Connect a Gmail, Outlook or IMAP mailbox

Connecting a mailbox is what turns the CRM from something people update into something that updates itself. Once connected, correspondence lands on the matching contact without anyone logging it.

The providers are not interchangeable, though. Read the note below before you plan a rollout around one of them.

Who this is for

Every user who emails customers. Each person connects their own mailbox.

Before you start

• Access to the mailbox you want to connect.
• For Gmail or Outlook, the ability to approve a sign-in prompt for that account.
• For IMAP, your mail server's host and credentials.

Not every provider can send
Gmail, IMAP and SendGrid are the sending providers. Outlook is supported for connecting and syncing mail in — including backfilling your existing history — but it is not currently a sending provider. So an Outlook connection fills your timelines while sending still has to go through Gmail, IMAP or SendGrid. Check this before rolling Outlook out to a team that expects to send from inside KudosCRM.

Connect a mailbox

1. Pick the provider
   Gmail and Outlook connect by signing in to that account. IMAP is the general option for any other mail host. SendGrid is a sending service rather than a mailbox you read.
2. Authorise it
   Gmail and Outlook send you to the provider to approve access and return you to KudosCRM. IMAP asks for the server host and credentials directly instead.
3. Let the backfill run
   Gmail, IMAP and Outlook all backfill existing mail, so your contacts have history instead of starting from the moment you connected. It runs in the background.
4. Decide whether it is shared or private
   A mailbox is either shared with the team or private to you. This is the single most consequential setting on the account — see the shared mailbox article for exactly what each one grants.
5. Check mail is landing on contacts
   Open a contact you have corresponded with. Real threads on the timeline are your confirmation that sync is working.
6. Send one message, if the provider supports it
   Send a real email from inside a record. Sending is a separate path from syncing, so confirm it independently.

What each provider can do

What you get

• Correspondence captured onto the matching contact automatically.
• Existing history backfilled rather than starting blank from today.
• Sending from inside a record, on the providers that support it.
• An explicit decision about whether the mailbox is visible to your team.

Frequently asked questions

Can I send from a connected Outlook account?

Not today. Outlook connects, syncs and backfills, but the sending providers are Gmail, IMAP and SendGrid. If you need to send from inside KudosCRM, connect one of those.

My provider is not listed. What do I use?

IMAP. It is the general option for any other mail host, and it both syncs and sends.

Will my old email appear or only new mail?

Existing mail is backfilled after you connect, so records are useful immediately rather than only going forward.

Does each person connect their own mailbox?

Yes. Connecting is a per-user action. Whether colleagues can see that mailbox is a separate choice — the shared or private setting on the account.