By
El Copeland
March 2, 2025
•
20 min read
Professional Development
Tutorials
Doodles or Data: A Conference Note Survival Guide
Before you get started
This article is a companion to my article on how to get the most out of Conference and Industry events. While most of the concepts here will not require external explanation, some things will be linked to subsections in my article, “Ripe for the Picking: Maximize your Conference ROI” and you may benefit from skimming that piece for context or discussion.
This article is about the importance of good notetaking including a demonstration of one of the methods I personally use. I have a lightweight template in OneNote that I’ve scrubbed for your use and you can download that here. We will also use a fair amount of genAI through ChatGPT.
As with most things from Rising Tide, this document is not dictatorial. We feel everything evolves and the goal for this was to be an easy tool that can be implemented with little effort. If you have feedback or questions or just want to argue, feel free to find me on LinkedIn or the MSPGeek Discord community (@cinakur) and I’ll be glad to chat!
Why take notes? This isn’t school.
I was a poor student in school, ironically driven but unmotivated. I knew I wanted to make a difference in the world, and that was it. I didn’t even plan on getting an Engineering degree. My family was lower-middle class in a rural town in the southeast United States that sprung up around an Air Force Base 80 years ago. I was the first on both sides of the family to go straight from high school to college, so I had no context or support about what it would take to be a Doctor, Lawyer, or even Engineer. I thought maybe I’d just get some vague Liberal Arts degree and become a teacher or get married and be a mom. Nothing bad about being a teacher or a mother, I still could see myself being both one day: it’s just that I had no dreams of my own, no direction or understanding. I thank all that is good in this world that college counselor looked at my SAT scores and was surprised I wasn't already pursuing something explicitly science and math focused!
While I say I was a poor student, I did receive good grades in basic classes and hands-on labs as I am a generally curious person, so talking about theory, tangible experience, and writing about it carried me a long way. However, as classes advanced from practical to theoretical, I rarely operated well under pressure and had poor time management so I would often fail homework and mid-term exams. When my Master’s Thesis was due, an advisor of mine chided me, noting I should be much further along in my research and analysis and questioning if I’d even make the deadline to defend it that year. (His talking-to was the motivation I needed to complete, even if I was doing it out of spite.)
School was miserable, sitting at a desk for hours a day was miserable: there were a million other things I could be doing and were already thinking about as I am half listening to a tenured professor drone on about whatever heady topic the syllabus offered.
Did my notes in those classes carry me through? I think back to them and I can clearly see in my mind’s eye: a doodle I made of my water chemistry professor as a lobster from 17 years ago. So, I guess you can say, yes, they carried me, but probably not for the right reason.
So why am I, an admittedly poor student, writing a blog post about note-taking? How did I even get out of college with two degrees? And why a lobster!?
Well, here’s the thing: with each exam I took, and with each hands-on lab, I finally understood the concept. Something about the adrenaline and skills that I needed to perform helped the concepts solidify in my mind, and eventually I even had enough confidence to tutor others in those courses!
The key was, and is, action.
It’s easy to freeze after a conference. You’ve taken in so much information: new names, new faces, new products, new settings, new experiences. Hopefully, most are good, but maybe some are bad. How do you KNOW what action to take, how do you even remember?
In this article, we’re going to talk about one way to create meaningful plans of action through note-taking at conferences, using the template that I created as a guide. We’ll look at our notes according to the lifecycle of your conference attendance: choosing the event, attending, and after. For this article, I’m going to use the two examples, one of planning to attend CodeMash, Home - CodeMash., following their 2025 event, and the other with my actual notes from Right of Boom 2025.
Let’s start at the beginning.
El’s Template Overview: A Walkthrough
Before getting into how I use the template, let’s go over what is in it and my thought process behind it.
Did you download it yet? You can get that OneNote file here: Conference Note Template. (Contact me if you want a different type of export!)
The key thing about building with action in mind is that I bookend my trip with intentional processing and preparation so I can enjoy the event with confidence, knowing I am being responsible with my time, skill, and relationships. There are three main parts to the thought process that governed my template:
- Know Your Why. Expending mental energy at the beginning reduces the number of decisions and subsequent decision fatigue you'll experience on-site. Set the vision upfront and it will go a long way.
- Keep it Simple. You want something you can return to throughout the conference, without "debt" or guilt. Giving yourself something easy to come back to as a touch point and "source of truth" will make this more attainable.
- Be Accountable and Finish Strong. Have a dedicated time to synthesize and analyze what you've learned and what your next steps are!
I personally do this by bookending my trip with 1-hour on each side: the hour before I plan my goals, and the hour after I summarize and make an action plan. Considering a conference with travel is easily a 40-60 hour week (and longer for vendors!), 2-hours is a small investment on the success of my conference attendance from a content perspective.
If we’re looking for direction on action at the end of this, we need to know where to find certain things we talked about, and that is all this OneNote template is. So, let's take a look! If you'd like to follow along, I have screenshots that follow as well as a video I recorded, available here: A Conference Note Survival Guide.
I like to have a Conferences Notebook shared between the team, and for each conference I add a Section Group, with the given year as a Section. So I copy parts of my template to the given location as needed.
Within the template, you will find four main sections:
- Conference Overview
- Session Notes
- Networking
- Vendors
Let’s talk about each section and how they’re used.
Conference Overview
The point of this page is to visualize what success looks like for this conference, personally and as a team. You’ll find there are a lot of questions on this first page. You don’t have to answer all of them, but asking them ahead of time will give you some clarity on the type of questions you could be asking to get the most out of this event.
Session Notes
Session Notes are broken up into two parts: Agenda and Session Notes.
Agenda
Make an Agenda page for each team member attending so you can compare sessions, notes, and ask questions!
Session Notes
Session Notes are for the actual Session Notes. Even if you don't take notes or even attend the session, you can fill in things you hear other people mention about it down the road!
Yes, more questions for you to ask. These are helpful when you do some AI analysis at the end.
Networking
Networking should be lightweight! You're going to meet a ton of people, quickly. Keep it at a high level as much as possible.
Vendors
Vendors should generally be separate from your Networking so can have a place for notes about their product that aren't related to them personally.
Before you go: Know your Why.
Now that we have the lay of the land for the template, let's set up our example of attending Codemash 2025 (CodeMash).
