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 sections: Team Channels and Direct Messages.

🔒 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 Team 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, so you can quickly find colleagues at your site or across 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 menu icon in a channel header or right-click a channel in the sidebar 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 with their online status and location.
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.
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, toggle to Archived in the sidebar and select Unarchive.

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 sections: Team Channels

Named group conversations (e.g. #reception, #lab-results)
Show member count in the header
Unread badge with message count
Cross-clinic badge for multi-location channels Direct Messages
One-on-one or small group conversations
Show online/offline status for one-on-one chats
Show member count for group chats
Unread badge with message count

Use the search bar at the top to find channels or colleagues quickly. Results show your location's members first, then other locations.

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	Check the Archived section — you may have archived it. Toggle to Archived in the sidebar, find the channel, and unarchive it.
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.
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.

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 currently available in the Lupa work app (desktop/tablet browser). It is not available in the pet owner mobile app.

Internal team chat and company channels