Email AutoFile Settings, Exclusions and Practice Filing Defaults

The settings in the Email AutoFile control how the automatic filing of email from Outlook is managed. The Exclusions also allows your practice to block emails that are sent from specific email addresses or domains from being filed automatically. These settings can only be managed by an FYI administrator, or a user who belongs to a User Group that has been given access to Administer Automation.

New emails can then be auto-filed based on the filing details of the conversation thread, on the Template Filing Defaults or using the Filing Defaults set for the Client, User or for your Practice.

Refer also to Introduction to Email AutoFile.

Editing the Email AutoFile

1. From FYI, click the Automation menu option.
2. Go to the Apps tab.
3. In Email AutoFile, click the cog icon to edit this.
   
   

There are three tabs, Settings, Exclusion and Defaults.

Email AutoFile - Settings

To change any settings, click the relevant switch to "On" or "Off".

Email AutoFile

When the Email AutoFile option is set "On", emails are imported from your users' Inbox and Sent folders in Outlook.  Any client emails that are received or sent are imported and can be auto-filed in FYI using the Filing Defaults that are set for your practice as the filing rules. emails from all users Outlook inboxes are automatically filed into FYI where possible. Other emails, such as emails that are not from or to a client, can be included according to the Email AutoFile Settings.

If this is switched to "Off", no emails are auto-filed and no other options are available for selection in the Email AutoFile settings.

Client Emails

The following options determine how Client emails are imported and auto-filed:

• AutoFile Else In Tray or In Tray Review
• Include Client's Contacts
• Save Attachments Separately

AutoFile Else In Tray/In Tray Review

There are two options: that control whether emails are sent to the users In Tray.

• AutoFile Else In Tray
• In Tray Review

Only one of these can be set "On":

• If AutoFile Else In Tray is "On", In Tray Review is "Off".
  or
• If In Tray Review is "On", AutoFile Else In Tray is "Off",

The review of any emails in the In Tray can be completed via Outlook or via the FYI Home - In Tray.

AutoFile Else In Tray
By setting AutoFile Else In Tray "On", emails are auto-filed where possible and the emails and documents have a Filing Status set as Filed.

With this setting, if any condition for filing is not met, the email is set with the Filing Status as Draft Filed and it is sent to the user's In Tray. For example, this could be if:

• The Client is not detected.
• Neither the User, Client or Practice has Filing Defaults set.
• Filing Defaults are set for the User or Client but have not been provided for a category that is set as "Required".
• If an email is received where the email address is shared by more than one client, and if one client has not been nominated as the primary client to Include in AutoFile, the email is automatically marked as "Multiple Clients" and sent to the In Tray. When filing the email, a list of the clients who hold that email address displays in the drawer so you can select which client to file it under.

The email and any associated attached document can be checked and the filing details entered and then filed either from the In Tray or from the FYI Drawer in Outlook.

If any emails do not need to be filed in FYI, they can be deleted by the user from the In Tray.

Note: If any specific users need to always review their emails before filing (for example, a partner) they can change this in their own settings by setting the AutoFile Mode option to In Tray Review. The emails are then always set as Draft Filed and sent for review and can be filed from the In Tray or from Outlook. Refer to Setting Defaults and Filing Defaults for your Own Login - My Settings.

In Tray Review

The alternative for this practice setting is In Tray Review. When In Tray Review is set "On", all emails are Draft Filed for review. This allows each user to review all auto-filed emails before they are shared with the entire practice. They can be filed either from the In Tray or from the FYI Drawer in Outlook. Filing details will still be set where possible from the Filing Defaults for Cabinet and Categories and these can be changed when filing the email and any attached documents.

Include Client's Contacts

When Include Client's Contacts is set "On", AutoFile searches the Client's Contacts to find a match for the Client Name. If an email is sent or received from the email address of one of the Contacts that is held for a client in Xero Practice Manager, this will match on the client when an email is auto-filed. This allows emails to be filed to the client when they are sent or received to/from the client's contacts such as bookkeepers, advisers, etc.

Save Attachments Separately

Save Attachments Separately setting is only applicable to incoming emails. Refer also to Filing Email Attachments and Filing Email Attachments - Non Default Configurations.

