Sales Inbox: Perks

“Why must I use a Sales Inbox?”, you ask?
​​​​​​

With Vtiger CRM’s Sales Inbox, you can do a lot more than just sending and receiving emails! 

 It removes some of the typical constraints of regular email clients –

• Emails are not assigned to any user on receipt.
• Closed conversations take up space in the inbox.
• Setting up reply-to email IDs is difficult. 
• Collaboration with the team must happen outside email conversations.
• Managing separate mailboxes is tedious. 
• Emails are not linked to CRM records directly.

Sales Inbox puts you at ease about these problems with the following possibilities: 

Feature Availability and Limits

Click here for the availability of Actions features for different editions of Vtiger CRM.

Setting Up Your Inbox

Follow these steps to set up your inbox:​​

1. Log in to your CRM account.
2. Click the Main Menu.
3. Go to Sales.
4. Select Inbox. 

5. Select the Configuration Icon on the top right corner.

6. Select one of these options:  

Setting up my mailbox

You can set up your mailbox in two ways:

• Auto-forwarding (or one-way sync)
• Two-way sync

Auto-forwarding or one-way sync

Auto-forwarding or one-way sync brings emails from your email client into Vtiger CRM. Emails that are forwarded from your email client come into Vtiger CRM through Mailroom. 

Follow these steps to set up auto-forwarding in Vtiger CRM:

1. Log in to your CRM account.
2. Click the Main Menu.
3. Go to Sales.
4. Select Inbox.​​​​​​

5. Select the Configuration Icon on the top right corner.

6. A Mailbox Settings Dialog box opens. Select My Mailbox.
7. Select Add to My Mailbox.

8. Choose ‘Forward incoming emails and CC Vtiger address on outgoing emails’ and click Go>.

9. An Adding My Mailbox dialog box appears. Enter the following details:

To learn more about auto-forwarding, click here.

Two-way sync

Two-way sync syncs emails between your email client and Vtiger CRM. By enabling two-way sync, you can bring emails from your email client into your mailbox and emails from your mailbox into your email client. This makes accessing your emails easy for you.

Follow these steps to set up two-way sync:

1. Log in to your CRM account.
2. Click the Main Menu.
3. Go to Sales.
4. Select Inbox.

5. Select the Configuration Icon on the top right corner.

6. A Mailbox Settings Dialog box opens. Select My Mailbox.
7. Select Add to My Mailbox.

8. Choose 2-way sync and click Go>.

9. Enter your email address.
10. Click Proceed.

11. Choose your email address and sign in to your email client. 

12. Choose your inbox settings:

• The folders you want to see in your inbox.
• The period from which you want to sync emails.
• Other mandatory fields.
• Note: The information you enter in this step depends on the email client you are using.

13. Click Save.

Adding a Group Mailbox

Follow these steps to set up your group mailbox:

1. Log in to your CRM account.
2. Click the Main Menu.
3. Go to Sales.
4. Select Inbox.

5. Select the Settings icon on the top right corner.

6. A Mailbox Settings Dialog box opens. Select Group Mailboxes.
7. Select +Add Group Mailbox.

8. Enter the following details in the Adding New Group Mailbox window:

• Address - The email ID of the group. 
• You can enable the Mark incoming emails as private by default checkbox to ensure that private emails to group members are visible only to the receivers.  
• Mailbox name - The group name.
• Who should have access to this group mailbox? - The users or teams that have access to the mailbox
• Does this account have a password? - Select the second option as Group Inboxes do not have passwords.
  • Yes (Individual accounts have passwords)
  • No (Group accounts and aliases do not have a password)
• Add BCC address for replies - Add a BCC address.