We create the new Section for this event and copy in the template pages.
Now, the work starts. For me, I like to give myself one-hour to work this through. It’s enough time to do research and not too much time that I feel like I’m getting in the weeds.
Set the Course: What's your Why?
If you read the article this is a companion to, you know I think setting your intentions for a conference is the foremost important thing to accomplish once you decide you’re going.
So, tell me, why do you want to attend CodeMash?
- My friends are all going and I’d like to see them.
- There is a certain topic on the schedule I want to learn about.
- [Semi-famous Person] will be speaking.
- Networking with new people or people in a specific industry.
- Some other secret reason.
Do you have clear reasons you want to attend? Take a look at the Agenda from a high level or ask around. Maybe it’s worth asking a generative AI to help frame this. Perhaps ask, “Why should I, as an MSP (or individual, or business, depending on the data you’ve fed your AI!), want to attend Codemash?”
It’ll likely give you a bunch of reason, and while these are all probably valid to some degree, limit it to 1-2 main reasons and let the rest be a bonus. Review the website for vendors and key speakers that are meaningful to you. Fill out this section on the Conference Overview page.
Fully Review the Agenda.
Now, it's time to review the conference agenda a little more thoroughly. Which sessions do you want to attend? Here is their 2025 Agenda for context: 2025 CodeMash Conference
Fill those in on the Agenda page. Each team-member attending can have their own Agenda page so you can see what courses everyone else is taking and divide and conquer the session topics, or take joint notes on the same document and fill in each others’ blanks.
And add the Description and key notes to a new page in that section. Read the questions in the Session Notes section and write out your OWN questions of what you'd like to learn in this session based on your understanding of the Summary.
Rinse and Repeat until you have a full schedule. Be sure to put breaks in there occasionally for client calls or for serendipitous hallway meetings!
Some of these sessions, I won’t be taking active notes in (like the soldering course) but may want to have somewhere to dump resources or other notes afterwards! There may be a few different days that I jump into lightning talks, so I group them all together, they don’t need separate pages!
Got it?
The main things to remember here echo the blog post on conferences.
- Determine your why by seriously evaluating the agenda, determining your goals, and talking with your team about their own.
- Pre-prep what you can so you don’t have to make too many live decisions.
- Don’t overcrowd it. Make sure you’re not overcommitting!
One more thing I pre-prep to help keep my focus: I travel with my work laptop but I do not take it to the sessions. Instead, I take a lightweight tablet. This allows me to focus on what I’m here for: networking and learning and not answering emails or surreptitiously working on projects.
Boots on the ground: Capture Insights, be Present.
Time to actually take notes. At this point, we'll transition from planning the CodeMash trip to looking at my actual experience at Right of Boom this past year. Depending on your situation, you may or may not have the time or space to take “good” notes. I generally find myself in one of two situations:
- Session Notes: Sitting in a session with a tablet in front of me, able to take thoughtful notes
- Conversation Notes: Standing in a hallway, at a meal, or in other fast-paced Conversations, where I’m unable to take good notes, if any. Sometimes I have half notes on a Notes app or something because I don’t want to forget.
In general, focus on the main things and let noise drift to the side. Here is some advice I have for handling each of these situations, and examples of how I handled them while at Right of Boom this past February.
Session Notes
In general, any live note-taking completed by you should be about action, not mindless transcription. There are AI transcribers like Otter.ai or Plaud.ai for that. Your goal should be three-fold:
- gathering the big points and the nuance of the conversation
- collecting data points and future research opportunities and
- identifying how those fit in with your goals or understanding.
Keep your notes high-level; focus on engaging in the sessions and ask questions. Write just enough to help jog your memory or find the source information later. If you wrote out your own questions in the planning phase, those can help guide your notes as well, or give you questions to ask when they open up the mic.
Here is a snippet from my notes I took in Brent Adamson’s session on the Framemaking Sale.
As you see in my notes here, yes, take photos, but where do those go when you’re done? Do you review them? Really?
Put that information somewhere useful, friend. Here are few things you can do to help shape your notes:
- Use OCR. The notes under Dimensions of Customer Decision Confidence, I did not type. I took a photo and then grabbed the text from that image. Your device may have OCR built into the camera app.
- Use Reverse Image Search. Find Images online that speakers referenced, through reverse image search. They will be better quality AND will often bring you to the source material the speaker used.
- Capture concepts that will be hard to track down later. Did they mention a data point or statistic? What was the source for that? What was the exact number?
- What do you think? What concepts do you agree with? What do you disagree with? What makes you feel uncomfortable? What do you want to learn more about?
- Review before you leave your seat. Before getting up from a session, take 5 minutes and catch up on your notes. Don’t make a big deal of it, it doesn’t have to be perfect, just scrub through them to make sure they’ll make sense for “future you” when it’s time to review them.
Conversation Notes
Taking notes on conversations is a lot harder. Who did you talk to and what did you talk about? Where were you? What actionable things can you remember, jokes, or meaningful things about that situation?
The Networking and Vendor sections are a lot lighter because they should be. Hopefully, you are living in the moment and connecting with these thoughts and ideas you discussed over a meal and worrying less about getting notes from these experiences. The point of these notes are to remind yourself of the important stories or experiences you had with someone, to build camaraderie and sometimes wise insight that these strangers-turned-friends-and-colleagues shared with you.
For conversation notes, I would encourage you to take notes you can, by texting or sending yourself a brief message through Teams/Slack, or recording a voice memo. Sometimes, I also just message my business partner if it’s a particularly lovely exchange.
Also, make sure you connect with that person, by social media, email, or business card. As with the Session Notes, triage throughout the day, or at the very least at the end of the day/beginning of the next to make sure all of your notes end up in one place.
These are my notes from a recent conference, with enough redacted so you can see what I do, but enough showing so you can see I am not perfect or 100%. I didn't fill in some of the blanks as I've mentioned in later segments, I’m not building dossiers, I’m only writing out just enough information to jog my memory. Some of the experiences were highly memorable, so the names were enough.
In the end, the most important thing for your notes is that they are here for you to return to at any time during the conference. If you’ve done the pre-work of laying it out, you don’t have to expend energy to get back on track. You just find the next session or meal and pick it back up again.
