Emails
After you have set up your Email integration, you will be able to send Emails from within your CRM.
Emails sent from CRM are automatically tracked in the system, allowing you to view Emails as part of an activity history for all the records in your CRM.
This page will take you through the available features of Emails in your CRM. You may also be interested in our Outlook integration, which will allow you to sync emails to your CRM.
Where you can send Emails
The Email function is available in the following modules of your CRM: Contacts, Companies, Opportunities, Quotes, Orders, Invoices, Outbound Shipments, Stocktakes, Stock Transfers, Stock Transfer Shipments, Requests For Quote, Purchase Orders, Supplier Bills, Inbound Shipments, Supplier Companies, Supplier Contacts, Campaigns, Tickets, Projects, Jobs and Training Courses.
Where your sent Emails will appear will depend on where you create them:
- From List View in most modules: if you create a new Email from List View in any module, it will only be linked to the Contact and/or Company record/s you select as recipients. There will be a button on the module toolbar in List View where Email is available.
Module List View toolbar
- Directly from a record in most modules: if you create a new Email directly from a record in any module of CRM, it will apply to both the record you are in, as well as the Contact and/or Company record/s you select as recipients. For example, if you created an Email from an Invoice record and selected a Company and/or Contact as recipients, the Email will show up on all three timelines (i.e. the Invoice, Company and Contact timelines). There will be a button on the record toolbar where Email is available.
Module record toolbar
You can only send an Email to a recipient that has a record in CRM.
You can send Emails to multiple recipients as either primary, Cc or Bcc recipients. To view the Cc and Bcc fields in a new Email, just click on the buttons.
Click on the labels to enable the recipient type on the Email form
A new Email showing the Cc and Bcc fields visible
To choose your recipients, click on any of the To, Cc or Bcc buttons to show a pop-up box that allows you to choose or search for recipients.
Select for Email recipients by clicking on the To, Cc or Bcc labels
When you send an Email from within CRM, you can see the status of the delivery from the Planned Activities area of the Timeline.
The following example shows the Timeline area for a Contact record.
Planned Activities area on a Contact Timeline
When you press Send on a new Email, it will show in the Planned Activities area of the Timeline as being queued for delivery.
Example of a queued Email
If your Email has failed to send, it will also be shown in the Planned Activities area.
Example of a failed Email
When you send an Email, it may remain queued for a few minutes before it is sent and appears on the record Timeline.
From a record Timeline
When you send an Email from anywhere within CRM, an activity is automatically created on the associated record/s in the Timeline area, forming part of the record history, for example:
- If you sent an Email from an Invoice record to both a Company and Contact as recipients, the Email will show up on all three timelines (i.e. the Invoice, Company and Contact timelines).
- If you send an Email to multiple recipients e.g. Contacts or Companies, the Email will appear as an activity on the Timeline in each of the recipient records.
A Contact Timeline showing the activity history
From the Calendar module
You can also view all the Emails that have been sent from anywhere in your CRM from a single point, by using the Calendar module in List View.
Accessing the Calendar module
Once in List View, you will see a list of Activities from all over your system – you can then refine what you see by using the filters and search boxes.
Calendar module in List View showing Activities – you can filter your view or search for particular criteria
Read receipt
You can request a read receipt to be sent with your Email, just tick the Read Receipt box in the bottom left corner when composing a new Email. This triggers the following actions:
- When the Email is received, the recipient may be prompted to allow a read receipt to be sent.
- When the read receipt is generated, it will be sent to the email address of the Sender that was specified when the Email was composed.
Read receipt request
Set the Email priority
You can set the priority of Emails to either Low, Medium or High. By default, Emails are sent with a Medium priority applied.
Click on the flag icon in the top right corner of the Email to change the priority.
Setting the priority of an Email
Formatting Emails
The Email form includes a formatting toolbar, providing you with the ability to customise your email body with the following features. Hovering over each of the buttons will reveal a description of the button function.
