# Invite Partners

Invite a single partner or bring in many at once from a CSV file, with Suger drafting the outreach email for you based on the purpose, tone, and context you provide.

---

## Overview

You can invite partners into your network one at a time or in bulk using a CSV file. In either case, Suger can generate the outreach email for you from the purpose, tone, and context you supply — the more specific you are, the less editing you'll need afterward.

:::info
Sending an invitation requires a connected email account. If you haven't connected Gmail or Outlook yet, see [Connect Gmail to Suger](/integrations/google-mail/) or [Connect Microsoft Outlook to Suger](/integrations/microsoft-outlook/).
:::

## Invite a single partner

The invitation wizard runs in six steps — **Choose**, **Purpose**, **Context**, **Tone**, **Email**, and **Review** — listed across the top so you can always see where you are and move back with **Back**.

### Open the wizard

1. Go to **Suger Console**, then click **Partners**.
2. Click **+ Invite Partners**, then choose **Single partner**.

![Invite Partners menu with the Single partner option](images/invite-partners-to-your-network-1.png)

### Step 1: Choose

Choose who you're inviting.

**If the partner is already known to Suger:**

1. Click **Select recommended partner**.
2. Use the **Select a partner** dropdown to choose their name.

**If the partner is brand new:**

1. Click **Invite a new partner**.
2. Enter their company name under **Partner Company Name**.
3. Enter their contact under **Contact Email Address**.

:::info
If Suger doesn't recognize the contact's email domain, it sends a standard invitation email with a link to join Suger and accept the partnership. The channel is automatically set to Direct.
:::

Click **Next**.

### Step 2: Purpose

Under **What's the purpose?**, select the option that matches this outreach:

* **Network Invitation** — Formalize a partnership, with no specific deal yet.
* **Account Overlap** — Explore mutual engagement or specific accounts.
* **Deal Collaboration** — Collaborate on a specific, active opportunity.

Then click **Next**.

![Partner selection and purpose options for a single invitation](images/invite-partners-to-your-network-2.png)

### Step 3: Context

Describe why this partner is relevant to you. Suger uses this to personalize the email it generates in a later step, so the more specific you are, the less editing you'll need to do afterward.

1. Enter a short description under **Context for this engagement**.
2. Click **Next**.

![Context for this engagement field](images/invite-partners-to-your-network-3.png)

### Step 4: Tone

Pick the tone that best matches your relationship with this partner and the nature of your outreach.

1. Select one of the five tone options.
2. Click **Next**.

![Email tone selection with five options](images/invite-partners-to-your-network-4.png)

### Step 5: Email

1. Add any extra context for the AI under **What makes this partner relevant here?**, then click **Generate Email with AI**.
2. Wait a few seconds while Suger generates a subject and email body.
3. Confirm the sending account under **Send From**.
4. Fill in **Recipient Email** and **Recipient Name**.
5. (Optional) Add anyone who should be copied under **CC**.
6. Review the generated **Subject** and **Email Body**, and edit either if needed.
7. Click **Next**.

![Generated invitation email with recipient and content fields](images/invite-partners-to-your-network-5.png)

### Step 6: Review

Confirm the partner, purpose, tone, recipient, context, and email content are all correct, then click **Send Invitation**.

Once sent, the partner appears under **Pending invitations** on the All Partners page until they accept.

## What Sending an Invitation Actually Does

Sending an invitation doesn't just queue an email. Suger creates your side of the partnership straight away, with the status `PENDING`.

That means an invited company is a real record from the moment you click send — you can open it, assign it a partner manager, attach notes, and register a co-sell against it without waiting for a reply.

**All Partners** lists `ACTIVE` and `PENDING` partners together by default, so invited companies sit alongside accepted ones rather than hiding in a separate queue. `SUGGESTED` and `INACTIVE` partners stay out of that default view.

A few consequences worth knowing:

- **You can't set `PENDING` by hand.** It's set by sending an invitation and nothing else. Editing a partner's status to `PENDING` is refused.
- **A second invitation to the same company reuses the existing record.** Inviting a different contact at a company you've already invited doesn't create a duplicate partner. An already-`ACTIVE` partner is never demoted back to `PENDING` for it either.
- **A second invitation to the same *email* is refused** while the first is still pending, with *"An invitation to {email} is already pending."*
- **A `PENDING` partner can't be shared with.** Files and courses only go to `ACTIVE` partners, so an invited company can't be a share target until they accept.
- **Accepting isn't the only route to `ACTIVE`.** If you register a co-sell on a partner's behalf and they confirm it, that confirmation *is* the acceptance — the partnership flips `PENDING` → `ACTIVE`.

