Between morning consults, handover notes, and quick questions about a patient's history, your team needs a way to communicate without leaving Lupa. Internal team chat gives every staff member access to persistent team channels and direct messages — so conversations about cases, shift changes, or practice announcements stay organised and searchable, not buried in personal WhatsApp groups.

💡 In short: Create team channels for ongoing topics (e.g. #lab-results, #reception), send direct messages to colleagues, pin important messages, and manage members — all from the same Chat page you use for client conversations.

Why Internal Chat Matters

⚠️ Use team chat, not personal messaging apps. Practice conversations in personal WhatsApp or iMessage groups are invisible to new starters, can't be searched by topic, and leave when staff do. Internal chat keeps practice knowledge inside Lupa where everyone who needs it can find it.

Benefit	How it helps your practice
Organised by topic	Create dedicated channels for lab results, reception queries, or stock orders — conversations don't get tangled together
Persistent history	New team members can scroll back through channel history to get up to speed without asking "what did we decide about…?"
Pinned messages	Pin important announcements, protocols, or decisions so they're always one click away — no scrolling required
Cross-location support	Multi-site practices can create company-wide channels so staff across locations stay aligned
Separate from client chat	Internal messages never accidentally reach a client — they're a completely separate system with their own permissions

How to Use Internal Chat — Step by Step

Step 1: Open the Internal tab

Click Chat in the top navigation bar.
At the top of the chat sidebar, click the Internal tab.
The sidebar shows two collapsible sections: Channels and Direct Messages. Click either heading to expand or collapse it — unread badges remain visible even when a section is collapsed.
Use the Filter chats button (funnel icon) to narrow what you see, and the Sort conversations button (arrows icon) to change the order.

🔒 You need the Internal Chat permission to see this tab. If it's missing, ask your practice manager to enable it for your role in Settings → Roles & Permissions.

Step 2: Create a team channel

Click the + button (or Add Channel) in the Channels section of the sidebar.
In the Create Channel dialog, enter a channel name (up to 50 characters) — e.g. "Lab Results", "Morning Handover", "Stock Requests".
Select the team members you want to add. Members are grouped by location — your site's staff appear first, then colleagues at other locations.
Click Create.

The new channel appears in the sidebar and all selected members can immediately see it and start messaging.

💡 If you add members from different locations, the channel automatically upgrades to a company-wide channel so it's visible across sites. You'll see a cross-clinic badge in the channel header.

Step 3: Start a direct message

Click the + button in the Direct Messages section of the sidebar.
Search for a colleague by name and select them.
Click Start Conversation. Direct messages can be one-on-one or group conversations. For one-on-one chats, you'll see the colleague's online/offline status in the header.

Step 4: Send messages

Click any channel or direct message in the sidebar to open it.
Type your message in the input field at the bottom.
Attach files if needed using the attachment button.
Press Enter or click Send. Messages support rich text formatting, emoji reactions, replies, and quoting.

Step 5: Pin important messages

Hover over any message in a channel.
Click the pin action.
The message is pinned and accessible from the pin icon in the channel header. Pinned messages stay visible regardless of how far back the conversation goes. Use them for protocols, announcements, or key decisions that the team needs to reference regularly.

Managing Channels

Click the More options button (three-dot icon) on a channel row in the sidebar, or right-click a channel, to access management actions:

Action	What it does
Add Members	Add new team members to the channel. If you add someone from a different location, the channel upgrades to company-wide automatically.
Remove Members	Remove team members who no longer need access to the channel.
Rename Channel	Change the channel name (up to 50 characters). Only available for team channels.
View Members	See the full list of channel members grouped by clinic, with their online status.
Mark as read / Mark as unread	Manually control the unread badge on a channel without opening it.
Archive	Hide the channel from your active list. All messages are preserved and the channel can be unarchived at any time. Other members are not affected.
Leave channel	Remove yourself from a team channel. You will no longer be able to view or send messages in it. This cannot be undone from within the channel — ask a colleague to re-add you if needed.
View Pinned Messages	Open a dedicated view showing all pinned messages in the channel, with the count displayed on the pin icon.

