Conversations with Client(s)

The Conversations feature in the VO is a great way to keep all communications with your clients in one place. You may communicate with your clients without leaving the VO and all conversation threads are retained for reference purposes. Your client will receive an email and can either reply by email or via Conversations in their portal. Your client's email response will appear in the conversation thread. You have the ability to create a new conversation, reply to a recent conversation or search your conversations by date, title, or client name. These conversations can be with one or more clients and can include staff members from your office. 

Clients can initiate conversations with the Office Owner or Department. Email notifications will be sent to the contact named in the Department section of your Office Profile. 

The Conversations icon on the Control Menu will open Conversations. The number of unread conversations will be displayed in the upper right-hand corner of the icon.

New Conversation with Client

1. Click on New Conversation and select Conversation with Client(s) from the menu.
   
   
   
   
2. Select the appropriate filters to narrow down the recipient list.
   
   • Select the desired Category and Department from the drop-down lists.
   • Select PBM Clients only (this option is only available if you have Full Contact Accounting).
   • Select Show Client Staff if desired.
     
     
3. Click the Next button once all desired filters have been selected.
   
   
   
   
4. Select the desired recipients by clicking to the right of the client's name or click Select All.
   
   

   Note: A list of the clients will display  You can narrow the selection down by entering the first few characters of a name in the search field.

   
   
   
5. Click the Back button to modify the filters.
6. Click the Next button once all selections have been made. 
   
   
   
   
7. Enter the Conversation Title. You may edit the title at any time.
8. Select the High Importance box to flag the conversation, if desired.
9. Click the Receive BCC Email box to receive a blind carbon copy of the message.
10. Select the Back button to return to the Client Selection page.
11. Click the Submit button to proceed.
    
    
    
    
12. Enter the conversation message in the "Start typing..." section. 
    
    
    
    

    Note: You have additional message features to choose from by using the icons in the top right corner before sending the message. These features, indicated with the red arrow in the screenshot above, are described below.

    
    
    
    • Secure Upload—Any files attached to the conversation will be sent as a Secure Upload. This is set as the default. The client will receive a file link in their email and will need to log in to download the file. You may deselect the Secure Upload box from the Settings icon to send the file as an attachment. 
    • Include Signature—A signature can be created for use in communications in Conversations and other areas of the VO. Office owners, partners, staff, clients, and their employees need to add their signature to their VO profile. Include Signature will be selected as the default. You may deselect the Include Signature box using the Settings icon if you wish to enter your own closing
    • Attach File— Select the paper clip icon to attach one or more files to the conversation message. You may also use the drag-and-drop method. 
    • Click on the vertical menu icon to Insert Message Template from your list of Message Templates to Clients, Staff or for General Messages. Click here for instructions on Message Templates.
    • Click on the vertical menu icon to Add People to the message. Select the name(s) and click the blue Add button.
    • Click Leave Conversation to remove yourself from all future exchanges in this conversation. A confirmation message will open. Select Confirm or Cancel to proceed. 
13. Click the Send icon to send or respond to the conversation message.

Note: If you start a new conversation and leave the conversation page before sending the message, you may retrieve the unsent message under Recent Conversations.