Transition Power Hour: Prioritize and Process
It’s the last day of the conference. You are exhausted and it’s time to pack up and hit the road.
I’d argue that THIS is the most important time in this entire document, this liminal space between education and action that will determine if you actually learn anything from this event!
Before things get “Back to Normal,” it is vital that you take the time to review your notes, whether alone or as a team. Here’s how I do it:
- Give yourself One Hour (or less) to Clean up.
Before heading home or within 24 hours of landing back in reality, spend one dedicated hour to intentionally review your notes. This isn’t deep work, it’s just filling in the blanks where you forgot or didn’t have time/energy to upkeep things.
- Fill in missing details. While things are still fresh, make sure there are enough notes to make your notes make sense. Take out things that don’t make sense or that aren’t actually actionable or useful.
- Highlight key takeaways that actually matter. (Do this by hand before running through genAI! Don’t let a robot tell you what was important from your experience!)
- Extract action items. Do this religiously, even if it's just "Follow up with $Name from $Company." Add them to a separate, trackable document:
- Use genAI to organize and identify the big ideas. On each page of this document, I have questions. Drop the summary and your notes for each session in a genAI of your choice and have it analyze the event for you. Then, at the end, have it analyze the conference as you attended it!
Here is what I distilled the Business Track at Right of Boom into.
I fed genAI each session with a few questions, and then fed the outputs together into genAI for the "Big Ideas" and then I edited them down and removed 2-3 points and subpoints I felt were unneccesary.
Back to Reality: Notes into Action.
There it is, you have your nice, neat notes reflecting what you learned at a Conference! Now...what...what do you do with them?
Share the Knowledge with your Team
- What sessions were actually valuable? (And which were a waste of time?)
- Is this a good event for you to attend again next year, or is there someone else who would be a better fit?
- What key industry trends did you notice?
- Are there any immediate action items?
- If you can present ONE THING to implement immediately, what would it be? Make a plan to do it.
Follow Up with Friends, new and old.
Debrief with your friends who also attended. What did they get out of the event that you missed? Be ruthless about which product you’re going to try from which vendor following this event and stick with it. Go ahead and write up a short “sorry not interested, do not contact" template email to send to vendors, or email rules to send them to another folder/trash. (You can always come back to them, give them a clear templated no and move on!)
Share the knowledge with others.
I mean, my notes from Right of Boom literally led to two (maybe three) blog posts on getting the most out of conferences, a video, and probably a webinar reviewing content as well. There is a depth of knowledge that comes from diverse conversations on topics, don’t be scared to have opinions or speak your mind, you never know how that can help our entire industry in the long run! Make videos, blogposts, or LinkedIn Articles. Share the wealth with others who couldn’t make it. Who knows, it may be helpful to you, to help you sort out your ideas better.
In Closing
My goal in sharing with you how I take conferences notes, is to encourage YOU to get the most out of your conference attendance. However you do that is up to you, but hopefully this framework helps you practically implement how you can best ideate, execute, and close out your event experiences with Action in mind. Remember:
- Know your Why before you go and invest energy upfront to give yourself structure you can use.
- Keep it Simple and come back to Notes whenever you stray.
- Finish Strong and transition back to reality, prioritizing Action.
If you take nothing else, I hope you consider that a conference isn’t just about showing up. Instead, it’s about capturing insights, making connections, and turning those ideas into action. Take notes that matter, review them before they fade into oblivion, and for the love of all things good, do something with them!
As Partner and Business Consultant at Rising Tide, I help organizations align culture with efficiency, bridging the gap between strategy and the everyday systems that make it work. I’ve spent my career leading diverse, cross-functional teams and building communities where people actually want to learn and collaborate. With roots in technology, education, user experience & design, and project management, I specialize in turning complex ideas into clear, actionable plans that keep both people and projects thriving.
Outside of work, you’ll usually find me weight-training, gardening, or rewatching Doctor Who with a cat in my lap.
See some more of our most recent posts...
By the [run]Book: Episode 22
HaloPSA v2.216 delivers several impactful improvements for MSPs, including new SLA-aware database functions, enhanced integrator troubleshooting tools, OAuth token refresh controls, improved sensitive ticket permissions, and expanded invoicing flexibility. Episode 22 continues reviewing features in 2.216 while highlighting the changes that will have the biggest day-to-day operational impact.
Read post
Episode 22 of By the [run]Book dives deep into HaloPSA v2.216, covering a wide range of enhancements across reporting, integrations, invoicing, ticketing, assets, and automation. Connor and Mendy spend extra time unpacking new SLA-aware database functions, improved integrator troubleshooting, OAuth token management, sensitive ticket controls, and several quality-of-life improvements that make Halo easier to administer and automate. This episode is particularly valuable for MSPs looking to improve reporting accuracy, streamline integrations, and gain better visibility into backend processes.
Watch Now: By the [run]Book: Episode 22
For easier tracking, check out haloreleases.remmy.dev to filter and search HaloPSA updates by ID, version, and keyword.
Important Mentions
New database functions have been added to be used to calculate time between dates | v2.216 #1083601 | 2:17
One of the most impactful features discussed in this episode introduces new database functions designed to calculate working time between dates using Halo's own business logic.
- Enables SLA-aware reporting calculations.
- Accounts for working hours, holidays, and SLA calendars.
- Simplifies SQL reporting that previously required complex logic.
- Particularly useful for custom reports and analytics.
Why it matters: MSPs building advanced reporting can now calculate true business time rather than relying on raw SQL date math.
Added two additional options to the tickets setting 'Sensitive Ticket restrictions' | v2.216 #1056127 | 22:45
Sensitive tickets gain more granular visibility controls.
- Additional restrictions for end-user visibility.
- Additional restrictions for agent visibility.
- Better handling of confidential or executive-level requests.
- Improves internal governance and privacy controls.
Why it matters: MSPs supporting executive teams or handling confidential projects gain stronger access controls.
Integrator log columns ID and config ID are now filterable | v2.216 #1039846 | 33:06
Connor and Mendy highlighted this as one of the most valuable operational improvements in the release.
- Makes troubleshooting Halo Integrator jobs significantly easier.
- Allows administrators to filter logs by specific integration configuration.
- Simplifies debugging failed syncs.
- Reduces time spent searching through large log files.
Why it matters: Faster troubleshooting means less downtime and quicker resolution when integrations fail.
