# How messages work

> Keep every client email in one place. How CoreHue Messages works for photographers: real email, replies that land in the thread, and history on each contact.

Source: https://help.corehue.co/docs/messages/how-messages-work/

Messages is where your client conversations live. It's real email: what you send lands in your client's normal inbox, and when they reply, the answer comes straight back into the same thread in CoreHue. Every conversation is saved on the contact it belongs to, so a year from now you can still see exactly what you agreed and when.

> **Limited on the Free plan**
On Free you can read your conversations, but sending and replying need Plus or Pro. See [Messages on the Free plan](/docs/messages/messages-on-the-free-plan) and [CoreHue plans](/docs/plans-and-billing/corehue-plans).

## Finding your messages

Choose **Messages** in the sidebar. A number beside it shows how many unread conversations you have, so you can tell at a glance whether anyone is waiting on you.

The left column lists your conversations, newest first. Each row shows who it's with, the subject, a preview of the latest message and when it arrived. Click one to open the thread on the right. It opens at the newest message, and **Show earlier messages** loads the rest of a long history.

## Views and search

The menu at the top of the list starts on **All**. Switch it to see a different set of conversations:

| View | What's in it |
| --- | --- |
| **All messages** | Every live conversation |
| **Unread** | Conversations with something you haven't read yet |
| **Archived** | Conversations you've filed away |
| **Bin** | Conversations you've deleted, kept for 30 days |

**Search messages** looks through subjects, the latest message preview, and your client's name and email. It searches the view you're in, so switch to **Archived** first if you're hunting for an older exchange.

## Where conversations come from

Most conversations start without you doing anything:

- **You write to a contact.** See [Sending a message to a client](/docs/messages/sending-a-message).
- **You reply to an inquiry.** The thread starts with your reply. Your client's original inquiry stays on the inquiry itself. See [Managing inquiries](/docs/managing-bookings/managing-inquiries).
- **Someone fills in your contact form.** Each submission creates a contact and a conversation. See [Handling contact form submissions](/docs/contact-forms/handling-submissions).
- **A client replies to a document email.** When you email an invoice, proposal, contract, questionnaire or booking, the thread stays out of sight until your client actually replies. Then the whole exchange appears, document email and all.

That last one keeps Messages tidy. Sending fifty invoices doesn't leave you with fifty threads to scroll past.

## What a thread is about

A conversation that belongs to a piece of work carries a small label beside its subject: **Inquiry**, **Invoice**, **Proposal**, **Contract**, **Questionnaire** or **Booking**. It helps you tell a quick question apart from the thread about a specific job.

Your client's name sits at the top of an open thread. Click it to jump to their contact page.

## Everything stays on the contact

Every conversation belongs to a contact, and it also shows on their page under the **Messages** tab ("Every conversation you have had with this contact."). Open a client from last spring and the whole history is right there, next to their bookings, invoices and galleries. See [Everything on a contact's page](/docs/contacts/the-contact-page).

## How replies come back

Messages you send from CoreHue go out under your business name. When your client hits reply in Gmail, Outlook or anywhere else, their answer comes back into the same conversation in CoreHue. They don't need an account or a login.

You'll also get a copy of each new client message in your own inbox, which you can answer from your usual mail app. Your reply still ends up in CoreHue. See [Replying from your own email app](/docs/messages/replying-from-your-own-email).

## Sending limits

Each CoreHue account can send up to 200 messages in any 24 hours. Replies you send from your own email app count toward the 200, and document emails like invoices and contracts don't. That's far above normal use, and the limit is there to stop abuse.

If you reach the daily limit while writing in CoreHue, you'll see "You have reached the daily message limit. Please try again tomorrow." Replies sent from your own email app after the limit is reached aren't delivered or saved, so switch to CoreHue if you're having an unusually busy day.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is CoreHue Messages a separate email account?

No. CoreHue Messages works alongside your existing email account. Your clients get normal emails and reply as usual, and CoreHue keeps each conversation together on the right contact.

### Do my clients need to sign in to read or reply?

No. Clients read and reply to CoreHue messages from their own inbox, on any device, with no account or sign-in.

### Why don't I see a thread for every invoice I sent?

Document emails only become a visible conversation once your client replies. Until then they're tracked on the document itself, under its **Email history**.

### Do messages carry CoreHue branding?

No. Emails you send from Messages never show CoreHue branding, on any plan.