SeroBooks sends email for you. When you email an invoice, a statement or a report, SeroBooks builds the document, attaches it, and sends the message through the SeroBooks mail service. You do not need an email program set up on this computer, and every email you send is logged against the document it carried. This article explains each place you can email from, what the recipient gets, and what to do when a send fails.
What the recipient receives
Every email SeroBooks sends is laid out as a letter on your letterhead:
- Your company name and contact details at the top.
- A heading naming the document (for example "Invoice 1045") with its date beneath.
- The message: for an invoice, a greeting, the list of what was bought with quantities and amounts, the key figures (invoice number, date, discount, shipping, tax, amount paid), the total, and the amount still outstanding when there is one.
- A View or download invoice button that opens the online invoice, when the document has one.
- The document attached as a PDF (or, for a report, as PDF, Excel or CSV).
The subject line names the document, for example "Invoice 1045".
Where you can email from
An invoice
- Open the saved invoice (Customers ▸ Invoices, then open it).
- Press Email.
- SeroBooks sends to the email address on the customer's record. If the customer has none, it asks for an Email address first.
- You see "Emailed to address with the PDF attached — logged."
The attachment is the invoice exactly as it prints (see The printed invoice (PDF) explained), named Invoice-number.pdf. To email an invoice as you save it, tick Email under When this is saved on a new invoice; to put it in the queue for later, tick Email Later and send it from Send Forms. See also Print, email, online invoice link and other invoice actions.
Estimates, sales orders, purchase orders, credit memos and vendor credits
Saved documents of these kinds have an Email action beside Print and Save PDF. SeroBooks asks "Email the document to", filled in with the customer's (or, for a purchase order or vendor credit, the vendor's) email address; confirm or change it and the document goes as a PDF. Some screens, such as a new sales order, let you tick Email under On save, also so the email goes as soon as the document is saved.
A purchase order that is awaiting approval cannot be emailed. You see "This purchase order is awaiting approval — it cannot be sent to the supplier until someone with approval rights authorises it."
Many forms at once
Send Forms (File ▸ Send Forms…) emails a batch of invoices, sales receipts, credit memos, estimates, sales orders or purchase orders, each to its own recipient with its own subject and message, starting from a default message you can edit.
Customer statements
- Customers ▸ Create Statements: select customers and press Email *n* (or, with nobody selected, Email all for every customer who owes). A confirmation says how many statements will go and for which dates. Each customer receives their own statement in the body of the email and as a PDF attachment. Customers with no email address are skipped and reported back; the screen warns you about them before you send. See Create Statements.
- From one customer's ledger: press Statement, choose the dates, then Email…. You confirm the address, and the statement goes as a PDF attachment with the balance due in the email.
Reports and lists
Most reports and lists have an Email button beside Export. It opens Email this report:
| Field | What to enter / what it means |
|---|---|
| To | One or more addresses, separated by commas. It starts with your company's own email address. Each address receives its own copy, so recipients do not see each other. |
| Subject | Starts as the report's title and period, for example "Profit & Loss — Jan 1 to Sep 30". |
| Message | Starts as "Please find attached the report for period." |
| ATTACH AS | PDF, Excel or CSV. The file is exactly what Export would save. |
Press Send. The attachment is built from what is on screen at that moment, with your current dates and filters. You need the permission to export reports; without it the Email button is not shown. See Print, export and email a report.
Messages you may see
| Message | What it means / what to do |
|---|---|
| "Enter at least one email address." | The To box is empty. |
| "That does not look like an email: text" | One of the addresses is not a valid email address. Correct it. |
| "A subject is required." | Type a subject. |
| "Nothing to email — this report has no rows." | The report is empty for these dates and filters. |
| "Sent to 2 of 3. Failed: address — reason" | Some recipients received it; fix the address that failed and send to it again. |
| "Server send failed (reason) — opened your mail app instead." | SeroBooks could not send the email, so it opened your own email program with the message filled in. Attach the PDF yourself (use Save PDF) before sending from there. |
| "Email failed: reason" | The email did not go. Check your internet connection and the address, then try again. |
| "Customers with no email address on file are skipped and reported back" | Shown when sending statements. Add an email address to those customers, or print their statements. |
Keeping track of what was sent
Every email sent from SeroBooks is logged with the document, the address and the time. Send Forms shows it as LAST EMAILED ("Sep 24, 3:10 PM · accounts@example.com"), and a document that was emailed successfully no longer waits in its Not yet emailed list.
Tips
- Keep an email address on every customer and vendor record so the address fills itself in.
- Email a report to your accountant from the report itself, choosing Excel if they want to work with the figures.
- Emailing never changes a document or your books.
Common problems
The customer did not receive the invoice. Check the address the email went to (in Send Forms choose All and look at LAST EMAILED). If the address is right, ask the customer to look in their junk or spam folder.
The email went to an old address. SeroBooks uses the email address on the customer's record. Update it in Add or edit a customer.
The Email button is missing on a report. Your role does not allow exporting reports. Ask an administrator (see Roles and permissions explained).