Read and answer messages

See what is waiting

At the top of the conversation list, each tab shows a number, also when it is not open: on Assigned to me and All open, how many conversations wait for the office’s reply. On Unassigned, how many have nobody on them (in red). On Snoozed, how many are snoozed. Hover over a number to see what it counts.

• In the shared lists, a conversation assigned to you has an orange ring around its picture and a Mine label.
• To keep a conversation at the top, open it, choose ⋯ at the top and Pin to top. You can pin up to five, and pins are personal: only you see them. Unpin puts the conversation back in line.

Clients who have waited too long

Owners and admins see an Unanswered tab: conversations whose client has waited for a reply longer than the office allows (an hour by default), longest waiting first.

1. Each row shows how long the client has waited and who has the conversation.
2. To give it to another member, pick them in the row. They get an alert.
3. To remind the assignee, choose Nudge. They get a pop-up alert and an item in the bell, and the row shows when it was nudged.

Once a client waits longer than that, the assignee gets a bell alert without anyone asking. When nobody has the conversation, owners and admins get it. A team member’s reply, or Done, stops the clock. An automatic reminder to the client does not count as a reply.

Answer a conversation

1. Open Messages and select the conversation.
2. Check the contact, linked client, and communication channel.
3. Read the latest messages before replying.
4. Write your reply, review it, and send.
5. Check the message’s delivery status. A queued message is still waiting to be sent.

Reply to a specific message

On WhatsApp you can answer one message, the way the WhatsApp app quotes a message when you reply to it.

1. Point at the message and click Reply below it.
2. The message appears above the message box. Write your answer and send. To cancel, click the X or press Esc.
3. The client sees your answer with the quoted message above it.

When a client replies to one of your messages, the quoted message appears at the top of their reply. Click it to scroll to the original message. Replying to a message isn’t available on email (an email reply already continues the thread) or SMS.

Send a file

1. In the conversation, click + next to the message box.
2. Choose File from this computer, or From client files to send a file already stored for the client. The second option is available only when the conversation is linked to a client.
3. Check the files shown above the message box. You can add a caption; it is sent with the first file.
4. Click Send.

Add emoji from the button inside the message box. Internal notes can’t have attachments.

Start a new conversation

1. In Messages, click Start conversation (the plus button).
2. In To, search for a contact by name, phone, email, or client name. If they don’t exist yet, choose New contact, enter a name and a phone or email, and click Create and select.
3. From is chosen for you from the channels that reach the contact: the one you last used with them, then their preferred channel. When there is more than one, you can switch. A channel that can’t reach the contact is listed with the reason.
4. Write the first message. On WhatsApp, if the contact hasn’t written to you in the last 24 hours, choose an approved template instead of free text.
5. Click Send, Send a template, or Start conversation. The message goes out and the conversation opens.

If there is already an open conversation with the contact on that channel, the message is added to it. If it is assigned to someone else and you can’t access it, ask its assignee or an administrator.

Share responsibility

A new conversation goes to one member by itself: a client’s message to the client’s owner, any other conversation to whoever’s turn it is among the members clocked in. When nobody is clocked in, it waits under Unassigned and goes to the first member who clocks in. The office owner or an administrator sets this in Settings → Messaging → Routing.

• When whoever has a conversation is not clocked in and the client writes, a member who is in covers. The list shows Covering for and the member’s name, the member who is out still sees the conversation, and it goes back to them when they clock in. A message that waited overnight gets a cover as soon as someone clocks in.
• On the side of the conversation, How this was assigned explains where it went and why, and every later change of assignee.
• An incoming conversation that is not a client’s, such as an unknown sender or a lead, is visible to every member who gets conversations. Opening a conversation nobody has takes it.
• Use the assignment or transfer actions to direct the conversation to the right person. Link it to the correct client so the context stays with the work.

