# Why is Reply activity not showing in my CRM?

> Contacts sync but emails, calls and tasks never appear: separate one-way steps, write-once records, and the CRMs that do not support activity at all.

**Activity syncing is a separate step from contact syncing, and it has to be switched on for each kind of record. It only ever travels from Reply to the CRM, records are written once and never updated, and not every CRM supports it at all.**

_Status: Reviewed – written against Reply's product documentation on 2026-09-21, not yet confirmed against the running product._

## Quick fix

1. Open the integration's steps and check whether the activity steps exist and are switched on; they are separate from the contact step.
2. Confirm your CRM supports activity syncing. Some integrations sync people only.
3. Check that the contact itself synced first. Activity attaches to a record in the CRM, so no contact means nowhere to attach.
4. Check the timing – activity is written on a scheduled run, not the moment it happens.
5. Perform one new action in Reply, wait a cycle, and see whether it appears.

Didn't work? [Contact Reply support](https://support.reply.io/); the team can check your account directly.

## Symptom

People are in the CRM and up to date, but the timeline against them is empty: no emails from the sequence, no logged calls, no tasks.

## How activity syncing behaves

Four properties explain almost every question about it:

| | |
| --- | --- |
| **Separate steps** | Contacts and activity are different steps. Turning on the integration does not turn on activity |
| **One direction only** | Activity flows from Reply to the CRM. Activity created in the CRM does not come back |
| **Written once** | An activity record is created and then left alone. Editing it in Reply afterwards does not update the copy in the CRM |
| **Not universal** | Some integrations sync contacts only and have no activity steps to enable |

## Most likely causes

| Cause | How to recognize it |
| --- | --- |
| The activity step is not enabled | Contacts sync, the timeline is empty, and the step list has an activity step switched off |
| Your CRM does not support it | There is no activity step to enable in the first place |
| The contact is not in the CRM | Nothing has anything to attach to – see [Why did a contact not sync to my CRM?](/troubleshooting/contact-did-not-sync-to-crm/) |
| You are expecting it the other way | Work logged in the CRM does not appear in Reply |
| You changed something after it synced | The CRM keeps the original – activity is not re-written |
| The connected account cannot create that record | A permission at the CRM, not a Reply setting |
| Not enough time has passed | Activity appears on the next scheduled run |

## Diagnostic checklist

1. **Look at the step list, not the integration toggle.** An enabled integration with a disabled activity step is the most common version of this.
2. **Check whether an activity step exists for your CRM at all.** If there is none, activity is not supported for that integration and no setting will produce it.
3. **Confirm the contact synced.** Activity needs a record to attach to.
4. **Check which way you are expecting it to travel.** Activity is one-way, and expecting the reverse is a common misunderstanding rather than a fault.
5. **Check permissions at the CRM.** The connected account has to be allowed to create that record type.

## Resolution

### The activity step is off

Switch it on, then wait a full cycle. Note that it applies from then on; enabling activity sync does not backfill history.

### Your CRM does not support it

Nothing to enable. The practical alternatives are to link out to Reply from the CRM record, or to use a workflow platform to push the specific events you need.

### You need CRM activity inside Reply

That direction is not available. Contacts and accounts travel both ways; activity does not.

### An edit did not propagate

Expected. Activity records are written once. If the corrected version matters, create a new activity rather than waiting for an update that will not come.

### The CRM refuses the record

Check the connected account's permission to create that object. This is set in the CRM, not in Reply.

## Verification

Perform one new action in Reply (send a step, log a call) then wait a full cycle and check the CRM timeline. Use a new action rather than an old one, because enabling the step does not backfill.

## Prevention

- Enable the activity steps you want when you first set the integration up. Backfilling is not available.
- Decide early which system is the record of truth for activity. Trying to keep both in step in both directions does not work, because the sync is one-way by design.
- Use a service account at the CRM with stable permissions.

## FAQ

### Will enabling activity sync backfill past activity?

No. It applies from the moment you enable it.

### Can I get CRM activity into Reply?

No. Activity travels from Reply to the CRM only.

### I corrected an email in Reply and the CRM still shows the old one

Activity records are written once and not updated. The original stays.

## Still stuck? Contact Reply support

If these steps didn't solve the problem, the Reply support team can look at your
account directly. Open the [Reply Help Center](https://support.reply.io/) and send
the team a message.

To get an answer faster, include:

- which CRM, and which activity type is missing
- whether the activity step exists and is enabled
- one contact that is in the CRM but has an empty timeline
- when the action happened, and your timezone

Don't send passwords, API keys, or access tokens.

## Related

- [Why did a contact not sync to my CRM?](/troubleshooting/contact-did-not-sync-to-crm/)
- [Why did my CRM sync stop?](/troubleshooting/crm-sync-stopped/)
- [Sync Reply with a CRM](/workflows/sync-reply-with-a-crm/)

## Build with Reply

- Webhooks: [Webhook events](https://docs.reply.io/api-reference/introduction) – push events yourself where activity sync is unavailable
- MCP: [docs.reply.io/mcp](https://docs.reply.io/mcp/overview) – check integration steps from an assistant