Connect your email

Connecting your email means invoices, quotes, and client messages go out from your real business address — not a generic “noreply” sender. Replies come back to your inbox so you never miss a response.

Before you start

• Have your email login ready (Gmail, Outlook, or Microsoft 365).
• Make sure you are an admin on your Service Buddy account. Only admins can connect integrations.

Connect Gmail or Google Workspace

1. Go to Settings → Integrations.
2. Find Gmail in the list and click Connect.
3. Sign in with the Google account you want to send from.
4. Review the permissions Service Buddy is requesting and click Allow.
5. You will be redirected back to Service Buddy with a Connected badge on Gmail.

Connect Outlook or Microsoft 365

1. Go to Settings → Integrations.
2. Find Microsoft Outlook / 365 and click Connect.
3. Sign in with your Microsoft account.
4. Grant the permissions requested.
5. Return to Service Buddy to confirm the connection.

Send a test email

1. From the Clients list, open any client record.
2. Click the Mail button at the top of the page and type a short test message.
3. Click Send and check that it arrives from your real email address.
4. Reply from the recipient account to make sure replies come back to your inbox.

Tip

Always send a test to yourself before emailing real clients. It is the fastest way to confirm the connection is working.

What happens next

• Every email you send from Service Buddy now goes out from your connected address.
• Clients replying to those emails land in your normal inbox — you can keep using Gmail or Outlook as usual.
• If the connection expires (for example, if you change your password), you will see a warning at Settings → Integrations. Click Reconnect to re-authorize.
• All sent emails are still logged against the client record inside Service Buddy.

Tips

• Use a shared team email address (like billing@yourcompany.com) if multiple people respond to client replies. That way everyone sees the conversation.
• If your email provider uses domain verification (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), make sure those records are set up. Well-authenticated emails reach clients’ inboxes instead of spam.
• Disconnect any email address that a team member no longer uses. It is one less credential to keep track of.

Caution

If you disconnect your email, Service Buddy will send future messages from a default sender until you reconnect. Clients may not recognize the sender, which hurts deliverability.

FAQ

Why connect my email instead of using Service Buddy’s default sender?

Connected email gets better deliverability (less likely to land in spam), shows your real address to clients (more trust), and means client replies come back to your inbox where you naturally check email. The default sender works but is generic.

Should I connect my personal email or a shared team email?

Use a shared team email like info@, billing@, or quotes@yourcompany.com. That way replies are visible to whoever covers correspondence, not stuck in one person’s inbox when they’re on vacation.

Does connecting Gmail give Service Buddy access to my whole inbox?

It only sends through your account and reads replies to messages it sent. It doesn’t index your inbox or use it for anything else. Permissions are visible in your Google account at any time.

Why are emails landing in spam?

Most often: missing SPF, DKIM, or DMARC records on your domain. Talk to whoever manages your domain (your IT person, hosting provider, or web developer) and ask them to add the records Service Buddy provides. Without them, deliverability is hit-or-miss.

What if my password changes?

The connection breaks. You’ll see a warning on Settings → Integrations. Click Reconnect and sign in again. The emails you sent before still show, but new emails fail to send until you reconnect.

Can I have multiple connected email addresses?

Service Buddy connects one outbound email at a time per account. If you need different “From” addresses (e.g., one per branch), use locations and configure the location’s email — outgoing email for that location uses that address.

Will my old sent emails show in Gmail’s Sent folder after I connect?

Only emails sent after the connection. Pre-connection messages don’t retroactively appear in Gmail. Going forward, every email Service Buddy sends through your connected account also lands in your Sent folder.

What if I disconnect — does that delete past sent emails?

No. Past sent emails stay logged on client records in Service Buddy. Disconnecting only stops new emails from going through your address — they fall back to a default sender until you reconnect.