Contact Customers (Email, SMS, Calls, WhatsApp & Communication Log)

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Contact Customers (Email, SMS, Calls, WhatsApp & Communication Log)

Customer Communication Methods

OctopusPro makes it easy for office staff (and authorised fieldworkers) to contact customers from the Customer Profile or directly from a related record such as an Inquiry, Quote/Estimate, Booking, Invoice, or Complaint.

Every interaction can be kept in one place so your team has full context before following up, and you can maintain a clear audit trail of customer communications.

Table of contents

Where you can contact customers from

  • Customers list: hover over a customer name (or open the customer row menu) to access contact shortcuts.
  • Customer Profile: use the contact icons (Email / SMS / Call / Chat) and the Communication tab.
  • Any record: hover/click the customer name inside an Inquiry, Quote/Estimate, Booking, Invoice, or Complaint to contact them in context.

Before you start (requirements)

  • Make sure customer details are saved: at least one email address for email, and a valid mobile number for SMS/calls.
  • SMS, VoIP calls and WhatsApp require the Digital Phone System: connect a Twilio number in Settings → Communications → Digital Phone System. (Regular calls may still work using your device/OS dialler, depending on your setup.)
  • Permissions matter: use role-based permissions to control who can send messages, place calls, view call logs/recordings, and post customer-visible discussions.

Tip: Create reusable Email/SMS Templates and Canned Responses for faster, consistent messaging (e.g., quote follow-ups, booking confirmations, invoice reminders, running-late updates).

Contact customers from the Customer Profile

  1. Go to Customers → All Customers.
  2. Hover over the customer name (or open the customer row/menu) to access quick contact icons.
  3. Alternatively, click the customer name to open the Customer Profile, then use the contact icons and the Communication tab.

Send an email

  1. Open the customer profile, then click the Email icon.
  2. Choose the recipient email address (if multiple exist).
  3. Enter a clear Subject (use record references where relevant, e.g., “Quote EST-12345 Follow-up”).
  4. Attach files if needed (e.g., PDFs, photos, documents).
  5. Select a Canned Response (optional), then personalise the message body.
  6. Click Send.

Common examples:

  • Send a booking confirmation or reschedule update
  • Follow up a quote/estimate with extra details
  • Send an invoice payment link or request a deposit
  • Resolve a complaint with attachments and a written summary

Send an SMS

  1. Open the customer profile, then click the SMS icon.
  2. Select a Canned Response (optional) or type a custom message.
  3. Send the SMS (and attach an image if your setup/channel supports it).

Important: To send SMS from OctopusPro you typically need a connected Twilio number via the Digital Phone System (Settings → Communications → Digital Phone System).

Great SMS use-cases:

  • “On the way” / ETA updates
  • Quick confirmations and reminders
  • Request missing info (access notes, parking, photos)
  • Payment nudges for overdue invoices (where permitted)

Send a WhatsApp message

WhatsApp messaging is an optional channel. If your Twilio number is onboarded for WhatsApp Business, you can send and receive WhatsApp messages through your existing OctopusPro workflows.

Note: WhatsApp availability depends on your Twilio configuration and WhatsApp Business requirements/approvals.

Post a discussion / chat message (with attachments)

Use discussions to keep a shared conversation thread with full context. Discussions can be internal-only or customer-visible, depending on the Visibility option you select.

  1. Open the Customer Profile (or a related record such as Booking/Quote/Invoice).
  2. Go to the Communication section, then choose Discussion.
  3. Click + New, choose the appropriate Visibility, write your message, and attach files if needed.
  4. Click Add discussion.

Customer experience: customer-visible comments can appear in the Customer Portal (e.g., via notifications), helping reduce back-and-forth across channels.

Call a customer (desktop & mobile app)

Calling from the desktop

  • Regular call: uses your standard calling method/device integration.
  • VoIP call (Twilio): places calls through your connected business number (softphone experience).
  1. Go to Customers → All Customers.
  2. Hover over the customer name and click the Call icon.
  3. Select Regular Call or VoIP (if enabled), then place the call.

Calling from the mobile app

  1. Open the customer list in the OctopusPro app and view the customer profile.
  2. Tap the phone number and choose Regular or Twilio/VoIP (if enabled).
  3. Complete the call. The interaction can be logged against the customer record.

Optional: If enabled in your Digital Phone System settings, call recording and voicemail can be used for QA/training and dispute resolution. Always follow local consent and privacy rules.

Contact customers from records (Invoices, Bookings, Inquiries, Quotes, Complaints)

You can contact a customer in context from the record you’re working on—ideal for faster support and accurate follow-ups.

Invoices

  • From Invoices → All Invoices, hover over the customer name to access contact icons.
  • From the Invoice Details page, use the customer info area (hover name) or use Actions to send invoice emails/SMS (including deposit requests where available).


Bookings

  • From Bookings lists, hover over the customer name to contact them.
  • From the Booking Details page, use the customer info section or contact icons.

Inquiries

  • From Inquiries → All Inquiries, hover over the customer name to contact them.

  • From the Inquiry Details page, use the Email/SMS actions available in the customer info section.

Quotes / Estimates

  • From Quotes → All Quotes, hover over the customer name to contact them.
  • From the Quote Details page, use the customer info section to send SMS, send an email quote, or send a quote reminder.

Complaints / Feedback

  • From Feedback/Complaints, use the contact icons next to the customer to email, call, or start a discussion thread.

View the full Communication Log (Email/SMS/Discussions/Calls)

The Communication tab on the Customer Profile provides a chronological timeline of your interactions with that customer. Use filters to quickly switch between All, Discussion, SMS, Email, and Call Log.


Emails may show the sender as System (automated) or a staff member, and attachments can be indicated and opened from the timeline. When enabled, email-open tracking can also appear on the email entry.

Typical use-cases:

  • Customer says they didn’t receive an invoice → locate the email entry, resend, and confirm timestamps
  • Sales follow-up → review the latest quote email thread before calling
  • Account handover → new staff can read the last communications and continue seamlessly

View history via Reports (Recent Emails/SMS/Calls)

In addition to viewing communications inside each customer profile, you can access central logs:

  • Reports → History Log → Recent Emails
  • Reports → History Log → Recent SMS
  • Reports → History Log → Recent Calls

These logs are useful for auditing, troubleshooting, and quickly finding messages across all customers.

Pause automated communications for a customer

If you need to temporarily stop automated messages (e.g., booking reminders, invoice reminders, quote follow-ups) for a specific customer, you can pause auto communications at the customer level.

Pause from a record (Booking / Quote / Invoice / Inquiry / Complaint)

  1. Open the record.
  2. In the Customer Info section, click Actions.
  3. Select Pause Auto communications for customer.

Pause from the Customer Profile

  1. Go to Customers → All Customers and open the customer profile.
  2. Click Actions (top-right).
  3. Select Pause Auto communications for customer.

Tip: If you only need to stop reminders for a single job/record (not the entire customer), pause reminders at the record level instead (where available).

Best-practice tips & troubleshooting

  • Use searchable subjects: include record references like INV-##### / EST-##### / BOK-#####.
  • Use verified sending domains: helps deliverability and reduces spam/junk placement.
  • Shorten SMS templates: long texts may split into multiple segments (affects cost and readability).
  • Two-way SMS vs branded sender IDs: in some countries you can use an Alphanumeric Sender ID for one-way alerts, but replies won’t work—use a phone number for two-way messaging.
  • Call recording consent: laws vary (one-party vs all-party consent). Configure your policy accordingly.

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