Email Outbox
Admin
The Email Outbox provides a centralized view of all outbound emails sent by HCSS Events Platform. From this page, you can monitor delivery status, investigate failures, retry failed sends, and manage email templates.
Navigate to Admin > Email Outbox to access the outbox.
Viewing Sent Emails
The outbox displays a chronological list of all emails sent by the system.
Email List Columns
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Sent At | The date and time the email was dispatched (or attempted). |
| To | The recipient's email address. |
| Subject | The email subject line. |
| Template | The email template used to generate the message (e.g., Welcome Email, Survey Invitation, Password Reset). |
| Status | The current delivery status of the email (see statuses below). |
| Event | The event associated with the email, if applicable. Blank for system-level emails (e.g., password resets). |
| Triggered By | The user or system process that initiated the email send. |
Email Statuses
| Status | Description |
|---|---|
| Sent | The email was successfully dispatched to the mail server. |
| Delivered | The recipient's mail server accepted the email. This does not guarantee it reached the inbox (it may be in spam). |
| Opened | The recipient opened the email (tracked via an embedded pixel, if supported by the recipient's email client). |
| Bounced | The email was rejected by the recipient's mail server. Common reasons: invalid email address, mailbox full, domain does not exist. |
| Failed | The email could not be sent due to a system error (e.g., mail server unavailable, authentication failure). |
| Queued | The email is waiting to be sent. This is a transient state; emails typically move to Sent within seconds. |
| Suppressed | The email was not sent because the recipient's address is on the suppression list (e.g., due to previous hard bounces). |
Searching and Filtering
| Filter | Description |
|---|---|
| Recipient | Search by recipient email address (partial match supported). |
| Subject | Search by email subject line. |
| Template | Filter by email template type. |
| Status | Filter by delivery status (Sent, Delivered, Opened, Bounced, Failed, Queued, Suppressed). |
| Date Range | Filter by the date the email was sent. |
| Event | Filter by associated event. |
tip
To quickly find all failed emails, set the Status filter to "Failed" or "Bounced". This is the fastest way to identify delivery problems that need attention.
Viewing Email Details
Click on any email in the list to open its detail view. The detail view includes:
Message Tab
- Full subject line and recipient address
- Sender (From name and email, as configured in System Settings)
- HTML preview of the email body as the recipient would see it
- Plain text version of the email body
Delivery Tab
- Status timeline -- a chronological record of the email's journey (Queued, Sent, Delivered, Opened), with timestamps for each step.
- Bounce details -- if the email bounced, the bounce code, category (hard bounce vs. soft bounce), and the mail server's rejection message.
- Mail server response -- the raw SMTP response code and message from the recipient's mail server.
Metadata Tab
- Template used and template version
- Triggered by (user or system process)
- Associated event (if applicable)
- Associated entity (e.g., caregiver name, user name)
- Message ID (unique identifier for tracking with your email service provider)
Retrying Failed Emails
When an email fails due to a transient error (e.g., temporary mail server outage), you can retry the send.
Retrying a Single Email
- Open the failed email's detail view.
- Click the Retry button.
- The system re-queues the email for immediate dispatch.
- The status updates to Queued, then progresses through the normal delivery pipeline.
Bulk Retry
- Use the filters to show only Failed emails for a specific date range or template.
- Select the emails you want to retry using the checkboxes.
- Click Retry Selected in the action bar.
- Confirm the action in the dialog.
caution
Do not retry emails that failed due to invalid recipient addresses (hard bounces). Repeatedly sending to invalid addresses damages your sender reputation and can cause your domain to be blacklisted. Only retry emails that failed due to temporary server issues.
Automatic Retry Policy
The platform automatically retries failed emails using the following schedule:
| Attempt | Delay After Failure |
|---|---|
| 1st retry | 5 minutes |
| 2nd retry | 30 minutes |
| 3rd retry | 2 hours |
| 4th retry | 12 hours |
After 4 failed retry attempts, the email status changes to Failed permanently and no further automatic retries are attempted. Manual retry is still available.
Email Templates
Email templates define the structure and content of system-generated emails. The platform includes a set of built-in templates for common scenarios.