## Invitation Status and Expiry

Every invitation carries its own status, separate from the partnership status above:

| Status | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| `Sent` | Delivered and awaiting a response. The only state that can still be accepted, declined, or cancelled. |
| `Accepted` | The recipient accepted. |
| `Declined` | The recipient declined. |
| `Expired` | Nobody responded before the deadline. |
| `Cancelled` | You withdrew it. |

Invitations expire **15 days** after they're sent. A daily sweep moves anything still `Sent` past its deadline to `Expired`. Past that point the link no longer works — the recipient can neither accept nor decline.

### Cancel a pending invitation

Cancelling is the only change you can make to an invitation after sending it.

1. Open **Pending Invitations**.
2. Click the **⋯** menu on the invitation and choose **Cancel invitation**.
3. Confirm on **Cancel this invitation?** — the dialog warns that the partner will no longer be able to accept, and that this can't be undone. Click **Keep invitation** to back out.

The invitation stays visible with a `Cancelled` status for the record.

:::info
There is no **Resend** and no **Extend**. If an invitation expired or you cancelled it, send a new one — the partner record you already created is reused rather than duplicated, so nothing is lost by starting again.
:::

## Invite multiple partners at once

The bulk invitation modal opens in one of two modes, depending on how you reach it:

| Mode | How you get there | Steps |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **CSV** | **+ Invite Partners → Import multiple from CSV** | Choose, Upload, Preview, Compose, Review, Confirmation |
| **Pre-selected recipients** | Select rows in **Partner Discovery** — on either the **Recommended Partners** or **From Your CRM** tab — and click **Invite Selected (N)** | Recipients, Compose, Review, Confirmation |

Both end in the same place: one composed message, a recipients table to check, and a confirmation. The pre-selected mode skips the upload and preview steps because Suger already knows exactly who you picked.

:::tip
Selecting exactly one partner in Partner Discovery and clicking **Invite Selected (1)** opens the single-partner wizard instead of the bulk modal — one recipient doesn't need a batch.
:::

The CSV walkthrough below covers the longer of the two paths.

### Step 1: Start the invitation

1. Go to **Suger Console**, then click **Partners**.
2. Click **+ Invite Partners**, then choose **Import multiple from CSV**.

![Invite Partners menu with the Import multiple from CSV option](images/invite-partners-to-your-network-6.png)

### Step 2: Download and prepare your CSV

1. Click **Download CSV template** to save a blank file with the correct column headers.

   ![Download CSV template button](images/invite-partners-to-your-network-7.png)

2. Open the file in a spreadsheet program, like Excel, Google Sheets, or Numbers.
3. Fill in one row per partner. Don't change, rename, or reorder the column headers in row 1 — Suger reads the file based on those exact headers.
4. Leave a cell blank if that column doesn't apply to a partner (**Contact Name**, **Partner Type**, and **Message** are optional).
5. Once every row is filled in, save the file.

### Step 3: Upload your CSV

1. Click **Choose CSV File**, or drag and drop your file onto the upload area.
2. Click **Next**.

### Step 4: Preview and validate

Suger checks your file and shows a summary of **Total rows**, **Valid** rows, **Errors**, and **Duplicates**, along with a row-by-row breakdown.

1. Fix any rows marked with errors before continuing. Click the **trash** icon next to a row to remove it from the batch.
2. Click **Next** once you're ready to proceed.

![CSV preview with validation summary and row-by-row breakdown](images/invite-partners-to-your-network-8.png)

### Step 5: Compose your message

1. Confirm the account under **Send from**.
2. Select an **Email tone** from the dropdown: Executive, Sales, Technical, Alliance-Focused, or Short & Tactical.
3. Select a **Purpose**: Network Invitation, Account Overlap, or Deal Collaboration.
4. Click **Generate with AI** to draft a subject and message body, or write your own.

:::info
The message body you write here only applies to partners who don't already have their own **Message** filled in from your CSV. Any row with its own message keeps that message instead.
:::

5. Click **Next**.

### Step 6: Review and send

1. Review the **Purpose**, **Tone**, **Subject**, and message template.
2. Check the **Recipients** table to confirm every partner and email address is correct. The **Custom?** column shows **Yes** for any partner using their own CSV message instead of the shared template.
3. Click **Invite [number] partners** to send.

![Review screen with recipients table before sending](images/invite-partners-to-your-network-9.png)

### Step 7: Confirmation

Suger shows how many invitations were sent, along with counts for **Skipped** and **Errors**. Click **Done** to close the wizard.

Once sent, all invited partners appear under **Pending invitations** on the All Partners page until they accept.

![Confirmation screen with sent, skipped, and error counts](images/invite-partners-to-your-network-10.png)

## Next step

Once you've sent your invitations, see [Track partner collaborations and pending invitations](/prm/collaborations/) to follow their status and know when to follow up on ones that have gone quiet.