Journee keeps each conversation attached to a specific job and bid. Only the customer for that job and the vendor for that bid can use its thread. Chat requires a signed-in account with a complete profile; the notification inbox remains available to a signed-in account that is still completing its profile.
Open a conversation
Use the full-page Messages destination in the signed-in utility rail. On desktop, a separate floating Messages control opens the overlay; on compact screens the utility-rail link remains available while the floating control is hidden. Both paths preserve the ordinary /chat fallback. The full page lists recent conversations and offers Older conversations when more history is available. Each thread identifies the other party and the related job, and Older messages loads earlier parts of that conversation.
Message entry points also appear beside an eligible bid:
a customer's incoming-bid view can open the conversation with that vendor;
a vendor's required initial bid message starts the bid's conversation; and
an existing eligible bid can return either participant to its thread.
Journee checks the signed-in party and the job-and-bid relationship again when a thread opens. If a thread is unavailable, return to a visible Message control for the job or bid instead of trying another thread identifier.
Know when sending is available
A customer may send the first follow-up in the thread. After submitting the initial bid message, the vendor cannot send another message until the customer replies with actual text. An address-share event or another non-text event does not unlock the vendor's follow-up.
A customer's private rejection of a bid does not erase or disable an existing conversation by itself. When the job or bid is no longer open, however, the composer changes to a read-only notice. The participants can still review the thread history, but they cannot send new messages or share the address.
Send and read messages
Before sending, confirm the job and counterparty shown in the thread. Enter a text message of no more than 4,000 characters, wait for any selected PDFs to be ready, and choose Send. Text is required even when the message includes an attachment.
Opening a thread advances that participant's read state through the latest message. The Messages badge counts unread thread messages and displays 9+ instead of a larger number. Simply being active elsewhere in Journee does not mark a conversation as read.
If sending reports an error, do not assume the message was accepted. Keep the text, reopen or refresh the thread, and check the newest messages before trying again so an uncertain response does not become a duplicate. A read-only notice means the job or bid state must change; repeatedly submitting the message will not bypass it.
Share the service address
Only the customer can share the job's exact service address, and only after a real customer text message has engaged an otherwise eligible conversation. Use Confirm and share address only after verifying the job and vendor.
The share is deliberately permanent: it can happen once in an eligible thread and cannot be retracted from its history. The vendor can then see the address inside that conversation. Journee's separate notification says that an address was shared without copying the address itself into the notification.
If the control is absent, the thread is not currently eligible, the customer has not yet sent an engaging text reply, the job has no usable service address, or the address was already shared. Do not send the address as a workaround without first confirming that disclosure is appropriate.
Attach and download PDFs
PDF attachments are optional and appear only when Journee's upload and scanning service is available. If Add PDF attachments is visible in an ongoing thread, a participant may select PDFs within the count and size limits shown by the current composer. Attachments are not available with the initial bid message.
Journee uploads and scans each selected PDF before it can be sent. The composer shows progress and blocks Send until every selected file is ready. A file that is not a PDF, is too large, fails processing, or does not become ready is not attached to the message. Correct the file and select it again, or send a later text-only message instead.
After a successful send, either thread participant can use the attachment link to download a ready PDF. An unfinished or unavailable attachment has no usable download. If scanning takes longer than expected, wait and try again later rather than repeatedly sending the same message.
Understand unread messages and notifications
Chat unread state and notification-inbox unread state are separate:
Messages reflects unread messages in participating threads.
The notification bell reflects unread notification-inbox entries.
Opening a thread marks its current messages read; merely being present on the site does not.
When Journee sees the recipient actively using the site, it may favor an in-app chat alert over an out-of-band missed-message alert. That presence does not clear the thread's unread count.
The Notifications page shows bounded history, links to relevant Journee pages, and Older notifications. Entering the page acknowledges the visible unread entries. If that acknowledgement cannot be confirmed, those entries stay unread so they can be acknowledged later.
Use Preferences on the Notifications page, or Notifications in Settings, to change the channels offered for each notification type. An On toggle records permission to use that channel; it does not prove that the channel's delivery provider is currently available. This matters for Push wherever it is offered. SMS is not an available notification channel. Preferences affect alerts, not access to the conversation or its unread state.
Settings also has a separate Email delivery choice. As it happens keeps new eligible email notifications individual. Daily digest appears only while Journee has an enabled, valid digest schedule and combines eligible new email into one scheduled cross-topic message. In-app and Push delivery remain real time, marketing email is excluded, and the inbox remains complete regardless of email cadence. Changing cadence applies prospectively: it does not turn already queued digest items into individual email, and reading an inbox row does not remove it from a prepared digest.
Recover safely
If the message launcher cannot load, use the full Messages page when Journee is reachable.
If a thread cannot be opened, return to the related job or bid and use the visible Message control instead of changing thread identifiers.
If a send result is uncertain, inspect the thread before retrying.
If a PDF fails or remains unfinished, correct or reselect it and wait for the ready confirmation before sending.
If a notification remains unread after opening the inbox, reopen the page later; Journee preserves unread state when acknowledgement fails.
These recovery steps preserve the current job, bid, and conversation rules; they do not override participant eligibility or make a read-only thread writable.