Messaging Customers
Every PO and invoice carries its own chat — keep the conversation next to the document it's about.
Overview
Every purchase order and invoice detail page carries a Message Customer button in the header. Clicking it opens a chat panel that slides in from the right, scoped to that specific document — so a question about a discrepancy, a missing approval, or a rejection reason stays tied to the record it's about.
- Create one or more channels per document to keep topics separate.
- Chat in threads, react with emoji, and share files.
- Review a channel's activity timeline and uploads in one place.
- Manage who's in the conversation with member roles.
Where to find it: the Message Customer button in the header of any PO or invoice detail page. See Working with Purchase Orders and Invoicing a Purchase Order.
Channels
A single PO or invoice can have one or more channels — useful when you want to keep separate threads for separate topics (e.g. delivery logistics vs invoicing queries).
- First time? Clicking Message Customer on a record without any channels yet opens the Create channel dialog immediately.
- Existing channels? The panel opens to a list of channels, each showing a
#icon, the channel name, an optional description, and a member count.
To create another channel, click Add channel at the bottom of the list and provide:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Channel name | A short, descriptive label (auto-suggested as the PO / invoice number for the first channel). Required. |
| Channel description | Optional context. Helps members understand what the channel is for. |
Open a channel's three-dot menu to Edit its name and description, or Delete it (with confirmation — deletion is permanent).
Inside a channel
A channel has four tabs:
| Tab | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Chat | The message stream and composer. |
| Activity | A timeline of significant events on the underlying record (status changes, key actions). |
| Uploads | A consolidated view of every file shared in the channel. |
| Members | The participant list and member management. |
Sending a message
The composer sits at the bottom of the Chat tab:
- Type your message in the rich-text editor. Placeholder text reads "Write your message".
- Enter to send. Shift + Enter for a new line.
- Click the send icon (right of the composer) to send manually. The button is disabled until you've typed something or attached a file.
Replying in a thread
Hover any message to reveal a Reply in thread icon. Clicking it opens the thread view — the parent message at the top, replies underneath — so a side conversation doesn't clutter the main feed. The original message in the main feed shows a "N replies" badge so the thread is easy to find again.
Reacting to a message
Hover any message to reveal an emoji icon alongside the reply action. Clicking it opens an emoji picker (titled Reactions); pick one and it attaches to the message with a counter:
- Each unique emoji shows the emoji glyph and the number of people who reacted (e.g. 👍 2).
- Hover the reaction badge to see who reacted.
- Click your own reaction to remove it.
Attaching files
Click the upload icon on the left of the composer to attach a file:
| Limit | Detail |
|---|---|
| Max files per message | 5 |
| Max file size | 4 MB each |
Files appear above the composer with a paperclip, filename, and size — click the × on any file to remove it before sending. If you exceed the limits you'll see "You can only upload up to 5 files" or "<filename> exceeds the 4MB file size limit".
Every file shared in the channel also surfaces on the Uploads tab for easy retrieval.
Members and roles
Open the Members tab to see who's in the channel. Each row shows avatar, name, email, and role (Admin or Member).
- Add members — click Add member at the bottom of the list, search for the user, pick a role, and confirm. You can stage several adds before confirming.
- Remove members — open the row's three-dot menu and pick Delete. Admin-only. You can't remove yourself if you're the only admin.
| Role | Can do |
|---|---|
| Admin | Edit channel, delete channel, manage members, plus everything Members can do. |
| Member | Send messages, react, attach files, view the channel. |
Unread messages
When new messages arrive while you're scrolled up, a floating "<N> new messages" badge appears at the top of the message list. Click it to jump to the bottom and dismiss the badge.
Tips
- Raise discrepancies where the evidence is — if an invoice was rejected, ask on that invoice's channel and attach the corrected file there, so the whole story lives in one place.
- One channel per topic beats one long channel — delivery logistics and invoice disputes age better apart.
- Check the Activity tab first — a status change often answers the question you were about to ask.
Troubleshooting
"The Message Customer button doesn't open a chat"
The record may not have any channels yet and channel creation may be restricted for your role. Ask a colleague with admin access to the document to create the first channel.
"I can't remove a member"
Member removal is Admin-only, and you can't remove yourself if you're the only admin. Promote another member to admin first.
"My file won't attach"
Check the limits: at most 5 files per message and 4 MB per file. Compress larger files or share a link instead.
Need help?
Contact platform support with the PO number or invoice identifier and the channel name — the support team can confirm delivery of messages and files.