Send Forms emails many forms at once. Pick a kind of form and a date range, and SeroBooks lists the forms of that kind that have not been emailed yet. Tick the ones to send, check each one's recipient, subject and message, and press Send Now. Each form goes to its own customer (or vendor, for purchase orders) as a separate email with the form attached as a PDF, laid out by the template you choose. A form that has been sent leaves the Not yet emailed list.
Use it at the end of the day to send everything you ticked Email Later on, or to send a month's invoices in one sitting.
Opening Send Forms
Choose File ▸ Send Forms…. The page opens over the Home Page, and Esc goes back to the Home Page. It needs permission for the Invoices list.
Sending a batch, step by step
- Choose the kind of form with the buttons across the top: Invoices, Sales Receipts, Credit Memos, Estimates, Sales Orders or Purchase Orders.
- Leave Not yet emailed selected to see only forms waiting to go, or choose All.
- To see only forms saved with Email Later ticked, turn on Ticked Email Later.
- Set From and To for the dates you want, and pick the Template that lays out the attached PDF.
- Tick the forms to send (with Not yet emailed selected they are all ticked when the list loads).
- Click a form's row to see its email on the right. Check the To address, and change the Subject or Message for that form if you need to. Press Preview to see the attachment.
- Press Send Now. The status line counts through the batch ("Sending 3 of 12…"), and each row shows Sent or the reason it did not go.
The page, field by field
Filters at the top
| Field | What to enter / what it means |
|---|---|
| Invoices / Sales Receipts / Credit Memos / Estimates / Sales Orders / Purchase Orders | The kind of form to list. |
| Not yet emailed / All | Not yet emailed lists forms that have never been emailed successfully from SeroBooks. All lists every form of that kind in the dates. |
| Ticked Email Later | Lists only forms saved with Email Later ticked that have not been emailed yet. |
| From / To | The range of form dates. When the page opens, the range is the last 30 days. |
| Template | The layout of the attached PDF. The default template for the kind of form is chosen for you. |
| Templates… | Opens Templates. |
The list
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Tick box | Whether the form is in the batch. The heading box ticks or clears every row. |
| DATE, NUMBER, CUSTOMER (or VENDOR), AMOUNT | The form's date, number, who it is for, and its total. |
| LAST EMAILED | When it was last emailed and to which address, for example "Sep 24, 3:10 PM · accounts@example.com". |
| Result | Before sending, No email (in amber) warns that the customer or vendor has no email address on file. During and after a send it shows Waiting, Sending…, Sent (green) or the reason it failed (red). Point at a message to read all of it. |
Below the list you see how many forms are ticked and their total, with Select All and Select None. At most 500 forms are listed at a time; narrow the dates if the line says more are waiting.
The email panel
Click a row to open its email on the right.
| Field | What to enter / what it means |
|---|---|
| To | One email address. It starts as the email address on the customer's or vendor's record. Type another to send this form elsewhere; the change applies to this send only and does not update the customer record. |
| Subject | Starts from the default subject for this kind of form, filled in for this form. You can change it for this form. |
| Message | The body of the email. Starts from the default message, filled in for this form. |
| Attachment line | The file name the PDF will have (for example Invoice-1045.pdf) and the template that lays it out. |
| Preview | Shows the attachment below the panel. |
| Edit default email… | Changes the default subject and message for this kind of form (see below). Shown only if your role can change business settings. |
Send Now sends every ticked form. The line beside it shows how many are ticked, or the progress while sending.
The default email
Each kind of form has a default subject and message. Out of the box the subject is "Form [number] from [company]" (for example "Invoice [number] from [company]") and the message thanks the customer and says the form is attached. The invoice message also asks the customer to pay by the due date, the estimate message asks them to say whether they want to go ahead, and the purchase order message asks the vendor to confirm the order and delivery date.
To change it, click any form, press Edit default email…, change Subject and Message, and press Save. These placeholders are filled in for each form when it is sent:
| Placeholder | Replaced with |
|---|---|
| [name] | The customer's or vendor's name ("Customer" if there is none). |
| [number] | The form number. |
| [date] | The form date. |
| [total] | The form total. |
| [balance] | The amount still owing (invoices and sales receipts). |
| [company] | Your company name. |
The new default is used for every form of that kind from then on, by everyone in your company. Changes you typed into one form's subject or message are cleared when you save a new default.
What the customer receives
Each form is a separate email to one address, so customers never see each other's addresses. The email is laid out on your company's letterhead with the form's name and number as its heading and the form's date beneath, your message as the body, and the form attached as a PDF. The sender is SeroBooks's mail service on your behalf; see Emailing invoices, statements and reports.
Every send is logged against the form. A successful send takes the form off Not yet emailed; a failed one stays ticked so you can fix the address and press Send Now again. Emailing a form from the form itself (for example the Email button on a saved invoice) also counts, so that form will not be waiting here.
Sending changes nothing in your books.
Permissions
You see a kind of form only if your role lets you view that kind of document. Changing the default email needs permission to change business settings.
Messages you may see
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| "Tick the forms to send." | Tick at least one form. |
| "Choose a template first." | There is no active template for this kind of form. Press Templates…. |
| "n of the ticked forms have no valid email address. Type one in, or untick them." | Each form without a usable address is marked Needs an email address. Click it, type an address in To, or untick it. The To box takes one address only. |
| "Sent n; m did not go — the reason is beside each one." | Read the red message on each failed row, fix it, and send again. |
| "This purchase order is awaiting approval — it cannot be sent to the supplier until someone with approval rights authorises it." | The purchase order needs approval first. |
| "Default email saved." | Your new default is in use. |
Tips
- Keep customers' email addresses on their records (see Add or edit a customer) so the To box fills itself.
- Tick Email Later when you save an invoice, then use Ticked Email Later here.
- Statements are not sent from this page; use Create Statements.
Common problems
A customer says the email never arrived. Check the LAST EMAILED column: it shows the address used. If it is right, ask the customer to look in their junk mail folder.
The row says No email. The customer or vendor has no email address on file. Type one in To for this send, and add it to their record for next time.