Reply from Inbox and start contact from a client or lead

Keep every outbound conversation connected to the correct client, family, or lead by starting from that person’s record or replying in their existing Inbox thread.

Available to

Owners, admins, and team members with Inbox access can work conversations. Email and SMS are available only when the recipient and school are ready for that channel.

Before you start

Confirm that you are looking at the intended person and household. For email, the recipient needs an email address. For SMS, the recipient needs a phone number and must not have opted out.

Do not create a disconnected message for a name alone. Starting from the client or lead record lets the dashboard find or create the correct shared conversation and keeps the family context intact.

Steps

Reply to an existing conversation

1. Open Messages → Inbox.
2. Select the conversation and review the latest entries, recipient, and subject.
3. Choose Email or SMS in the reply composer. If a channel is unavailable, read the reason shown before changing any settings.
4. Write the reply. For email, review the subject when it is shown.
5. Select Save draft.
6. Review the saved draft in the conversation, then use its actions and select Send draft when it is ready.

Start contact from a client or lead

1. Find the person in Clients, or open the lead from Pipelines.
2. Open the person’s detail panel and verify their contact information and relationships.
3. In the panel footer, choose Message by email or Message by SMS.
4. The dashboard opens the connected Inbox conversation with that channel selected.
5. Write, save, review, and send the draft from Inbox.

What happens next

The sent entry appears in the conversation and the thread is available in Sent as well as its normal Inbox history. Delivery can still be pending or fail after handoff, so review activity when the message is important.

If you do not see this option

The person may be missing the required email address or phone number, may have opted out of SMS, or your position may not include Inbox access. School sender setup or messaging authorization may also be incomplete. Ask an owner or admin to review Settings → Communications.