One way to send: quotes, invoices, purchase orders and job forms

Every document type used to send through its own little box. A quote went out with its wording baked in, an invoice went out with different wording again, and neither of them let you copy in the office, attach the completed forms or text the customer as well. Now quotes, invoices, purchase orders and job forms all go out through the same composer, and you get to see what happened afterwards.

One composer, four documents

• It opens from where you already work. Quotes: Send to Customer and Save & Send to Customer in the quote editors, or Generate PDF & Send to Customer at the end of the floor plan wizard. Invoices: Send Invoice or Resend Invoice in More Actions, plus Save & Send on the job Invoices tab. Purchase orders: Send to supplier in the purchase order editor. Job forms: Send on any row of the job Forms tab.
• The same send on your phone. Quotes, invoices and job forms send from the mobile app with the same recipients, channels and templates. On the phone you can attach images, while the document PDF, completed forms and other files are portal only. Purchase orders stay on the portal too.
• Everything in one screen. On the portal the composer is two panes: who it goes to, the channels and the message on the left, a PDF preview on the right that you can collapse with Hide preview. You can download the PDF from the footer before you send.

Choose who it goes to

• The customer and their contacts, in a dropdown. Pick the site contact, the accounts person or type an address in by hand. The To field holds one address, everyone else goes in Cc.
• Cc and Bcc on both platforms. The office, the builder, whoever needs a copy.
• Send myself a copy. One tick and your own address is added to Bcc.
• Your standing CC addresses fill themselves in. Anything set in Settings → Email Settings → Outbound Notifications appears as a chip marked auto, and you can pull it off for that one send.
• Fix the contact while you are there. Pick someone different and a checkbox offers to save them as the contact for that quote, invoice or purchase order.
• Bad addresses are called out. If an address has bounced before you get an amber note reading This address bounced previously. You can still send, you just are not doing it blind.

Email and SMS, separately

• Two switches, two tabs. Email and SMS are independent. Turn one off or turn both on, and the send button follows: Send email, Send SMS or Send email + SMS.
• SMS on quotes and invoices. Purchase orders and job forms are email only.
• 425 characters, with a live count. The SMS tab shows the segments and the credits the message will use as you type.
• It tells you why, not just no. If SMS is unavailable you see the reason on the spot, such as No mobile number on file for this customer. or This customer has opted out of SMS.

Pick a template, then say it your way

• A template picker for each channel. Email and SMS have their own lists. The system default is there, for example Quote Sent (default), along with anything you have built in Settings → Templates.
• Edit it for this send only. Change the subject, add a line about the access arrangements, delete a paragraph. Your stored template is untouched.
• It watches your back. Delete the quote link and the composer says This email has no quote link. Customers open the quote from that link. with an Add it back button. Send a purchase order with nothing in it and it offers to attach the PDF. On an invoice edited since it was sent, it warns you the customer will get the version they already have until you save.

Attach what the job needs

• The document PDF, on by default. Except on quotes, which travel as a link so the customer always sees the current version rather than an old attachment.
• Completed job forms. Attach the forms off the job, with a Signed forms only filter when that is all the customer needs. Preview each one before it goes.
• Photos and files. Add job and quote photos, or attach any file from your computer. On the phone you can take a photo, pick from your library or grab one off a job or quote, images only.
• 20 MB and 20 files. A meter shows where you are at, and the document PDF and any attached forms count towards it.

See what happened after you hit send

• A delivery strip on the document. Once something has been sent, quote detail, invoice detail, the purchase order editor and sent form rows show when it went, an email chip reading Delivered, Clicked, Bounced or Failed, an SMS chip, whether the quote has been viewed and how many times an SMS link was opened.
• Clicked means a link was clicked. Cooledge does not track opens, so nothing on that strip is a guess.
• Straight through to the conversation. View in Messages takes you to the thread.
• No more phantom sends. A quote can no longer be marked as sent when no email actually went out. If there is no deliverable address the send fails first and nothing changes.
• No double texting. If the SMS goes but the email fails, the composer stays open with everything you typed intact and switches SMS off, so your fix does not text the customer twice.

Full walkthrough in the sending documents guide, and emails sent from the composer carry your company signature.