Email Trigger through BCC · 8 min read
How to automate review requests from QuickBooks invoice emails
Written by Mannie Gill, Founder & Lead Developer at EmbedMyReviews. LinkedInPublished
If the business sends its invoice after completing the job, add an EMR Email Trigger address to the QuickBooks Online invoice’s BCC field. Each email copied to that address adds the customer to the selected review campaign. It is a one-time configuration that can trigger repeatedly, not a one-time request.
TL;DR
The short version
- This asks after an invoice email is sent. It does not detect that an invoice has been paid.
- The agency creates the trigger address; the owner adds it in QuickBooks.
- Test one sales email first. Only make BCC a default if every invoice using it is an appropriate review opportunity.
What happens automatically?
- 01
QuickBooks emails a final invoice
- 02
BCC sends a copy to your EMR trigger
- 03
The campaign invites the To recipient
Choose this when: A tradesperson or service business emails invoices after completed work and wants the least complicated recurring handoff.
Choose another route when: Deposits, estimates, invoices issued before service, paid-only conditions, or a mixed invoice stream that cannot be separated.
Who does what?
The business owner
Adds the BCC address to the correct sales email or invoice defaults and keeps the customer as the To recipient.
You, the agency
Creates the Email Trigger and campaign, checks plan access, checks the customer email and owns review-request delivery.
Set up EMR Automations while signed in as the agency owner and working in the intended client location. The business owner handles access to their own software. They do not need your agency login or a daily EMR task.
A message you can send the business owner
“Because you email invoices after finishing the job, we can use that email to start a review request. I will give you a special BCC address to save in QuickBooks. You keep the customer’s address in To and send invoices as usual. We will test one together before making it automatic. This follows the invoice email; it does not wait for payment.”
Once it is connected
The business sends its normal invoice email. If the saved BCC is applied, a copy automatically starts the review campaign. The customer does not see the BCC address. The owner does not add each customer in EMR or set up a new connection for every invoice.
Have these ready
- QuickBooks Online access to send sales forms and edit invoice email defaults. This guide does not cover QuickBooks Desktop.
- A working EMR email campaign and the BCC email trigger option on the customer’s plan.
- A dedicated test customer record with your own email. Do not use a real customer as a test recipient.
First client? Prepare the review campaign first
From your agency, open Business → Customers → Manage Customers → Open dashboard (or the Customer tab if shown). Select the business location you are setting up.
A campaign is the review message and any follow-ups you want EMR to send. A feedback form controls where the customer is invited to leave their review.
Use Grow → Review Tools → Feedback Forms to prepare the customer’s review destination, then Grow → Campaigns → Request Reviews to create the campaign. Choose its feedback form, message and working sender. Start with one email step for this walkthrough. Add your own test contact through Grow → Campaigns → Invites and verify the message and link.
Set the campaign’s sending window and duplicate-request window. Honour opt-outs. For Google review campaigns, ask eligible customers consistently, leave review gating off and offer no incentives.
Do I need to understand APIs or write code?
No API key, code or Zapier account is needed. BCC means sending a hidden copy of an email to another address. EMR reads the customer address from To and adds that person to the campaign attached to your unique BCC address.
A key or token is a private connection credential. A webhook is an automatic notice that something happened, such as a payment completing. Keep connection credentials private; the business owner does not need to share their everyday login password.
The walkthrough
Set it up, step by step
Copy one address into the invoice settings. Work through this together the first time.
Together
Agree whether an invoice email is the right event
Confirm that the business invoices after the job. If it invoices before service or needs payment confirmation, stop here and choose a payment or completed-job route.
Check other automated review requests and decide which system will send. One invoice should not start two separate review campaigns.
Before moving on: The final invoice email is a meaningful completion signal for this business.
Agency
Create the EMR Email Trigger
Open the client dashboard from your agency account, select the location and go to Connect → Integrations → Automations. On the Email Trigger card, click Set Up. If it shows Manage, open it and choose Connect Another Campaign.
Start the email-trigger setup wizard. Choose Invoicing or Accounting, then explicitly choose Add an Email Address. Select the campaign, click Create Trigger and copy Your Unique Address. You do not need an HTML snippet for this BCC setup.
