The Two-Way Inbox

Perceny sends a lot of messages on your behalf — reminders, confirmations, receipts. Clients reply to those messages. Without an inbox, those replies go nowhere anyone can read.

The Inbox is where they land: "View and reply to every message sent to and received from your clients." Text and email sit in the same thread per client, so you are reading one conversation rather than two half-conversations.

Before it worksCopy a link to this section

Two-way messaging needs a phone number, and the inbox will say so: "Get a messaging number to send and receive messages." Your first number is free and included with your plan. See Your texting numbers.

The inbox itself is an add-on on some plans — "Unlock the two-way inbox: see and reply to client texts and emails from one thread, plus 15 extra credits every month." Check Your plan and add-ons if the page tells you it is unavailable.

Reading the inboxCopy a link to this section

Go to Messaging → Inbox.

• The left column is the conversation list, newest activity first, with a search box (Search conversations) that matches names and message text.
• Pick a conversation and the thread opens on the right. Load Older Messages pulls in history above what is shown.
• Each message is colored by channel. You choose those colors under Messaging → Colors: one per channel for what you send, plus one for incoming replies, "to tell messages apart at a glance."
• Long email replies arrive with the quoted history trimmed. Show trimmed content expands it.
• Open Client jumps from the thread to that client's record — useful when the message is really a booking question.

ReplyingCopy a link to this section

Type in the composer and send. A few things behave differently from a phone's messages app:

• Send From picks which of your numbers (or email identities) the reply goes out on. Your default is pre-selected and badged; the number you used last is badged too.
• On email you get a Subject line, rich formatting (bold, italic, lists, links, quotes, images), and Reply vs Reply All with a visible To / Cc list you can remove recipients from.
• Texts cost credits by the segment. Email does not. See Credits and segments.

When you cannot reply on a channelCopy a link to this section

Perceny respects opt-outs, and it tells you why rather than failing silently:

• "This client replied STOP, so texting is turned off. Switch to Email to reply."
• "This client unsubscribed from email. Switch to Text to reply."
• A Do Not Disturb badge on the conversation lists which channels the client opted out of.
• If the client has no phone or no email on file, the composer says that too — fix it on the client record.

You cannot override an opt-out from the inbox, and you should not want to: STOP is a carrier-level obligation, not a preference.

Starting a conversationCopy a link to this section

New Conversation lets you pick a client — or type a raw phone number or email address. If the client you picked has neither on file, Perceny says "This client has no phone number or email on file." rather than creating a thread that can never send.

You can also message a client straight from their record or from the client list, which opens the same composer.

Removing thingsCopy a link to this section

Two destructive actions, both scoped to your business rather than to the client's phone:

• Remove Conversation — "The conversation and all of its messages leave the inbox for everyone in the business. If this client writes again, a new conversation appears."
• Remove Message — "The message leaves the conversation for everyone in the business. It is not un-sent — the client still has it."

Read that second line twice before using it to fix a typo. Send a correction instead.

Who can see itCopy a link to this section

The inbox is gated by the Manage Conversations permission: "View and reply to client conversations in the messaging inbox." It is separate from templates, numbers and blasts — a receptionist can answer clients without being able to send a blast to your whole list. See Who can message and spend credits.

NotificationsCopy a link to this section

An incoming message pushes a notification to whoever can read the inbox, so a text at 7pm is not discovered on Monday. Turning off the SMS notification channel in your settings does not silence the inbox: "Inbox conversations and blasts are not affected."