entry condition report is his strongest evidence, and that we need to check whether it records the wall damage.
- Explained that he can dispute the claim through the state tribunal, and the timeframe for doing so. Told him we would confirm the exact deadline in writing today.
- Said the carpet cleaning claim may be harder to dispute if his lease required professional cleaning on exit. Asked him to check the lease.
- Client's instructions
Daniel wants to dispute the wall damage claim. He is prepared to accept the carpet cleaning charge if the lease requires it.
- Costs
Confirmed the fixed fee in our costs agreement covers preparing the tribunal application. Tribunal filing fees are extra.
- Next steps
- Daniel: email the lease and the entry condition report today.
- Us: review both and send written advice with the filing deadline by 20 September.
The facts, the advice, the instructions and the costs are separate, and the point he conceded (carpet cleaning) is on the record with its condition. If he later says he was never told about the deadline, the note answers it.
The workflow: from phone call to a note on the Clio contact
CallNote is Australian software that turns a call transcript into an attendance note in your firm's own format, then sends it to Clio when you publish. It never records the call, never joins it as a bot, and never receives or stores audio. It starts from a transcript that already exists.
Step 1: the transcript arrives
- Microsoft Teams. Each person connects their own Microsoft account. Your Teams admin turns on "Transcript API access" once, and transcription must be on in the meeting. See file notes from Microsoft Teams transcripts.
- Aircall. An Aircall admin connects once. Aircall's AI Assist has to be on for transcripts. See Aircall.
- Dialpad. Paste a Dialpad API key (Pro or Enterprise plan). See how to connect Dialpad.
- Anything else. Paste a transcript, upload a .vtt or .txt export from Zoom, Google Meet or Teams, forward it by email (attach the .vtt or .txt, or paste the text), or dictate a voice memo after an in-person meeting.
Step 2: the note is written in your firm's format
Paste one of your own past attendance notes and CallNote builds a template with your headings, order and shorthand in about 20 seconds. Nothing about that client is kept. There is also a legal attendance note system template if you would rather start there. Automatic notes are waiting in your library after the call; a pasted transcript takes about two minutes.
Step 3: you review it
Read it the same day, while the call is fresh. Fix names, add anything that was said but not captured, and check the advice and instructions read the way you meant them. CallNote links the note to a matching client where it can.
Step 4: Publish to CRM sends it to Clio
When you click Publish to CRM, the note is sealed with a SHA-256 checksum and locked, and CallNote sends it to the linked Clio contact as a note. If CallNote cannot identify the exact Clio contact, it asks you to link the right one before anything is sent.
One more thing to understand. A note in Clio can be edited or deleted like any other Clio note. The sealed version, with its checksum, amendment history and audit log, stays in CallNote. If a note is ever challenged, that is the record that shows what was published and when.
What about billable time?
Short client calls are where time most often goes unrecorded. A written attendance note helps because it gives the time entry something to sit behind: the description on the bill can match what the note says was done. CallNote does not create Clio time entries, so the entry itself is still recorded in Clio, either on the phone log, on the note, or in Activities. We cover where call time leaks and how firms close the gap in capturing billable time from client calls.
Options compared
| Approach | Who writes the note | Where it lands in Clio | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Write the note yourself in Clio | You, after the call | Contact or matter note, or phone log description | Low call volume, or solicitors who like writing notes |
| Phone system logging (for example Dialpad via ion8) | No note; a call record is created | Phone log with duration, linked to a matter when there is only one active matter | Making sure every call and its time are on the file |
| Phone system with AI summaries into Clio | The phone system's AI, in its format | Depends on the product; some save to matters | Firms happy to record calls and want matter filing done for them |
| CallNote | CallNote drafts it in your firm's format; you review | Note on the linked Clio contact, on publish | Firms that want their own note structure and a sealed record, without recording calls in CallNote |
If you want a different routing, such as sending published notes to a spreadsheet or another app, CallNote also connects to Zapier. Check what the destination app's Zapier actions can do before you rely on it.
Recording and consent
CallNote does not record calls, but whichever system produces the transcript does process the call, so your usual consent practice applies. NSW, WA, SA, Tasmania and the ACT generally require all parties to consent to a recording; Victoria, Queensland and the NT allow a party to the call to record it. The federal Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 deals separately with intercepting calls as they pass over the network. This is general information, not legal advice. See is it legal to record phone calls in Australia.
More on how CallNote fits a legal practice, including pricing and data hosting in Sydney, is on our law firms page.
Common questions
Where should an attendance note go in Clio Manage?
The usual place is a note on the matter, or on the contact when there is no matter yet. A phone log in Communications records that the call happened and can carry a time entry, but it is not a substitute for a note of what was advised and instructed.
Does Clio write attendance notes from phone calls?
Clio gives you notes, phone logs and time entries to store the record, and its AI features can create a note from a typed instruction. Phone integrations such as Dialpad via the ion8 Call Connector can log calls automatically. Writing a full attendance note from the conversation is not something Clio Manage does on its own.
Which Clio record does CallNote create?
When you click Publish to CRM, CallNote sends the attendance note to the linked Clio contact as a note. It does not choose a matter, create a phone log or create a time entry. If CallNote cannot identify the exact Clio contact, it asks you to link one before sending.
Can CallNote file the note on a Clio matter?
Not automatically. The note goes to the linked Clio contact. If your firm files attendance notes on the matter, move or copy the note in Clio, or attach the PDF export to the matter documents.
Does CallNote record the call?
No. CallNote never records calls, never joins them as a bot and never stores audio. It works from a transcript that already exists, from Microsoft Teams, Aircall or Dialpad automatically, or from a pasted, uploaded or emailed transcript.
What happens if the note is changed in Clio later?
A note in Clio can be edited like any other Clio note. The version you published stays sealed in CallNote with a SHA-256 checksum, and any change you make in CallNote is added as an amendment with the original kept, so you can always show what was published and when.