Customers submit requests through their portal. In the Inbox they land in one of two places depending on the type.
Types of requests
Schedule Service (service request)
Service requests land as portal conversations in the Inbox → Messages tab, so you can chat with the customer and coordinate scheduling in the same thread.
Request Supplies (consumable supply request)
Supply requests land in the Inbox → Requests tab with their structured lifecycle:
```
New → Acknowledged → Approved → In Route → Delivered
└─→ Declined (with reason)
```
Actions on each supply request
Each supply-request card supports Acknowledge, Approve, Decline (with reason), mark In Route, and mark Delivered — each fires the customer's status email/SMS as before.
Linked discussion thread
Each supply request card has a Messages button that opens a linked portal discussion thread, so you can chat with the customer about the request without leaving it. The request also appears in the customer's Communications timeline under the Requests filter.
Email Alerts
When customers submit requests, team members can receive email notifications (configurable in Settings → Notifications).