Feature Overview Video
The Communication Center holds a record's comments and emails in one panel. Open it from the chat button on the record; turn on emails with its gear button to send and receive email from the record.
Example: a Vendors table in a vendor risk program. The analyst asks a teammate a question in a comment on a vendor's record. Then she emails the vendor's security contact for the new SOC 2 report from the Emails tab. The reply, the comment and the review sit on the same record.
Plan Availability | Comments: all plan types. Email needs a connected Gmail or Outlook account, available on Professional, Enterprise and Signature. |
Permissions | Every role can use the Communication Center: Guests, General Access members, Solution Creators and Administrators. |
Platform | Web |
Related Reading |
Open the Communication Center
Open the record.
Select the chat button in the upper-right corner. The panel opens on the right of the record.
The panel has three tabs: All, Comments and Emails. The gear button holds its settings. New Comment and New Email sit at the foot of the panel.
The Communication Center on a record, with the All, Comments and Emails tabs, the gear button, and New Comment and New Email at the foot.
Turn on emails
In the Communication Center, select the gear button.
Turn on Emails.
The Emails tab then lists every email about the record and lets you send new ones.
Connect your email account
Email goes out from your own Gmail or Outlook account. Connect it once:
Gmail: see Communication Center: Connecting Gmail.
Outlook: see Communication Center: Connecting Outlook.
Send an email
Select New Email at the foot of the Communication Center.
Choose your account in the From list, and enter the recipient in To.
Write the subject and the email. Optional: pick a template from Templates, or add a file with Attach File.
Select Send Email.
Replies come back to the record's Communication Center.
The New Email window with From, To, Subject, Templates, Attach File, the text toolbar and Send Email.
Tip: Save a template for a message you send often, such as the SOC 2 report request. Every analyst then sends the same wording.
Email templates
A template holds the text, formatting, record fields and attachments of an email you reuse.
Select New Email, then open Templates.
Add the content: text, formatting, fields and attachments.
Save the template.
To use one, pick it from the template list, check the content and send.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the Communication Center?
Where is the Communication Center?
Open the record and select the chat button in the upper-right corner.
Why is there no Emails tab?
Why is there no Emails tab?
Emails are off until you turn them on. Select the gear button in the Communication Center and turn on Emails.
Do replies show on the record?
Do replies show on the record?
Yes. Replies to an email sent from the record come back to its Communication Center.
Can I email from a record on every plan?
Can I email from a record on every plan?
Comments work on every plan. Email needs a connected Gmail or Outlook account, available on Professional, Enterprise and Signature.
Need more help? Ask the SmartSuite Community, where builders, administrators and the SmartSuite team answer questions about building on SmartSuite. For your account, billing or data, select the chat button in the lower-right corner of SmartSuite to reach support.
Last verified 1 Nov 2026.