Automove (Basic): Send messages & link to jobs

You can have your messages sent automatically. Also, your jobs can automatically move to the next stage of the pipeline once the client checks off all the client tasks inside the chat. In this article, you will find out how you can use automated messages, either with the automove option or without it.

Covered here:

• Use automated messages to notify clients about your work progress
• Enable automove to request client confirmation on "Done uploading"/filling out the forms
• Link chat thread to the job manually

Use automated messages to notify clients about your work progress

Firms that utilize message automation tend to send multiple messages within each job, alerting clients of updates as the job moves through the firm workflow. So, your clients may receive messages like: “Hey, Lisa! I need you to fill out this organizer“ or “Hey, Bart! Your return is being reviewed!“ 

The process usually goes like this:

1. If you want your messages to be sent automatically, you always need to have a template first. If you don't have one, you can create it by clicking New template when you add the automation.

2. Add the  Send message automation for each stage for which you want to inform the client of what's happening. Once the job enters this stage, a message is automatically sent to the client. At the same time, it is automatically linked to the job. 

3. Decide whether the message will be sent to the existing chat thread or to a new one. As a rule, you will want to select Create new thread option for the first stage (when your new work cycle has started), and Reply to the latest thread option for the other stages (when you have already created a chat thread for this job). 

Note! If your chat template doesn't include client tasks, the automated message doesn’t require user action. Therefore, the Automove Jobs feature doesn't take into account this automation. So, it doesn't matter if the Automove Jobs toggle is on or off. (Here's more on how to handle unfinished elements when moving jobs). 

Enable automove to request client confirmation on "Done uploading"/filling out the forms

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TaxDome Chats can include to-do lists for your clients. This feature is often used for creating a checklist of the documents that are needed for tax preparation, requesting a confirmation that the action needed from the client is completed, etc. 

And if your automated messages include such to-do items, you can use it with the  Automove Jobs feature, so that a job automatically moves to the next stage once the client checks off all tasks. 

Tip! Here, we have an example of using client tasks for requesting client confirmation of "Done uploading" of the documents needed for tax preparation. However, you can use it for client confirmation for when they are done filling out the payroll forms, etc. Please see the video at the end of the section.

Let's see how we can set this up:

1. You always need to have a template with to-dos for all your automated messages. If you don't have one, you can create it by clicking New Template when you add the automation. Your template may look like this:

2. Depending on your processes, you can add a separate "Docs uploaded" confirmation stage to your pipeline, confirming that the client has sent all the needed information before their job moves into the In prep stage.

3. Add the  Send message automation for this stage, then decide whether the message will be sent to the existing chat thread or to a new one. 

As a rule, you will want to choose the  Reply to the latest thread option for this particular case because you may already have an automatic chat thread created for this job. Adding new tasks to the same chat thread will update the previously created task list that appears in the chat thread (if any).

Once the job enters this stage, the message is automatically sent to the client. At the same time, it is automatically linked to the job. 

4. Make sure the  Automove jobs toggle for the stage is turned on. This way, once the client checks off the to-dos in a chat thread, the job is automatically moved to the next stage.

Here you can see another example of using this feature to automate filling out the payroll forms:

Link chat thread to the job manually

Chat threads can be linked to jobs by a firm owner, admin or any employee with access rights to view all accounts or who is assigned to the client account. 

Once the chat thread is manually linked, the automove jobs feature works the same as for the messages sent and linked automatically: 

• If there are client tasks in a chat, the job is moved to the next stage when the client checks all of them off.
• If there are no client tasks in a chat, the automove jobs feature doesn't work for the linked chat.

To manually link a chat thread, go to the pipeline, make sure that the job is at the right stage, open the job card, click  Link in the Linked section, select Chats, and then choose the chat threads. Or, click New in the Linked section, select Chats and create a new thread.

You can also link a job when creating a new chat.

• By default, only active threads are displayed when you select a chat to link. To see all or only archived threads, click Filter and select either All or Archived.
• A job can have as many linked threads as needed.

Note! If the client tasks in a chat thread are not checked off and you manually move the job to another stage, you’ll be prompted to decide what to do about the pending chat thread (here's more on handling unfinished elements when moving jobs).