Before moving on: The unique address belongs to the intended client campaign, and its plan permits BCC triggers.
Business owner
Try the BCC address on one sales email
In QuickBooks Online, open All apps → Sales & Get Paid → Sales transactions, select the agreed sales form and choose More actions → Send.
Keep your own test customer email in To. Open Cc/Bcc and paste the EMR address in Bcc, then send. Use the owner’s agreed test bookkeeping procedure; do not create or modify genuine accounts just for this walkthrough.
Before moving on: The email goes to your test inbox and a copy goes to the EMR trigger.
Together
Check who EMR will invite
Inspect campaign activity and verify that the customer email, rather than the business or accountant, was added. The plain BCC method reads To recipients; multiple To addresses can mean multiple contacts.
Confirm the review message arrives with the right business name and review link. Set any delay in the campaign: this email trigger does not know the actual service date.
Before moving on: One intended customer receives the expected review request.
Business owner
Make the BCC recurring only where it fits
If every invoice is eligible, go to Settings → Account and settings → Sales → Messages → Edit. Add the EMR address to Bcc and save. Preserve any existing recipients.
Send a fresh eligible invoice to confirm the default is applied. If only some invoices qualify, keep the address on those sends only; adding it manually is a manual handoff, not a fully automatic filter.
Before moving on: A new eligible invoice triggers the campaign without someone retyping the BCC address.
Example: a plumber emails the invoice after finishing the repair
The plumber completes the job, then sends the invoice from QuickBooks. The saved BCC copies the email to EMR, which adds the To recipient to the review campaign. Next week’s invoice follows the same rule automatically. Paying the invoice later does not create a separate paid-event signal through this method.
How to know it is working
Follow the event all the way to a message you receive. A green connection or a successful test response is only part of that journey.
Where to look: First check the invoice arrived in your test inbox. In EMR, open Grow → Campaigns → Invites and find that exact To email address. Check its activity and verify that the separate review-request email arrives with the correct link.
When to expect the message: Set the delay in the review campaign. For example, a one-hour first step waits after the copied invoice email reaches EMR, then respects the campaign’s sending hours. This timing is not based on when the invoice is paid.
Testing again? Use another email address you control for a second successful-send test. Reusing the first address can correctly trigger your duplicate-request rule. Keep that protection on for real customers.
Test 1: Send one agreed sales email to your own test customer, with the trigger in Bcc.
Expected result: The customer email is added to the correct campaign. Verify the review message in your inbox.
Test 2: Save the default BCC and send a fresh eligible invoice.
Expected result: The BCC appears without being entered again. Use a different email address you control if you also want a second delivered review message; the first address may correctly be protected by the campaign’s duplicate rule.
Test 3: Review an estimate, advance invoice and payment reminder workflow.
Expected result: None should copy the trigger unless it is deliberately eligible. Check the actual recipient settings rather than assuming document types are isolated.
If something does not work
No contact appears in EMR
Check the exact BCC address, whether the email was sent, customer-plan BCC access and the campaign. A draft invoice does not send an email.
The wrong person receives the request
Review all To recipients. Keep accountants and staff out of To for this trigger path; use the appropriate Cc/Bcc fields where needed.
The owner wants requests only after payment
BCC is not a paid-invoice trigger. Use the payment system’s supported success event or a verified paid-invoice workflow through a bridge, with balance and duplicate checks.
At handover, record the connection name, source account, client location, campaign, timing, test result and person responsible for failures. Test again after changing the workflow. Keep passwords, API keys and private webhook URLs out of the handover notes.
Cost, reliability and the simpler alternatives
Cost: No Zapier, Make or custom API work is needed for this BCC route. The client needs QuickBooks Online and the BCC option included in their EMR customer plan, plus the usual campaign delivery setup.
Reliability: The trigger depends on the email actually being sent and copied to EMR. It cannot monitor invoice balances, refunds or job cancellations. Campaign duplicate rules help with repeated invoice emails, but they do not turn email into payment-status tracking.
When to use something else: If final payment is taken through Square or Stripe and their trigger fits the business, use that connection. If completion is recorded separately from billing, use a completed-jobs sheet or form. For a paid-invoice requirement, use a connection that receives payment status rather than the invoice email.