Custom integrations that use OAuth 2.0 now have a button to clear the access/refresh tokens, allowing permissions to be refreshed | v2.216 #1029548 | 45:49
This feature received strong praise from both hosts.
- Allows OAuth tokens to be cleared without recreating integrations.
- Makes permission testing much easier.
- Eliminates the need to duplicate integrations during troubleshooting.
- Simplifies development and integration configuration work.
Why it matters: Anyone building custom integrations or working with APIs will immediately appreciate the time savings.
Full Feature List
New database functions have been added to be used to calculate time between dates | v2.216 #1083601 | 2:17
This feature introduces new database functions that calculate time between dates while respecting Halo's working hours, holidays, and SLA schedules. The hosts highlighted this as one of the most impactful additions in the release for reporting and analytics.
For MSPs building custom reports, this removes much of the complexity previously required to calculate true SLA working time instead of relying on standard SQL date calculations.
When using the new storage data method, Text custom fields will now be extended up to 1000 characters | v2.216 #1083130 | 4:36
Text custom fields created using the newer storage method can now support up to 1000 characters instead of the previous 255-character limitation.
The team discussed real-world examples where long URLs, call recording links, and integration data would previously be truncated. This change reduces the need to switch fields to Memo types simply to accommodate longer values.
Action Group configuration has been added to the menu options at Configuration > Tickets, as well as being added to the Action configuration | v2.216 #1082462 | 6:08
Action Group configuration is now surfaced more prominently throughout the Halo interface.
This doesn't introduce new functionality but makes Action Groups easier to discover and manage by exposing configuration options in more logical locations.
Quotes will no longer be automatically expired if they have a Status that is either used as "Closed" or "Accepted" | v2.216 #1080343 | 7:32
Previously, accepted or closed quotes could still transition to an expired status once their expiry date was reached.
This fix prevents completed quote statuses from being overwritten later, resulting in cleaner sales reporting and a more accurate quote lifecycle.
Added a new Mail Campaign Type: Nurture Campaign - Scheduled | v2.216 #1080219 | 8:29
Scheduled nurture campaigns can now periodically re-evaluate recipient lists rather than only processing the list when the campaign initially launches.
This makes nurture campaigns much more practical for dynamic marketing lists where recipients may qualify after the campaign has already started.
You can now use $ChatTranscript on a Ticket at any time when there is a linked Chat with a User | v2.216 #1079619 | 10:21
The Chat Transcript variable can now be referenced whenever a linked chat exists for a ticket.
This provides more flexibility when building templates, notifications, automations, and workflows that need access to chat history.
Added $_INVOICELONGDESC to the available variables that can be used during pro-rata creation | v2.216 #1079617 | 10:57
A new variable has been added to support invoice long descriptions during pro-rata calculations.
The hosts spent time discussing how this improves consistency between invoice line descriptions and prorated billing entries, helping produce clearer invoices for customers.
Added a setting to only apply date validation upon creation of entities | v2.216 #1075315 | 14:40
Date validation can now be restricted to the creation process only.
This allows administrators to make changes to records later without triggering the same validation requirements that applied when the entity was originally created.
Added the permission "Can Override Device Change Who" | v2.216 #1072389 | 15:23
A new permission allows the recorded user associated with device change tracking records to be overridden.
The hosts noted this introduces additional flexibility but also raises questions around auditing and accountability, so it should be used carefully.
Added the option "Visible - Read Only" to asset type system field settings | v2.216 #1069805 | 17:05
Asset system fields can now be configured as visible while remaining read-only.
This helps expose important information to users without allowing accidental edits.
Added a setting to enable customer specific agreement reference generation | v2.216 #1068707 | 17:22
Agreement reference numbers can now be generated on a customer-specific basis.
Organizations with structured naming conventions may find this useful when managing multiple agreements across different customers.
It is now possible to enforce uniqueness for asset fields per asset type | v2.216 #1067257 | 18:28
Asset custom fields can now be configured to require unique values.
This is particularly useful for:
- Serial numbers
- Asset tags
- External identifiers
- Device reference numbers
It helps improve data quality and prevents duplicate asset records.
Sage Intacct Entity mapping defaults and manual settings are now available across more entities | v2.216 #1062134 | 19:10
Sage Intacct mapping capabilities have been expanded to additional entities.
This improves flexibility for organizations integrating HaloPSA with Sage Intacct accounting workflows.
You can now map Halo Custom Fields to Sage Intacct fields where mappings are available | v2.216 #1062129 | 20:34
Custom field mapping support has been extended within the Sage Intacct integration.
This allows more business-specific data to flow between HaloPSA and Sage Intacct.
Added a setting to Users Settings > Defaults to determine if a new Users' username should be set to their Email or not if there is already a User at the Site with the same Username | v2.216 #1060115 | 20:46
This setting helps determine how duplicate usernames are handled when new users are created.
The hosts generally felt most organizations would likely continue using traditional username formats rather than switching to email addresses automatically.
Added two additional options to the tickets setting "Sensitive Ticket restrictions" | v2.216 #1056127 | 22:45
This was one of the more significant ticketing enhancements discussed during the episode.
Sensitive tickets now support additional visibility controls for both end users and agents.
This helps organizations handle:
- Executive requests
- HR-related tickets
- Confidential projects
- Restricted internal discussions
Added settings to group by Agent Status in the Treeview, and to show a grouping of Agents by Status to Ticket Areas | v2.216 #1056112 | 25:43
Treeviews can now group agents by their availability status.
Dispatchers and service coordinators may find this particularly useful when reviewing ticket assignments and resource availability.
Added a setting for Asset Custom Buttons to disable the runbook queued confirmation popup | v2.216 #1054838 | 26:19
Asset custom buttons can now suppress the runbook queue confirmation message.
A small but useful quality-of-life improvement for heavily automated workflows.
Added a Chat flow action which can retrieve data from the User's browser local storage and map to Ticket or Chat Custom Fields | v2.216 #1054416 | 26:40
Chat flows can now retrieve information stored within the user's browser and map that data into Halo records.
The hosts discussed potential use cases while also noting the broader security considerations associated with browser-side data access.
Allowed non-integer IDs for multi-select custom fields | v2.216 #1054352 | 28:54
Multi-select custom fields are no longer restricted to integer-based identifiers.
