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Email Inbox Sync

Updated

Syncing your inbox into Insightly, with threaded conversations for synced messages.

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Inbox Sync

Inbox Sync brings email into Insightly automatically rather than requiring per-message saving. With a Synced Email Account, mail sent to or from Insightly syncs both ways with your connected Gmail, Office 365, or Outlook account, provided at least one person on the message is already a Contact or Lead in Insightly. Emails in the same conversation are grouped into threads.

Inbox Sync is available on all Insightly pricing plans.

Send an email from Insightly using a synced Outlook account and it appears in your Outlook Sent folder; replies land in your Outlook Inbox and in Insightly. Each email links itself to the right record based on the sender or recipient address.

Email Settings Page in Insightly CRM — The screenshot shows the User Settings > Email Settings screen in Insightly CRM, where a user can view and manage connected email accounts with columns for Provider, Email Address, Primary, Synced, Verified, and Actions. This page is relevant for users who need to add, verify, or troubleshoot email account connections within the CRM. Add Account Dropdown Menu Options — The screenshot shows an “Add Account” button with a dropdown menu offering two choices: “Synced Email Account” and “Classic Email Account.” This helps users understand the available options when connecting an email account to Insightly CRM.
Email Accounts Settings with Two Providers — The image shows the Email Settings page in Insightly CRM where a user has two email accounts connected: an Office 365 account and a Google account, each with options for Primary, Synced, Verified, and delete actions. This helps users understand how to manage multiple email accounts, where the Google account is set as primary and synced, while the Office 365 account is verified but not set as primary or synced. Email Sync Settings Checkbox in Insightly — The screenshot shows the Link & Mailbox Settings panel in Insightly, with the Email Sync Settings section highlighted, displaying a checked option to opt-in for creating Contacts or Organizations when syncing emails. This setting is relevant for users who want to understand how to automatically generate CRM records from incoming emails.

Setting up email sync

  1. Click your profile icon in the top-right corner and go to User Settings.
  2. Select Email Settings from the left-hand menu.
  3. In the Email Accounts section, click Add Account.
  4. Choose Synced Email Account from the dropdown.
  5. Enter the email address you want to sync.
  6. You are redirected to your provider’s authentication page: Google, Microsoft, or Outlook.
  7. After authenticating, the account appears in the Email Accounts list with a verification checkmark.
  8. To make it your default sending address, select Primary. A confirmation message reads “Email Account Synced.”

Synced is checked by default on a newly connected account. Unchecking it means only mail sent from Insightly is saved in Insightly; mail sent from Outlook is not.

Deactivating a synced account stops future replies from syncing. Previously synced threads stay in Insightly.

⚠️ Sync switches itself off after 30 days of inactivity. Accounts that go unused for more than 30 days have email sync disabled automatically. At your next login you are prompted to reauthorize the email account before syncing resumes.

What syncs, and what does not

Only emails including at least one existing Contact or Lead sync into Insightly. Every sender and recipient address on the message is checked against existing records, and one match is enough.

An existing Contact or Lead has to be present to trigger that first sync. After it, Insightly can create Contact records for the other participants on the thread, but only if you turn that on.

To manage it, go to Email Settings > Email Sync Settings and enable Opt-in on creating Contacts or Organizations when Syncing Emails. Enabled, new Contact records are created from synced email participants. Disabled, no records are created from email data.

Attachments on synced emails are saved to Related > Files on the matching record, with file type and size shown.

Replies from a Contact or Lead are logged automatically in the Emails list and in the Activity tab of related records. On a Synced Email Account they join the existing thread instead of appearing as separate records. You can carry a conversation on from Gmail or Outlook and it syncs back.

You get real-time notifications for new emails, with key details and direct links to the associated Contacts, Leads, or Opportunities.

Threaded conversations

Insightly groups related emails into threaded conversations the way Gmail and Outlook do, so a record shows the full back-and-forth in one place rather than scattered individual messages.

Threading requires a Synced Email Account. Since Synced Email is included on every plan tier, every customer can get to it. Classic Email accounts get the redesigned interface and the new send/reply modal, but not threading, because of architectural limits. To switch, go to User Settings > Email Settings > Add Account > Synced Email Account.

On a synced account you get a thread counter showing how many emails are in each conversation, the full history in one view covering both sent and received messages, threads across all email views (All Emails, Sent, Received, Shared, Scheduled, and custom views), and threads in the Activity tab on Contacts, Organizations, Opportunities, Projects, and other records. Existing emails are grouped automatically; no records are lost in the regrouping.

Email tracking events (opens and clicks) now appear inside the individual email in the thread that triggered them, rather than at the top of the email view.

The email view and send/reply modal

All users see the updated email interface regardless of account type. The header carries the subject line, star icon, reply and forward buttons, AI features, print, and an actions menu. The top section shows thread owner, participants, tags, and timestamps. Tabs cover Details (the full conversation history), Comments, Related records, and Tasks. The actions menu creates an Opportunity, Project, Task, or Lead, manages permissions, or deletes.

Composing and replying both use one modal, which works with Classic and Synced accounts alike:

  • Multi-account selection. Choose which connected account to send from.
  • Recipient management. Search contacts as you type; recipients appear as removable chips.
  • Email templates. Pick a template to populate the body. Individual sending only.
  • Merge fields. Insert contact-specific fields that resolve per recipient. Individual sending only.
  • Individual versus group sending. Individual is the default and sends a separate email to each recipient, which is what makes templates and merge fields work. Group email puts everyone on one thread and supports neither.
  • Scheduled sending. Pick a future date and time.

⚠️ Per-recipient editing is gone. The preview step shows how merge fields resolve for each recipient, but the body can no longer be edited per recipient inside a single send. To send different content to different people, compose and send separately.

AI features

AI works on whole threads rather than individual emails. Summarize Thread produces a summary of the full conversation history. Generate Reply drafts a context-aware reply from the full thread and inserts it into the send/reply modal.

Settings that have been removed

⚠️ Two settings no longer exist. Customers looking for either will not find them.

Open Gmail for Google Apps to Send Emails. No longer available. Reply now opens the reply modal inside Insightly instead of redirecting to Gmail. Gmail and Outlook remain usable directly, outside Insightly.

Custom email layouts. The Email Object has been removed from System Settings > Objects & Fields, and custom email view layouts are no longer supported. Accounts that had custom email layouts were contacted directly before the change took effect. Insightly Support can advise on replicating a previous workflow.

Synced versus Classic accounts

Synced Email Account (recommended) Classic Email Account
Bi-directional inbox sync Yes No
Threaded conversations Yes No
Full conversation history in one view Yes No
Unified send/reply modal Yes Yes
AI summaries and replies Thread-level Yes
Syncing with Gmail or Outlook folders Yes No
Redesigned email interface Yes Yes

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