The inbox

The inbox brings together all the concierge service's WhatsApp conversations, across all numbers, with the assistant's replies. This is where the team reads, takes over, replies, sends photos and files, leaves internal notes and approves held replies.

Who has access: owner, managers, concierges and accounting (read-only for accounting). Field accounts do not have the inbox: they do not need it to carry out their assignments, and the conversations contain information that does not concern them.

3.1 The screen#

The inbox looks like a messaging app, simple and uncluttered, in the style of WhatsApp Web or Messages on iPhone.

On a computer, a single large card brings together two parts:

1. the list of conversations, on the left;
2. the thread of the open conversation, on the right.

The client's record no longer takes up a permanent column. The Client info button (the panel icon, in the thread header) opens a pane laid over the right-hand side of the thread. It is closed by default. Escape, the cross or moving to another conversation closes it.

On a narrower screen and on a phone, the list and then the thread (back chevron). The client's record opens as a drawer, or as a sheet on a phone, with the Client info button. On a phone, tapping the client's name in the header also opens it.

Moving from one conversation to another does not reload the screen: the list keeps its search, its filters and its position.

Keyboard shortcuts: J and K open the next or previous conversation, / puts the cursor in the search, the arrow keys move from one row to another and Enter opens.

3.2 The list of conversations#

Header: the title “Inbox” and, if the concierge service has several numbers, the All numbers selector to show only the conversations of one number (“Villas”, “Yachts”). Each number has its colour, shown again by a small dot on the client's avatar. With a single number, none of this is shown.

Search: by name, phone or words in the messages from the last 90 days.

The views, as pills with their counter:

The Filter button: “Awaiting the team” (a question has gone to the team), “Assistant paused”, “Unassigned”, “VIP clients” and a Language. Active filters stay visible as labels that you remove with one click.

Each row shows the avatar, the name, the time, a one-line preview of the last message and, on the right, the useful markers: assistant paused, “To approve”, number of unread messages in a blue pill.

A shared inbox. Opening a conversation with unread messages marks it as read for the whole team. Vetexis records who read it and when: under the last message, a discreet line tells the other members (“Read by Sofia at 14:32”, with the date if it was not today). Reopening a conversation that has already been read does not change this line.

3.3 The thread of a conversation#

The header is reduced to the avatar and the client's name. Their language, phone, local time, VIP mention and the concierge service number concerned are in the Client info pane (3.10). On the right, in this order:

• the assistant's status, as a switch: “Assistant on” (green, with a lit dot) or “Assistant paused” (grey, with the pause symbol). One click takes over or hands back to the assistant. A tooltip says who took over and since when;
• the assignment, reduced to the avatar of the member in charge (a small dotted “+” circle if there is nobody). One click opens the list of members, with “Remove assignment”;
• Client info;
• the “…” menu: the client's language, “Translate into English” (if the client writes in another language), “Mark as read”, “Open client profile”, “Export conversation” (managers and owner). On a phone, the assignment is also in this menu.

Messages are grouped by day, with a centred separator, and by author (bubbles sent less than five minutes apart follow on from each other):

• the client, on the left, in a very light grey bubble;
• the assistant, on the right, in a very pale blue bubble, with a small “Assistant” label at the top;
• a team member, on the right, in a white bubble with a thin border.

Under the last bubble of a group, in small grey text: the time, the receipts and the member's first name. The receipts follow WhatsApp: a clock while the message is waiting in the sending queue (the assistant takes a few seconds to a few minutes of “thinking”), one tick when WhatsApp has accepted it, two ticks when WhatsApp confirms it has reached the client's phone. Older messages load as you scroll up. If you are reading further up when a message arrives, a New messages pill takes you back down.

Special cases:

• a photo or a file sent by the team is shown in the member's bubble, with its caption;
• a voice note plays in a player, with its transcription underneath (Pro and Network; otherwise “Voice note transcription available with Pro”);
• a photo, a video, a document are shown or open in a new tab. Media links are valid for ten minutes: if a media file is no longer shown, Reload. The formats kept are listed in chapter 2, section 2.8;
• a held reply appears in a white frame “To approve · Assistant reply held back”, with Send, Edit and Reject (chapter 4, section 4.4). When a specific safeguard stopped it, the reason is shown at the top (for example “Announces a confirmation while #12 still needs approval.”);
• an assistant reply that was not sent stays visible with a dotted outline, with its reason: “Not sent: you took over.” (the team took over or wrote to the client while the reply was waiting to be sent), “Not sent: the assistant is paused.” (general switch turned off in the meantime) or “Not sent: its time slot had passed.” (a reminder or follow-up that stayed pending beyond its date);
• a reply edited before sending stays visible with a dotted outline, with “Edited by Sofia before sending”; the corrected version follows, as a message from the member;
• a rejected reply stays visible, crossed out, with “Rejected, not sent”: it is the record of what the assistant wanted to say;
• a failed send shows “Sending failed.” and Send again;
• a waiting message shows “Waiting: will be sent as soon as the client replies.” (24-hour rule) or “Waiting: the WhatsApp template is not approved by Meta yet.”;
• an internal note is shown in the centre, in a dotted frame, with a padlock and “Internal note · Sofia:”. It is only visible to the team.

3.4 Replying to a client#

The typing area, at the bottom of the thread, fits into a thin bar:

• on the left, the “+” button, which opens a small menu (3.5);
• in the middle, the text, which grows as you write;
• on the right, the round blue send button.

1. Write your message.
2. Enter sends, Shift + Enter starts a new line. On a phone, Enter starts a new line and the button sends. Ctrl + Enter (or ⌘ + Enter on Mac) always sends.

