Send an Email by Hand with Compose Email

In the dashboard: open an inspection, then Quick Actions → Automations → Compose Email. Or Automations → Compose for an email that isn’t about one inspection.

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When to use Compose Email

• You didn’t set up automations before booking. Automations you add later don’t send messages for things that already happened, such as the booking confirmation. Send those by hand. See Catch up after setting up automations late.
• A one-off message such as gate codes, parking, a change of plan or an answer to a question, sent from Hive so it’s saved with the inspection.
• Sending a link again such as the agreement, payment or report link, with a personal note.
• Different wording for one client. Cancel the automated message on that inspection and send your own.
• Contacts who aren’t on any inspection, for example every agent with a certain tag.

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Open Compose Email

• For an inspection
• Not about one inspection

1. Open the inspection and click Automations in the Quick Actions card (or, on the Inspections page, ⋮ → Automations).
2. Click Compose Email at the top right of the Automation History page.

The inspection is already selected, and its contacts are offered under Contacts on this inspection.

Go to Automations and click Compose at the top.No inspection is selected. You can still pick one on the page.

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Write and send the email

1

Add who it goes to

To is the only recipient field you must fill. Add people in any of these ways:

• Contacts on this inspection: click a name to add it, or Add all. Added names turn green with a tick. This box shows only when an inspection is selected.
• Search your contacts: type at least two letters of a name or email, then click the contact.
• Everyone with a tag: type part of a contact tag’s name and click it under Add all contacts with tag. Every contact with that tag who has an email address is added, shown in purple.
• Any email address: type it and press Enter, a comma or Tab. Addresses that aren’t valid aren’t added.

Remove someone with the × on their name, or press Backspace in an empty field to remove the last one.Click Add CC/BCC to copy others in. CC and BCC work the same way as To.

2

Pick the inspection (optional)

The Inspection field connects the email to an inspection. With an inspection selected:

• placeholders such as the address, date, client name and payment link are filled in from it;
• the email is saved on that inspection’s Automation History as Manual Email, with its opens and bounces;
• its contacts are offered under Contacts on this inspection.

Click the field to choose another inspection. The list shows your 50 inspections with the latest dates. Type part of the address to find others. Click the × to send without an inspection.

3

Start from a template (optional)

Email Template lists every email automation you have, including ones that are switched off (marked Inactive). Type in the search box to find one by name or subject.Picking a template copies its Subject and message into the email, replacing what you typed. You can then change anything. Your automation itself isn’t changed.You don’t have to pick a template. You can write the email from scratch.

4

Write the subject and message

Type the Subject and the Email Body. The toolbar has bold, lists, alignment, font size, colour, links, images, video and tables, like the automation editor.To add inspection details, click Insert Placeholder and pick one, or type in the search box to find it. The i button next to it opens the full placeholder reference.Useful ones for a manual email:

Placeholder	What it becomes
{{{payment_link}}}	A Pay here link to the client’s payment page
{{{customer_agreement_link}}}	A link to sign the agreement
{{{invoice_link}}}	A link to the invoice PDF
{{{customer_reports_portal_link}}}	A link to the client’s reports portal
{{{customer_inspection_link}}}	The inspection review page (order details, add-ons, sign and pay)
{{{property_address}}}, {{{inspection_date}}}, {{{inspection_time}}}	The inspection’s address, date and time
{{{client_first_name}}}	The client’s first name

See Placeholders in automations for the rest.

5

Attach files (optional)

Under Attachments, click the box or drag files onto it. Wait until each file shows a green tick.

• Up to 5 MB per file and 10 MB in total.
• PDF, Word (.doc, .docx), Excel (.xls, .xlsx), CSV, TXT, JPG, PNG, GIF and WebP.

For a report, send the report link instead of attaching the PDF. Report PDFs are often bigger than 5 MB.

6

Check the preview

Click Refresh Preview on the right. Hive fills in the placeholders and shows the email as it will be sent, with the recipients, subject, message and attachments.

• Replaced (green) lists the placeholders Hive filled in.
• Not replaced (orange) lists the ones it couldn’t fill. They’d be sent exactly as typed, braces included. Pick an inspection, or delete them.

The preview doesn’t update by itself. Click Refresh Preview again after each change. The email that goes out also carries your company’s email layout, like your automated emails.

7

Click Send Email

Send Email (at the top and bottom of the page) turns on once there’s at least one To recipient, a subject and a message, and every attachment has finished uploading. The line at the bottom shows what you’re about to send, for example “Sending to 1 recipient, 1 CC, 1 attachment”.Hive sends the email straight away and takes you back to the page you came from. The email isn’t held for sleep hours.

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How the email is sent

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Catch up after setting up automations late

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Common questions

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Where to go next

• Automation History for an inspection
• Automation Starter Pack
• Automation Settings: Basics
• Quick Actions on an inspection