4 min readMessages

Inbox Overview — Message Threads and Statuses

The Trade2Base inbox brings all your customer conversations into one place — whether they come in by email, WhatsApp, or the customer portal. This guide explains how threads work, what the status badges mean, and how to keep your inbox organised.

Opening the Messages section

Click Messages in the left-hand sidebar. The inbox opens showing a list of all message threads, with the most recently active at the top. A bold blue dot indicates an unread thread.

The thread list

Each row in the thread list shows:

Customer name and channel icon

The customer's name appears with a small icon indicating the channel — email, WhatsApp, or portal. This helps you know how the customer prefers to communicate before you reply.

Message preview

The first line of the most recent message in the thread, truncated to fit the row.

Timestamp

When the last message was sent or received. Threads are sorted by this, newest first.

Status badge

A coloured badge showing the thread status — New, Active, or Resolved.

Thread status badges

New

A message has arrived from this customer and no one has replied yet. New threads appear at the very top of the inbox and are highlighted.

Active

A conversation is in progress — at least one reply has been sent. The thread will stay Active until you mark it resolved.

Resolved

The conversation is complete. Resolved threads move to the bottom of the inbox (or can be hidden with the filter). If the customer replies again, the thread automatically moves back to Active.

Opening a thread and replying

1
Click the thread

Click any thread row to open the full conversation. Messages appear in chronological order, with your replies on the right and the customer's messages on the left.

2
Read the full history

Scroll up to see older messages. All messages from this customer on this channel are grouped into one thread, so you have the full context.

3
Type your reply

Click the reply box at the bottom and type your message. You can use message templates to insert pre-written responses quickly.

4
Send

Click "Send" or press Ctrl+Enter. The message is delivered via the same channel the customer contacted you on.

Starring and searching threads

Click the star icon on any thread to flag it for follow-up. Starred threads can be filtered using the Starred tab at the top of the inbox. Use the search bar to find threads by customer name or keyword in the message content.

Tip: use search to find past quotes

If a customer messages about a job you discussed months ago, search for their name to find the full conversation history. Trade2Base keeps all messages, so nothing gets lost.

Marking a thread as resolved

Once a conversation is complete — the job is booked, the question is answered, the issue is settled — click the Mark resolved button at the top of the thread. This changes the status badge to Resolved and moves the thread down the list. If the customer messages again later, the thread automatically reopens as Active.

Never miss a customer message

Trade2Base brings all your customer conversations into one inbox. Sign up free today.

Get started free
Was this article helpful?

Still need help? Contact support

Related articles