See who wrote

When a message arrives, the office’s contacts are searched for the phone number (WhatsApp and SMS) or the email address. On the side of the conversation, Who wrote shows what was checked and what came of it: one contact, several contacts with the same details, or none. When someone linked the sender by hand, it shows who.

• Several contacts matched: pick who wrote and the client the conversation belongs to, then choose Use selected contact.
• The sender is unknown: fill in a name and, if you have it, the Tax ID (ID number). Choose Create lead for a contact and a new lead on the Leads board, or pick a client and choose Create and link to add the sender as that client’s contact.
• If the tax ID already belongs to a client of the office, a note names the client and offers to link the sender to it instead of a new lead.

The next message from the same number or address is recognised by itself. The office owner or an administrator can have a lead created for every new sender in Settings → Messaging → Routing.

Create a task from messages

When the conversation needs follow-up, make a task from one message or from several messages together, with the files sent in them.

• From one message: hover the message and choose Create task.
• From several messages: hover a message and choose Select, or choose Select messages in the conversation’s ⋯ menu. Check the messages (in email, the checkbox beside each email) and choose Create task in the bar at the bottom. Esc or ✕ cancels the selection, and a reply you started writing is kept.

In the dialog, the title comes from the first message and the description holds the text of the messages you picked. You can change both. Files for the task lists every file from the messages, all checked; uncheck any you don’t need. Voice notes, videos and files over 25 MB can’t be attached, and say so. A task can have up to 20 files.

The files are saved in the conversation’s client’s files, or in the Office Files when the conversation has no client, and show up on the task in a moment. A file you already saved to the client’s files from the same message isn’t saved twice. A file that didn’t arrive shows on the task with Try again. On the task, Open the conversation takes you back to the conversation it was made from. Give the task a clear title and check who is responsible.

WhatsApp asks for a template

If the contact hasn’t written to you in the last 24 hours, WhatsApp only allows an approved template.

1. Use the send-template action and choose from Message templates. You can search by template name or by a word in its text.
2. Fill in the missing values. Values linked to a field, such as the contact’s or the client’s name, are already filled and marked Filled in. You can change them.
3. Check the preview to see what the contact will receive, including the header, footer, and buttons.
4. Click Send a template. The conversation shows the text that was actually sent.

If a notice says there is no consent to open the conversation, an owner or administrator needs to confirm consent once in messaging settings. That confirmation covers contacts of current clients. A contact not linked to a current client can receive a template once they have written to the office. A marketing template appears greyed out when the contact has not consented themselves.

If no template fits, choose New template or ask the person who manages messaging to add one. A new template can be sent only after Meta approves it.

Send to a distribution list

A distribution list sends an approved template to the recipients you choose. Values linked to the contact or their client are filled separately for each recipient, and the preview shows the field name in their place. A recipient missing such a value, for example a contact not linked to a client, is skipped and the reason appears in the send summary.

Write to your team

The Team tab on the Messages screen is for conversations with office members. The tab shows how many conversations you haven’t read.

• Whole office is pinned at the top and includes everyone in the office, new members too.
• To start a conversation, click + and pick people. One person opens a direct conversation with them. Two or more make a group: give it a name and click Create group.
• In the message box, Enter sends and Shift+Enter starts a new line. You can drag files into the conversation or paste them.
• Type @ and pick a teammate to mention them. Type # and search for a client, contact, task, or conversation to link it. In the sent message, clicking the link opens the record.
• Point at a message to react with emoji, reply to it, copy it, or edit and delete your own. In a reply, click the quoted message to scroll to it.
• A message an office automation posted shows ⚡ and the automation’s name next to the sender. Click it to open the run that posted it (see Build an automation).

A new message in a team conversation shows a pop-up notification and an item in the bell. Several messages in a row in the same conversation appear in the bell as one item. To be notified only about mentions and replies, or to mute a conversation, click ⋯ at the top of the conversation and choose under Notifications.

Finish the conversation

Close it when the work is handled. Closing a conversation is separate from completing any tasks created from it.