The alerts bell

The bell in the top bar is Scout's short list of things that are wrong with your setup rather than with your work. It shows connection problems and decisions that are waiting, and it links straight to the screen where each one is fixed.

What it shows

Click the bell to open the Notifications panel. Three kinds of item can appear in it:

• A connection needs attention — a mailbox, accounting system or other source whose authorization was rejected, whose runs are failing, or whose data has gone stale. The entry names the connection, says what is wrong in a sentence, says how long it has been that way, and links to Connections.
• Identity reviews are waiting — "Scout found records that may belong to the same customer or company and needs your decision." This links to the identity review queue.
• Supplier feed alerts and credential requests — for workspaces using PromoStandards: a supplier service that is failing, or a credential request that is still open. Each entry names the supplier and the next step.

When there is nothing to report, the panel says: "Nothing needs your attention. Scout will alert you here about connections and account housekeeping. Client work stays in your Inbox." The header also carries a short Attention needed marker beside the bell when something is waiting, so you can see it without opening the panel.

What it deliberately does not show

The bell is not a second Inbox. It never carries points about customers, orders, quotes or invoices — no recommendations, no observations. Client work belongs in the Inbox, sorted by when it is due, and duplicating it in a bell would mean two lists to keep clear instead of one.

It is also not a channel. Nothing is sent from the bell; it is a read-only view over things Scout already knows. Your email and Slack settings are unaffected by anything you do here, and clearing a connection problem means fixing the connection, not dismissing the alert.

Who sees what

• Connection problems, supplier alerts and credential requests appear only for people who can see Connections — Owners and Admins. Connection health is workspace administration.
• Identity reviews appear for people who may decide them.
• Two entries also honour your notification settings: unticking In App for Connection problems or for Identity review under Settings → Workspace → Notifications removes those entries from your bell. That is a personal choice and changes nothing for your colleagues.

Good to know

• The bell reads from your real workspace, so in a demonstration workspace it stays empty by design.
• Entries clear themselves when the underlying condition clears — reconnect the source, or answer the identity match, and the entry goes.
• Every entry links somewhere. If you are not sure what an alert means, follow it: the connection detail page or the review queue explains the state in full.