• When Save Attachments Separately is set "Off" this applies to all users.
• When Save Attachments Separately is set "On", users can change this in their own user settings by setting AutoFile Email Attachments to "Off" to override the practice setting (refer to Setting Defaults and Filing Defaults for your Own Login - My Settings).

Save Attachments Separately "On"
When Save Attachments Separately is set to "On", attachments in incoming emails are saved as separate documents. Attachments are saved using the same configuration as the email (such as the Cabinet and Categories) that is being applied to the email.

Only genuine attachments are filed, and any attachments for images such as a .jpg, .png for a logo or signature or for disclaimers are ignored. When a reply is sent to an email, this may attach such images as full attachments and, in this case, these attached images should be deleted from the email chain to stop the auto-filing.

• When Save Attachments Separately is set to "On" and In Tray review set to "On" (or AutoFile Else is set to "On" and the email cannot be auto-filed) both the incoming email and the attachments show in the In Tray and can be filed separately. Attachments can be filed either before of after the email is filed from the Attachments section in the drawer of the email.
• When Save Attachments Separately is set to "On" and In Tray review set to "Off" (or AutoFile Else is set to "On" and the email can be auto-filed), both the incoming email and the attachments are auto-filed with the attachments as separate documents.

In the filed email, the attachments that have been saved separately can be accessed from the Attachments section in the drawer of the email.

In the filed attachment document(s), the relevant email can be accessed from the top section of the drawer which shows the name of the email it is Filed from and includes a link to the email. Refer to Filing Email Attachments.

Save Attachments Separately "Off"

• When Save Attachments Separately is set to "Off", attachments in incoming emails need to be manually saved, from Outlook or from FYI. If attachments are not filed separately inside FYI, they still exist inside the email and can be accessed from the Attachments sections in the drawer of the filed email.
  
  Note: If attachments have not been manually saved and filed in FYI (and so they are still in the email) there can be repercussions if the user leaves the practice. When the Microsoft 365 account is terminated, you cannot then access the attachments. The emails will need to be exported to access the attachments which will then need to imported back into FYI.

Exclude Internal emails

When set "On" this excludes any emails from auto-filing that have been sent from your internal team. This uses the email addresses that are recorded in your FYI Users.

Exclude External Emails

Setting Exclude External Emails as "Off" will include emails where the email address is not held for any clients. This ensures that any emails sent or received that relate to a client (such as for a client's lawyers, banker, bookkeeper, etc) can be filed against the client. It also allows emails for prospective clients to be filed.

Email AutoFile - Exclusions

On the Exclusion tab, click Add Exclusion and enter the email address or domain for any specific emails or domains you need to exclude from the auto-filing.

• Click Add Exclusion to add an individual email address or domain.
• Click the Remove link to remove an exclusion.

Importing Email Addresses and Domains from a CSV file
The Import CSV can be used to import email addresses and domains from a .csv file. Refer to Email AutoFile Exclusion CSV Import.

An FYI administrator can use the Draft Filed view of the Documents list to check any email addresses or domains of emails that are being imported by the Email AutoFile and that are never required. By including the From, To and CC columns in the view, the email addresses display and an FYI administrator can use this as a source to check for email addresses or domains to add to the list of Exclusions in your Email AutoFile Settings. The view can be exported and the export file used to create a .csv file that can be imported into the Exclusions.  Refer to FYI Administrator view of all Users' In Trays.

 Below is a list of some example exclusions that practices may want to add in their settings:

Email AutoFile - Filing Defaults for the Practice

Filing Defaults are used to set the defaults for the filing details when an email is auto-filed, and also offered as the default when new emails and documents are created within FYI. These can be set for clients, for users or for the practice When determining which defaults to apply, FYI checks these in the following order:

1. Client
2. User
3. Practice

• A check is first made if there are defaults for the relevant Client and, if there are, these are used.
• If Filing Defaults are not set for the Client, a check is made if the relevant User has Filing Defaults and, if they are, these are used.
• If neither Client or User Filing Defaults are set, the Practice Filing Defaults are applied.
• If none of these are set, or if any are not complete (for example, if a Category is required for the selected Cabinet and this has not be added as a default) the email cannot be auto-filed and it is sent to the In Tray for review.

The Practice Filing Defaults can be set according to your practice's requirements, for example, in case there are no defaults set for either the relevant client or the user.