Purpose
Email is the shared mailbox for reading, searching, composing, and linking customer, supplier, purchase-order, and accounts-payable messages inside FlintPOS. It also provides the report and price-book email destinations when those features are enabled.
Where to find it
- Open Email from the merchant workspace.
- Use the mailbox sidebar to choose Inbox, Sent, Starred, or Accounts Payable.
- Select a message to read it, or choose Compose to write a new message.
- Keep provider and mailbox setup in Communications. The Email page is the operating inbox.
Product locationMerchant workspace > Email
Before you start
- Sign in with a merchant role that can use the shared mailbox. At least one active email account must be set up before Sync Mail or Compose can send.
- Email provider, sender, inbox, IMAP, SMTP, and password setup belongs to Communications. Keep sign-in details in that setup form. This article never asks you to publish them.
- Link Customer, Link Supplier, and Link PO actions need a searchable record of the matching type. Accounts Payable is a message flag and may be empty until a message is flagged.
Steps to follow
- Open Inbox and choose a folder. Inbox shows received messages, Sent shows sent messages, Starred filters starred messages across folders, and Accounts Payable filters messages marked AP.
- Enter a search term in Search emails…. Changing the search returns to the first page. The list displays up to 50 messages per page. Use Prev and Next when more results exist.
- Choose Sync Mail to sync every active set up account. Wait for the result before refreshing the list. An account error is reported as a sync failure to review in Communications.
- Select a message to read its sender, email addresses, subject, date, body, and attachments. Use Back to return to the list, Reply to start a reply, and the star action to keep the message in Starred.
- Use Flag as AP for a payable message and the same action to remove the flag. Link the message to a Customer, Supplier, or Purchase Order by searching for at least two characters and selecting the matching record.
- Choose Compose for a new message, or Reply from an open message. Select the From account, enter one or more To email addresses, optionally enter CC, and enter a subject. A reply pre-fills the sender as To and uses a Re: subject.
- Choose an optional Purchase Order attachment, write the Message, and select Send. To, Subject, and From account are needed. The message editor allows HTML formatting. Review customer-facing text before sending.
- Use Back or Discard to leave a message without sending. After a successful send, the list and mailbox counts refresh.
Find a hosted order email
Open Settings and choose Communications. The page heading is Customer Communications. Choose Email. Find Managed email results on that page. Admins can use this history when FlintPOS Managed Email is set up. It does not search the shared mailbox or email sent by another provider.
- Search by customer name, company, phone, email, or order number. You can enter up to 120 characters. Phone search needs at least three digits; spaces and punctuation do not count.
- Open a result. Check the customer, recipient, subject, order, and send status.
- Choose View email to preview the message. Check the store name and payment choices.
- Check the send status before you try again. A sent email may still be unread.
The page first shows the latest 25 sends. A search can show up to 100 matches. Delivery events update as they arrive. Open and click results appear only when tracking is on for the FlintPOS sending domain.
Mailbox and send history
Email syncs mailboxes you connected in Communications. For example, Sync Mail brings a supplier’s reply into Inbox.
The Managed Email list in Communications shows order emails sent by FlintPOS. It does not show emails sent with another service. Use the list to check a hosted invoice email.
Sent means the email service took the message for delivery. It does not show whether the customer opened it.
Fields and actions
| Field or action | Meaning, default, and validation |
|---|---|
| Inbox, Sent, Starred, Accounts Payable | Inbox and Sent are provider folders. Starred searches starred messages across folders. Accounts Payable filters messages flagged for AP review. |
| Search emails… | Filters the active folder by the entered search text and resets to page one. Blank search shows the folder’s messages. |
| Prev, Next, and page count | The mailbox requests 50 messages per page. Prev is not available on the first page; Next is not available after the final page. |
| Sync Mail | Runs sync for each active email account. It imports new messages and refreshes counts. Provider errors need account review in Communications. |
| Message detail | Shows sender, recipient list, subject, date, body, attachments, and linked Customer, Supplier, Purchase Order, or bill badges. |
| Back, Reply, Star, Flag as AP, Delete | Back returns to the list. Reply opens a prefilled compose form. Star controls the Starred filter. Flag as AP adds or removes the AP marker. Delete removes the message after the action is chosen. |
| Link Customer, Link Supplier, Link PO | Search at least two characters. Then choose a result. The link is stored on the message so staff can find the related record from the mailbox. |
| From | Required sender account. The compose selector is populated by active accounts set up in Communications. |
| To | Required recipient field. Enter the destination address or addresses accepted by the chosen provider. |
| CC | Add extra email addresses if you want to send a copy. Leave blank if you do not. |
| Subject | Required subject line. Replies start with Re: for the original subject. |
| Attach Purchase Order (optional) | Choose an available purchase order when the message should carry that record. With an attachment chosen, FlintPOS sends through the purchase-order email path. |
| Message | Customer-facing message body. HTML formatting is allowed. Review the rendered content and email addresses before sending. |
| Send and Discard | Send needs an account, To, and Subject. Discard closes the compose pane without sending. |
Check the result
Synced messages appear in the chosen folder with unread, AP, customer, supplier, PO, and star indicators as relevant. A successful compose or reply returns to the mailbox and refreshes the message and unread counts. Links remain visible on the message detail.
Troubleshooting
- No accounts or sender choices: set up an active account in Communications. Then reload Email.
- Sync fails: open Communications, test the account’s IMAP and SMTP connection, and correct the provider settings or app-password requirement there.
- Message is hard to find: choose the correct folder, clear Search emails, and check the page controls. Star or flag the message after finding it for a durable filter.
- Send is disabled or rejected: select a From account and enter To and Subject. Verify the recipient format and provider status before trying again.
- Linked record is missing: search with at least two characters and choose the exact Customer, Supplier, or PO result. A message link does not create the record.
- Attachment or message content is wrong: return to Compose, review the chosen Purchase Order and Message, and send only after confirming email addresses.