Messaging

Client conversations get scattered across WhatsApp, phone calls and email. Barclo messages keeps them together: each client has one conversation with your business, and everything Barclo tells them about their bookings and invoices appears in it too, so you always have the full record.

To open it, choose Messages in the menu. On a phone it is one of the tabs along the bottom. A count beside Messages shows how many messages are unread.

How the Messages page works

On a wide screen you see your conversations on the left and the open conversation on the right. On a phone or tablet you see the list first, then the conversation full screen. Unread conversations show the client's name in bold with an orange dot. Use Search clients to find a conversation by name.

At the top of a conversation you see the client's phone number, email address and how they prefer to hear from you, with View client to open their record. The ··· menu has Archive, which tidies a finished conversation out of your list.

Your messages are green bubbles on the right, with the time and Seen once the client has read them. Press Enter to send, or Shift and Enter for a new line.

Starting a conversation

1. 1

   Choose New message

   It is at the top of the Messages list.

2. 2

   Pick the client

   Search by name. Each row shows their phone number and email address.

3. 3

   Write your message

   Type it, or start from one of your saved replies. Before you send, the line under the button tells you whether the client will also be emailed, and if not, why.

4. 4

   Send message

   The conversation opens, ready for their reply.

You can also start from the client: Message on their page in Clients, the message button beside a visit on Today, or Message on a booking all open that client's conversation.

How clients receive your messages

Every message lands in the client's portal, under Messages. Barclo also emails them to say you have written, with what you said. They reply in their portal, and their reply comes back into the same conversation.

If a message was not emailed, a line under your bubble says so and why, for example the client has no email address, or they were already emailed about a message in the last 5 minutes. The message is still in their portal.

Saved replies

Saved replies are the messages you send often, such as "Running late". Your first few appear as buttons above the message box, and All saved replies shows the rest. Choosing one fills the message box; nothing is sent until you press Send, so you can change it first.

• Write {{client_name}} and it becomes the client's first name, and {{pet_names}} becomes their pets' names.
• Anyone on your team can add a saved reply, from All saved replies and then Add a saved reply.
• Only the owner and managers can change or delete one. Barclo's starter replies can be changed but not deleted.
• A deleted reply can be brought back with Undo for a few seconds.

Message several clients

For announcements like "We're closed on 24 and 25 December", use Message several clients in the Messages list. Only the owner and managers see it.

1. 1

   Choose who it goes to

   All active clients, Booked this week, or Choose clients to tick them one by one. Each option shows how many clients it reaches.

2. 2

   Write the message

   Start from a saved reply if you like. The tags work here too, filled in for each client.

3. 3

   Review and send

   Barclo shows exactly who will get it by name, and any warnings: clients with no email address get it in their portal only, and if the message names pets, clients with no pets on file are left out.

4. 4

   Send

   Messages can't be unsent. Each client gets it in their own conversation, so replies come back one to one.

You can message up to 100 clients at once. Above that, nothing is sent and Barclo asks you to choose fewer.

Booking and invoice notices

Barclo adds a short grey notice to the conversation when something happens that the client should know about, for example a booking confirmed, changed, approved, declined or cancelled, a booking reminder, an invoice sent, a payment due or received, a visit report, or that you are on the way. The client sees the same notices in their portal. See Automatic emails for what is also sent by email.

Knowing when a client writes

When a client sends a message, the unread count on Messages goes up, the conversation moves to the top of your list, and the Messages card on Today shows it. Barclo also emails the business owner, at most once every 5 minutes for the same conversation, with a Reply in Barclo button.

Your team can read and reply to messages in the Barclo app too, under Messages. See Mobile app.