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The unified inbox keeps every conversation with a customer (text, email, and calls) on one thread tied to that contact. Open Conversations in the sidebar (or the Conversations tab on mobile). It’s the one customer area technicians can see, so the whole team has the full picture.

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The conversation list

Conversations are grouped by contact, newest first, with unread counts and search by name, phone, or message. Each row has small channel chips showing every way you can reach that contact (text, call, email) based on what’s on file. From the header you can open Scheduled messages, start a New conversation, or place a New call when calling is available. Open a contact’s thread (or click Message on their contact page) to see the conversation, with SMS, Email, and Both tabs. Messages show as incoming or outgoing. The thread updates live, supports photo (MMS) attachments, and retries a failed send for you.
Messages are shown as incoming or outgoing, and the whole team sees the same thread. ShineCRM tracks the direction of each message, not which specific team member typed it.

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Two-way texting

Texts work both directions on web and mobile. Outbound goes from your business number; replies land back in the same thread for the whole team to see. ShineCRM blocks texting a contact who has opted out of SMS. A landline number gets a friendly “can’t receive texts” message instead of failing silently. In the composer, the plus menu adds Schedule send, Rewrite with AI, and Insert review link. Cmd/Ctrl+Enter sends.

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Email

ShineCRM sends your transactional emails (estimates, invoices, job updates, follow-ups) as branded HTML. The branding is your business name and email domain; your logo and brand colors show on your quotes, invoices, and customer portal, not inside the email itself. Customer replies come back as normal email and stay on the thread. Your email signature is appended to your reply and conversation emails. Set it under Settings then Organization.
ShineCRM sends estimates and invoices as a link to the customer’s live page, not as a PDF attachment. The customer clicks through to view, choose options, accept, or pay. That’s deliberate: the live page can do things a static PDF can’t.

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Reply from your own inbox

You don’t have to live in ShineCRM to answer email. Set a personal inbox to receive customer replies under Settings then Organization (the section is Customer email replies on web, Customer email forwarding on mobile). Then:
  1. A customer emails your business address, or replies to something you sent. ShineCRM creates or updates the conversation and forwards it to your personal inbox.
  2. You reply from your normal inbox.
  3. ShineCRM relays your reply back to the customer and logs it on the thread.
The customer only ever sees your business address. Leave the field blank to turn forwarding off.

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Calling

You can place and receive business calls on both the web dashboard and the mobile app, on your business line. Dial from the dial pad or call a contact from their thread. You get accept and reject for incoming calls, mute, and an active-call panel that stays put as you move around. The one difference: mobile rings you with a push notification even in the background, while the web dashboard can only ring an incoming call while you have a ShineCRM tab open. Setting up your number, who rings, missed-call texts, and recording all happen under Settings then Calls.

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Call recording, voicemail, and AI summaries

Call recording is off by default. An owner turns it on under Settings then Calls and accepts a legal attestation (you’re responsible for getting each party’s verbal consent and following your local recording laws). Once it’s on, you choose to record individual calls; nothing records on its own and no automated disclosure plays. When a call is recorded:
  • It appears on the thread with a Listen button that plays the audio.
  • It’s transcribed behind the scenes to produce a short AI summary (two or three lines) at the top of the call entry, so you can catch up without re-listening.
  • Voicemails are transcribed and show up as a message on the same thread.
AI call summaries require Suds AI to be on (see the AI overview) in addition to call recording. The transcript is used to generate the summary; it isn’t shown or searchable on its own.

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AI contact summary

Each contact page has an AI summary you generate on demand. It reads the full history and gives you a quick read on who the customer is and what’s outstanding. It’s cached, and you click Generate (or Regenerate) to refresh it, so you can walk into a call already up to speed.

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Frequently asked

Can my whole team see texts? Yes. The thread is shared, so coverage doesn’t depend on whose phone the customer happened to text. Does the customer know I’m reading email from my own inbox? No. They only ever see your business address. The forwarding loop happens behind the scenes. Is every call recorded? No. Recording is off until an owner enables it, and then you record calls one at a time. Getting consent is your responsibility. Can I search call transcripts? Transcripts run behind the scenes to create the AI summary. You read the summary and can play the recording; the raw transcript isn’t a separate searchable view.