Under the bar, a single grey line gives the useful help of the moment (“Your message pauses the assistant in this conversation.”) and the status of the 24-hour window when it matters.

The first time you write in a conversation where the assistant is replying, a window warns you: “The assistant will pause. As soon as you write to this client, the assistant stops replying in this conversation.” Confirm with Send and pause. A grey line then reminds you of this above the typing area: “The assistant is paused: you are replying to this client yourself.”, with Turn the assistant back on.

Why. Two people replying to a client at the same time is a recipe for confusion. When a human speaks, the assistant steps back, including for what it had already written and was waiting to send: as soon as you take over (switch, message, attachment, message dictated to the console, reply from the phone), its pending reply is no longer sent and the thread marks it “Not sent: you took over.”. A held reply that you approve (Send) is sent, however: you are the one who wanted it. The assistant will resume by itself after six hours, or sooner if you click Turn the assistant back on (or the switch in the header).

The 24-hour window. When it matters, its status is shown under the typing area: “24-hour window: 3 h left”, or “24-hour window closed: template required”. In the latter case, your reply is sent in the form of the “reply from the team” template and will be shown to the client as soon as they tap the button or write (chapter 1, section 1.6).

The draft survives switching conversations, for as long as the tab is open. A message has a maximum length; a counter appears when you get close to the limit.

Client without WhatsApp (record entered by hand, with no connected number): only internal notes are possible.

3.5 The “+” menu#

When an option is out of the ordinary, a small grey line above the field reminds you: “Internal note · visible to the team only”, “Sending in Italian”, “From Villas”. A click on the internal note or on the language goes back to the usual mode.

The sending number. The reply always goes out from the number the client wrote to. If that number is no longer connected, the line shows “From the default number”: the reply then goes out from the default number, as a message template.

3.6 Sending a photo or a file#

Three ways to attach a file:

• “+” › Attach a photo or file;
• drag the file anywhere onto the conversation (“Drop the file to attach it”);
• paste an image into the typing area.

The file is sent to Vetexis straight away: a thumbnail appears, with the progress (“Uploading… 40%”) and a cross to remove it. Your text becomes its caption (“Add a caption…”). Then click the send button.

What is accepted: photo (JPEG, PNG, WebP), MP4 video (16 MB at most), PDF, Word or Excel (20 MB at most). These limits are WhatsApp's, checked before sending: a refused file is never shown as sent. A caption too long for WhatsApp is sent in a separate bubble.

Like a message, an attachment pauses the assistant on the conversation. An internal note cannot carry an attachment: switch back to a message to send it.

3.7 Internal notes#

Choose “+” › Internal note: the field switches to a dotted outline on a very light grey background, so that you never get the recipient wrong. Write, then Add note.

A note is never sent to the client and is never translated. Examples: “Client very sensitive to noise, avoid the villa near the road”, “Cash payment agreed with Sofia”. The note can be deleted by its author or a manager.

3.8 Writing in the client's language#

When a client does not write in the language of your interface:

• Reading: their translation is shown under each message, in small grey text. “Show original” and “Show translation” switch between the two for one message. The thread's “…” menu turns Translate into English on or off for the whole conversation (on by default, remembered for you).
• Writing: choose “+” › Sending language › Send in Italian (or the client's language). The “Sending in Italian” line reminds you of this above the field. Write in English, then click the send button: the text is translated first, and the translation is shown under “Translation that will be sent”, editable. Only the Send button in this preview sends it. “Edit in English” goes back to your text. Your original text stays attached to the message (“Written in English”) so that the team knows what was meant.

Nothing is sent translated without you having read it. If the translation service is temporarily unavailable, a calm line says so, with Retry, and nothing is sent.

3.9 Sending a payment link#

For the owner and managers (both the invoicing permission and the right to write to clients are needed), “+” › Payment link lists what this client can pay online:

• links already open (Send);
• quotes sent (Send again);
• issued invoices not yet paid and bookings with a set price (Create and send: link for the balance due, or for the deposit planned for the service, otherwise for the default deposit).

The message is sent in the client's language, with the recorded amount. The assistant stays active: this sending does not pause it. A connected Stripe account is needed (chapter 11), as well as the Pro or Network plan.

3.10 Client info#

The Client info pane stays short, to be useful during the conversation:

• the avatar, the name, the VIP mention where relevant, and the phone;
• the client's language, their local time if they live in another time zone, and the concierge service number concerned (if you have several);
• allergies, as an alert (it is a safety matter);
• the current stay (property, dates, guests);
• Good to know: three preferences at most;
• three open bookings at most, each leading to the booking;
• See the full profile for everything else (family, pets, assistant's summary, history).

3.11 Who can do what#

Every time a conversation is opened, it is recorded in the Access log (Settings › Privacy), so that you can answer a client who asks who has read their messages.

3.12 Examples#

Taking over with an important client. A VIP client writes that they are arriving earlier than planned and is worried about the cleaning. Marco opens the conversation, reads the translation from Dutch, chooses “+” › Sending language › Send in Dutch, writes in English, rereads the translation and sends. The assistant pauses on this thread; Marco adds an internal note for the cleaning team, then clicks Turn the assistant back on once everything is arranged.

Sending the directions. A client asks how to find the villa. Sofia drags the PDF with the directions onto the conversation, writes “Here is the map, the gate is the green one after the roundabout” as the caption, and sends.

Several numbers. The concierge service has a “Villas” number and a “Yachts” number. In the inbox, Sofia chooses “Yachts” in the selector to see only the day's boat requests. When she replies to a client who wrote to the Yachts number, the reply goes out from that number (“From Yachts”).