Send Emails Via Google Gmail or G Suite

Using HirePOS to send emails via your Gmail or G Suite account can be very beneficial, it will reduce the chances of emails going into Spam drastically, and sent emails will appear directly in your Gmail "Sent" box. However, there are often some additional steps that must be completed before it will work, which are noted in this article (for G Suite and Gmail) and in another article for Microsoft Office 365.

Configuring G Suite (Gmail) for SMTP Relay

As with Microsoft Office 365, Google's Gmail is not always ready 'out of the box' to work with HirePOS. There are often a series of configuration alterations and checks that should be considered when troubleshooting an HirePOS > Gmail SMTP connection.

This is best undertaken by your IT person, or someone with some technical understanding in configuring email services.

Please see the following article from google covering the checks required to ensure a seamless email experience.

https://support.google.com/a/answer/2956491?hl=en

Setting up HirePOS to use Gmail or G Suite

1. Navigate to Setup > Preferences > Email Templates & Settings
2. Press the Edit cog link to the right of the From Address

   

3. Select either Main Business Email or Other Business Email Address from the first set of options
   1. In the case of Other Business Email Address be sure to set an address that has "send as" permissions enabled for the Office 365 account you are planning to add. (by default, the only address you are able to send as will be the actual address of the account)
   Important: You will only be able to send from an address that has "send as" permissions in the Gmail account you are adding.
4. Below the email address field on this screen, select the option Your SMTP Server
5. Press the SMTP Settings button

The SMTP Settings Page

1. Enter your SMTP Username. In the case of an Office 365 account, this will typically be your gmail or g suite email address.
2. Enter your SMTP Password. This is the same password you would use to log into gmail or g suite the above username.
3. Enter the SMTP Server. This is typically smtp-relay.gmail.com
4. Enter the SMTP Port. This is typically 587
5. Select Use SSL
6. If you have a secondary account you wish to add, press Add Another SMTP Account, and repeat the above
7. Press Save Changes

Testing if it worked

1. After saving, navigate to CRM > Send Email (or attempt to email a booking or invoice to yourself)
2. Ensure the From: address is set as the email address you have just set up
3. Enter your own email address or the address of another inbox you have access to in the To: field
4. Add a subject like test or similar
5. Add some body test like test or similar
6. Press Send
7. Give it a couple of minutes, and check the sender information on the email you should have received in your inbox.

It didn't work...

I got an error

It never arrived

• Give it a couple more minutes... sometimes emails are slow.
• Check the junk / spam folder in the planned recipients email account
• Ensure that all addresses have been entered properly
• Contact your IT department to see if it has been caught up in their filters before it got delivered

Limitations of using your own SMTP server

The main limitation of this method, is HirePOS can only use two different emails to send out, Unless your email account has permissions to "Send as" a different account in the same domain.

Alternatives

Connecting your own SMTP server is far from the only option available for setting up spam free email with your branding on them. Consider authenticating your domain with HirePOS (giving HirePOS proper permission to pretend to be you when sending email).

Many people find that custom branding is less important than ensuring the mail absolutely arrives at its destination. If this sounds like you, consider using the in-built, ready to go, hirepos-messaging@hirepos.com option.