- Font – choose a font and size and have the option to apply bold, italics, underline or strikethrough to the text and change the colour.
- Text format – increase/decrease indent, add a numbered or bullet point list, align text to left, centre, right or justify.
- Email format – choose a background colour from the palette.
- Insert an image – from either a URL or file upload.
- Add or remove a link – available for URL, email, phone or link to an anchor in the email text.
Email formatting toolbar
Add a Template
You can utilise an existing Email Template you’ve created by selecting it from the Template drop-down field when you are creating a new Email – the selected template will then populate your Email so that you can review it before sending.
- For more on how to create Email Templates, see our guides to Creating Templates
- To understand how and when you can use your Email Templates, see Using Templates
Selecting an Email Template to apply
You should also note that when you are sending an Email directly from certain record types in CRM (e.g. Invoice or Quote), an Email Template may already apply by default – you can change this by either selecting a different Email Template or clearing the applied template by using the red cross in the Template field, as shown below.
Clear an Email Template choice
Attach a file
Click on the paperclip icon and you will be prompted to choose a file to attach. Depending on the size of the attachment, it may take a moment for the system to process the attachment, which will then show next to the paperclip icon.
Adding an attachment to an Email
An Email with an attachment
Attach a Letter
You can utilise an existing Letter Template you’ve created by selecting it from the Letters drop-down field when you are creating a new Email. The selected Letter will be attached as either a Microsoft Word or PDF document, depending on the options you have chosen when the template was created.
For more on how to create Letter Templates, see our guide to Creating Templates.
Attaching a Letter Template to an Email
Rather than typing an Email, you can use the native voice transcription feature to turn your voice into text. While you are speaking, the system will record your audio and you will have the option to save the recorded audio as an attachment so that it will form part of the Email activity on the applicable record Timeline – note that the attachment will not be sent in the Email.
To begin voice transcription, press the microphone icon when you are creating a new Email and start talking – the system will begin transcribing your speech (there may be a slight delay in the text appearing in the message body).
How to record audio in a new Email
If your browser does not already have permission for Tall Emu CRM to use your microphone, a prompt will display and you will need to choose Allow.
Example of browser permission to enable a microphone
When the voice transcription starts, the microphone icon changes to a square – click on the square to stop the voice transcription.
The microphone icon changes to a square when transcription starts
When you end the voice transcription, you will have the option to save your recorded audio as an attachment to the Email activity (it will not be sent) or select Cancel to abandon the recording.
Choose whether to save the transcription audio file
If you choose to save the audio file, you will see it attached to the Email next to the microphone icon.
An audio file attached to a new Email
You can now edit any of the text that has been transcribed before you send the Email.
Although you have the ability to record and attach an audio file when you create a new Email, this will not be sent to the Email recipient – the audio attachment will remain in the Email activity on the applicable record Timeline.
You could utilise this feature if you wanted to add further information or an explanation (using audio) to accompany the Email activity record.
To record an attach an audio file to your Email activity record, just click on the microphone button and the recording will immediately start. If you are speaking during the recording, the voice transcription feature will automatically commence and start turning your speech into text within the message body.
How to record audio in a new Email
If your browser does not already have permission for Tall Emu CRM to use your microphone, a prompt will display and you will need to choose Allow.
Example of browser permission to enable a microphone
When the recording starts, the microphone icon changes to a square – click on the square to stop recording audio.
The microphone icon changes to a square when recording starts
When you stop recording, you will then be prompted to save the audio file. If you are not happy with it and would like to start again, simply choose Cancel and you will return to the Email form where you can start a new recording.
When you stop recording, you are prompted to save the audio
When you click OK to save the audio file, you will see it attached to the Email next to the microphone icon.
An audio file attached to a new Email
You can then delete the transcribed text from the message body if you do not want to include it in your Email.
Go to Admin > Settings > Calendar & Activity > Email Settings.
You can then click on Priority to reveal the current values and edit them to suit your requirements.
