Why the Inbox Is the Center of Your Client Communication

Every message, meeting request, payment notification, and shared document from your clients arrives in one place — the Thryv Business Center™ Inbox. Instead of checking multiple tools, apps, or email accounts to stay on top of client communication, the Inbox consolidates everything so you can respond, follow up, and take action without switching platforms. You can also connect additional messaging channels like Facebook Messenger, WebChat, and Google Business Messages so that every conversation routes to the same central location.

Use the Inbox to:

• Respond to all client messages in one place — Incoming requests, messages, and notifications from multiple channels appear together in a single inbox view.

• Stay on top of follow-ups — Set follow-up reminders so you receive an email at the right time to reconnect with a client, and add notes to yourself for context.

• Create new client interactions without leaving the Inbox — Use the New button to create invoices, estimates, appointments, messages, and more directly from your Inbox.

• Keep conversations organized — Use inbox folders to separate conversations by status: main, requires attention, follow up, archived, and deleted.

How to Connect Additional Messaging Platforms to Your Inbox

In addition to messages sent through your client portal and email, your Thryv Business Center Inbox can connect to three additional messaging platforms. Each integration is available as a free app in the App Market. Once connected, messages from these platforms appear directly in your Inbox alongside all other client communication.

• Facebook Messenger — Send and receive messages with customers through Facebook Messenger without leaving Thryv Business Center. For installation instructions, see How to Connect Facebook Messenger to Your Thryv Business Center Inbox.

• WebChat — Add a live chat widget to your website so visitors can message you in real time, with all conversations routing directly to your Inbox. For installation instructions, see Add Live Chat to Your Website with WebChat.

• Google Business Messages — Send and receive messages with customers and leads directly through your Google Business Profile. For installation instructions, see How to Connect Google Business Messages to Your Thryv Business Center Inbox.

For a full guide to all messaging platforms that connect to your Thryv Business Center Inbox, see Messaging Platforms Connected to Your Thryv Business Center Inbox.

How to Use the Reading Pane to Respond Without Leaving Your Inbox

The Reading Pane lets you read and respond to messages while staying on the Inbox screen — you do not need to open a separate client card to reply. To activate the Reading Pane, click the Reading Pane icon in the top right corner of the Inbox screen, then click Show. To hide the Reading Pane, click the icon again and click Hide.

The screenshot above shows the Inbox screen with the Reading Pane icon in the top right corner. Clicking the icon opens a dropdown with Show and Hide options. The Reading Pane icon is only visible when you are on the main Inbox screen — it does not appear when a client card is open in full view.

The screenshot above shows the Inbox screen with the Reading Pane active. The inbox message list is displayed on the left side of the screen. The Reading Pane appears as a condensed client card panel on the right side. The Reading Pane displays all tabs of the client card and allows you to take all available client card actions — including sending appointments, estimates, invoices, and messages — without leaving the Inbox screen.

The screenshot above shows the Reading Pane with the condensed client card displayed. Client tabs are shown across the top of the pane, and action buttons are visible for sending communications and documents. The expand icon is located in the top right corner of the Reading Pane. Clicking the expand icon opens the full client card view for that client. When a client sends a long message, a condensed version appears in the Reading Pane — click Show More to display the full message text.

The screenshot above shows a condensed message preview in the Reading Pane with a Show More link at the bottom. Clicking Show More expands the message to display the full text. The condensed preview appears automatically when a message exceeds the visible height of the Reading Pane.

How to Use the Emoji Selector in Messages

The emoji selector lets you add emojis to any message you send from your Inbox. To open the emoji selector, click the emoji icon located below the message compose field. The emoji menu opens displaying a grid of available emojis. Click any emoji in the grid to add it to your message. Use the search bar at the top of the emoji menu to search for a specific emoji by name or keyword.

The screenshot above shows the emoji selector menu open in the Inbox. The emoji grid is displayed with available emojis organized by category. The search bar is shown at the top of the menu. Clicking any emoji in the grid adds it to the message at the current cursor position. The emoji selector does not appear outside of the message compose area — it is only available when you are actively composing a message.

The animation above shows the emoji search feature in action. A search term is typed into the search bar and matching emoji results appear in the grid below. Use the search bar to quickly find a specific emoji without scrolling through all available categories.

Understanding Inbox Folders

The Thryv Business Center Inbox organizes conversations into six folders. Each folder filters conversations by their current status so you can find and act on the right conversations quickly. The six inbox folders are:

• Main Inbox — Contains all conversations that have not been marked for follow up, archived, assigned, or deleted. Conversations assigned to specific staff members are only visible here if the multi-staff subscription is active.

• Require Your Attention — Contains all conversations that have not yet received a response from you.

• Follow Up — Contains all conversations that have been marked for follow up.

• Archived — Contains all archived conversations.