9. Click Save.

Deleting a mailbox address

Deleting my mailbox address
Follow these steps to delete My Mailbox:

1. Log in to your CRM account.
2. Click the Main Menu.
3. Go to Sales.
4. Select Inbox.

5. Click the Settings icon on the top right corner.

6. Click the My Mailbox tab in the Mailbox Settings window.
7. Click Delete Mailbox.

8. Type ‘My Mailbox’ in the textbox provided.
9. Click Delete.

Deleting a group mailbox address
Follow these steps to delete a group mailbox:

1. Log in to your CRM account.
2. Click the Main Menu.
3. Go to Sales.
4. Select Inbox.

5. Click the Settings icon on the top right corner.

6. Click the Group Mailboxes tab in the Mailbox Settings window.
7. Click the Delete icon located on the right.

8. Select an email address from the Transfer Mails drop-down to transfer your emails.
9. Type the mailbox name in the textbox to confirm the deletion.
10. Click Delete.

Editing or adding mailboxes: Mailbox Settings

You can edit your mailbox settings by going to Main Menu > Essentials > Inbox. You also have the option to add a mailbox under Mailbox Settings.

Automating tasks: Mailroom

You can automate the creation of CRM records using emails coming into your mailbox. This is possible only when auto-forwarding is set up in your email client. Vtiger CRM uses email information to create deals, leads, contacts, organizations, cases, and other records when you set up auto-forwarding in your email client and mailroom rules. 

You can access the mailroom by going to Settings > Automation > Mailroom.

Setting up mailroom rules from Inbox

Follow these steps to set up mailroom rules:

1. Log in to your CRM account.
2. Click the Main Menu.
3. Go to Essentials.
4. Select Inbox.

5. Click the Settings icon on the top right corner.

6. Click the Automate Tasks tab in the Mailbox Settings window.
7. Click:

1. Add New Action to add a new mailroom rule.
2. The Edit icon to edit a mailroom rule.

To learn more about the mailroom in Vtiger CRM, click here. 

Establishing Two-Way Sync Between Vtiger and IMAP Providers

You can sync your emails with Vtiger and IMAP providers and access your conversations easily without losing connectivity.

Follow these steps to set up a two-way sync between Vtiger and IMAP providers:

1. Log in to your CRM account.
2. Click the Main Menu.
3. Go to Sales.
4. Select Inbox.

5. Click the Settings icon on the top right corner.

6. A Mailbox Settings window appears.
7. Click Add My Mailbox.

8. Select 2-way sync and click Go.

9. Enter the Email address
10. Click Proceed.

11. Click Other.
12. Click Proceed.

13. Fill out the following:
    1. Credentials
       1. Choose your email provider.
       2. Enter your username and password.
       3. Choose Validate certificate or Do not validate the certificate.
          • Validate Certificate:
          • Do not validate certificate:
       4. Enter IMAP server and SMTP server.

14. Click Verify Credentials & Fetch Folders.
    1. Folders
       1. Choose the folders to sync to Drafts, Sent and Trash folders. Folders will be shown when the credentials are verified.
       2. Missing info
    2. Time period

Composing an Email

To compose an email, click the Compose button located on top of a mailbox. You can use the following options present in the compose email window. 

The Compose Email window

The Compose Email window has the following actionable items:

1. Selecting modules for To email

You can manually enter the recipient’s email ID for To address or use the drop-down to select a CRM record to fetch the email ID.

Follow these steps to insert a To address using the drop-down:

1. Log in to your CRM account.
2. Click the Main Menu.
3. Go to Essentials.
4. Select Inbox.

5. Click the Compose button.

6. Click the drop-down located beside the To address in the Compose Email window.
7. Click the Magnifier icon to view records in the selected module.

8. Click on a record to select it as the To address. 

2. Setting up From and Reply To emails

Follow these steps to add From and Reply To addresses:

1. Log in to your CRM account.
2. Click the Main Menu.
3. Go to Essentials.
4. Select Inbox.
5. Click the Compose button.

6. Click the More button on the right side. 

7. Click the Reply to drop-down to choose a Reply To email address. 

3. Inserting links

You can insert links to appointment pages, surveys, and documents in your email by clicking the Insert Link drop-down in the Compose Email window. 