This improves compatibility with external systems that use GUIDs and other non-numeric identifiers.
Added new $ variables for Client Mention notifications | v2.216 #1045900 | 30:07
Additional variables have been added for Client Mention notifications.
This supports richer notification templates and more contextual messaging.
Added "Mailbox" field to Ticket Types to allow Agents to set the default mailbox when creating new Tickets | v2.216 #1044902 | 32:28
Ticket types can now define a default mailbox during ticket creation.
This provides additional control over ticket routing and mailbox selection.
Integrator log columns ID and config ID are now filterable | v2.216 #1039846 | 33:06
One of the standout features from the episode, this enhancement makes Halo Integrator troubleshooting significantly easier.
Administrators can now filter logs by configuration ID, making it much simpler to locate and investigate integration runs.
For MSPs managing multiple integrations, this can dramatically reduce troubleshooting time.
Variables used in Runbooks can now be JSON escaped using the following format - ##jsonstringify##<<ticket^example_field>>##/jsonstringify## | v2.216 #1037026 | 38:42
Runbook variables can now be JSON-escaped before being passed to external systems.
This helps avoid formatting issues when sending structured data through APIs and automation workflows.
In the config commit list view, agent names will now display the stored name for consistency across instances | v2.216 #1032902 | 39:54
Configuration commit history will now display stored agent names consistently across linked instances.
A small but welcome improvement for organizations managing multiple Halo environments.
Added the v2 invoice merging method to allow more customisable merging options | v2.216 #1032275 | 40:15
A new invoice merging method introduces additional customization options for invoice generation.
The hosts noted that this feature introduces significant complexity and should be thoroughly tested before being adopted in production billing processes.
Service status improvements to the Self Service Portal | v2.216 #1031911 | 42:27
The Self Service Portal now includes improvements for displaying service status information.
Organizations maintaining customer-facing status pages may benefit from improved visibility during outages and service disruptions.
Custom integrations that use OAuth 2.0 now have a button to clear the access/refresh tokens, allowing permissions to be refreshed | v2.216 #1029548 | 45:49
Another major highlight from the episode.
Administrators can now clear stored OAuth tokens without recreating integrations.
Benefits include:
- Easier permission testing
- Faster troubleshooting
- Reduced integration rebuilds
- Simpler development workflows
For anyone building custom integrations, this feature alone can save a significant amount of time.
You can now use End Users and Site level Custom Fields on Ticket Column Profiles | v2.216 #1029518 | 47:36
Ticket column profiles can now display End User and Site-level custom fields.
This allows additional business data to be surfaced directly within ticket lists and views.
Added runbook ID as a filterable column on the integration runbook list view | v2.216 #1029237 | 48:32
Runbook IDs can now be used as a filterable column within integration runbook views.
A small administrative improvement that makes locating specific runbooks easier.
Add new Ticket Notification triggers for when there have been no Actions on a ticket for X hrs/days | v2.216 #1021268 | 48:48
New notification triggers can alert teams when tickets have been inactive for a specified period.
This may help identify tickets that have fallen through the cracks and improve follow-up processes.
A database table has been added named "InvoiceCreationTrace" that will be used to record what happened during Invoice creation from the Ready For Invoicing lists | v2.216 #1013403 | 49:49
Invoice creation now generates trace records that can be used for troubleshooting and diagnostics.
The hosts highlighted the importance of additional visibility into billing processes and invoice generation logic.
Added an end date column for software licences | v2.216 #1013163 | 51:38
Software licence records can now display an end date column.
A straightforward improvement that provides better visibility into licence lifecycle information.
Added ticket type groups to change tracking | v2.216 #1009333 | 51:47
Ticket type groups can now be leveraged within change tracking functionality.
This complements broader improvements around ticket grouping and permissions management.
You can now set automatic invoice reminders | v2.216 #1008361 | 54:10
Automatic invoice reminders can now be configured directly within Halo.
This helps reduce manual collections work and provides a more consistent accounts receivable process.
Added a setting 'approval delegation when out of office' to user settings | v2.216 #1005500 | 55:47
Approval requests can now be automatically delegated when a user is marked out of office.
While relatively simple today, the hosts discussed how this may become increasingly valuable as Halo continues expanding its out-of-office functionality and approval workflows.
By the [run]Book: Episode 21
Episode 21 of By the [run]Book covers the final features from HaloPSA v2.214 and the start of v2.216, including major improvements to forecasting, category restrictions, auditing, integrations, email handling, and technician workflows. Mendy and Connor break down practical MSP use cases, hidden configuration risks, and operational tips for getting the most out of the latest Halo updates.
Read post
Episode 21 of By the [run]Book dives into the tail end of HaloPSA v2.214 and the first round of v2.216 updates, with Mendy and Connor unpacking practical MSP use cases, hidden configuration gotchas, and workflow improvements. Highlights include forecasting enhancements, category group restrictions, Datto RMM multi-tenancy, auditing improvements, ticket timer widgets, and advanced email handling settings that can dramatically impact service desk operations. This episode is especially useful for Halo administrators refining automation, billing accuracy, integrations, and technician workflows.
Watch Now: By the [run]Book: Episode 21
For easier tracking, check out haloreleases.remmy.dev to filter and search HaloPSA updates by ID, version, and keyword.
Important Mentions
Improvements to forecasting | v2.214 #701659 | 31:48
Forecasting in HaloPSA received a major usability improvement by automatically calculating forecasted hours from estimated project task time.
- Forecasting no longer requires manual hour entry
- Project workload visibility becomes much more accurate
- Helps service managers better plan technician capacity
- Forecast data now updates directly from project task estimates
- Significant quality-of-life improvement for project management workflows
- Connor and Mendy discussed how this reduces one of the biggest pain points in Halo forecasting
Added the option to restrict categories by Category Group | v2.214 #775657 | 25:12
Category restrictions can now be controlled using Category Groups instead of manually configuring every category individually.
- Simplifies ticket category management
- Reduces administrative overhead for large environments
- Makes workflow restrictions easier to maintain
- Particularly valuable for MSPs with heavily customized workflows
- Eliminates the need for repetitive category-by-category exclusions
- Called out as a “massive” operational improvement during the episode
Added cost field to Agent Roles | v2.214 #831614 | 19:55
Agent Roles now support assigning cost values directly at the role level.
