TaxDome Lite (Chats): Send Manually

This page is for TaxDome Lite users only. If you use TaxDome Pro, please switch to this article.

TaxDome’s  Chats allows you to securely communicate with your clients inside real-time chat threads, like Slacking or texting. Use our chat threads to schedule appointments or ask clients for missing information. Plus, set up reminders, attach files in chats and more.

Covered here:

• Chats
• Creating New Chats
• Start a Chat With a Client
• Send a Message to Several Clients
• Setting Up Reminders
• Attaching Documents Inside Chats
• Including Videos Inside Chats
• What Clients See When You Send Messages

Chats

To start chatting with a client, open the Communication tab and click New Chat or go to the left sidebar and just click Chat. Chats are secure threads where you communicate with clients and team members in real time. The threads are neatly organized inside each client account, and you’ll always be able to see how many messages remain unread.

About Chats:

• Chats happen in real time.
• Chats are created by a firm owner or a client.
• Chats are a secure place to ask questions and request files.
• Clients receive notifications about new chats and pending questions.
• When clients respond to a message, create a new chat, make changes to client tasks or upload/attach a document to a chat thread, you receive an email and a notification in your Inbox+.
• You can set up automatic reminders when a client doesn’t respond to a message.
• Once you have all you need from a chat thread, archive it to avoid clutter.
• To send identical messages to multiple clients, use message templates inside chats.
• Use @ before a team member’s name to get their attention inside a chat.
• 

Note: If you try to leave the Communication page without clicking send , you’ll see a warning. Click Cancel in the alert pop-up, then send. Don’t select Prevent this page from creating additional dialogs unless you want to stop receiving this alert.

Creating New Chats

There are two ways to begin chatting with clients:

• Start a Chat With a Client
• Send a Message to Several Clients

Start a Chat With a Client

To send a message to a client, click + NEW in the left sidebar menu, select Chat from the slide-out, then write a note. You can also click the New Chat button in the Communication section of the client account profile.

Click Create Chat. The client automatically receives an email notification about the new message.

Below, learn about the numbered fields in the New Chat window:

1. To: Enter the name of the person the message is for.

2. Template: Select a templates for a frequently used message. For more on creating templates, go here. Select a template only when creating a new message not when responding to one.

3. Subject: Write the subject line here; this is what will be displayed in the Chat list. When you use a message template, it is automatically populated.

4. Message: Compose a message using text formatting, emojis, bullets, numbered lists and links. The message is automatically filled in when you use a template.

5. Reminders: Toggle on Reminders if you want a reminder email to go out to the client when they don’t respond within a certain time frame. For more about reminders, see below.

6. Documents: Attach files from your desktop or TaxDome. For more on how, see below.

7. Client tasks: Add checklists for your clients. For more details, go here.

8. Create Chat: Hit the button to send your message to the client. Otherwise, click Back.

Send a Message to Several Clients

If you need to send the same message to multiple clients, use our bulk-messaging feature:

Go to Clients from the left sidebar menu, select the checkboxes next to the clients you want to send the message to, click More actions in the top menu bar, then click Send Message in the pull-down. Select a message template or write a title for the message (optional),  add your text, then click Create Chats.

Plus, add documents to message threads when needed.

Setting Up Reminders

Whenever you send a message, a notification about it goes out. All users linked to the account who have Notify toggled on receive it. You can check which users have Notify toggled on by going to the Info tab in a client account and viewing the Contacts section.

If recipients take too long to do the action item, you have two options:

• Manually resend a notification about the message.
• Set up automatic reminders.

Manually Resend

To manually resend a reminder, click the three dots on the top right of the message thread, then select Resend.

Here's what happens:

• An additional email message is sent to the client.
• A notification for the action item is moved to the top of the client's to-do list.

Set Up Automatic Reminders

While creating a chat, toggle on Reminders if you want an email to go out to the client when they don’t respond within a certain time frame.

Here’s how to configure Reminders:

• Days until next reminder: By default, a reminder goes out three days after the notification for the action item was sent to the client, but you can change this to whatever you like.
• Number of reminders: By default, the client gets only one reminder email, but you can also change this to what you prefer.

Toggle  Reminders on or off at any time by going to the chat thread. Reminders are always for the last message in a thread.

Reminders stop when...

• ...the client has not responded to the message, but the set number of reminders has been sent.
• ...the client has responded to the last message in the thread.
• ...you archived the chat thread.
• ...you disabled the Reminders option.

Note: If you archive a chat thread but then reopen it, the Reminders option is turned on as if the message is new.

Attaching Documents Inside Chats

A firm owner can attach files to chat threads. When you create a chat or even afterward, attach files from your desktop or from a top-level folder with Client can view or Client can view and edit access.

Click the Attach documents link, then select a preference:

• Attaching documents from TaxDome: Select From TaxDome, then click the folder and choose the documents you want to attach, either from a top-level folder with Client can view or Client can view and edit access (you cannot attach a file from a top-level folder with Private access).
• Uploading documents from your computer: Select From My Computer, then click ADD DOCUMENTS and locate the files you want to upload from your desktop. For more details, go here.
• Uploading folders: Select From My Computer, click ADD FOLDER, then choose the folder. For more details about folders, go here.
• Uploading zip files: Select From My Computer, click ADD DOCUMENTS, then locate the zip you want to upload. It will automatically unpack. For more details about zip files, go here.

Files uploaded to chats are saved to a top-level folder with a Client can view access, so you need to have at least one of those.

When a client or other team member uploads a document, you get a notification in Inbox+ and also inside the chat thread. 

Including Videos Inside Chats

Want to add visual to your messages to clients? Include Loom, Vimeo, YouTube and Google Drive clips when it’s easier to show than tell. Click the video icon in the text-formatting toolbar, then paste a link in the Embed video pop-up. 

Your client will see the video inside the chat thread. 

What Clients See When You Send Messages

A client views and responds to a chat thread you’ve sent them by clicking the notification on their dashboard, clicking the link in the email notification or going to the Communication section of their portal. Client tasks are also displayed inside notifications.

If you’d like to see TaxDome from the client’s side, access a read-only view of their portal.

Tip: Check out TaxDome Academy to take fun, comprehensive courses and become a TaxDome superstar.