Batches

Batches help you keep mail organized. Some examples of ways to use Batches to keep mail grouped together include batching a certain topic, batching an advocacy campaign, or batching all of the mail for a particular week.

1. Mail Processed by Automation(s) - This column is denoted simply with the Automation icon (though some may see a pretty flower) and is located immediately to the left of the Name column. When the Automation icon appears next to an individual Batch, this means that some or all of the mail in the Batch were processed by automation(s). To get more information, hover your cursor over one of the icons and a message will appear reading: "This Batch is used by X Automations. Clicking this column will take you to the first of these." Clicking on the icon will allow you to edit the first of these automations. 

2. Name - This column shows the Batch names. You can filter this column in alphabetical order by clicking on "Name."

3. Form Letters - This column displays the form letter used on the mail contained in the Batch. Each form letter is clickable, allowing a user to navigate directly to the letter for editing purposes. If the mail records contained within the Batch use several form letters, that will be noted with "Multiple," and this item - when the dropdown is clicked - provides a breakdown of the form letters assigned and the number of mail records with each letter assigned. 

4. Progress - This column shows the processing progress for the mail in the Batch, and the colored status bars indicate the statuses of the form letters used on the mail.

• Green = Approved
• Yellow = Pending Approval or Rework
• Red = Assigned

For instance, a completely green bar means that 100% of the mail in the Batch have an approved form letter assigned and are, in essence, ready to be sent. In contrast, a full yellow bar means that the form letter(s) used are pending approval, and a full red bar indicates the form letter(s) are assigned and have not been edited or approved. Some Batches have form letters of different statuses assigned within a Batch, and these are denoted by the multi-colored bars. Hovering your cursor over any bar will provide a breakdown of the form letter statuses within each Batch.

5. Mail Count - This shows the number of mail records in each Batch. You can view the Batches in ascending or descending order according to mail count by clicking the column header at the top.  

6. Batch Owner - Here you can view the different staffers assigned to each Batch. You can update the Batch owner of one Batch or more by checking the checkbox to the left of a Batch and selecting Actions>Modify Selected. 

7. Oldest Mail - This column displays the inbound date for the oldest mail record in the Batch. To view the Batch with the oldest mail record of all Batches, click the column header to filter the list. 

Finally, the Batch filters in the righthand panel can help you quickly find Batches assigned to particularly staffers or Batches that contain no mail. Empty Batches can be reused when logging mail or deleted to clean up your list of Batches. To make use of these filters, simply check the boxes next to the items you wish to view, and the page will refresh accordingly.

Viewing Mail From Within an Individual Batch

Once inside, you will be able to find and manage all of the mail in this particular Batch. The different column headers are as follows:

1. The Automation Icon - This icon identifies any individual piece of mail that has skipped the Inbox and been processed with an Automation.

2. Original Letter - This column provides access to the original inbound communication and link to the person record for the constituent who sent it. It will share what type of inbound it was, the contact information. 

3. Form / Type - This column will list the name of the form letter, what type of response it is intended to be as well as a will be a colored circle representing the letter statuses discussed above. These are here to alert you that the form letter(s) may require extra work before you can send out the response(s).

4. Staffer - This column reveals which staff member has been assigned a particular inbound piece of mail to handle.  

5. Date - This presents the date of the original inbound interaction.

 
For information about the features that will help manage Batched mail, check out this Batch Tools tutorial. To learn more about putting mail into Batches, see these tutorials about logging a letter and logging an email.