- Enables profitability reporting without exposing exact technician salaries
- Supports role-based costing models (Tier 1, Tier 2, etc.)
- Improves margin reporting and service profitability calculations
- Useful for MSPs standardizing labor costing across teams
- Creates cleaner operational reporting structures
An option has been added to the Auvik Network import to ignore Networks with a Scan Status of “Unknown” | v2.216 #1093288 | 38:56
HaloPSA can now ignore “Unknown” scan status networks during Auvik imports.
- Prevents unnecessary or incomplete network objects from syncing into Halo
- Keeps asset inventories cleaner and easier to manage
- Reduces noise from partially discovered or transient network devices
- Particularly useful in large or segmented network environments
- Helps improve data quality inside configuration management
The global setting for “Add X-Auto-Response-Suppress header to emails” can now be overridden using Action level configuration to enforce the headers when the global setting is not enabled | v2.216 #1085470 | 49:41
Halo now allows email suppression headers to be configured at the Action level rather than only globally.
- Provides granular control over automatic reply suppression
- Useful for limiting noisy out-of-office or acknowledgment emails
- Allows specific actions to suppress responses without affecting all outbound email
- Helps balance automation control with email reliability
- Connor and Mendy strongly cautioned MSPs to test carefully, as improper configuration can unintentionally suppress legitimate responses or acknowledgements
Full Feature List
Added a Ticket setting that allows users to retain their selected tickets after completing a bulk edit | v2.214 #965079 | 1:38
This setting keeps tickets selected after completing a bulk edit, allowing technicians to chain multiple bulk updates together without re-selecting tickets.
- Helpful during ticket cleanup or spam management workflows
- Reduces repetitive selection actions during mass updates
- Mendy and Connor discussed using closure categories plus automation rules to handle spam/noise tickets more effectively
You can now create Mail Campaign Groups | v2.214 #963652 | 4:44
Mail Campaigns can now be grouped for organizational purposes.
- Primarily improves filtering and categorization
- Useful for separating marketing, advisories, announcements, and service notifications
- Current functionality is mostly organizational rather than operational
Asset software imported from Intune will now match to existing records based on the software's name instead of the ID | v2.214 #951596 | 8:01
Halo will now match imported Intune software records using software names instead of IDs.
- Reduces duplicate software entries
- Improves consistency during synchronization
- Important for MSPs maintaining clean software inventories
The Datto RMM integration is now multi-tenanted | v2.214 #950768 | 8:38
Multiple Datto RMM integrations can now coexist within HaloPSA.
- Particularly useful during mergers and acquisitions
- Supports phased RMM migrations
- Allows separate Datto environments to operate simultaneously
A setting has been added so that when sending an email from a Ticket that does not have a default mailbox set, the mailbox used will become the default | v2.214 #948587 | 10:16
Halo can now automatically assign the mailbox used during outbound communication as the ticket’s default mailbox.
- Helps avoid orphaned mailbox references
- Useful when old mailboxes are retired or renamed
- Connor recommended caution to avoid unexpected mailbox switching behavior
Added the ability to determine the asset type for assets imported from Snow in via rules or from a field value | v2.214 #898813 | 13:01
Snow imports now support dynamic asset type assignment.
- Asset types can be determined through rules or imported values
- Aligns Snow behavior with more mature integrations
- Improves asset categorization accuracy
Added a portal display name to services | v2.214 #897912 | 13:57
Services can now have a separate portal-facing display name.
- Allows internal naming conventions to differ from customer-facing labels
- Useful for client-specific service structures
- Keeps portal terminology cleaner and more user friendly
Asset resource booking improvements | v2.214 #859017 | 15:35
Asset booking functionality received multiple improvements.
- Added support for custom booking date ranges
- Improves scheduling flexibility for shared assets
- More relevant for internal IT and education environments managing loaner equipment
Added the option to have the ticket timer be a ticket details widget | v2.214 #832771 | 16:33
The ticket timer can now be displayed as a dedicated widget on the ticket screen.
- Makes timers more visible to technicians
- Allows SLA countdowns and timers to coexist in the widget area
- Improves UI flexibility in the newer ticket layout
Added cost field to Agent Roles | v2.214 #831614 | 19:55
Agent Roles now support a cost field.
- Helps MSPs model technician profitability at the role level
- Useful when organizations avoid exposing exact technician salaries
- Supports broader margin reporting strategies
Added the ticket setting “Only allow admins to clone tickets” | v2.214 #798650 | 22:22
Ticket cloning can now be restricted to administrators.
- Prevents accidental ticket duplication
- Reduces operational mistakes from inexperienced agents
- Adds additional governance controls to ticket workflows
Further improvements to the new single sign-on functionality | v2.214 #795061 | 22:59
Halo’s newer SSO framework continues to evolve.
- Supports multiple identity providers
- Includes generic OIDC support
- Useful for organizations centralizing authentication across systems
Added the option to restrict categories by Category Group | v2.214 #775657 | 25:12
Category restrictions can now be managed through Category Groups.
- Simplifies ticket categorization controls
- Reduces manual maintenance effort
- Particularly useful in complex workflow environments
Improvements to forecasting | v2.214 #701659 | 31:48
Forecasting received major usability improvements.
- Forecast values can now calculate automatically from estimated time
- Removes previous manual forecasting workflows
- Better visibility into future technician workload planning
Quotes & Purchase Orders are now audited | v2.214 #656127 | 36:34
Audit tracking now includes Quotes and Purchase Orders.
- Improves accountability and historical visibility
- Helps track changes made to financial records
- Valuable for operational compliance and approvals
Reporting Datasources now show dependent reports | v2.214 #579888 | 36:53
Reporting Datasources can now display which reports rely on them.
- Makes reporting maintenance significantly easier
- Helps prevent accidental datasource changes
- Useful for MSPs with large reporting libraries
Kaseya VSA X integration is now available | v2.214 #485469 | 37:02
HaloPSA now supports integration with Kaseya VSA X.
- Expands RMM integration options
- Useful for MSPs transitioning platforms
- Adds support for newer Kaseya environments
SailPoint IIQ integration is now available | v2.216 #977581 | 38:09
HaloPSA now integrates with SailPoint IdentityIQ.
