Notifications
Stay informed about important activity in your PrepStation account. Notifications alert you to comments, mentions, purchase order updates, and team activity.
Overview
PrepStation's notification system keeps you updated with:
- Real-time alerts — Instant updates as things happen
- In-app notifications — See all activity in one place
- Email and sound alerts — Optional; you choose which categories also arrive by email and which play a chime
- Mobile push — Get alerts on your phone
- Account-scoped — The bell shows notifications for your current account only
Accessing Notifications
Notification Bell
Click the bell icon in the top navigation bar to see recent notifications.
The badge shows your unread count.
Full Notification List
Click View All in the dropdown or go directly to /notifications
Notification Types
Comment Notifications
| Notification | When It Fires |
|---|---|
| Mention | Someone mentions you with @username in a comment |
| Reply | Someone replies to your comment |
| Reaction | Someone reacts to your comment |
Purchase Order Notifications
| Notification | When It Fires |
|---|---|
| Created | A new purchase order is created |
| Approved | A purchase order is approved |
| Status Change | Purchase order status changes |
Account Notifications
| Notification | When It Fires |
|---|---|
| Accepted Invite | Someone accepts your team invitation |
| Ownership Transfer | Account ownership is transferred |
| Credits Low / Out | An OCR, AI chat, or prospect credit pool is running low or has run out (owners and admins; once per billing period). See Credits |
Real-Time Updates
Notifications appear instantly without refreshing the page:
- Badge updates — The bell icon count updates automatically
- New notifications — Appear at the top of your list
- Browser alerts — Optional desktop notifications
Enabling Browser Notifications
When prompted, allow browser notifications to receive desktop alerts even when PrepStation isn't the active window.
Email and sound alerts
Email is a second channel for the same events that already appear in the bell. It does not change who is notified.
- Go to Account Settings → Profile, or open the bell and click Email and sound alerts.
- Flip on the email categories you want (storefront orders, quote views, CRM, customer messages, purchase orders, tasks, comments, account, deliverability, credit balance). Each toggle saves as you flip it.
Owners and admins receive storefront-order and credit-balance emails until they turn those categories off. Everything else stays off until you opt in.
These preferences apply to every account you belong to. Confirm your email address first — unconfirmed addresses are not mailed.
Quote-view emails also require Notify when a customer views a quote in Sales settings. The Tasks toggle only controls email, not which task events you receive.
Sound alerts
Categories that play a chime (storefront orders, CRM, customer messages, purchase orders, tasks, comments, deliverability) also show a Sound switch next to the Email switch. Each category has its own recognizable tone, and flipping the switch plays it so you hear what you just turned on or off. Sound is on by default.
Quote views, Account, and Credit balance never make noise, so those rows have no Sound switch.
The speaker icon in the bell dropdown is a master mute: turning it off silences every chime regardless of the per-category switches. Sounds also require your browser to allow audio — if a chime is blocked, PrepStation shows a hint with browser-specific steps.
Reading Notifications
Marking as Read
Notifications are marked as read when you:
- Click on a notification to view the related item
- Click "Mark all as read" to clear all unread notifications
Reading updates every session you have open. If PrepStation is up on your laptop and a kitchen tablet, clearing the bell in one clears it in the other without a refresh.
Read vs Unread
| State | Appearance |
|---|---|
| Unread | Highlighted background |
| Read | Normal background |
Clicking a Notification
When you click a notification:
- It's marked as read
- You're taken to the related item (recipe, comment, purchase order, etc.)
Notification Center
The full notification center (/notifications) shows:
- All notifications, newest first
- Read/unread status
- Pagination for older notifications
Filtering
View notifications by:
- All — Everything
- Unread — Only unread notifications
Mobile Notifications
Push Notifications
If you use the PrepStation mobile app:
- Push notifications are sent to your device
- App badge shows unread count
- Tap to open the app and view the item
Setting Up Mobile Notifications
- Install the PrepStation mobile app
- Log in to your account
- Allow notifications when prompted
- Notifications will sync automatically
Multi-Account Notifications
If you belong to multiple accounts:
- Notifications are account-specific
- Switch accounts to see different notifications
- The bell shows count for current account only
What Triggers Notifications
You'll Be Notified When:
Comments & Collaboration
- Someone @mentions you in a comment
- Someone replies to your comment
- Someone reacts to your comment
Purchase Orders
- A purchase order is created (for approvers)
- Your purchase order is approved
- Purchase order status changes
Team Activity
- Someone accepts your invitation
- Account ownership is transferred to you
Credits (owners and admins)
- An OCR, AI chat, or prospect credit pool runs low
- A credit pool runs out
You Won't Be Notified For:
- Your own actions (creating, commenting, etc.)
- Activity in other accounts
- System maintenance
Common Questions
Q: Why don't I see a notification?
A: Notifications are account-specific. Make sure you're in the right account.
Q: Can I turn off notifications?
A: In-app (bell) notifications stay on. You can choose which of those also arrive by email — and which play a chime — under Account Settings → Profile, or from the link at the bottom of the bell dropdown.
Q: Do notifications work on mobile?
A: Yes, if you have the PrepStation mobile app installed and notifications enabled.
Q: How long are notifications kept?
A: Notifications are retained indefinitely. You can always scroll back to see older ones.
Q: Why did I get notified about my own comment?
A: You shouldn't be. You're only notified about others' actions. If this happens, it may be a bug.
Q: Can I get email notifications?
A: Yes. Open Account Settings → Profile (or Email and sound alerts from the bell dropdown) and turn on the categories you want. Email is off until you opt in, except storefront orders, which start on for owners and admins.
These choices apply to every account you belong to, not just the one you are viewing. The Tasks toggle is email versus the bell — it does not change which task events you receive.
Best Practices
Stay Organized
- Check notifications regularly
- Mark as read once addressed
- Use "Mark all as read" to clear old notifications
For Team Leads
- Review purchase order notifications promptly
- Respond to mentions in a timely manner
- Use reactions to acknowledge without cluttering comments
For Team Members
- Enable browser notifications for real-time awareness
- Click notifications to go directly to the relevant item
- Use @mentions to get specific people's attention
Next Steps
- Team Discussions — Learn about comments and mentions
- Team Management — Manage your team
Last updated: October 09, 2026