pencild
For Artists For Studios
Pricing News
Log in Start your free trial

Professional communication tools

Email and Instagram DMs in one app. Never miss a booking inquiry again.

← Back to Help Centre

Connecting Your Email

Bring your client emails into pencild to keep all communications in one place.

  1. Go to Settings
  2. Find the Email or Connected Accounts section
  3. Click Connect Email
  4. Sign in with your email provider:
    • Gmail – Use your Google account
    • Outlook/Office 365 – Use your Microsoft account
    • Other IMAP – Enter your email server settings
  5. Grant the required permissions:
    • Read your emails
    • Send emails on your behalf
    • Access your contacts
  6. You'll be redirected back to pencild
  7. Your inbox will start populating within minutes

Automatic syncing: Every 5 minutes, up to 100 new messages are synced per user

Manual sync: Click the Sync button (refresh icon) in your inbox to fetch new emails immediately

What gets synced:

  • New incoming emails
  • Sent emails (including ones sent from pencild)
  • Email status changes (read/unread, starred)
  • Thread/conversation grouping

Managing Your Email

Priority filtering, archiving, searching, and controlling who can reach you.

Priority emails are highlighted because they're from clients who need your attention most.

A client is marked as priority if they have:

  • An upcoming appointment within the next 30 days, OR
  • An active project (status = "In Progress")

Where you'll see them:

  • Dashboard shows priority unread count prominently
  • Inbox has a "Priority" filter or section
  • Priority emails may appear at the top of your inbox

Why this helps: Instead of scrolling through all unread emails, you can focus on clients who have imminent appointments or active work in progress.

Archive a single email:

  1. Open the email
  2. Click the Archive button
  3. The email moves to your archive

Bulk archive multiple emails:

  1. In your inbox, select multiple emails using checkboxes
  2. Click Bulk Actions
  3. Select Archive Selected
  4. Confirm the action

To view archived emails:

Look for an "Archived" filter or folder in your inbox. You can unarchive emails by opening them and clicking Unarchive.

Yes! Even though your emails are encrypted for security, you can still search.

  1. Go to your Inbox
  2. Find the search bar at the top
  3. Enter your search terms:
    • Search by subject line
    • Search by sender name or email
    • Search by content within the email body
  4. Press Enter or click Search

How encrypted search works: pencild uses a special technique (HMAC-SHA256 tokens) that allows searching without decrypting all your emails. Your data stays secure while remaining searchable.

Additional filters:

  • Filter by specific client
  • Show only unread emails
  • Show only emails with attachments
  • Filter by folder/label

You have two options:

Option 1: Auto-Archive Sender

  • Future emails from this sender automatically go to archive
  • You can still see them if you look in archived emails
  • The sender/client remains visible in your system

Option 2: Blacklist Sender

  • All current emails from them are archived immediately
  • All future emails go straight to archive
  • The associated client is hidden from your main views
  • They'll only appear if you specifically filter for blacklisted contacts

To undo: Find the client (filter for blacklisted/auto-archived) and toggle off the setting.

Connecting Instagram

Manage your Instagram DMs alongside your email without switching apps.

Prerequisites:

  • You must have an Instagram Business or Creator account (not a personal account)
  • Your Instagram must be connected to a Facebook Business Page

Steps:

  1. Go to Settings
  2. Find the Instagram or Connected Accounts section
  3. Click Connect Instagram
  4. Log in with your Instagram credentials
  5. Review and approve the permissions
  6. Click Authorize or Allow
  7. Your Instagram conversations will start syncing

Note: Instagram tokens expire after 60 days. pencild automatically refreshes tokens that are expiring within 10 days, so you don't need to reconnect manually.

Automatic syncing: Every 10 minutes via background task

Real-time updates: When someone sends you a message, Instagram can notify pencild immediately via webhooks (if configured)

Manual sync:

  1. Go to your Instagram inbox in pencild
  2. Click the Sync button
  3. Up to 20 recent conversations will be fetched

What gets synced:

  • New conversations
  • New messages in existing conversations
  • Read/unread status
  • Conversation metadata

The 24-Hour Messaging Window

Understanding Instagram's messaging rules so you never miss a chance to respond.

Instagram enforces a 24-hour messaging window rule.

The rule: You can only send messages to someone within 24 hours of their last message to you.

Why this exists: Instagram requires this to prevent spam and unwanted messages from businesses.

What happens when the window expires:

  • You cannot send any messages to that person
  • You must wait for them to message you first
  • Once they message you, a new 24-hour window opens

Workaround: If you need to reach a client whose window has expired, contact them through email or ask them to message you on Instagram first.

When viewing an Instagram conversation, you'll see a status indicator:

Colour Status Meaning Action
Green Active More than 4 hours remaining You can send messages freely
Yellow Expiring Soon Less than 4 hours remaining Send important messages now
Red Expired 24-hour window has closed Wait for them to message you

The timer resets every time the customer sends you a message.

Automatic linking: If the Instagram username matches a client's Instagram username field, they're linked automatically.

Manual linking:

  1. Open the Instagram conversation
  2. Look for a Link to Client option
  3. Search for and select the client
  4. The conversation is now associated with that client

Benefits of linking:

  • See client's full profile and history from the conversation
  • Client's Instagram messages appear in their overall communication history
  • Easier to track all interactions with a client in one place

Using Templates

Reply faster with pre-written messages that personalise automatically.

Templates let you insert pre-written messages with one click.

  1. Start composing a reply (email or Instagram)
  2. Click the Templates button
  3. Select a template from your list
  4. The template content is inserted into your message
  5. Variables like client name and appointment date fill in automatically
  6. Edit as needed and send

Templates work the same way for both email and Instagram messages.

Yes. Your templates act as quick replies.

Tips for effective quick replies:

  • Create templates for your most common responses (booking confirmations, deposit requests)
  • Mark frequently-used templates as favourites for faster access
  • Use categories to organise templates by purpose
  • Include variables so each message feels personal

For more details on creating and managing templates, see the Templates help section.

Related Topics

Templates

Create reusable messages with variables

Automations

Automatic emails based on appointments

Client Management

Link conversations to client profiles

Security & Privacy

How your messages are encrypted