Messaging & Inquiries

Exlitem provides two communication tools: inquiries for initial outreach and message threads for ongoing conversations with experts. Both live in one place — the Messages mailbox at Dashboard → Messages.

#The Messages Mailbox

Inquiries and conversations share a single inbox rather than two separate pages. A folder strip across the top filters what you're looking at:

The Messages item in the sidebar carries one badge combining your pending inquiries and unread messages.

#Inquiries

An inquiry is a structured request you send to an expert expressing interest in their services. It provides the expert with the context they need to decide whether to engage.

#Sending an Inquiry

Inquiries start from the expert, not from the mailbox. There are two entry points:

• From a matter — open the matter's Experts tab and click Send Inquiry on any expert card in the pipeline. The inquiry is linked to that matter automatically.
• From an expert profile — use the contact action on the profile sidebar.

Either way you get the same form:

Screenshot

The Send Inquiry dialog opened from a matter's expert pipeline, headed 'Send Inquiry to Dr. Jane Miller', followed by the inquiry form fields: Case Type dropdown, Case Summary textarea, Expertise Needed textarea, Timeline input, Budget Range input, Preferred Engagement dropdown, and Additional Notes textarea. Cancel and Send buttons at the bottom.

Click Send Inquiry. The expert receives a notification, and the expert's pipeline card moves to Inquiry Sent.

#Tracking Inquiries

Sent inquiries appear in your Messages mailbox — use the Sent folder for everything you've sent and Needs follow-up for the ones still waiting on a reply. A matter's Inquiries tab shows only the inquiries tied to that matter.

Screenshot

The Messages mailbox showing the folder strip across the top (Inbox, Needs follow-up, Add to matter, Sent, Archive, All) with per-folder counts, a list of inquiries and threads on the left, and the selected item's detail on the right showing the inquiry payload and its delivery status.

#Message Threads

Once an expert responds to your inquiry (or you initiate a conversation), a message thread is created — and it lands in the same mailbox as your inquiries.

#Viewing Threads

Go to Dashboard → Messages. The list shows:

• Expert name and avatar
• Last message preview
• Timestamp of the last message
• Unread badge when you have new messages

Selecting an item opens it in the detail pane on the right.

#Thread Actions

Within a thread, you can:

• Send messages — type and send text messages to the expert
• Mark as read — clear the unread indicator
• Archive — hide the thread from your active list

Tip: The Messages link in the sidebar shows a single badge combining pending inquiries and unread messages. Check it regularly to stay responsive to expert replies.

#Following Up on Inquiries

If an expert doesn't reply quickly, the inquiry detail page surfaces two follow-up actions once they're usable. Both are gated server-side and disappear permanently once the expert has replied or the inquiry hits a terminal state (e.g., declined, expired).

#Resend original email

Re-fires the exact inquiry email you originally sent. Useful when the first attempt may have been buried, marked as promotional, or filtered into a folder the expert doesn't watch.

Becomes available when:

• The first email's delivery is confirmed by the provider, and
• At least 48 hours have passed since the most recent send attempt, and
• The expert hasn't replied yet, and
• No resend is already in flight.

#Send a nudge

A short reminder message threaded in-reply-to your original email — it lands in the same conversation in the expert's inbox, not a separate email. Use when you've already resent (or the resend window is open) and want to keep the thread visible without re-sending the full pitch.

If you've hit the nudge cap, the button hides and the inquiry's status row shows "Nudge limit reached." Likewise, the resend/nudge buttons stay hidden until the cooldown elapses — you'll see a small "Next action available in X hours" hint on the inquiry detail page.

Screenshot

The Inquiry Detail page sidebar showing the Resend banner with two buttons — 'Resend original email' (primary) and 'Send nudge' (secondary) — both enabled, with a small caption underneath reading 'Last sent 2 days ago. Up to 2 nudges remaining.'

Tip: Resend uses the same subject line and body as the original, so the expert sees a single thread in their inbox. Nudges are short by design — don't include new information; if the brief has changed, send a fresh inquiry instead.

#Linking an Inquiry to a Matter

Inquiries sent from a matter's pipeline are linked to that matter automatically. For anything sent from an expert profile, the mailbox's Add to matter folder collects accepted inquiries that aren't linked yet — pick an existing matter or create one inline. You can also link an inquiry from its detail view at any time.

This keeps your inquiry history attached to the relevant matter for easy tracking.