Customers replying by email

Customers can reply to any email about their request with documents attached, or with a question. Each file is checked like an upload and filed under its checklist item, and the customer gets one receipt back. Email replies are part of Pro; on Free they work on your first request only. See Billing.

The reply address

Every request has its own private reply address of the form in+<code>@tangentflow.com, where the code is random and unique to that request. It is the reply-to on every email the customer receives: the invitation, reminders, follow-ups, your "request more" messages and the receipts. The invitation says "Prefer email? Just reply". There is nothing to set up.

What is accepted

A reply is accepted only when all of these hold:

• The request is still open. Otherwise it is bounced with "This request has finished and no longer accepts documents."
• It comes from the customer's email address on file. Anything else is bounced with a note asking them to reply from the address the request was sent to, or use the upload link.
• The whole email is 25 MB or less. Larger emails are bounced with a request to use the upload link.

Out-of-office and other automatic replies are dropped silently, so there are no mail loops.

Which files are kept

Accepted types are PDF, JPEG, PNG, WebP and HEIC/HEIF, each up to 25 MB. Word files (.docx, .doc, .odt) and Excel files (.xlsx) are kept only when your checklist sent such a form to return. CSV and Excel files are also kept when an item accepts spreadsheets. Up to 20 files are taken per email, and a request holds at most 150 files.

Images under 8 KB, and inline images under 40 KB, are skipped without comment: they are almost always signature logos and social icons. Other file types, oversized files and anything over the per-email limit are listed in the receipt under "Not added" with the reason.

Where files are filed

Each emailed file is stored, marked "by email" on the request page, and sent for the same AI check as an upload. The check says which item the file belongs to, and it is filed there. A returned Word or Excel form is filed under your Word or Excel form item when the checklist has exactly one.

Files the check could not place appear in a Needs sorting card at the top of the request's checklist: "Emailed by the customer. Choose which checklist item each file is for." Pick the item from the dropdown next to each file. In the evidence index CSV these rows show as "Unfiled" until sorted.

The receipt

The customer gets one receipt per burst of emails. It is sent about three minutes after the first email with attachments (45 seconds for a message with no files), and waits a little longer while files are still being checked so it can say whether each one passed. It is threaded as a reply to their email.

The receipt lists every file with its result (filed under an item and "looks good", or "Needs redoing" with the reason), anything not added and why, then what is still needed. The button is Open your checklist, or View your checklist when everything is in.

Questions in the email

Text the customer writes is handled one of two ways:

• AI agent on for email replies: the agent reads the message with the checklist in front of it and answers in the same receipt. If the customer states an answer to a checklist question, it is filled in. Anything the agent should not settle is handed over to you. See How the AI agent runs a request.
• Agent off: the message is forwarded to your team at once as an urgent email headed "[customer] replied by email", with their text and the number of attached files. Its reply-to is the customer, so answering it answers them.

The agent answers at most 10 emails per request per day. Beyond that, the customer is told your team will get back to them and the message is passed to you.

Switching it off for one request

On the request page, open the AI agent card, click Edit and turn off Answer email replies. Files are still accepted and filed; only the agent's written answer stops, so questions come to you instead. The same toggle exists for a whole batch under AI agent settings.

FAQ

Why did a customer's reply not arrive?

Usually they replied from a different address than the one on the request, the request was already submitted or completed, or the email was over 25 MB. Each case gets a bounce explaining what to do.

Do emailed files count toward my AI checks?

Yes. Each emailed file that is sent for a check uses one AI check, the same as an upload. See Document checks.