1. Insert Appointment Link

2. Insert Survey Link

3. Vtiger Document

4. Upload and Insert

5. Merge Template

1. Log in to your CRM account.
2. Click the Main Menu.
3. Go to Essentials.
4. Select Inbox.
5. Click the Compose button.
6. Click Insert Link in the Compose Email window.

7. Select Merge Template. 

8. Choose a module from the Select Module drop-down.
9. Choose a template from the Select Template drop-down.

4. Selecting email templates

Vtiger CRM provides a default set of pre-built email templates that save your time composing emails. You can create an email template by going to Main Menu > Tools > Email Templates.

Follow these steps to add an email template to the email body:

1. Log in to your CRM account.
2. Click the Main Menu.
3. Go to Essentials.
4. Select Inbox.
5. Click the Compose button.

6. Click Select Email Template.

7. Select the parameter you want to base your search on; for example, module name, template subject, and template description. 

8. Select an email template.

5. Including signature

You can set up email signatures by going to My Preferences. 

By enabling or disabling the checkbox for Include Signature in Compose Email window, you can add or remove your signature from the email.

6. Selecting an email sequence 

The Select Sequence drop-down allows you to select and embed an email sequence into the email body. Email sequences is an outbound sales campaign tool that enables you to send a predefined sequence of emails to a prospect.

You can view email sequences by going to Main Menu > Sales > Email Sequences.
 

7. Attaching files

You can attach files to your email from your local computer or from Documents in the CRM. 

Follow these steps to attach a file to your email:

 these steps to add an email template to the email body:

1. Log in to your CRM account.
2. Click the Main Menu.
3. Go to Essentials.
4. Select Inbox.
5. Click the Compose button.
6. Click the Attach Files drop-down.

7. Choose:

• From Computer to browse to your local computer to attach a file
• From CRM to browse through your documents in the Documents module

8. Setting a reminder

You can set a reminder for yourself to follow up with the email recipient within a specific period.

For example, if you set a reminder ‘Remind me to follow up in 3 days’, you will get a reminder notification. 

You can set up email reminder alerts and alert channels by going to Main Menu > Essentials > Actions.

9. Email tracking 

When tracking is turned on for an email, you will receive notifications when the recipient opens the email, clicks a link present in the email, and replies to the email.

You can set up email tracking by going to Main Menu > Essentials > Actions, with options to select alert channels and whom to alert. 

10. Scheduling emails

You can pre-compose an email and send it later by scheduling it. 

Follow these steps to attach a file to your email:

1. Log in to your CRM account.
2. Click the Main Menu.
3. Go to Essentials.
4. Select Inbox.
5. Click the Compose button.

6. Click the drop-down beside the Send button.
7. Pick a date and time.
8. Click Send.

Inbox Actions

The inbox actions are as follows:

1. Folders 

1. Open: Emails that have just arrived or emails that have not been opened stay in this folder. 
2. Drafts: Emails that are composed but not sent are present in the Drafts folder.
3. Done: Emails marked as Done are sent to this folder. When work on an email is complete or an email conversation is closed, it is marked as done. When a reply comes to a conversation in the Done folder, it is reopened and moved to the Open folder.
4. Sent: Sent emails can be viewed in this folder. 
5. Reminders: Emails with reminders are sent to the Reminders folder. Skip to this section to learn more about setting up reminders.
6. Trash: Deleted emails go to Trash. Skip to the ‘Email Actions’ section to learn more about deleting emails. When a reply comes to a conversation in the Trash folder, it is reopened and moved to the Open folder.

2. Drop-down 
The drop-down on the top left allows you to switch between My Mailbox and group mailboxes. Click the drop-down and select a mailbox to view emails. 

