Help

Getting started takes a few minutes: connect a mailbox, add contacts, build a workflow, and turn it on. If you get stuck, raise a ticket in the app under Support, or see the Contact page.

1. Connect a mailbox

Open Email Accounts and add the mailbox you want to send from. You have two ways to connect:

• Link with Microsoft (Microsoft 365 or Outlook): sign in on Microsoft's own page and approve access. Performdesk never sees your password. If Microsoft says you need administrator approval, use Copy a link for your admin and send it to them.
• Via SMTP: enter your mail server, port, username and password. Performdesk suggests the right settings from your email address.

Then press Test this account to send a test message.

2. Add contacts

Open Contacts, choose a CSV or Excel file, then match each column to a field and pick the list the contacts should join. Anything that does not match becomes a custom field you can use in your emails, for example {{company}}.

3. Build and turn on a workflow

Open Workflow, pick the list and the mailbox, then add email steps, waits, tasks and LinkedIn steps. Use the eye icon on a step to preview it with a real contact. When you are ready, choose Activate. Emails go out one at a time, within your mailbox's daily limit and your chosen sending window.

4. Follow results and leads

The Dashboard and Results tabs show sends, opens, clicks and replies. A person who replies, bounces or unsubscribes is taken off the sequence automatically. Turn a promising contact into a lead from its menu in Contacts, and track it in Leads and Customers.

5. Keep candidates and see project revenue

Open Candidates and upload CVs (PDF, DOCX or TXT). Performdesk scans each one for contact details, skills, experience and education; check the result, because it is a first draft. Search by skills ("all of" or "any of"), by words in the CV, or by notice period, location and expected compensation. On a candidate's CV tab, Preview PDF makes a client-ready CV on your company letterhead, with contact details and compensation left off unless you allow and tick them. On the Projects tab, tag the candidate to one of your SOWs or to an external project with a bill rate; the Dashboard then shows estimated billings and your invoice totals. Set your letterhead once under Company CV template at the bottom of the Candidates tab.

Common problems

• "Authentication unsuccessful" or "SmtpClientAuthenticationDisabled" (Microsoft 365): your organization has basic SMTP sign-in turned off. Use Link with Microsoft instead, which does not depend on it.
• "Application-specific password required" (Gmail): Google needs an app password instead of your normal password. Turn on 2-Step Verification, create an app password at myaccount.google.com/apppasswords, and paste that into the password field.
• Opens and clicks show zero: tracking needs Performdesk to be reachable at a public web address. Ask your administrator to set the public base URL.
• A contact shows as Rejected: sending to them failed repeatedly. Open the Rejected count on the Workflow tab, read the reason, and use Retry once it is fixed.
• An email shows a blank value: that contact has no value for a field you used. The step editor warns you before you send.

Still need help?

Sign in and open the Support tab to raise a ticket. We reply there, and you will see a badge on the tab when we have. You can also raise a ticket in the Support tab of your Performdesk account.