💡 Archiving is personal — it only hides the channel from your sidebar. Other members still see it in their active list. To restore it, select Archived from the Filter chats list and choose Unarchive on the channel.

Message Actions

When you hover over any message, you can:

React — Add an emoji reaction
Reply — Start a threaded reply
Pin / Unpin — Pin the message for quick reference
Quote — Quote the message in your reply
Edit — Edit your own messages
Delete — Delete your own messages

Company-Wide Chat (Multi-Site Practices)

If your practice has multiple locations, internal chat supports company-level channels:

Store-level channels are visible only to staff at that location
Company-level channels are visible to staff across all locations in the company
Channels automatically upgrade to company-level when you add members from different locations
In the enterprise admin view, you can access company-wide chat directly from the admin panel Location labels appear next to member names so you always know which site someone belongs to.

Reading Your Chat Sidebar

The Internal tab sidebar is split into two collapsible sections:

Channels

Named group conversations (e.g. #reception, #lab-results) shown with a # icon
Member count shown in the channel header
Unread badge with message count (visible even when the section is collapsed)
Cross-clinic badge for multi-location channels

Direct Messages

One-on-one or small group conversations
Group conversations show a tile with the member count
Show online/offline status for one-on-one chats
Unread badge with message count (visible even when the section is collapsed)

Use the search bar at the top to find channels or colleagues quickly — type a name and results appear straight away, with your location's members shown first, then other locations.

Filtering and sorting your list

Click the Filter chats button (funnel icon) next to the search bar to choose what appears in your sidebar:

All chats — every active channel and direct message (default)
Unread only — conversations with unread messages
Mentions only — conversations where you've been mentioned
Archived — channels and conversations you've archived

Click the Sort conversations button (arrows icon) to switch between Newest first and Oldest first order.

Tips for Effective Team Communication

✅ Best practices from practices that run Lupa:

Create topic-specific channels rather than one general channel — it's easier to find information later when lab results aren't mixed in with stock requests
Pin protocols and SOPs in the relevant channel so new starters can find them without asking
Use direct messages for quick one-off questions; use channels for anything the wider team should see
Archive channels for completed projects or seasonal topics to keep your sidebar focused
When discussing a patient case, mention the client or patient name so the conversation is searchable later
For multi-site practices, create a company-wide announcements channel for updates that affect all locations

Troubleshooting

Problem	Solution
I can't see the Internal tab	Your role may not have the Internal Chat permission. Ask your practice manager to check your role permissions in Settings → Roles & Permissions.
I can't find a channel I was in	You may have archived it. Click the Filter chats button in the sidebar and select Archived, find the channel, then choose Unarchive from its options.
I added someone from another site and the channel changed	This is expected. When a channel includes members from multiple locations, it automatically upgrades to a company-wide channel so everyone can access it.
I left a channel by mistake	You can't rejoin a channel yourself once you've left it. Ask a colleague who is still in the channel to add you back via More options → Add Members.
Messages aren't appearing in real time	Internal chat relies on a live connection. Try refreshing the page. If the issue persists, check your internet connection or contact support.
I can't rename a direct message	Only team channels can be renamed. Direct message names are automatically generated from participant names.
I see "Failed to create the chat. Please try again." when creating a channel	Something went wrong while setting up the channel. Check your internet connection and try again. If the problem keeps happening, contact your Lupa support team.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between a team channel and a direct message?

Team channels are named group spaces for ongoing topics (like Slack channels). Direct messages are private conversations between two or more specific people. Use channels for topics the team needs ongoing visibility of; use DMs for quick personal exchanges.

Can clients see internal chat messages?

No. Internal chat is completely separate from client chat. There is no way for a client to see, access, or receive internal messages.

What happens to messages when a staff member leaves?

All messages are preserved. When an employee is deactivated, their messages remain in the channels. If they're later reactivated, their full history is restored.

Is there a message limit per channel?

No. Channels retain their full message history. Lupa loads the most recent messages first and loads older ones as you scroll up.

Can I use internal chat from the mobile app?

Internal chat is available in the Lupa work app on desktop, tablet, and mobile browsers. It is not available in the pet owner mobile app.

Internal team chat and company channels