Correspondence

Overview

Correspondence covers the letters and documents you send to customers. These include invoices, payment notices, welcome letters, credit control warnings, and other formal communications.

Each piece of correspondence tracks:

• What type of letter it is
• When it was created
• What data it contains (invoices, payments, numbers)
• Whether it has been sent, downloaded, or delivered
• A full audit trail of all actions taken

For a quick walkthrough of common tasks, see the Correspondence User Guide. For API access, see the Correspondence API Endpoint.

The Correspondence Page

When you open a correspondence record, you see two main areas:

Left side (or top): Correspondence details including the correspondence number, date, type, and current status.

Right side (or bottom): Related information such as linked invoices, payments, open TODOs, recent updates, and actions you can take.

In enhanced mode, you also see:

• Preview Email tab: shows what the email will look like before you send it
• Sent Emails: history of all emails sent for this correspondence
• Linked Tickets: any support tickets connected to this correspondence

Correspondence Types

Each piece of correspondence has a type. The type controls what content sections appear in the letter and how the document is formatted.

Correspondence Classes

Types are grouped into classes:

• Billing: invoices, statements, copy invoices
• Credit Control: overdue notices, suspension warnings, final notices
• Customer Services: welcome letters, general communications
• Marketing: promotional material (requires customer consent)

Common Built-in Types

Your system administrator configures the available types. Common examples include:

• Welcome: sent to new customers, often includes an email verification link
• Failed Payment: notifies the customer of a payment problem
• Overdue Account: chases unpaid invoices
• Suspension Warning: warns that services may be suspended
• Final Notice: last warning before further action
• Copy Invoices: sends copies of selected invoices
• Statement of Account: summary of the account balance and recent activity

Content Sections

Each type defines which content sections are available when creating correspondence. These include:

Only the sections relevant to the chosen type appear on the form.

Creating Correspondence

To create new correspondence:

1. Go to the customer’s page
2. Click Add menu > Correspondence and select the correspondence type from the submenu
3. Fill in the content sections that appear (these vary by type)
4. Click Save

The system automatically assigns a correspondence number and generates the PDF letter.

Key Points

• The correspondence type cannot be changed after creation, so choose carefully
• The correspondence number is assigned automatically, but can be set manually in expert mode
• Content sections only appear if the selected type includes them
• The PDF is generated after saving

Viewing and Downloading

Finding Correspondence

You can find correspondence in several ways:

• From the customer’s page, where correspondence appears in the summary on the right-hand side
• Using SmartSearch: enter the correspondence reference in the format AccountNumber/CCorrespondenceNumber (for example, 12345/C001)
• From the customer page, searching /C001 finds that customer’s correspondence number 1

Downloading the PDF

When viewing a correspondence record, click the Download button to download the PDF letter. The correspondence must have been produced (PDF generated) before you can download it.

Emailing Correspondence

You can email correspondence directly from the platform. For general information about email delivery and tracking, see Emailing Customers.

The correspondence must be ready (PDF generated) before you can email it.

Quick Send

Click the Email button on the correspondence page to send immediately. The platform emails the document to the customer’s default email addresses using the default message template. No form appears and no confirmation is needed.

Full Email Options

For more control, use Actions menu > Email Correspondence. This opens a form where you can:

1. Choose your recipients
2. Add extra attachments
3. Record audit trail details
4. Click Email Correspondence to send

Choosing Recipients

The email form offers several recipient options:

• Customer Email Addresses: email addresses on the customer record
• Contact Email Addresses: emails for contacts linked to this customer
• Internal Team Emails: send a copy to yourself, the account manager, or commission holders
• Previous Recipients: addresses used for previous emails to this customer
• Other Email Address: enter any address manually (expert mode)

Leave the customer email field blank to send to all customer email addresses.

Extra Attachments

You can attach additional documents configured for correspondence emails. Select them from the Extra Attachments list on the email form.

Audit Trail

The email form records:

• Emailed on Behalf Of: the user the email was sent on behalf of
• Email Reason: why the correspondence was emailed
• Email Details: any additional notes about the email

Marking as Delivered

Use this when correspondence has been delivered outside the platform. For example, posted, handed over in person, or sent through another channel.

How to Mark as Delivered

1. Open the correspondence record
2. Click Actions menu > Deliver Correspondence
3. Fill in the audit details
4. Click Deliver Correspondence

What Happens

• The correspondence status updates to include “Correspondence Delivered”
• Related TODOs are marked as complete (for the correspondence itself, and for any linked invoices, payments, or direct debit accounts)
• The delivery is recorded in the audit trail

Audit Trail

Each delivery records:

• Delivered on Behalf Of: the user the delivery was recorded on behalf of
• Delivered Reason: why the correspondence was manually delivered
• Delivered Details: any additional notes

Recreating Correspondence

If the letter template has changed or the PDF needs regenerating, you can recreate the correspondence.

1. Open the correspondence record
2. Click Recreate in the Update Correspondence section

This regenerates the PDF letter using the current template. The correspondence data stays the same; only the PDF output is rebuilt.

The Recreate button appears highlighted when the correspondence has data but no PDF, indicating it needs generating.

Status Tracking

Correspondence uses a status system where multiple statuses can be active at the same time. For example, a letter can be both “Produced” and “Emailed”.

The “Has PDF Attachment” status is used internally to track whether the PDF file exists.

Related Records

Correspondence can link to several other types of record:

• Invoices: individual or multiple invoices referenced in the letter
• Payments: payments mentioned in the correspondence
• Expected Payments: scheduled payments referenced
• Direct Debit Accounts: direct debit accounts linked to the correspondence
• Direct Debit Mandates: specific mandates referenced

When you email or deliver correspondence, the platform automatically completes any related TODOs on the linked invoices, payments, and direct debit accounts.

Linked Tickets

You can link support tickets to correspondence. Linkable tickets for the same customer appear on the correspondence detail page, and you can create the link directly from there.