# Questions and messages

> Answer the questions customers ask on their quote page, close questions that need no reply, and send messages to the customer.

Every quote has one conversation with the customer, under **Questions & answers** at the bottom of the quote. It reads like an email thread: every message in the order it was written, the same on your side and on the customer's quote page. Messages from your team are marked with a line down the left.

## When the customer writes

Customers can write on their quote page, or simply reply to any email about the quote: the quote itself, a follow-up or one of your messages. On their own link, a message is always sent in the name of that recipient: the form shows **Asking as** with the name and email address from their contact.

- The message is added to the conversation, and the quote owner receives it by email (as does your organisation's **Reply-to email**, if one is set under **Settings → Emails & sending**).
- The conversation counts as needing a reply. It shows under **Questions to answer** on the dashboard, with a count on the Quotes page, and the heading of **Questions & answers** says how many messages need a reply.

## Write to the customer

1. Open the quote and scroll to **Questions & answers** at the bottom of the **Quote** tab.
2. Type in the box under the conversation.
3. Choose **Send**.

The line under the box says who it goes to: the person who wrote last on the customer's side, or the primary contact if nobody has written yet. Your message is emailed to them, with a button back to the quote, and shown on the quote page. Any messages that needed a reply are then treated as answered.

If a message needs no reply, choose **No reply needed** next to **Send**. You can write once the quote has been sent.

## Replying by email

- You can answer by replying to the email with the customer's message. Your reply is emailed to the customer and added to the conversation, just like a message written in Quoterium. Reply from the address you sign in with (any member of your organisation can): a reply from an address that isn't a member's isn't posted, and the quote owner receives an email saying so.
- Messages that arrived by email are marked **by email**. The quoted original and email signatures are left out, and automatic replies such as out-of-office messages are ignored.

## Good to know

- Messages are plain text. Paragraphs are kept, web addresses become links, and lines starting with a dash or a bullet (- or •) become a bulleted list. Other formatting, images and attachments in replies by email are left out.
- Everything in the conversation can be seen by the customer. For internal notes, use the **Private notes** box on the quote, which is never shown to customers.

## See also

- [How customers decline or ask a question](https://quoterium.com/help/customer-view-and-e-signature/how-customers-decline-or-ask-questions)
- [Using the dashboard](https://quoterium.com/help/getting-started/the-dashboard)

Source: https://quoterium.com/help/sending-and-follow-up/customer-questions-and-messages