Emailing Clients

Wattle can send emails to your clients straight from the screens you already use — a quick note, an invoice, an estimate or a receipt. It keeps a tidy record of everything you send, so you can always check what went out, when, and whether it was delivered.

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What your client receives

When you send an email, your client gets an ordinary email in their normal inbox (Gmail, Outlook, whatever they use). It shows:

• The subject you typed.
• Your message, with your chosen signature at the bottom (your own, the clinic's, or none).
• Any attachments — for example an invoice or estimate PDF — which they can open or download like any other email attachment.

They don't see anything about Wattle, drafts, folders, or status. To them it's just an email from your clinic. If they reply, the reply goes to your clinic's email address as normal.

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Where you can write an email from

You don't have to go to one place to send an email. You can start one from wherever you happen to be:

Wherever you start, the same compose window opens. The only difference is how much is filled in for you.

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The compose window

This is the window where you write your email. From top to bottom you'll see:

• To — who the email goes to. Start typing a name and it suggests matching clients.
• Add CC — a small button to add extra recipients (see below).
• Subject — the title of the email.
• Message — the main body. You can also drag a file straight onto this area to attach it.
• Attachments — a grid of file chips, shown once you've added at least one file.
• A footer along the bottom with Attach, Change signature, and Discard on the left, and Save as draft and Send on the right.

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Send an email

Usually: front desk, vet, or nurse — anyone who needs to reach an owner.

Step by step

1. Open the compose window from wherever suits you (see the table above). The simplest one-off path is Communications > Compose.
2. In the To field, type the client's name or email and pick them from the list.
3. Type a Subject.
4. Type your Message.
5. (Optional) Attach a file — drag it onto the message area, or click the paperclip.
6. (Optional) Click Add CC to copy in someone else.
7. Click Send.

The status will show Sending for a moment, then settle to Sent.

Other ways to do this

• ⭐ From a client or patient file (recommended for follow-ups): the recipient is already filled in, so you just write and send. Open the file, then choose Send email from the header's More actions (⋯) menu.
• From an invoice or estimate: open it, click Send. The PDF is attached for you and the subject is filled in (for example "Invoice INV-001"). Edit the message or send as-is.
• For a receipt: after you record a payment, a "Payment recorded" message appears with a Send receipt action — click it to open the compose window with the receipt PDF attached.

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Attach an invoice, estimate, or history PDF

Usually: front desk or vet sending a formal document.

The tidiest way to email a bill, quote, or receipt is to start from that document — the PDF is built and attached automatically.

Step by step (auto-attach)

1. Open the finalised invoice or estimate (for a receipt, record the payment first, then use its Send receipt action).
2. Click Send.
3. The compose window opens with the client filled in, a subject like "Estimate EST-001 from your clinic", and the PDF already attached.
4. Edit the message if you like, then click Send. The PDF is generated and sent.

Attaching any other file (for example a history print-out)

• ⭐ Drag and drop: drag the file from your computer onto the message area. A dashed border and "Drop to attach" appears — let go to attach.
• Paperclip: click the paperclip in the footer and choose your file(s).
• + chip: once you have one file attached, click the dashed + tile at the end of the attachments grid to add more.

To make a history PDF first, see Printing & PDFs, then attach it using one of the ways above.

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See whether an email was delivered

Usually: anyone following up.

Every message carries a coloured status badge so you can see what happened to it:

Step by step

1. Go to Communications, or open a client/patient file's Communications tab.
2. Find the message in the list — the badge is shown on each row.
3. Click the row to open the full message and see when it was sent.

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View a sent message

Usually: anyone.

Step by step

1. Open Communications (for everything) or a client/patient Communications tab (for just that contact).
2. Click the row you want.
3. The detail view opens, showing the subject, status, who it went to, the dates, any linked client or patient (which you can click), the message itself, and attachments you can download.

Other ways to do this — mark the simplest with ⭐

• ⭐ From the Communications inbox: best when browsing your whole history.
• From a client's Communications tab: shows only that owner's messages.
• From a patient's Communications tab: shows only that pet's messages (with a toggle to show all of the owner's messages too).

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Find or filter messages

Usually: anyone hunting for a particular email.

Step by step

1. In Communications, use the folder dropdown to narrow by type:
   • All — everything (except archived)
   • Drafts — not yet sent
   • Sent — on their way or delivered
   • Issues — bounced or failed
   • Archive — tidied away
2. Or type in the Search box to find a message by its subject.