- Supports identity and access management workflows
- Useful for security-focused organizations
- Extends enterprise authentication integrations
An option has been added to the Auvik Network import to ignore Networks with a Scan Status of “Unknown” | v2.216 #1093288 | 38:56
Auvik imports can now exclude unknown scan results.
- Reduces clutter from incomplete discoveries
- Keeps asset inventories cleaner
- Helpful for noisy or segmented networks
Customer Trading Name (Third Party Name) is now audited | v2.216 #1091545 | 39:58
Changes to Customer Trading Names are now tracked in audit history.
- Improves visibility into customer record changes
- Supports accountability and compliance
- Helpful during mergers, acquisitions, or rebranding
The setting to control how updating Cost affects Price or Margin has been updated to also work for Markup | v2.216 #1091171 | 40:11
Cost update logic now also supports markup calculations.
- Improves pricing consistency
- Helps maintain profitability models
- Useful for organizations standardizing markup workflows
An option (button) has been added to the Quote approval fields to allow a custom message to be shown before the signature input | v2.216 #1088692 | 41:47
Quote approvals now support customizable messaging before signatures.
- Adds additional instructions or disclaimers
- Improves customer communication during approvals
- Supports branded or compliance-focused messaging
A setting has been added that, when enabled, will balance the Contract and Billed hours when editing time entries | v2.216 #1087347 | 43:01
Time entry edits can now automatically rebalance contract and billed hours.
- Helps maintain billing consistency
- Reduces manual recalculation work
- Connor and Mendy recommended caution until behavior is fully validated
A setting has been added to Advanced Configuration to allow the Device table IDs to be generated using a new method to avoid errors when adding devices in multiple threads | v2.216 #1086633 | 45:22
Halo introduced a safer device ID generation method.
- Prevents ID reuse issues
- Helps avoid asset mismatches after reimports
- Important for large-scale asset synchronization workflows
The parameter bulkresponse=true can now be used when POSTs are made to the /fieldinfo endpoint to return a separate response for each object | v2.216 #1085574 | 47:46
The /fieldinfo endpoint now supports bulk response handling.
- Simplifies API integrations
- Improves parsing of large object sets
- Helpful for developers building advanced Halo integrations
JWT assertion can now be required as an extra security measure for Halo API applications using client credentials flow | v2.216 #1085535 | 48:04
Additional JWT validation can now be enforced for API authentication.
- Improves API security posture
- Aligns with stricter enterprise security requirements
- Supports more secure client credential flows
The status to be used for Alert closures from ConnectWise Automate can now be chosen on the Alert configuration of the Integration | v2.216 #1085481 | 49:32
ConnectWise Automate alert closures can now map to configurable statuses.
- Improves alert workflow handling
- Adds flexibility for automation-driven ticket closures
- Helps standardize service desk processes
The global setting for “Add X-Auto-Response-Suppress header to emails” can now be overridden using Action level configuration to enforce the headers when the global setting is not enabled | v2.216 #1085470 | 49:41
Halo now supports overriding email suppression headers at the Action level.
- Gives more granular control over automatic reply handling
- Useful for preventing noisy auto-responses
- Mendy and Connor strongly cautioned MSPs to test thoroughly before enabling globally
By the [run]Book: Episode 20
Episode 20 of By the [run]Book covers HaloPSA v2.214, highlighting practical updates across automation, integrations, and user experience. Key discussions include new dollar variables, improvements to Azure sync performance, and better control over portal actions. A great watch for MSPs looking to streamline workflows and get more out of their Halo setup.
Read post
Episode 20 of By the [run]Book dives into HaloPSA v2.214 with a mix of practical improvements and some quirky additions. Connor and Mendy walk through everything from new dollar variables and asset controls to Avalara fixes and portal enhancements—highlighting what actually matters for day-to-day MSP operations. This episode is especially useful for MSPs refining workflows, automation, and reporting accuracy in Halo.
Watch Now: By the [run]Book: Episode 20
For easier tracking, check out haloreleases.remmy.dev to filter and search HaloPSA updates by ID, version, and keyword.
Important Mentions
Added ALLFIELDSCFQA dollar variable | v2.214 #1063336 | 5:48
Mendy and Connor noted this was very useful.
- Outputs custom fields only in Q&A format
- Perfect for onboarding/offboarding forms and portal submissions
- Cleaner and more usable than dumping all fields
You can now hide user action on the customer portal | v2.214 #1034684 | 18:22
Highlighted during the user action demo as a practical workflow improvement.
- Lets you use user actions via links without exposing buttons
- Keeps portal UI clean for end users
- Key for form-style workflows using “Link to User Action”
Added the ability to set colours for custom buttons | v2.214 #997636 | 44:35
Called out as a genuinely useful UI improvement.
- Helps visually distinguish important actions
- Improves technician usability in busy workflows
- Small change, but high day-to-day impact
Full Feature List
Start and end email subject matching tags have been added to the site "Email Matching" configuration that allows an alternate matching ID to be used | v2.214 #1064486 | 3:57
Allows more flexibility in how incoming emails are matched to tickets.
- Useful when third-party systems modify or strip subject tags
- Enables alternate identifiers beyond the default ticket ID
- Be cautious of misconfiguration causing duplicate tickets
Added the ability to an apply a template to an Asset via the API | v2.214 #1063514 | 5:23
Enables automation of asset configuration through API usage.
- Apply standardized templates programmatically
- Useful for onboarding and asset lifecycle automation
- Reduces manual setup for large asset imports
Added ALLFIELDSCFQA dollar variable | v2.214 #1063336 | 5:48
Introduces a new variable to output custom fields in Q&A format.
- Outputs only custom fields instead of all ticket data
- Cleaner formatting for forms and structured data
- Ideal for onboarding/offboarding workflows
Added More Asset System Fields to Device Change Tracking | v2.214 #1057703 | 9:08
Improves visibility into asset changes over time.
- Expands audit tracking for asset updates
- Useful for compliance and troubleshooting
- Better lifecycle visibility for managed devices
Added new $-POUSEREMAILADDRESS variable | v2.214 #1054124 | 9:20
Returns the email address of the user associated with a purchase order.
- Useful for billing and procurement workflows
- Helps automate communications tied to POs
- Reduces manual lookup of requester details
Various improvements to searching in the self-service portal | v2.214 #1054111 | 9:29
Enhances usability and visibility of search results in the portal.
