Use the unified inbox (email, SMS, WhatsApp, Messenger)

Tenant conversations live everywhere: email for the formal stuff, SMS for the quick stuff, WhatsApp and Messenger because that’s where people actually reply. The Inbox puts all four in one thread list.

1. Open Inbox. Conversations are on the left; click one to read it — “Select a conversation to view messages in main.”
2. Unread counts show on each thread. Work top-down, oldest unread first.
3. Reply right in the thread. Your reply goes back out through the channel the message came in on — a WhatsApp message gets a WhatsApp reply.
4. Use internal notes for the stuff the tenant should never see: “Tenant claims the noise is the upstairs unit — check with 85B before responding.”
5. Email attachments land on the thread. Save the important ones to Drive rather than leaving them buried in a conversation.

Tips

• The inbox is also where maintenance photos arrive. When a tenant sends “here is the photo you asked for,” it’s already attached to the thread — reference it when you create the maintenance request.
• Internal notes are your institutional memory. Six months from now, “we agreed to repaint in spring” as a note beats your memory of the conversation.
• Message threads update live. If you’re coordinating a repair with a superintendent in real time, you don’t need to refresh.