3. Collapse
Clicking the Collapse icon hides the Folders list. Re-clicking it will display it again.

4. Mass-select
You can select all emails on the current page by clicking the Mass-select radio button and perform the below actions:

1. Mark as Done - After an email conversion ends, you can mark it as done using the Mark As Done option. Emails marked as Done are moved to the Done folder.
2. Assign - You can use the Assign option to assign the email to a user.
3. More (three dots):
   1. Mark as Read - You can use the Mark as Read option to mark an email as Read. 
   2. Mark as Unread - You can use the Mark as Unread option to mark an email as unread.
   3. Delete - This option deletes a conversation. Deleted conversations are sent to Trash.

You can also select an email individually and perform the above actions.

Follow these steps to select an email individually:

1. Hover the mouse on the email you want to select. The select radio button appears.

2. Click the radio button.

You have now successfully selected an email individually.
What does the Assign option do
When an email arrives from a customer, you can assign it to a user, which means that the user will be responsible for following up with the customer. You can mass-select emails and assign them to any user.  

5. Refresh
Clicking the Refresh button lets you refresh your inbox.

6. All
Clicking the All icon displays all emails you have received in your mailbox.

7. Unread
Clicking the Unread icon displays unread emails in your mailbox.

8. Filters
Use the Search bar on the top of the email list to look for an email. You can type keywords such as sender’s name, email subject, etc., to find emails.

9. List View
Clicking the List View icon directs you to your inbox.

10. Split View
Clicking the Split View icon you can view your inbox on the left-hand side while viewing an email. This avoids navigating back to your inbox to go to another email. You can disable this by clicking the List View.

11. Compose
Clicking the Compose button lets you compose a new email.

12. Configuration
By clicking the Settings icon you can add or delete personal and group mailboxes, edit mailbox settings, and view or edit mailroom rules.

13. Pagination
Your search for specific emails becomes easy with the pagination in Vtiger CRM. You can find it on the top-right corner above the email list.
Here is how you can use it:

1. Click on the page numbers.
2. Insert the destination page number.
3. Click Go.

Email Actions

Here are the actions you can perform on an email:

Actions available on the email list

• Create or link record: This option helps you use the details in the email; you can create a record in the CRM or link the email to a record in the CRM.

• Edit Reminder: You can create a reminder to reply to or follow up with an email by clicking the Edit Reminder option. Emails with a reminder appear on top of the email lists in a folder.

• Mark as Done: After an email conversion ends, you can mark it as done using the Mark As Done option. Emails marked as Done are moved to the Done folder.

• Mark as Read: You can use the Mark as Read option to mark an email as Read. 

• Make Private: Mark a conversation as Private by using the Make Private option displayed under the ellipsis. Private conversations are only viewable for users of the mailbox. You can identify private conversations by a Lock icon when you hover on them.

• Delete: This option deletes a conversation. Deleted conversations are sent to Trash.

Actions available on an email

• Reassign email: You can assign emails to another user by using the option displayed beside the email subject. 

• Open contact record: This option is visible beside the reassign email option only if you have the sender’s details saved as a contact. You can use it to open the contact record.

• Mark email as Private or Public: Use the toggle button on an email to mark it as private or public. Only members of a mailbox can view private emails, whereas public emails can be viewed by anybody when attached to a CRM record if they have access to the record.

• Create or link record: This option helps you use the details in the email; you can create a record in the CRM or link the email to a record in the CRM.

• Mark as Done: After an email conversion ends, you can mark it as done by using the Mark As Done option. Emails marked as Done are moved to the Done folder.

• Mark as Unread: You can use the Mark as Unread option to mark an email as unread. 

• Delete: This option deletes a conversation. Deleted conversations are sent to Trash.

Apart from the actions mentioned above, you have options such as Reply, Reply All, Forward, and Comment on an email. 

Note:

• Inbox will display the Date and Time for each email you receive. 
• They will now display the following: 
  • For emails received today- Shows only the received time (10:20 AM)
  • For emails received earlier this year - Shows date and time (25 Apr, 8:35 PM)
  • For emails received from previous years - Shows the full date (24/01/2021)