Not everything you deliver sits under a client contract. Plenty of social value delivery has no counterparty commitment, no target percentage and nothing to report against a contract - community programmes, in-house initiatives, or work you run alongside a contract but outside its obligations.
You don't need a contract to record any of this, and you shouldn't create one. This article covers the shorter route: set up the delivery, record the outcomes, attach the evidence.
If most of your reporting obligation sits under contracts, use How to create an manage contracts instead. This article covers the other half of your work.
Before you start: check whether measure logs need approval
If you log something, it saves successfully, and it still doesn't appear in your totals, approval is almost always the reason.
Your app can require an admin to approve hand-entered measure logs before they count. When that setting is on, a log can save correctly, tell you it has saved, and still sit as Pending without being included anywhere.
To check or change it, go to Settings › Permissions and scroll to the measure logs rule. You can either:
allow logs without approval, so anything you record counts as soon as you save it, or
keep approval on, and have an admin review anything sitting as Pending.
Either is fine - just make sure you know which one your app is set to before you start logging, and clear any existing Pending logs.
1. The route you need
Three objects, in this order. No contract, no counterparty contact, no target value, no social value percentage.
Activity → Measures → Measure logs
Step | Object | What it does |
First | Activity | The piece of delivery. Carries the cause, the dates and the measures you'll record against |
Then | Measures | The outcomes you're claiming, attached to the activity. One per thing you count |
Then | Measure logs | What was delivered, when, how much, and the evidence. As many as you need |
If you find yourself being asked for a contract contact or a target percentage, it's because you started from Contracts. Start from Activities instead and none of that appears.
2. Check the measures you need exist
Measurement › Measures
A measure is a library item, shared across everything you do. It's built on one indicator, which decides what gets counted and in what unit, and it carries a pound value per unit where you use one.
Open the measures list and look for the outcomes your delivery needs.
Check the unit on each one before you use it. The log form asks for a plain number and doesn't display the unit next to the box.
Where a measure is missing, add it - or send your Goodsted contact the list of outcomes with their units and rates, and we'll set them up with you.
Name measures for what they measure, not for the project they're on. One measure can cover many activities.
Working through this list before you start logging is the quickest way to spot what's missing.
Measures vs. indicators An indicator is what sits underneath a measure and decides what gets counted and in what unit. If the outcome you need has no indicator that fits, tell us - we can add one. Once it's in, you still name the measure that sits on top of it (for example "Birdboxes installed") and give it a rate if you use one.
3. Create the activity
Delivery › Activities › Create Activity
Name it after the piece of work, for example "Hard-to-recycle waste diverted - (supplier/client name) ".
Set the cause, the host region and the dates. A date range is fine where delivery runs over a period.
Leave the contract and commitment fields empty. An activity with nothing linked is a normal, supported case, and the platform won't ask you for a target.
Select the measures you'll be recording against. This is the step that makes the activity usable - don't skip it.
Save.
Causes have to line up A measure only appears against an activity when their causes match, or when the measure has no cause set at all. Measures left with a blank cause work anywhere, which is usually what you want for general ones. If a measure you expect isn't in the list on the activity, this is almost always why.
4. Log what was delivered
Open the activity › Measure Logs tab › Log Measure
The activity is filled in for you and locked, which is what you want. If it has only one measure attached, that's selected for you too.
Enter the date delivered, and an end date where it covers a period.
Enter the delivered units as a plain number - tonnes, weeks, hours, whatever the measure counts.
Use "What happened" for the detail. There's no tight character limit here, so put the full story in rather than compressing a quarter's delivery into one line.
Attach photos or documents. Where the measure has an evidence requirement set, one of either is enough, and the requirement is shown above the upload boxes.
Save. The log appears in the activity's Measure Logs tab straight away, and the pound value is worked out from the units and the measure's unit value.
One exception If what you're recording is colleague time or a donation, use the volunteer hours or donation log instead - the measure log writes itself. Only use Log Measure for everything else.
5. Check it has counted
The activity's Measure Logs tab lists every log against it, with the units and the delivered value.
Measurement › Measure Logs shows everything across the app, with an export.
Reports › Delivery and Reports › Engagement pull it together, and you can filter by region.
If a log saves and you still can't find it on the activity, check the approval setting first (see the top of this article). If approval isn't the cause, that's a bug rather than something you've done - let us know the activity name so we can reproduce it.
6. A worked example
Say you want to capture a quarter of waste diversion work that isn't under any contract. Here's where each piece lives.
What you want to capture | Where it goes |
The outcome, for example a framework reference such as "hard-to-recycle waste diverted" | The measure name, with the valuation method set on the measure |
The amount diverted, in tonnes | Delivered units on the measure log |
The social value figure in pounds | Worked out for you - units multiplied by the measure's unit value |
Supporting photos | Evidence on the measure log |
The associated carbon saved | Not calculated on the measure log. The environmental module works out your carbon figures, and you record the result in the main app as its own measure with the module's export attached as evidence |
Common questions
Do I need to create a contract to record this? No. Contracts exist so you can report against a client commitment with a target. If there's no commitment, an activity on its own is the correct and supported way to record delivery.
Can I attach an activity to a contract later? Yes - an activity that starts unlinked can be linked to a contract afterwards if the work later falls under one.
A measure I need isn't in the list when I create the activity. Check the causes match, or clear the cause on the measure so it works anywhere. See section 3.
My log saved but the totals haven't moved. Check whether measure logs need approval in Settings › Permissions, and look for logs sitting as Pending. See the top of this article.