Appointments and Tasks in Sage CRM. What are they and how do they differ in the database?

4 minute read time.

This article has been prompted by a customer question about which table in the database holds appointments and which one holds tasks.  

Tasks and Appointments are both types of Communication Records. Their data is held in the Communication and Comm_link tables.  It is exactly how these tables hold the data decides whether we are looking at a Task or a Communication.

I can't find a previous article that explains this in details the differences completely so this article sets out how Tasks and Appointments differ.

Before I look at the differences in the data, it is worthwhile to make sure how a user experiences the difference within the interface.

What is a Task in Sage CRM?

A task is an activity that you can create to manage your time and workload. You can use tasks to schedule reminders and appointments, assign or delegate activities, and plan your workload. Tasks can be linked to entity records, and you can configure various settings such as the task subject, details, times, action, status, priority, and more. Tasks can also be created with attachments by dragging and dropping files in the Tasks view.

What is an appointment in Sage CRM?

An appointment is an activity that you can create to manage meetings and other scheduled events. Appointments can be linked to entity records and are displayed on the Communications tab of the record. You can configure various settings for an appointment, such as the subject, start and end times, location, attendees, status, and priority. Appointments can also be recurring and include external attendees who are not Sage CRM users. They are displayed in various calendar views, such as Day, Work Week, Week, Month (My CRM mode only), Agenda, and Timeline (Team CRM mode only).

What are the differences in behaviour between a Task and an Appointment in Sage CRM?

The differences between a task and an appointment are as follows:

Meeting Planner : Tasks are not displayed in the Meeting Planner, whereas appointments are.
Attachments : Tasks can have attachments, but appointments cannot.
Recurrence : Tasks cannot be recurring, while appointments can be.
External Attendees : Tasks cannot include attendees who are not Sage CRM users, but appointments can.
Location : Tasks do not specify a location, whereas appointments can.
Calendar Views :

  • Tasks are displayed in the Agenda view and Tasks view. A task linked to an entity record is also displayed on the Communications tab of the record.
  • Appointments are displayed in the Day view, Work Week view, Week view, Month view (My CRM mode only), Agenda view, and Timeline view (Team CRM mode only). An appointment linked to an entity record is also displayed on the Communications tab of the record.

How does this show in the database?

Tasks and Appointments are both held in the Communication and Comm_Link table.

The SQL queries above show the differences between an Appointment and a Task.  

Tasks

  • In the example shown above you can see 2 Communication Records with the comm_communicationids of 428 & 429. These are marked within comm_type as "Tasks". 
  • If a task is associated with an opportunity or a case, then the link is defined in the Communication table. (comm_opportunityid, comm_caseid)
  • When an task is created as assigned to multiple users then a communication record and a comm_link record are for each user. This is because tasks are understood to be individual activities.
  • The comm_link table is linked to the parental communication record via the field cmli_comm_communicationid.
  • The comm_link table links the communication record with the assigned users using the cmli_comm_userid. The comm_link table links to the person and company records via the cmli_comm_personid and cmli_comm_companyid respectively.
  • If the status (comm_status) of a communication record of type Task is changed to "Complete", then the activity is finished only for the single user associated with the linked comm_link record.

Appointments

  • In the example shown above, you can see a Communication Record with the comm_communicationid 427. This is marked within comm_type as "Appointment".
  • If an appointment is associated with an opportunity or a case, then the link is defined in the Communication table.
  • When an appointment is created that involves multiple users, only a single communication record is created, but two separate comm_link records are created.
  • The comm_link table is linked to the parental communication record via the field cmli_comm_communicationid.
  • The comm_link table links the communication record with the assigned users using the cmli_comm_userid. The comm_link table links to the person and company records via the cmli_comm_personid and cmli_comm_companyid respectively.
  • If the status (comm_status) of a communication record of type Appointment is changed to "Complete", then the meeting is finished for all the associated users.

Summary

Tasks

  • Individual Activities: Tasks are considered individual activities.
  • Multiple Communication Records: When a task is assigned to multiple users, separate communication and comm_link records are created for each user.
  • Links:
    • Tasks are linked to opportunities or cases via the Communication table (comm_opportunityid, comm_caseid).
    • The comm_link table connects the communication record to the assigned user (cmli_comm_userid) and links to their person and company records.
  • Completion: Completing a task only marks the activity as finished for the specific user associated with that comm_link record.

Appointments

  • Shared Events: Appointments are considered shared events.
  • Single Communication Record: When an appointment involves multiple users, a single communication record is created, but separate comm_link records are created for each user.
  • Links:
    • Appointments are linked to opportunities or cases via the Communication table.
    • The comm_link table connects the communication record to the assigned users (cmli_comm_userid) and links to their person and company records.
  • Completion: Completing an appointment marks the meeting as finished for all associated users.

Key Differences:

  • Tasks: Individual, one communication record per user.
  • Appointments: Shared, one communication record for all attendees.