CRM
Email sync (Gmail and Outlook)
Connect your own Gmail or Outlook mailbox: emails with your clients and leads appear on their timeline, and you can write to them from the CRM.
Who can use it
Staff with the mailbox-connect permission. Needs the Gmail / Outlook email sync plan feature (Pro and Enterprise at the time of writing). A platform administrator must also have set up Google and Microsoft sign-in for the platform.
Where: CRM → CRM settings → Tickets and service → Email (Gmail / Outlook). (This item sits under Ticket setup, not under CRM setup.) Not to be confused with the support-mailbox settings for tickets, described in Ticket setup.
What 9bx does and does not do
- Only mail to or from people who are already in your CRM (clients, leads and their contacts) is imported. Everything else is ignored.
- Mail is kept in your organisation's storage. You can mark it private or exclude addresses and domains.
- Emails you send from a client, lead or deal go out through your own mailbox, in the same conversation.
- You sign in with Google or Microsoft; 9bx never sees your password, and you can disconnect at any time.
The screen
| Element | What it does |
|---|---|
| Connect Gmail / Connect Outlook | Starts the sign-in. "Gmail and Google Workspace" or "Outlook, Microsoft 365 and Exchange Online" |
| Status | Connected or Needs attention, Last sync, Emails kept |
| Sync now | Fetches new mail immediately |
| Disconnect | Stops syncing. You choose Keep the synced mail (it stays on timelines) or Delete the synced mail (emails and attachments are removed) |
| Keep my synced mail private | Only you can read it; others see nothing of it on records |
| Track opens on emails I send | Adds a tiny invisible picture to sent mail. Off by default; people may see it as tracking |
| Track link clicks on emails I send | Links in mail you send from a record go through a short redirect, so each click is counted. Off by default |
| Never import mail from | Addresses (ann@example.com) or domains (example.com) |
Connect your mailbox
- Open Email (Gmail / Outlook).
- Click Connect Gmail or Connect Outlook.
- Sign in and accept the permissions on the Google or Microsoft page.
- You return to 9bx; the status shows Connected and syncing starts.
- Set your privacy options and click save ("Email settings saved").
Read and send mail from a record
- Synced emails appear in the Activity timeline of the client, lead or deal. Open one to Read email; private mail shows a Private badge; attachments are counted.
- To write, use New email (or Reply) on the record. Choose To, Cc, Subject, Message, then Send. You see "Sent from {your address}". Draft with AI can write a first version in a friendly or formal tone (needs the AI assist feature).
- If you have no mailbox connected you see "No mailbox connected" with Open email settings.
Open and click tracking
Both switches are off until you turn them on, and each person decides for their own mailbox.
- Opens: the email shows an Opened 2x badge on the record's timeline and in Read email once the reader's mail app loads pictures.
- Clicks: every web link in the message is counted. The timeline shows Clicked 3x; Read email lists each link with its own click count. A click also counts as an open.
- Only mail you send from a client, lead or deal is tracked; synced mail you send from Gmail or Outlook itself is not. Email addresses and phone links are never changed.
- The copy kept on the record shows your original links.
Privacy note. Tracking tells you that a message was opened or a link was clicked, not who did it. Some mail apps and security scanners open pictures or check links by themselves, so treat the numbers as a hint. If your customers expect not to be tracked, keep the switches off, and mention tracking in your privacy notice.
Example scenario
Rahim, a key account manager, connects his Outlook. He excludes the domain of his own company. When Meghna Garments writes about the quote, the email appears on the client's timeline for the whole team (his private switch is off), and he replies from the client page.
Troubleshooting and FAQ
It says "Your platform administrator has not set this service up yet" / "Not set up". Ask your administrator to contact 9bx support, who turn on Google or Microsoft sign-in for the platform.
"The mail service gave no long-lived access. Remove 9bx from your account permissions and connect again." Remove 9bx in your Google or Microsoft account settings, then connect again.
"The sign-in link expired." Start again from Connect.
Status "Needs attention". The last sync failed; use Connect the mailbox again or Sync now.
I cannot see a colleague's email. It is marked private.