When you connect your work email (Gmail or Outlook) to WelcomeHome, your sent and received messages automatically flow into the platform and attach to the right lead or resident record. This article explains, in plain language, how those messages get grouped into a single conversation and how that conversation finds its way to the correct record.
Overview
WelcomeHome doesn't decide how to group your emails by looking at subject lines. Instead, it relies on your own mailbox to do the grouping, then attaches that entire conversation to the matching lead or resident.
In other words, if Gmail or Outlook already treats a series of replies as one conversation, WelcomeHome treats it the same way. This keeps what you see in WelcomeHome consistent with what you see in your inbox.
Note- WelcomeHome partners with a secure email integration service to read your mailbox and bring your messages into the platform. You don't need to do anything extra — this happens automatically once your email is connected.
How Your Emails Get Into WelcomeHome
- You connect your work email through the integration.
- In real-time, WelcomeHome checks your mailbox for any conversations with new messages since the last check.
- For each of those conversations, WelcomeHome pulls in all the messages in that thread together, rather than one at a time.
Note- Attachments and inline images included in your messages are pulled in as well, so the full conversation — not just the text — is available on the record.
How Messages Get Grouped Into a Thread
Every email carries hidden identifying information that your mailbox assigns automatically:
- A conversation ID, which groups replies together — this is the same grouping Gmail or Outlook already uses.
- A message ID, which uniquely identifies that one individual email.
Because WelcomeHome relies on your mailbox's own conversation grouping, what you see in WelcomeHome will match what you see in your inbox.
How a Thread Attaches to the Right Lead or Resident
When a conversation comes into WelcomeHome, the platform determines which record it belongs to using this order:
- Has this conversation been seen before? WelcomeHome checks for an existing email on a record that shares the same conversation, or shares one of the individual messages. If found, new messages join that existing thread.
- If not, match by email address. WelcomeHome checks everyone included on the email (the From, To, CC, and BCC fields) and looks for a matching email address on a person's record. The conversation then attaches to that person.
Which Messages Actually Sync
Not every message in a conversation is guaranteed to come across. A message will sync if:
- It was already synced before, or
- It is on or after the sync start date and at least one participant on the email matches a person on the record.
Two dates help control how far back syncing reaches:
- The community's sync start date, which sets how far back email syncing looks.
- The date you first connected your mailbox.
One Important Thing to Know
Subject lines are only used when you compose a reply — WelcomeHome will add "Re:" if it isn't already there. Subject lines are not used to decide what belongs in a thread. Grouping is driven entirely by your mailbox's conversation grouping, plus matching participant email addresses to a person in WelcomeHome.
This is usually a big advantage, since it mirrors exactly what you see in your own inbox. That said, a few situations are worth keeping in mind:
- If someone emails from an address that isn't listed on their profile, the conversation may not attach — or may attach to the wrong record.
- A conversation only reaches a record when at least one participant's email matches someone on that record, so missing or outdated email addresses can cause a conversation to be skipped.
- Messages sent before the sync start date, or before you connected your mailbox, will not appear in WelcomeHome.
Best practice: Keep email addresses on lead and resident profiles up to date. This ensures new conversations attach to the correct record right away.
If you have any questions, please contact support@welcomehomesoftware.com or call (866) 931-1640.