Messaging

Every message in QBO belongs to a record (a process, a claim, an order, a contact), so the conversation about that record is kept with it: who was told what, when, and with which documents attached. Messaging covers both directions:

• Outbound: send email from message templates that merge data from the record into the subject and body, with documents attached and recipients chosen automatically. Workflow steps, scheduled jobs, and users can all send.
• Inbound: monitor a mailbox and turn each email into a message, with its attachments saved as documents. Rules then link the email to the record it’s about, thread it with the message it replies to, or start a workflow.
• Delivery channels: email goes out through your own mail servers or an email service, and text messages and Microsoft Teams channel notifications are also available. See Integrations.

AI · built in

QBO can draft a reply to an inbound email from the email itself and the data on the record it’s linked to. The draft is saved as a new message threaded to the original, ready for someone to review and send, or it can be sent automatically.

Key concepts

Concept	In QBO	What it does
Message	Message	One email or note, bound to a parent record through Object and ObjectID. Holds the subject, text and HTML bodies, sender, and template.
Message template	MessageTemplate	A reusable message: subject and body with merge fields, default sender, default recipients, and the data it merges.
Recipient	MessageRecipient	One To, Cc, Bcc, or Reply-To address on a message, with sent, received, and read dates.
Merge field	{Field} in a subject or body	Replaced with data from the parent record when the message is created.
Inbound account	MailInbound configuration	A mailbox QBO monitors, and the processors that decide what to do with each email.
Thread	ParentMessageID	Links a reply to the message it answers, so a conversation reads in order.

Choose your view

Use the buttons under the page title. End user covers reading, sending, and replying to messages on a record; Power user covers message templates, merge fields, and inbound email monitoring; Developer covers the API.

Message templates are one kind of template. Recipients often come from the record’s contacts, and inbound emails can start a workflow.