Client updates and mail
Draft progress notes from live project data, post them to the client portal or send them by email, and connect an IMAP and SMTP mailbox.
4 min readUpdated Oct 17, 2026Applies to YourDesk 1.0.0
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Client updates
Client updates writes the note you owe a client, starting from what actually happened on a project rather than a blank box.
Pick a project. Updates are drafted from its live tasks and progress.
Choose an update type:
Type For Status update A full progress roundup of what changed Milestone announcement A short note about one phase, done or next Ready for review Pointing them at work waiting in the portal Waiting on you Chasing files, decisions or assets Kickoff note Welcoming them and laying out the road ahead Draft it, or describe the letter in your own words ("Let them know we loved the feedback and the next round lands Friday") and press Draft. Refine any draft with a nudge ("make it warmer, mention we start Monday"). Write with Agent opens the Agent beside the page instead.
Send it one of three ways:
Button What happens Send via portal Posts the update to the client's portal and copies the portal link Send with Gmail Emails it to the client's address through the connected mailbox (any provider, despite the label) and posts it to the portal. Without a mailbox, a Gmail compose window opens instead. Copy Copies the text for you to paste anywhere
Sent updates appear under Sent and waiting and on the client's portal. Reminder and follow-up drafts created for overdue invoices and unopened proposals land here too, and stay drafts unless the studio owner has turned on Email clients automatically.
With and without AI
With an xAI key available, letters described in your own words and refine nudges are written by an xAI model (grok-4.5). Without one, you still get a draft: the update types use built-in templates filled from the project, a written request becomes a simple letter around your words, and a "shorter" nudge trims paragraphs.
Connecting a mailbox
A studio connects its own mailbox under Settings → Workspace → Mailbox. YourDesk then sends client mail as that address.
| Provider | Servers used | What you need |
|---|---|---|
| Gmail | imap.gmail.com:993, smtp.gmail.com:587 |
An App Password (Google Account → Security → 2-Step Verification → App passwords), not your Google password |
| Google Workspace | Same as Gmail | Your admin must allow IMAP; then an App Password |
| Outlook | outlook.office365.com:993, smtp.office365.com:587 |
The mailbox password, or an app password if your tenant requires one |
| Fastmail | imap.fastmail.com:993, smtp.fastmail.com:587 |
An app password |
| iCloud | imap.mail.me.com:993, smtp.mail.me.com:587 |
An app-specific password |
| Other IMAP | Your own hosts | IMAP on port 993; SMTP on 465 or 587 |
Rules for "Other IMAP":
- Ports are limited to 993 for IMAP and 465 or 587 for SMTP. Port 465 uses TLS from the start; 587 upgrades with STARTTLS.
- Host names must be real public DNS names. IP addresses,
localhost,.local,.internaland.lannames, and hosts that resolve to private addresses are refused.
When you connect, YourDesk signs in over IMAP to check the password, stores it encrypted (AES-256-GCM, keyed from BETTER_AUTH_SECRET), and fetches the latest 60 inbox and 30 sent messages. Disconnecting deletes the stored password and those messages.
What the mailbox is used for
- Send with Gmail from Client updates.
- Send reminder and Draft a follow-up on invoices and proposals.
- The automatic overdue reminders and proposal follow-ups described in Automatic reminders, only when the studio owner has turned on Email clients automatically in the same Mailbox section. It is off by default.
- The Agent's send email action, after you approve it.
All of these use the studio's first connected mailbox. The buttons and automatic reminders send to the email address on the client record; the Agent sends to the address shown in its approval request.
If the platform admin has switched Mail off in Ops → Product, the Mailbox section is hidden, the server refuses to connect, sync or send through a mailbox, and nothing is emailed automatically. Send with Gmail then shows "Mail is turned off on this site.", and Send reminder and Draft a follow-up open a Gmail compose window instead.
Note
Not in this version yet: reading mail inside YourDesk. The messages fetched at connection time are stored, and included in the studio's data download, but 1.0.0 has no inbox screen and does not sync again afterwards. Keep reading client mail in your usual email app.
Email that YourDesk does not send
YourDesk has no system email of its own. It never emails on its own behalf: no sign-up confirmations, password resets, team invitations, or notices when a client signs, pays, writes or uploads. The only email that leaves the app goes through a mailbox a studio connected, to that studio's clients.