How Email Association Works
When a provider replies to your LOA, 4admin automatically matches the response to the correct LOA record — and, where it can, opens and reads the attachments to confirm the match and file them against the record. Here's how that works:
Automatic (Conversation-Based)
If the provider replies directly to the email thread, 4admin matches it using the conversation ID. This is the most reliable method and requires no manual intervention.
AI-Based Matching
If the provider sends a new email (not in the original thread), 4admin uses AI to read the email content and match it based on:
- Client name
- Provider name
- Plan number
The AI only matches against values that already exist in your LOA records, so it won't create false associations.
Reading Attachments
Beyond matching the email itself, 4admin opens the attachments to help work out which LOA the email relates to and to file the contents against the right record. It now handles three additional scenarios:
1. Standard PDFs and ZIP files
For ordinary (non-password-protected) PDFs and ZIP files, 4admin opens the files and reads their contents. The extracted text feeds into the matching above, so details buried inside a document (client name, provider, plan number) can help confirm — or find — the right LOA when the email body alone isn't enough. Files inside a ZIP are unpacked and filed individually against the record.
2. Password-protected files with a hint in the email
Some providers (Nest is a common example) send password-protected PDFs or ZIPs and describe the password in the email body — for instance "please unlock using the client's NI number". When the email is linked to an existing LOA record, 4admin reads that hint and automatically tries to unlock the file using details it already holds for the client, such as the NI number, date of birth, or initials + date of birth.
- For PDFs: the document is unlocked and the unlocked version is uploaded to the LOA record.
- For ZIP files: the archive is unlocked, extracted, and each file inside is uploaded individually to the LOA record.
3. Password-protected files with the password in a separate email
Sometimes the locked document arrives in one email and the password in another (Aberdeen is one provider that does this, but it applies to any sender that splits them this way). Here 4admin watches incoming mail for up to 10 minutes and tries to find a matching password from related correspondence that arrives around the same time — and it also checks emails received shortly before the document.
If any of those passwords successfully unlock the file, the same actions as scenario 2 apply automatically: PDFs are unlocked and uploaded, and ZIPs are extracted with each file filed individually.
If 4admin can't find a working password, the email and its attachment are still saved (in the Unassigned tab where relevant) so you can download and unlock it manually. You'll see a note on the record indicating a password-protected file couldn't be opened.
Manual Association
You can also manually attach emails from your Smart Inbox to an LOA record if automatic matching doesn't pick them up.
If an email is encrypted or couldn't be matched to any LOA, it will appear in the Unassigned tab of your Smart Inbox. See Handling Unassigned Mail for a step-by-step guide on how to manually link these emails.