5 ways Karbon’s new Triage email experience will improve your workflow

Major Change Announced for Triage in Karbon After Nearly a Decade

Triage in Karbon is set to receive its first significant update in almost 10 years. Karbon, founded a decade ago, was established on the principle that accountants deserved a superior solution for collaboration and client communication.

In a 2014 product concept meeting, Triage—a ‘supercharged inbox’—was identified as a crucial component of this solution. Email remains central to client relationships in accounting, serving as the primary medium for client inquiries, document sharing, job initiation, updates, and information requests. However, the true utility of email lies in its integration into the business workflow, which is where Triage comes into play.

Understanding Triage

Triage extends beyond a simple email inbox. It synchronizes with the user’s email client, consolidating emails, Karbon notifications, notes, work items, timesheets, and both internal and external comments into one centralized location. This allows users to manage— or triage— all necessary actions effectively.

Triage is designed to help users swiftly address critical and urgent tasks while allowing non-urgent items to be delegated to colleagues or scheduled for later action. Internal discussions can also be facilitated by adding comments to any item, thus streamlining communication and task management.

Changes in Triage

The upcoming Triage update is informed by extensive customer feedback and includes numerous improvements identified by Karbon’s team. This new experience has been in an early access beta phase for six months and is now available to all Karbon users.

These changes aim to enhance the efficiency and functionality of Triage, continuing Karbon’s mission to provide accountants with the best tools for their work.

Highlights of the New Triage Experience

1. Split View Users familiar with side-by-side email views, such as those in Microsoft Outlook, will find the new split view particularly beneficial. This feature optimizes screen space, enabling efficient management of emails and notifications during the triage process.

"We recently signed up for the beta version of Triage, and it has been fantastic… The split view functionality now aligns with most other email platforms, and we're optimistic that this will facilitate a smoother transition away from Outlook."

Karbon's new Triage email inbox experience in split view

A More Compact Default View To address the potential overwhelm of a crowded Triage inbox, the new update introduces a more compact default view. The height of Triage items has been reduced, and their details have been moved to a separate page, allowing users to focus on each item individually. This streamlined list view helps users manage their tasks more efficiently without the need for excessive scrolling.

List view in Karbon's new Triage email inbox

Act Faster All Triage item types (emails, notes, notifications, etc.) now have quick actions readily accessible. Assigning tasks, adding items to timelines, and clearing actions can be performed more efficiently. In split view, users can act on items using the action items in the left column while previewing the triage item in full in the right column. The sidebar, which includes dates, assignees, timelines, and visibility, remains fixed for easy reference throughout conversations.

Flexibility The new Triage experience allows users to switch seamlessly between list view and split view, depending on their workflow needs. This flexibility supports both focused task management and comprehensive triaging, catering to various working styles and preferences.

Enhanced User Experience Numerous quality-of-life improvements have been implemented based on user feedback. Emails are expanded by default, conversations load faster, and returning to previous conversations is instant. Triage is now faster, more predictable, more customizable, and more capable, enhancing overall user satisfaction.

"Triage is a game changer. Being able to work and not live in your inbox is worth the purchase alone."