Syncro can automatically create Tickets from inbound emails whenever the sender's email address matches an existing Customer (or a Contact of the Customer). 

Prerequisites

Syncro's Leads module functions as an inbox, where all incoming emails and web form submissions show up. Think of a Lead as a lightweight inbound contact request.

To automatically convert inbound emails into Tickets, you must first enable Leads. To do this:

1. Navigate to Admin > Leads - Preferences.
2. Check the “Enable Leads Module” box.
3. Click Save.

Then decide which method you'll use to convert your Leads to Tickets:

• Method 1: Set Up a Mailbox to Use Your Custom-branded Email Address, such as support@mycompany.com. This method is recommended, despite requiring a little more effort. That's because it will look more professional and give you more branding options. 
• Method 2: Use the Default Syncro-provided Email Address, such as yourdomain@syncroemail.com. Customers will email you at this address, and it will be your “From” address when you reply. It's the simpler method but uses Syncro's branding.

Set Up a Mailbox to Use Your Custom-branded Email Address

Set Up Your SPF Record

A Sender Policy Framework (SPF) record is a type of DNS TXT record that lists the mail servers and domains that are allowed to send emails on behalf of a domain. SPF records are a primary way to authenticate email and help protect senders and recipients from spam, spoofing, and phishing.

For this method, you'll need to create an SPF record so that other mail servers know Syncro is allowed to send email on your behalf. 

If you already have an existing SPF record created (e.g., with Office 365), insert the IP for Syncro's server--which is 168.245.102.208 into it.

With Office 365 your existing SPF record looks like this:

v=spf1 include:spf.protection.outlook.com -all

So the new SPF record would look like this:

v=spf1 include:spf.protection.outlook.com +ip4:168.245.102.208 -all

If you don't already have an SPF record, make a new DNS record like this:

DNS Record Type: TXT    
v=spf1 +ip4:168.245.102.208 -all

Note: Syncro's outgoing email provider, Sendgrid, may employ various sending IP addresses in addition to the one listed. These addresses may change over time. If the above IP address isn't working for you, you may want to check your email headers for the sending IP address and add it to your SPF record as well.

Create a New Mailbox

To create your new Mailbox, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to Admin > Emails - Mailboxes.
2. Click +New Mailbox.
3. Change the Mailbox Display Name to something meaningful.
4. Enter your Email Address, such as support@yourcompany.com.
5. Click the “Automatically Create Tickets from Emails to This Mailbox” dropdown and select your desired option:

6. Use the “Select Delivery Method” dropdown to associate a SMTP connection with a Mailbox (if you've created one), or to choose to use the System Default (Internal Email) for delivery. If a Ticket fails to be created, it will still make a Lead, so if you check the:

• “Send Lead/Ticket Autoresponder (Respectively)” box, Syncro will use the Lead and Ticket Autoresponder templates when the Ticket is created. Click the links at the bottom of this page to see a preview of these templates in a new browser window.
• “Enable After-Hours Autoresponders” box, you can create separate autoresponders for both Leads and Tickets that are sent out inside and outside of your set business hours. 

Tip: Click one or both links to preview the Lead/Ticket Autoresponder templates. See also step 8.

7. If you set the “Automatically Create Tickets from Emails to This Mailbox” dropdown value to “Always” or “Only for Existing Customers,” additional fields appear. You can optionally preset the Issue Type, Ticket Status, and Assign the Ticket to someone.
8. Optionally, click Advanced - Autoresponder Override to create new Lead and Ticket Autoresponder templates you selected in step 6:
   
   Note: What you specify for Lead and/or Ticket Autoresponders here will override any you previously customized in PDF Templates > Emails. These autoresponders will be used for this specific Mailbox only.
9. Click Create Mailbox. Syncro displays an Activation Steps section to the right of the fields you just completed:   
   

Activate the Mailbox & Choose Outbound Categories

In the Activation Steps section of the appropriate Mailbox, follow the steps listed on the screen to forward your email address to Syncro and send us a test email.  

Note: You can also find these instructions by navigating to Admin > Emails - Mailboxes and clicking the Edit (pencil) icon next to the mailbox you want to activate:

Tip: If you are unable to activate your Mailbox, be sure to allowlist the forwarding address to prevent Syncro from blocking it. Also verify you've entered the long email string correctly. A common reason the Mailbox won't activate is because an email is not getting sent to the correct address.

Once you have an Active Mailbox, you can adjust the Outbound column to one or more Email categories including Billing, Marketing, and Support. 

Click the dropdown menu to choose the categories you want associated with the Mailbox. 

About the Email Categories

Syncro categorizes outbound emails into three groups:

1. Support: All Ticket-related communication, including:

2. Billing: Invoicing, Estimates, Purchase Order (PO)-related email communications:

3. Marketing: all Mailer-based communications including Mailer and Mailer Campaign Email.

When your Syncro account is made, so is the System Default Mailbox. By default, this Mailbox is used for all outbound emails.

However, you may configure your Mailboxes and assign them to one or more outbound email categories. For example, you may want to have an outbound “support@” email for Tickets while having a “billing@” email address for your billing communications.

Once an Outbound email category is assigned, any email triggered from those areas of Syncro will be sent using that Mailbox.   

Note: The Billing and Support categories can only be assigned to one Mailbox at a time. The Marketing category can be assigned to more than one Mailbox.
 

Use the Default Syncro-provided Email Address

If you do not want to set up an external email address to convert emails/Leads to Tickets, you can simply use the default Syncro-provided email address and enable a setting.

IMPORTANT: If you change your subdomain, that email address will change to reflect it. Make sure to let your Customers know about any such change, as the old email will no longer work.

To have incoming emails automatically converted to Tickets, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to Admin > Tickets - Preferences.
2. Check the “Create Tickets from Leads (If Valid)” checkbox.
3. Click Save.

Notes: 

• This setting affects any inbound email to your default email that isn't already another type of classifiable message, like a reply to an existing Ticket or Estimate.
• This setting does NOT affect any Mailboxes that exist (as described for Method 1); it's only for messages sent to your default email address. You can use Mailboxes and your default email address simultaneously, but Syncro recommends using one or the other to prevent confusion.

Troubleshooting

The table below describes common issues and errors, and how to correct them.