- Displays result counts across categories
- Returns more granular service-related results
- Helpful for large or complex service catalogs
Added a setting to prevent configuration changes being pushed into an instance | v2.214 #1052480 | 12:22
Provides control over configuration synchronization.
- Prevents unintended overwrites in managed environments
- Useful for multi-instance or partner-managed setups
Improved the accuracy of popup notification displays when multiple rules match at once | v2.214 #1048194 | 12:33
Ensures correct popup behavior when multiple rules trigger.
- Reduces confusion from conflicting notifications
- Improves reliability of rule-based alerts
Added Ticket Source to the Query Builder | v2.214 #1047023 | 13:24
Makes ticket source available for reporting and filtering.
- Improves reporting on ticket intake channels
- Helps analyze email vs portal vs API usage
Added validation when setting email start and end tags in Email Configuration | v2.214 #1043864 | 13:37
Adds safeguards when configuring email matching tags.
- Prevents invalid or risky configurations
- Helps avoid ticket parsing issues
Distribution Lists can now be configured to send emails to all email addresses associated with a user | v2.214 #1040191 | 17:03
Allows distribution lists to target all email addresses tied to a user.
- Improves communication coverage for users with multiple emails
- Useful for shared inboxes or alias-heavy environments
- Reduces missed notifications
Transactions in Avalara will now be created with the customer name as the customer code | v2.214 #1038916 | 17:52
Improves clarity in Avalara transaction records.
- Replaces less meaningful IDs with readable customer names
- Simplifies reconciliation and reporting
- Reduces confusion during billing audits
You can now hide user action on the customer portal | v2.214 #1034684 | 18:22
Adds control over visibility of user actions in the portal.
- Keeps portal UI clean for end users
- Still allows backend workflows to use the action
- Ideal for link-based or automated user actions
In User settings, you can now hide the Top Level field on Account records. Additionally, you can set a default Top Level value for Account records | v2.214 #1032938 | 27:48
Improves flexibility when using Accounts and Prospects.
- Allows separation of accounts from standard client hierarchy
- Supports better reporting segmentation
- Useful for sales pipelines and CRM-style setups
You can now use the status field on an asset for dynamic field visibility on assets | v2.214 #1032001 | 30:05
Enables dynamic fields based on asset lifecycle status.
- Show/hide fields depending on asset state
- Useful for decommissioned or retired assets
- Improves data relevance and UI clarity
Added option to make Asset Tag mandatory when creating serialised assets during consignment or adding stock | v2.214 #1031510 | 31:02
Ensures asset tagging consistency during stock processes.
- Prevents incomplete asset records
- Improves inventory accuracy
- Helpful for asset-heavy MSPs
You can now choose which entities get committed when syncing to Avalara | v2.214 #1027858 | 32:15
Adds control over Avalara synchronization scope.
- Reduces unnecessary sync data
- Improves performance and clarity
- Useful in complex billing environments
Added the ability to set the default score on Satisfaction Survey | v2.214 #1027560 | 32:24
Allows a predefined score for surveys.
- May simplify reporting setups
- ⚠️ Can skew satisfaction metrics if misused
- Generally less useful than one-click feedback
The Prorating date will now show when adding Products from a Sales Order to a Recurring Invoice | v2.214 #1024043 | 34:23
Improves visibility when prorating billing items.
- Shows when proration is applied
- Helps validate recurring billing accuracy
- Reduces billing confusion
A setting has been added to Sales Order Configuration so that when a Sales Order is created a Ticket is also created for the purpose of admin tasks and communication | v2.214 #1021351 | 37:06
Automatically generates a ticket alongside sales orders.
- Provides a workspace for admin and communication
- Useful when not using Opportunities as the workflow driver
- Helps track fulfillment tasks
You can now set a default width for columns on column profiles | v2.214 #1019311 | 38:19
Allows column width customization in list views.
- Helps standardize layouts across teams
- Uses pixel-based values
- ⚠️ Less flexible than expected (manual configuration required)
A setting has been added to View configuration to show custom lists above the Teams in the "By Team" view | v2.214 #1015344 | 40:01
Changes ordering of lists in the team view.
- Allows prioritization of key lists
- Minor UI improvement
- Alternative is restructuring list hierarchy
Added Asset Status variable for Asset Custom Buttons | v2.214 #1011860 | 41:32
Adds asset status as a usable variable in buttons.
- Enables dynamic integrations or links
- Useful for query-based actions
- Supports more advanced automation
Default column profiles against an entity now allows for changing the column profile view in lists | v2.214 #1009740 | 42:46
Improves flexibility when viewing lists.
- Users can temporarily override default column profiles
- Reverts back after refresh
- Reduces friction when switching contexts
Added the ability to set colours for custom buttons | v2.214 #997636 | 44:35
Allows visual customization of buttons.
- Improves UI clarity and usability
- Helps highlight important actions
- Particularly useful in busy workflows
Added a new type of Distribution Lists where its Members are made up of Tickets | v2.214 #996443 | 45:34
Enables distribution lists based on ticket criteria.
- Send communications based on ticket conditions
- Useful for alerts or incident updates
- Adds dynamic targeting capabilities
Added the ability to set upper and lower bounds for data in forecast outputs | v2.214 #995797 | 46:16
Adds control over forecast data ranges.
- Improves reporting accuracy
- Helps constrain projections
- Useful for financial planning
Azure Delta improvements | v2.214 #982118 | 46:53
Enhances performance of Azure/Entra sync.
- Reduces load by syncing only changed records
- Improves performance in large environments
- Speeds up nightly sync operations
Closure details will now expand by default | v2.214 #982083 | 52:51
Improves visibility of ticket closure information.
- Saves clicks when reviewing closed tickets
- Useful for QA and auditing
- Minor UX enhancement
Minor webhook performance improvements | v2.214 #979558 | 54:22
Optimizes webhook performance and payload handling.
- Reduces payload size with lightweight options
- Improves integration efficiency
- Helps avoid unnecessary data transfer
Improvements to asset access control | v2.214 #968048 | 56:11
Refines permissions for asset management.
- Better control over who can edit asset types/groups
- Adds restrictions at role and agent level
- Improves security and governance