How to email an invoice, quote or sales order to a customer from SolaCount, what the customer receives, and what to do when a link has expired.
Which documents can be emailed
| Document | Where | Button |
|---|---|---|
| Invoice | Sales → Invoices → open the invoice | Send Email (sidebar) or the Send Email panel |
| Quote | Sales → Quotes → open the quote | Send (top-right) or Send Email |
| Sales order | Sales → Sales Orders → open an approved order | Send Email |
Credit notes, sales receipts and refund receipts have no email panel — download the PDF and send it yourself.
Send by email (invoices, quotes, sales orders)
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Open the document.
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Click Send Email. The email panel expands below the document.
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Check the fields:
Field Default Notes To The customer's email Required, one valid address. Recipient name The customer's name Used in the greeting. Subject Invoice INV-…, Quote …, Sales Order SO-… Change if you like. CC / BCC Empty Extra recipients, comma-separated. Your organization's default CC/BCC also apply. Message (optional) Empty Added to the email body. Attach PDF (if available) Off Tick to attach the PDF of the document. -
Click Queue Email. You see "Invoice email queued." (or "Quote email queued.").
The email is sent from your organization's name and sender identity. It contains a secure button that signs the customer in to the Customer Portal, where they can see the document and download the PDF. Each send is listed in the document's Email History with date, recipient and status (queued, sent, failed).
Sending a draft quote this way marks it Sent.
Send a quote for online acceptance
On a draft or sent quote, click Send (top-right) and confirm "Send this quote?". SolaCount:
- emails the customer at the address on their record,
- creates a fresh public link (and revokes any older one) valid until the quote's expiry date, or 14 days if it has none,
- marks the quote Sent.
In the portal the customer can accept or decline. You see the result on the quote immediately: Customer viewed, Customer accepted or Customer declined, with the time in the Timeline. See Quotes and Public quote links.
What the customer sees
- The email with your branding, the optional message and PDF, and a button to view the document.
- In the Customer Portal: the document and its PDF; for quotes, Accept / Decline; and their other invoices, payments, quotes and sales orders with you — only their own account.
Link expiry
The sign-in button in the email is single-use and valid for 24 hours. If it has expired or was already used:
- the customer can open the portal sign-in page, enter their email and request a new sign-in link, or
- you send the document again.
Before you send — checklist
- The customer record has the right email address. Portal access is tied to it; a quote cannot be sent without one ("Customer email is required to send this quote.").
- Invoices: post first, so the customer sees final numbers. If approvals are enabled for invoices, quotes or sales orders, the document needs a current approval before it can be sent ("This document must have a current approval before sending.").
- Quotes: only Draft or Sent quotes can be sent with Send.
- Sales orders: approve the order first; Send Email appears only on approved or invoiced orders.
Common questions
"Did the email go out?" Check Email History on the document. Queued means it is waiting to be sent; it changes to sent or failed.
"I clicked Queue Email and the page lost connection." You may see Status not confirmed. Click Check current status and look at Email History before sending again, to avoid a duplicate email.
"Can I see whether the customer opened it?" For quotes, yes — the Timeline records viewed, accepted and declined. For invoices, portal activity is recorded but not shown on the invoice.
"Can the customer reply in the portal?" No. Apart from quote responses, the portal is read-only. Replies come to your organization's reply-to email.