• Deleted — Contains all deleted conversations. If you select Delete Forever on a conversation in the Deleted folder, that conversation is permanently removed and cannot be recovered.

• Sources — Displays where your leads and new client requests have come from. For a full guide to the Sources view, see Understanding Lead Sources in Thryv Business Center.

How to Set a Follow-Up Reminder

You can set a reminder to follow up with a client at a specific time. When the reminder triggers, Thryv Business Center sends an email to your account notifying you to follow up. To set a follow-up reminder, follow these steps:

1. Click Inbox in the left-hand navigation of Thryv Business Center to open your Inbox.

2. Check the checkbox next to the conversation you want to follow up on. To select all conversations, click Select at the top of the conversation list.

The first screenshot above shows the Select button at the top of the conversation list for selecting all conversations at once. The second screenshot shows a single conversation selected with the checkbox checked on the left side of the conversation row. After selecting one or more conversations, the action toolbar appears at the top of the screen.

3. Click the Remind Me In button in the action toolbar at the top of the screen.

4. On the follow-up screen that opens, select the follow-up time you want, or choose to mark the conversation for follow up without setting a timed reminder. You can also add a note to yourself for context about the follow-up.

5. Click Save to set the follow-up reminder. Thryv Business Center will send you a reminder email at the designated time.

The screenshot above shows the follow-up reminder screen. Time selection options are displayed for choosing when the reminder email will be sent. A note field is shown for adding context about the follow-up. The Save button is visible at the bottom of the screen. After clicking Save, the conversation moves to the Follow Up folder in your Inbox.

How to Create a New Request from Your Inbox

The New button in your Inbox lets you create new client-facing items without navigating away from your Inbox. Click the New button at the top of the Inbox screen to open the item type selector. The following items can be created from the Inbox:

• New Invoice

• New Estimate

• Record Payment

• New Client

• New Message

• New Appointment

• New Document

After selecting the item type, a client selection screen opens where you choose the client the item is for. You can select an existing client or create a new client record directly on the client selection screen. After selecting or creating the client, the item creation screen opens where you configure the details.

Inbox Functions: Additional Actions for Selected Conversations

When you select one or more conversations in your Inbox by checking the checkbox next to a conversation or clicking Select to select all, an action toolbar appears at the top of the Inbox screen with additional options. The available actions are:

The screenshot above shows the Inbox action toolbar that appears when conversations are selected. The toolbar displays the following action buttons from left to right: Archive, Delete, Mark as Read, Mark as Unread, Mark as Spam, and Remind Me In. The toolbar does not appear when no conversations are selected — select at least one conversation to make the toolbar visible.

• Archive — Moves the selected conversation to the Archived folder.

• Delete — Moves the selected conversation to the Deleted folder. If you delete all conversations associated with a client, the client's record is also deleted from Thryv Business Center.

• Mark as Read — Marks the selected conversation as read.

• Mark as Unread — Marks the selected conversation as unread.

• Mark as Spam — Marks the selected conversation as spam and removes it from your Inbox. Marking a conversation as spam also blocks any future messages from the same email address.

• View All Staff Data — Allows you to toggle between viewing communication from all staff members or only your own communication. This option is available to Collaborators, Managers, and Admins only.

The screenshot above shows the Inbox in View All Staff Data mode. Conversations from all staff members are displayed together in the inbox list. This view is available to Collaborators, Managers, and Admins.

The screenshot above shows the Inbox in Only Me mode. Only the conversations associated with the currently logged-in staff member are displayed. Use this mode to focus on your own client communication without seeing other staff members' conversations.

For a video walkthrough of managing your Inbox messages, see the video below:

Frequently Asked Questions

What does this article cover?

This article covers how to use the Thryv Business Center Inbox, including how to connect additional messaging platforms, how to use the Reading Pane, how to add emojis to messages, how inbox folders work, how to set follow-up reminders, how to create new requests from the Inbox, and the bulk action functions available for selected conversations. This article does not cover how to connect your personal or business email address to Thryv Business Center — the Inbox communicates through the Thryv Business Center client portal and does not connect to third-party email providers such as Gmail or Outlook.

Can I connect my personal or business email address to the Thryv Business Center Inbox?

No. The Thryv Business Center Inbox communicates through the client portal associated with your Thryv Business Center account. The Inbox does not connect to third-party email services such as Gmail, Outlook, or other external email providers.

Will emails my customers send to my business email address appear in my Thryv Business Center Inbox?

Only if the customer is replying to a message that was originally sent from Thryv Business Center. If a customer sends an email directly to your personal or business email address through a third-party email provider, that message will not appear in your Thryv Business Center Inbox.

Can all staff members see all conversations in the Inbox?

This is controlled by your staff settings in Thryv Business Center. If you do not want a staff member to see conversations for clients not assigned to them, turn off the setting that allows that staff member to view client cards not assigned to them. When that setting is off, the staff member will only see conversations for clients assigned to their account.