Notifications and badges
What the counts on the sidebar, bell and All Clients mean, and how a client's notifications clear when you view them.
A notification is client activity you haven't seen yet, such as a home view, favorite, note or tour request. It clears when the client's assigned agent opens that client's page. Scrolling Client Activity or opening a client who isn't yours leaves it unread.
How it works
Ruuster counts unread activity in several places. Each one counts a slightly different thing.
| Where you see it | What it counts |
|---|---|
| Bell in the header | Unread activities across your clients, including leads who haven't signed up. For admins and owners it covers every client in your brokerage. Updates every minute and shows 99+ above 99. Click it to open Client Activity. |
| Clients in the sidebar | The same number as the bell. On a phone, Activity in the bottom bar shows it too. |
| Notifications column on All Clients | Each client's unread activities, next to a bell. Admins and owners see it for every client in the brokerage. |
| Needs attention card on All Clients | How many clients have unread activity. It counts clients, not activities. |
| Most notifications tab on Client Activity | Leads with unread activity, the most first. |
| "N new" and New on a client's page | Unseen items on the Searches, Activity and Favorited Properties tabs, on the Client activity and Property views titles, and on each unseen activity. |
Opening your own client's page marks all of their activity as seen, whether you open the full page or the side panel on All Clients. The bell, the sidebar and the client's row update.
When an admin opens another agent's client, the activity stays unread so that agent still sees it.
When to use it
- Plan your day. Open Most notifications on Client Activity to see who did the most since you last looked.
- Sort your list. On All Clients, click the Notifications header to sort Most new first.
- Filter to new activity. Click See clients with new activity on the Needs attention card.
- Clear many at once. Tick clients on All Clients and choose Clear notifications from Bulk actions. See Act on many clients at once.
Good to know
- Badges count activities. A client who viewed three homes shows 3. The Needs attention card counts clients instead.
- New activity shows up in minutes. The bell updates every minute. A client's count on All Clients and Client Activity is recounted about every 5 minutes.
- Clearing deletes nothing. It only marks activity as seen. Every action stays on the client's page and in Client Activity.
- Admins can bulk clear. Clear notifications works on any client you tick, including other agents' clients.
FAQ
Why does my notification badge still show after I looked?
Only opening the client's own page clears them, and only when you're the assigned agent. Seeing their actions in Client Activity doesn't count. The client may also have done something new since you looked.
Why does the bell show a different number than the client list?
For agents, the bell adds up unread activities for your own clients. For admins and owners, it covers the whole brokerage, like the Notifications column. The bell also updates sooner, since client rows are recounted about every 5 minutes.
The counter doesn't match the client's activity. Why?
The badge counts only what happened since the assigned agent last opened the client. The client's page shows their whole history, so it usually lists more.
Where do I see which clients have new activity?
Click See clients with new activity on All Clients, or open Most notifications on Client Activity. For what triggers each alert, see Notification types for agents and clients.
Still need help? Reach out to us at helpme@ruuster.com and we'd be happy to assist!