Messaging Clients

Overview

Messages is the in-app way to have a threaded conversation with a client about a specific job or quote. The feature works alongside the Client Portal — your team types from inside MyApprentice; the client reads and replies from their portal.

Who uses this feature

• Business Owner, Supervisor, Finance: can view all message threads and send messages.
• Tradie, Apprentice: can view and send messages for jobs related to them only.
• Client: sends and receives messages via the Client Portal.

When to use this feature

• You need to ask the client a question about a job or quote.
• The client has sent you a message you need to read and respond to.
• You want a single audit trail of all client conversation against a job.

What you can do with this feature

• Start a new conversation scoped to a job or quote.
• Reply to an existing thread.
• See unread message badges on the Messages sidebar item and in dashboard notifications.
• Read client replies that come back through the Client Portal.

Before you can use Messages: Client Portal must be enabled; every thread is scoped to a job or quote; quotes must be sent to the portal first.

How the feature works

Prerequisite

The Client Portal feature must be enabled in Business Settings → Site before messages can be exchanged with clients. See Using the Client Portal.

Start a new conversation

1. From the left sidebar, under Sales, click Messages.
2. Click New conversation.
3. Select the client from the Client dropdown.
4. Select the relevant job or quote. A quote will only appear once it has been sent to the Client Portal.
5. Click Confirm.
6. Type the first message in the text box. Attachments are not supported.
7. Click Send Reply. The client receives an email notification.

Reply to an existing thread

1. Look for the unread badge on the Messages sidebar item.
2. Open Messages.
3. Select the thread with the unread badge (red circle).
4. Review the conversation history.
5. Type a reply in the text box.
6. Click Send Reply.

What the client sees

1. The client receives an email notification from notifications@mg.myapprentice.app showing the business name, scope (quote or job), a message preview, and a View Message button.
2. They click View Message to open the Client Portal.
3. The Conversations list shows conversations by quote or job with an unread indicator (blue dot).
4. They open the conversation and type a reply in Type your message… and click Send.
5. Client replies appear as Client in your thread.

Role-specific notes

• Business Owner / Supervisor / Finance: see all threads.
• Tradie / Apprentice: see threads for their jobs only.
• Client: can only see and reply via the Client Portal.

Related workflows

• Using the Client Portal
• Creating and Managing Jobs
• Creating and Sending Quotes

Important notes

• Attachments are not supported in messages — message content is text only.
• Every conversation must be scoped to a job or quote.
• A quote must be sent to the Client Portal before it can be the scope of a conversation.
• If the Client Portal is deactivated mid-conversation, the client loses access and cannot reply.