Professional communication tools
Email and Instagram DMs in one app. Never miss a booking inquiry again.
Connecting Your Email
Bring your client emails into pencild to keep all communications in one place.
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- Go to Settings
- Find the Email or Connected Accounts section
- Click Connect Email
- Sign in with your email provider:
- Gmail – Use your Google account
- Outlook/Office 365 – Use your Microsoft account
- Other IMAP – Enter your email server settings
- Grant the required permissions:
- Read your emails
- Send emails on your behalf
- Access your contacts
- You'll be redirected back to pencild
- Your inbox will start populating within minutes
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Automatic syncing: Every 5 minutes, up to 100 new messages are synced per user
Manual sync: Click the Sync button (refresh icon) in your inbox to fetch new emails immediately
What gets synced:
- New incoming emails
- Sent emails (including ones sent from pencild)
- Email status changes (read/unread, starred)
- Thread/conversation grouping
Managing Your Email
Priority filtering, archiving, searching, and controlling who can reach you.
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Priority emails are highlighted because they're from clients who need your attention most.
A client is marked as priority if they have:
- An upcoming appointment within the next 30 days, OR
- An active project (status = "In Progress")
Where you'll see them:
- Dashboard shows priority unread count prominently
- Inbox has a "Priority" filter or section
- Priority emails may appear at the top of your inbox
Why this helps: Instead of scrolling through all unread emails, you can focus on clients who have imminent appointments or active work in progress.
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Archive a single email:
- Open the email
- Click the Archive button
- The email moves to your archive
Bulk archive multiple emails:
- In your inbox, select multiple emails using checkboxes
- Click Bulk Actions
- Select Archive Selected
- Confirm the action
To view archived emails:
Look for an "Archived" filter or folder in your inbox. You can unarchive emails by opening them and clicking Unarchive.
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Yes! Even though your emails are encrypted for security, you can still search.
- Go to your Inbox
- Find the search bar at the top
- Enter your search terms:
- Search by subject line
- Search by sender name or email
- Search by content within the email body
- Press Enter or click Search
How encrypted search works: pencild uses a special technique (HMAC-SHA256 tokens) that allows searching without decrypting all your emails. Your data stays secure while remaining searchable.
Additional filters:
- Filter by specific client
- Show only unread emails
- Show only emails with attachments
- Filter by folder/label
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You have two options:
Option 1: Auto-Archive Sender
- Future emails from this sender automatically go to archive
- You can still see them if you look in archived emails
- The sender/client remains visible in your system
Option 2: Blacklist Sender
- All current emails from them are archived immediately
- All future emails go straight to archive
- The associated client is hidden from your main views
- They'll only appear if you specifically filter for blacklisted contacts
To undo: Find the client (filter for blacklisted/auto-archived) and toggle off the setting.
Connecting Instagram
Manage your Instagram DMs alongside your email without switching apps.
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Prerequisites:
- You must have an Instagram Business or Creator account (not a personal account)
- Your Instagram must be connected to a Facebook Business Page
Steps:
- Go to Settings
- Find the Instagram or Connected Accounts section
- Click Connect Instagram
- Log in with your Instagram credentials
- Review and approve the permissions
- Click Authorize or Allow
- Your Instagram conversations will start syncing
Note: Instagram tokens expire after 60 days. pencild automatically refreshes tokens that are expiring within 10 days, so you don't need to reconnect manually.
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Automatic syncing: Every 10 minutes via background task
Real-time updates: When someone sends you a message, Instagram can notify pencild immediately via webhooks (if configured)
Manual sync:
- Go to your Instagram inbox in pencild
- Click the Sync button
- Up to 20 recent conversations will be fetched
What gets synced:
- New conversations
- New messages in existing conversations
- Read/unread status
- Conversation metadata
The 24-Hour Messaging Window
Understanding Instagram's messaging rules so you never miss a chance to respond.
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Instagram enforces a 24-hour messaging window rule.
The rule: You can only send messages to someone within 24 hours of their last message to you.
Why this exists: Instagram requires this to prevent spam and unwanted messages from businesses.
What happens when the window expires:
- You cannot send any messages to that person
- You must wait for them to message you first
- Once they message you, a new 24-hour window opens
Workaround: If you need to reach a client whose window has expired, contact them through email or ask them to message you on Instagram first.
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When viewing an Instagram conversation, you'll see a status indicator:
Colour Status Meaning Action Green Active More than 4 hours remaining You can send messages freely Yellow Expiring Soon Less than 4 hours remaining Send important messages now Red Expired 24-hour window has closed Wait for them to message you The timer resets every time the customer sends you a message.
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Automatic linking: If the Instagram username matches a client's Instagram username field, they're linked automatically.
Manual linking:
- Open the Instagram conversation
- Look for a Link to Client option
- Search for and select the client
- The conversation is now associated with that client
Benefits of linking:
- See client's full profile and history from the conversation
- Client's Instagram messages appear in their overall communication history
- Easier to track all interactions with a client in one place
Using Templates
Reply faster with pre-written messages that personalise automatically.
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Templates let you insert pre-written messages with one click.
- Start composing a reply (email or Instagram)
- Click the Templates button
- Select a template from your list
- The template content is inserted into your message
- Variables like client name and appointment date fill in automatically
- Edit as needed and send
Templates work the same way for both email and Instagram messages.
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Yes. Your templates act as quick replies.
Tips for effective quick replies:
- Create templates for your most common responses (booking confirmations, deposit requests)
- Mark frequently-used templates as favourites for faster access
- Use categories to organise templates by purpose
- Include variables so each message feels personal
For more details on creating and managing templates, see the Templates help section.