Who can do this?
- The Office Admin · Office Admins
- The Boss · Business Owners
- The Books · Finance
- One-Person Show · Sole Traders
- The Foreman · Supervisors
Overview
Messages is the in-platform conversation channel between your business and a client. Each thread is scoped to a specific job or quote — every conversation lives against either a job or a quote, not just against a client. Messages requires the Client Portal to be enabled in Business Settings, and messages are text only (attachments are not supported).
Who This Workflow Is For
This workflow applies to Admin, Business Owner, Finance, and Sole Trader.
Before You Start
The Client Portal must be enabled in Business Settings → Site. The conversation must be scoped to either an existing job or a quote that has been sent to the Client Portal — those are the records you can attach the thread to.
Step-by-Step Process
Start a new conversation
- In the left sidebar under Sales, select Messages. The Messages page opens with the threads panel and the conversation area.
- Select New conversation. The modal asks you to select the client and the related job or quote.
- From the Client dropdown, select the client.
- From the Job or quote dropdown, select the relevant job or quote. Only jobs or quotes associated with this client are listed. A quote becomes selectable once it has been sent to the Client Portal.
- Select Confirm. The new conversation thread opens in the conversation panel.
- Type your message in the reply text box. Messages are text only — no attachments.
- Select Send Reply. The message is sent and the client receives an email notification.
Reply to an existing thread
- In the Messages page, locate the thread in the threads panel. Threads are listed with the client name and the scoped job or quote.
- Select the thread to open it in the conversation panel.
- Read the latest message from the client.
- Type your reply in the reply text box.
- Select Send Reply. The reply is sent and the client receives an email notification.
What Happens Next
The client receives an email notification of your message with a link to the Client Portal. They reply in the portal, and the reply appears in your Messages thread. Every message stays attached to the job or quote, so the conversation history is preserved against the record for future reference.
Common Issues
- Cannot find Messages in the sidebar. Messages sits under Sales in the left sidebar. If you cannot see it, confirm the Client Portal is enabled in Business Settings → Site — Messages requires the portal to be on.
- Quote does not appear in the job-or-quote dropdown. A conversation can only be started against a quote once that quote has been sent to the Client Portal. Send the quote first.
- Cannot attach a file. Attachments are not supported in messages — message content is text only. Send the file through another channel (for example email) if needed.
- Tradie or Apprentice cannot see a thread. Tradies and Apprentices can view threads for jobs related to them only. Assign them to the relevant job to give them access.
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