Inbox triage for small businesses: a simple daily routine

A shared business inbox fills up with enquiries, invoices, supplier quotes, document requests and noise. Triage means sorting each email into what it needs, quickly, before you start answering anything. This guide gives you a simple routine you can run each day, by hand or with an assistant.

Step 1: pick four labels and stick to them

Most office email falls into a few groups. Start with four labels (or folders):

• Needs me: only you can answer or decide.
• Waiting: you've replied or asked for something and are waiting on someone else.
• Money: invoices to pay, payments in, remittances and reminders.
• File: receipts, confirmations and documents to keep, with no reply needed.

Newsletters and notifications get their own filter so they skip the inbox. More labels sound tidy but slow you down. Add one only when the same kind of email keeps arriving.

Step 2: the two-minute rule

When you open an email, decide straight away:

1. If you can answer in under two minutes, answer it now.
2. If it needs longer, label it Needs me and add a date.
3. If it needs nothing, label it File and archive it.

The aim is that no email is read twice before you decide what to do with it.

Step 3: keep reply templates for the emails you write every week

Letting agents answer viewing requests, accountants ask clients for missing documents, and trades confirm visit times. Write each of these once as a template, with gaps for the name, date and detail. Templates are quicker and keep your replies consistent.

Step 4: a short morning summary

Instead of opening the inbox first thing, start with a list:

• emails that need you today, with one line each on what they want;
• anything waiting on someone else for more than a few days;
• money in and money due this week.

You can write this yourself in five minutes, or have an assistant prepare it for you by email.

Step 5: log new enquiries in one place

New enquiries get lost in a busy inbox. Copy each one into a sheet or CRM with the date, name, what they asked and the next step. A weekly look at the sheet shows which enquiries never got a reply.

Where an assistant fits

Sorting, labelling, filing, the morning summary and logging enquiries are rule-based jobs, so an assistant can do them. Replies are different, because they go out in your name. A sensible set-up lets the assistant sort and prepare replies, and you approve each one before it's sent.

That's how we set up our done-for-you service, Grok Bot setup by Your Evenings. We set it up to ask for your approval before it sends or pays: drafts wait for your OK. It's built for busy offices: accountants, recruiters, letting agents, solicitors, agencies and trades. Your Evenings is an independent service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Grok Bot or its maker, SpaceX Super Intelligence LLC (SpaceXSI).

Questions

How often should I triage my inbox?

Once or twice a day works for most small businesses: a main session in the morning and a quick check after lunch. Turning off new-email alerts in between helps you stay on one task at a time.

How many labels or folders should a business inbox have?

Start with four: Needs me, Waiting, Money and File. Add another only when the same kind of email keeps arriving and doesn't fit.

Can an assistant reply to emails for me?

It can prepare the replies. We set it up to ask for your approval before it sends, so nothing goes out in your name until you've approved it.

Sources

• Your Evenings Ltd, Grok Bot setup service page (read 31 October 2026), for what our service does.

Written with AI assistance by the Your Evenings team at Your Evenings Ltd. Last updated 31 October 2026.