In a client or patient Communications tab, the controls are scoped to that contact:

• On a client file (when the client has pets): a patient filter dropdown to view All patients or just one pet's messages.
• On a patient file (when the owner has more than one pet): a toggle between Show only this patient and Show all client comms.

There's no folder or status filter on these tabs — use the main Communications inbox for that.

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Edit a draft

Usually: anyone finishing an email they started earlier.

A draft is an email you've begun but not sent. To keep one for later, click Save as draft in the compose footer — this is the step that actually saves it. Closing the compose window on its own does not save your work, so save the draft first if you want to come back to it.

Step by step

1. Go to Communications and choose the Drafts folder.
2. Click the draft row. The compose window reopens with everything you'd typed.
3. Make your changes.
4. Click Send, or Save as draft to keep it for later.

Other ways to do this — mark the simplest with ⭐

• ⭐ Click the draft row directly (fastest).
• Use the three-dot menu on the row > Edit draft.
• Open the draft's detail view and click Reopen draft.

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Delete a draft

Usually: anyone tidying up.

Step by step

1. In the Drafts folder, click the three-dot menu on the draft row.
2. Choose Delete draft and confirm.

Other ways to do this — mark the simplest with ⭐

• ⭐ While editing in compose: click the trash icon (Discard) in the footer.
• From the draft's detail view: click the red Delete button and confirm.
• In bulk: select several drafts in the Drafts folder and click the Delete bulk action.

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Archive or restore a message

Usually: anyone keeping the inbox tidy.

Archiving is how you tidy a sent message out of the way without losing it. It moves to the Archive folder — it's never deleted. You can restore it any time.

Step by step (archive)

1. In Communications, find the sent message.
2. Click its three-dot menu > Archive (or open its detail view and click Archive).
3. It moves to the Archive folder.

Step by step (restore)

1. Open the Archive folder.
2. Select the message (or several) and click Restore.

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Retry a failed or bounced email

Usually: front desk.

If a message shows Failed or Bounced, it didn't reach the client. You can send it again — usually after fixing the address.

Step by step

1. Go to Communications and open the Issues folder (it gathers bounced and failed messages).
2. If the address was wrong, fix it on the client's record first.
3. Click the three-dot menu on the message > Retry send.
4. The status goes back to Sending, then Sent — or bounces again if the address is still wrong.

Other ways to do this — mark the simplest with ⭐

• ⭐ From the Issues folder: see all problem messages in one place.
• From the message's detail view: click Retry send, then watch the status update live.

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Change your signature

Usually: anyone.

Your signature is the sign-off at the bottom of the email. You can choose per message.

Step by step

1. In the compose footer, click the pen icon (Change signature).
2. Pick My signature, Clinic default, or None.
3. Your choice is written into the message body.

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Link a patient to an email

Usually: vet or nurse.

Linking a pet to a message means it appears on that pet's Communications tab — handy for keeping a pet's correspondence together.

Step by step

1. The easiest way: start the email from the patient's file. The pet is linked automatically.
2. To link manually in compose: there's a Link a patient dropdown just below the To field. It stays greyed out until you've chosen a recipient; once you have, it lists that owner's pets — choose one.

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Bulk actions (deleting or archiving several at once)

Usually: anyone tidying up.

In the Communications inbox you can tick several rows and act on them together — for example delete a batch of old drafts, or archive a batch of sent messages.

Step by step

1. Use a folder filter (for example Drafts) to show the messages you want.
2. Tick the rows you want.
3. Click the bulk action — Delete (drafts) or Archive / Restore (sent).

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If sending is blocked

Your clinic can send up to 100 emails per day (the day resets at midnight UTC). As you get close, a warning banner appears in the Communications inbox; once you reach the limit, sending is paused until the next day.

• The warning only shows in the main inbox — not in the compose windows you open from a client, patient, invoice, or estimate. If you've been sending a lot today, check the inbox first so you don't write a long email only to find it won't send.
• If you're regularly hitting the limit, that's something to raise with whoever set up your clinic — the cap can be lifted.

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A note on permissions

Can't see the Compose or Send buttons, or the Communications menu? Your account may not have permission for it — ask whoever set up your clinic.

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Related sections

• Clients (pet owners) — where each owner's email address lives.
• Patients (the animals) — the Communications tab for one pet.
• Invoices and Estimates (quotes) — sending billing documents with the PDF attached.
• Taking payments — sending a receipt.
• Printing & PDFs — making a PDF to attach.
• How the app talks to you — what the status badges and toasts mean.
• Glossary — plain-language definitions.