Configuring Vantaca Email Accounts to Forward from Outlook

Summary: This card will tell you how to create and add a new Forwarding email account so you can forward Outlook emails straight into Vantaca as Action Items.

 

Important: Before proceeding check organization's outlook policy in the admin account to make sure forwarding to external email addresses is allowed. This must be enabled to changed to the forwarding email reading method.

Best Practice: It is recommended that your email settings have your inbox set to automatically delete emails older than 30-days (60 days or 90 days based on preference) to prevent the inbox from getting full. Once the inbox is full emails will no longer forward to Vantaca. 

Creating a Forwarding Email

1. Go to Mailroom > Email Accounts.
2. Click the New Email Account button.
   Note: You may also edit an existing email address.
   
   1. Select Forwarding as the Email Usage Type.
      
   2. Enter the Email you'll be forwarding Outlook emails from.
      1. Note: This is what Vantaca will display as the Email Sender.
   3. An Alias is not needed for setting up Forwarding. Your alias will just end up being your Email Address. If you do add an alias, make sure there are no spaces or forward slashes - that will cause errors.
   4. Select the Email Type from the dropdown.
   5. Select an Action Type from the dropdown.
      1. Note: If an Action Type is not selected, the action item may not be created when Outlook forwards the emails.
   6. Select an Association from the dropdown if necessary, or select (All Associations)
   7. Enter a From Name in the provided field.
      1. This can be used to display as an additional from field on the email. Clients would enter their association’s name in this field to ensure homeowners aren’t confused as to who sent the email. Note: If All Association is selected, the Company name would be used instead. Example: “Vantaca Myles” is the From Name and “vantacabetatest@gmail.com” is the Email.
         
          
   8. Click Update to complete.

After you’ve filled out the new Forwarding Email Usage Type, you can take the newly created forwarding address, found in the Forwarding column, and configure the rest of the settings in Outlook. Note: The forwarding address is system generated and cannot be modified.
 

Setting up to Forward Mail in Outlook
 

1. Go to Outlook.
2. Select the Settings icon.
   
3. Select View all Outlook settings.
   
    
4. Select Mail > Forwarding.
   
5. Select Enable Forwarding and enter the associated email address from Vantaca's Forwarding column. Note: If copying and pasting, ensure there are no extra spaces before or after the email address because Outlook will give you an error saying the email is not valid.
6. Select the Keep a copy of forwarded messages checkbox if needed.
7. Select Save to complete.
   • It is recommended that your email settings have your inbox set to automatically delete emails older than 30-days (60 days or 90 days based on preference) to prevent the inbox from getting full. Once the inbox is full emails will no longer forward to Vantaca.

Important: There may be some settings configured by your Outlook Admin user that will prevent forwarding to external emails. If you're experiencing issues, be sure to contact your Admin user to ensure there are no additional settings that are blocking this feature from functioning as expected. Here is an article that might be helpful: https://docs.helpscout.com/article/1424-enable-external-forwarding-in-microsoft-365

Now, any emails that are sent to the Email you entered on the Forwarding form will be automatically forwarded to Vantaca and have an Action Item created with all of the content from the original email (depending on the Action Item configuration).

Making Sure it's Enabled

You can test that everything was set up correctly by sending an email to the Outlook account you just configured. If things went according to plan, an Action Item should have been created with your original email content!

 

FAQ

Q: How do I set up an automated response for an email account in Mailroom > Email Accounts?

A: Automated responses are configured using the Responder button on the Mailroom > Email Accounts screen. Note that this feature is currently available only for the General Inquiry From Email action type.

To set up a Responder:

1. Go to Mailroom > Email Accounts.
2. Click the Responder button for the email address linked to the General Inquiry From Email action type.
3. On the Edit Auto-Responder Email Template window, configure the following options:
   • Reply Method – Choose how a reply pulls into Vantaca: Reply Between, Reply Above, Do Not Reply, or None.
   • Reply When – Choose when the automated reply is triggered: All Messages, Never, or First Message Only.
   • Subject – Enter the subject line for the automated response.
   • Body – Enter the message content. Use the Insert Tag field to add merge tags to personalize the message.
4. Click Save once set to your liking.

Once configured, the Responder will automatically send a reply according to the settings you defined.