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The CRMown Team • • 5 min read

A Unified Inbox for Email, SMS, WhatsApp and Social DMs

Your customers pick the channel. Conversations puts every channel in one list, attached to the right customer, so nothing sits in an app nobody checked.

Abstract illustration of coloured lines from several directions merging into one stream, representing a unified inbox
The short answer

Conversations is CRMown’s unified inbox, and it’s part of Core on every plan. Email, SMS, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram DMs, X, LinkedIn and YouTube arrive in one thread list. You reply from the same place, every thread is tied to the customer’s record, and any conversation can become a deal in one step.

Why a small business needs a unified inbox

Being reachable everywhere is great for customers. It’s hard on a small team.

Here’s a typical week at a busy salon (an example, not a customer). A client asks about a colour appointment in an Instagram DM. She follows up by text the next morning. Then she confirms by email. Three apps, three people, and the receptionist who saw the DM assumed the stylist who saw the text had it handled. Nobody did.

A unified inbox for small business fixes two things. Coverage: every message ends up somewhere a person will actually look. And context: whoever replies can see the whole history, not just the last message.

Which channels does the unified inbox cover?

Conversations brings together:

Messages come in through webhooks from Meta, WhatsApp, X, LinkedIn, Twilio (SMS and voice) and RingCentral, and YouTube is polled. You can reply on all five social platforms from the inbox, so you can reply to Instagram DMs without opening Instagram.

How replying works

One send action routes your reply to the right channel, whether that’s email, SMS or a social network. Nobody has to switch apps to answer.

Threads collapse with their own history, so a long back-and-forth stays readable. You can save message templates for the answers you give every week. WhatsApp Business templates can be created, edited and deleted in CRMown, and they sync both ways with Meta, so your approved templates stay in step.

AI draft writes a reply in the thread’s voice for you to edit before sending. With RingCentral connected, RingOut lets you call the customer straight from the thread.

A shared inbox for email and SMS that the team can actually run

Reading messages is the easy part. Knowing who’s handling them is harder.

From conversation to deal

When a message turns into real work, convert to deal pushes the conversation into a pipeline you pick. The thread stays on the customer’s timeline next to the deal, tasks and meetings.

For a plumbing company, that’s the “can you come look at my water heater?” text becoming a job in the pipeline without anyone retyping the address.

How to set up your unified inbox

Turn channels on one at a time, and send yourself a test message on each before moving on.

  1. Email first. Connect Google, Microsoft or a custom IMAP account in Settings, Account. Verify your own sending domain (in Calls and Numbers or Settings, Communications) so mail goes out from your domain.
  2. Social accounts. Connect them in Settings, Communications. Connectors cover Facebook Pages, LinkedIn organisations, YouTube channels, Threads, RingCentral and Meta ad accounts.
  3. SMS. In Calls and Numbers, set up the Twilio carrier, search for a number by area code, provision it and send a test text.
  4. WhatsApp. Connect WhatsApp Business and sync your templates with Meta.
  5. Templates and owners. Add your five most common replies and decide who owns which kinds of conversation.

Do you need 10DLC registration for business texting?

If you text customers in the US from a regular 10-digit number, carriers require 10DLC (A2P) registration. The compliance kit in Calls and Numbers gathers the material you’ll need. The carriers decide on approval, not us, so leave time for it before you rely on SMS.

What a unified inbox won’t do for you

It’s worth being straight about this part.

It won’t create accounts with the channel providers for you. You still need your own email account, your own Twilio number for SMS, and a WhatsApp Business account, and each provider has its own rules.

It won’t decide who on your team should answer what, either. That’s a five-minute conversation you have once, then set up with assignment.

And it won’t make a slow reply fast. It just makes sure the message is in front of someone. The rest is still on you.

FAQ

Is the unified inbox an add-on?
No. Conversations is a Core destination and comes with every plan. Some channels need your own account with the provider, like a Twilio number for SMS or a WhatsApp Business account.
Can I reply to Instagram and Facebook messages from CRMown?
Yes. Outbound replies work on Facebook Messenger, Instagram DMs, X, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Do I need 10DLC registration for SMS?
For business texting to US numbers from a standard 10-digit number, yes. The compliance kit in Calls and Numbers helps you prepare. Approval is up to the carriers.
Can team members have private inboxes?
Yes. When a user’s communications are set to private, their inbox is scoped to them.
Does the AI send messages for me?
No. AI draft writes a reply for you to review and send yourself.
Can a message in the unified inbox become a deal?
Yes. Convert to deal pushes a conversation into whichever pipeline you choose.

Keep reading

Connect your email in a trial workspace and add the other channels one at a time.

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Capabilities described from CRMown’s feature inventory, generated from the live codebase on 30 August 2026 (Core, Conversations; Tools, Calls and Numbers; Settings, Communications). Plan availability varies; check pricing for current details. Channel providers and carriers set their own requirements.