Built-In Templates
| Template | Trigger | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Welcome Email | New user account created | Contains login URL, username, and temporary password. |
| Password Reset | Admin-initiated or self-service password reset | Contains a secure, time-limited password reset link. |
| Survey Invitation | Survey sent to caregivers | Contains a link to the survey with event and deadline details. |
| Survey Reminder | Automated reminder for incomplete surveys | Follow-up email for caregivers who have not responded. |
| Travel Confirmation | Travel booking created or updated | Contains itinerary details (flights, hotel, ground transport). |
| Assignment Notification | New shift assignment created | Notifies the caregiver of their assigned shifts and location. |
| Pre-Arrival Checklist | Pre-arrival tasks assigned | Lists the tasks a caregiver must complete before arriving on site. |
| Event Status Change | Event status transitions | Notifies relevant users that an event's status has changed. |
| Account Deactivated | User account deactivated | Informs the user that their account has been deactivated. |
| MFA Code | Login MFA step | Contains the 6-digit verification code for MFA. |
Viewing Templates
- Navigate to Admin > Email Outbox > Templates tab.
- Click on any template to view its subject line, HTML body, and available merge variables.
Template Merge Variables
Each template supports merge variables that are populated dynamically when the email is sent. Common variables include:
| Variable | Description |
|---|---|
{{recipientName}} | The recipient's full name. |
{{recipientEmail}} | The recipient's email address. |
{{companyName}} | The company name from branding settings. |
{{eventName}} | The name of the associated event. |
{{actionUrl}} | The URL for the primary call to action (e.g., login link, survey link, reset link). |
{{expiryDate}} | The expiration date for time-limited links. |
{{footerText}} | The email footer from system settings. |
info
Built-in templates cannot be deleted, but their content can be customized. Changes to a template affect all future emails using that template. Previously sent emails are not affected.
Monitoring Email Health
Maintaining healthy email delivery is critical for the platform's operation. Many workflows depend on emails reaching recipients (MFA codes, survey invitations, password resets).
Key Metrics to Monitor
| Metric | Healthy Threshold | Action if Exceeded |
|---|---|---|
| Delivery rate | Above 95% | Investigate bounced and failed emails. Check sender authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC). |
| Bounce rate | Below 3% | Clean up invalid email addresses. Check for typos in user records. |
| Open rate | Above 30% | Verify emails are not landing in spam. Review subject lines for clarity. |
| Failure rate | Below 1% | Check mail server health. Review error messages in failed email details. |
Health Dashboard
The Email Outbox page includes a summary bar at the top showing:
- Total emails sent (in the selected date range)
- Delivery rate percentage
- Bounce rate percentage
- Open rate percentage
- Failed count with a direct link to the filtered failed email list
Common Delivery Problems and Solutions
| Problem | Likely Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| High bounce rate | Invalid email addresses in user or caregiver records. | Audit email addresses. Use the import validation to catch invalid formats before they enter the system. |
| Emails landing in spam | Missing or incorrect SPF/DKIM/DMARC records. | Work with your IT team to configure DNS records correctly. See the System Settings email deliverability checklist. |
| Emails not sending at all | Mail server authentication failure. | Check the From Email setting and verify the mail service credentials. |
| Delayed delivery | Mail server throttling due to high volume. | Stagger bulk sends (e.g., surveys for large events). Contact your email provider to increase sending limits. |
| Suppressed emails | Recipient address on the suppression list due to previous hard bounces. | Review the suppression list. If the email address has been corrected, remove it from the suppression list. |
Best Practices
- Check the outbox daily during active events -- email is the primary communication channel with caregivers. A delivery failure can delay survey responses, travel confirmations, and MFA codes.
- Address bounces immediately -- hard bounces (invalid addresses) should be fixed in the user or caregiver record as soon as possible.
- Monitor the failure rate -- a sudden spike in failures often indicates a mail server configuration issue that affects all outbound email.
- Review templates before large sends -- before sending surveys to hundreds of caregivers, review the template content and test with a small group first.
- Do not retry hard bounces -- retrying sends to invalid addresses harms your sender reputation. Focus retry efforts on soft bounces and transient failures.
Next Steps
- System Settings -- configure email sender settings and deliverability.
- Audit Logs -- review the audit trail for email-related actions.
- Reference Data -- manage the data that populates email template variables (e.g., facility names, hotel details).