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Email Ingestion

Not every client wants to log into a portal and fill out a form. Some clients — especially the ones you've worked with for years — would rather just email you their documents the way they always have. Email ingestion lets them do exactly that. Clients send an email with attachments to a dedicated address, and FolioReady creates the folio, stores the files, and notifies you for review.

Why Use Email Ingestion?

Clients don't need to learn anything new

No portal login, no form to navigate, no new software to figure out. Clients send an email with attachments — the thing they already do every day. The barrier to getting documents back is as low as it gets. For clients who are less comfortable with technology, or who just prefer the way things have always worked, email ingestion removes every point of friction.

Every email becomes a folio automatically

Each email that arrives at a template's inbound address creates a folio with the attachments stored and organized. No manual data entry, no downloading files from your inbox and re-uploading them somewhere else. The folio is created, the files are attached, and you get a review notification — all before you've opened your email.

Pair it with AI extraction for hands-free processing

If you've enabled AI extraction on the template, incoming documents are processed automatically. Fields are extracted, data is structured, and confidence levels tell you where to focus your review. A client emails a tax return, and by the time you open the folio, the key figures are already filled in.

How It Works

1. Enable inbound email on a template

In the template builder, turn on inbound email. The template gets a unique email address — something like onboarding@collect.folioready.com. This address is specific to that template, so documents sent there are always processed with the right settings.

2. Share the address with clients

Put the email address wherever your clients will see it — in your email signature, a welcome packet, printed materials, or a follow-up message. Clients don't need an account or an invitation. They just need the address.

3. Clients send their documents

Clients compose an email, attach their files, and send. PDFs, images, spreadsheets, Word documents — the usual file types your clients already work with. No special formatting required.

4. FolioReady processes the email

When the email arrives, FolioReady creates a new folio under the template, stores every attachment, and identifies the client from the sender address. If the sender is already a contact in your system, the folio is linked to them automatically. If not, a new contact is created.

5. AI extraction runs (if enabled)

If the template has AI extraction configured, it runs automatically on the uploaded documents. Fields are filled in with extracted values and confidence levels, just like they would be for portal uploads.

6. You review the folio

You receive a review notification. Open the folio and everything is there — files stored, fields extracted, client linked. Review the results, accept or correct values, and move on.

When to Use Email Ingestion vs Portal Forms

Email ingestion and portal forms both collect documents from clients, but they serve different situations.

Email ingestion works best when:

  • Clients aren't tech-savvy or are resistant to new tools
  • Documents are ad-hoc — clients send what they have, when they have it
  • You're replacing an existing "just email it to me" workflow
  • Volume matters more than structure

Portal forms work best when:

  • You need specific fields filled in alongside file uploads
  • Documents must follow a particular order or structure
  • You want validation before the client submits
  • The client relationship is new and a guided experience helps

You can use both across different templates. A structured portal form for new client onboarding, and an email address for ongoing document collection — each template gets the method that fits.

Getting Started

  1. Open the Template Builder for the template you want to accept emails on
  2. Enable Inbound Email in the template settings
  3. Copy the generated email address and share it with your clients
  4. Documents start flowing in — review folios as they arrive