Aptly allows you to create shared inboxes, such as a Help Desk Inbox, Maintenance Inbox, or Leasing Inbox, which can be managed by your team. This helps to ensure that messages are routed to the appropriate individuals.
Shared inboxes are an efficient way for teams to communicate and are easy to set up. Simply connect an existing inbox from Gmail or Microsoft and invite your teammates to collaborate.
In this article, you will learn:
- What a shared inbox is
- How to set up a shared inbox
- How to use a shared inbox
What is a Shared Inbox?
A Shared Inbox serves as a way for a team to communicate with customers who need the same thing. For example, a Maintenance Inbox would have emails that include maintenance requests, work orders, estimates, etc. Anything maintenance-related would filter into this inbox. Members of the Maintenance Team would all have access to this inbox to maintain incoming requests. The next step to the Shared Inbox is to create cards from emails by setting up Email Parsers and/or Inbox Rules.
How to Set Up a Shared Inbox (Administrators Only)
Setting up a Shared Inbox is similar to setting up a Personal Inbox; however, administrators are the only users able to add a Shared Inbox.
- Click your avatar in the bottom left corner and click Settings.
- Click Shared Inboxes under Company Settings.
- Choose your email provider by clicking Connect Microsoft Account or Connect Gmail Account. Follow the authentication steps to allow Aptly to access what will become the Shared Inbox. Some accounts have multi-factor authentication which may require you to confirm access through a different device or email.
- Configure your Shared Inbox. More information about Shared Inbox Settings can be found below.
- Click Save.
Shared Inbox Settings
Inbox Name
Inbox Color
Auto Categorization
Exclude from Auto Sharing
Inbox Signature
Access
Auto Assignment Rules
A friendly name to identify your shared inbox in Aptly. Try to keep the name brief (i.e. Maintenance, Help Desk, etc.).
Select a color to help you identify incoming conversations from this inbox.
When enabled, this feature will scan incoming messages for keywords associated with your conversation topics to automatically categorize them.
Selecting this option will exclude any emails in this inbox from being automatically shared with your team based on inbox sharing rules set on user roles. Conversations are typically auto-shared on cards and contacts.
Set up a default signature for all the members of your shared inbox. When configured, this signature will be used when any member of the inbox sends a new message.
Select the users in your Aptly account that should have access to the Shared Inbox. Upon enabling this access, they will be able to access it from the My Inboxes menu.
Use the auto-assignment option to route incoming messages to members of your team. By default, newly connected Shared Inboxes are configured for you to manually assign incoming conversations. However, you can use this option to assign these conversations to a specific user or evenly distribute them (i.e. round-robin) to everyone with access to the Shared Inbox or a specified team.
How to Use a Shared Inbox
Using a Shared Inbox is similar to using a Personal Inbox except there are multiple users in the Shared Inbox. Reading a new message does not affect the Unread/Read status for other Shared Inbox Users; however, actions to a message will affect other Users. For example, Snoozing, Archiving, or Deleting a conversation will remove it from the Shared Inbox as well as from other Users’ views.
Shared Inboxes are an excellent way to increase visibility to all team members and allow everyone to work from the same inbox. Teammates can add comments to messages in the inbox and assign or share messages as well. (See: Collaborating in the Inbox)
Frequently Asked Questions
Does everyone in the company have access to the Shared Inboxes?
Only the users who have permission to access the shared inbox can view the inbox. This is done by selecting permitted users in the Shared Inboxes settings. Administrators only have access if they have granted themselves access to the Shared Inbox.
What happens if I select an unread conversation? Will it show as read in my teammate’s view of the Shared Inbox?
If you select an Unread Conversation in a Shared Inbox, the message will remain unread in your Teammate’s view. When an action is performed on a conversation (i.e. Archive or Delete), it will also show as Archived or Deleted in your teammate’s view.
Can I use a Google Group or email distribution list as the email address for a Shared Inbox?
No, at this time only direct email addresses can be used as the email address for a Shared Inbox. Email addresses are only accepted from Gmail and Microsoft. We cannot sync inboxes from other hosted sites.
How do I change the name of the Shared Inbox?
Go to Settings > Shared Inbox > Select Inbox > Inbox Name. Update the Inbox name and scroll down to click Save.
