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Email Sync (Alpha) Documentation

Menu Location: Tools > Email Sync (Alpha)

Access Level: Administrator and above

Last Updated: 2026-03-01

Overview

Email Sync is an experimental feature that connects your email inbox to the customer management system, automatically logging customer communications and creating support tickets from inbound emails. This alpha version is currently in testing and may have limitations.

Primary Functions:

  • Automatically log customer emails to their account
  • Create support tickets from customer inquiries
  • Track email response times
  • Centralize customer communication history
  • Enable team collaboration on customer issues

⚠️ Alpha Status Note: This feature is experimental and may have bugs or limitations. Use with caution in production environments.

Page Layout

Header Section

  • Page Title: "Email Sync (Alpha)"
  • Status Indicator: Connection status (Connected/Disconnected)
  • Sync Now Button: Manual sync trigger
  • Settings Link: Configure email connection

Connection Status

  • Email Account: Connected email address
  • Last Sync: Timestamp of last synchronization
  • Emails Synced: Count of emails processed
  • Errors: Count of sync errors
  • Connection Health: Green (good), Yellow (issues), Red (disconnected)

Recent Synced Emails

Table showing recently processed emails:

  • From: Sender email address
  • Subject: Email subject line
  • Date: Email timestamp
  • Customer Match: Matched customer or "No match"
  • Status: Synced, Error, Pending
  • Actions: View, Assign to customer, Create ticket

Sync Log

  • Activity Feed: Recent sync events
  • Error Messages: Failed sync attempts
  • Manual Actions Needed: Emails requiring attention

Setting Up Email Sync

Initial Configuration

Requirements:

  • Gmail or Office 365 email account
  • Admin access to email account
  • OAuth authentication enabled

Setup Steps:

  1. Click "Settings" link
  2. Click "Connect Email Account"
  3. Select email provider (Gmail or Office 365)
  4. Authorize access (OAuth popup)
  5. Grant necessary permissions
  6. Select which mailbox/folder to sync
  7. Choose sync direction (see below)
  8. Click "Save and Test Connection"
  9. Verify test email syncs correctly

Sync Direction Options

Inbound Only (Recommended):

  • Syncs customer emails TO you
  • Logs in customer records
  • Creates support tickets
  • No outbound sync

Bidirectional:

  • Syncs inbound AND outbound emails
  • Logs both directions
  • More complete history
  • Higher complexity

Manual Selection:

  • Only sync emails you manually select
  • Full control
  • More manual work

How Email Sync Works

Automatic Customer Matching

Matching Process:

  1. Email arrives in connected inbox
  2. System checks sender email address
  3. Searches for customer with matching email
  4. If found: Email logged to that customer's account
  5. If not found: Email flagged for manual assignment

Matching Accuracy:

  • Exact email match: 100% confidence
  • Similar email (variations): 80% confidence, flagged for review
  • No match: Requires manual assignment

Ticket Creation Rules

Automatic Ticket Creation:

  • Email from customer with no open ticket → Creates new ticket
  • Email references existing ticket (RE: Ticket #123) → Adds to existing ticket
  • Email chain continues → Updates same ticket

Ticket Fields:

  • Subject: Email subject line
  • Description: Email body
  • Customer: Matched customer
  • Priority: Auto-assigned based on keywords
  • Assigned To: Round-robin or rule-based assignment

Priority Keywords:

  • "urgent", "emergency", "asap" → High priority
  • "broken", "not working", "error" → Medium priority
  • "question", "when", "how" → Normal priority

Managing Synced Emails

Manual Customer Assignment

When Email Has No Match:

  1. Email appears in "Needs Review" section
  2. Click "Assign to Customer"
  3. Search for correct customer
  4. Select customer from results
  5. Click "Assign"
  6. Email now logged to that customer

Creating New Customer:

  1. If customer doesn't exist yet
  2. Click "Create New Customer" from email
  3. Email pre-fills customer info
  4. Complete customer details
  5. Customer created and email assigned

Creating Tickets from Emails

Manual Ticket Creation:

  1. Find email in Recent Synced Emails
  2. Click "Create Ticket"
  3. Verify customer assignment
  4. Edit subject/description if needed
  5. Set priority and assignment
  6. Click "Create"
  7. Ticket created, customer notified

Bulk Ticket Creation:

  1. Select multiple unprocessed emails
  2. Click "Create Tickets"
  3. Tickets created for each
  4. Auto-assigned to team members

Sync Settings

Email Filters

Include Rules:

  • Only sync emails from customers
  • Only sync emails with specific subject keywords
  • Only sync emails to specific address (e.g., support@)

Exclude Rules:

  • Ignore automated emails (newsletters, receipts)
  • Ignore spam/junk
  • Ignore internal team emails
  • Ignore vendor/supplier emails

Example Filter:

  • Include: Emails TO [email protected]
  • Exclude: FROM noreply@, FROM no-reply@
  • Exclude: SUBJECT contains "unsubscribe", "newsletter"

Sync Frequency

Options:

  • Real-time: Sync as emails arrive (recommended)
  • Every 5 minutes: Near real-time with less API load
  • Every 15 minutes: Standard frequency
  • Hourly: Low-volume inbox
  • Manual only: No automatic sync

Notification Settings

Notify Team When:

  • New ticket created from email
  • High-priority email received
  • Email can't be matched to customer
  • Sync error occurs

Notification Methods:

  • Email notification
  • In-app notification
  • SMS (for high-priority)
  • Slack/Teams integration (if configured)

Common Use Cases

Use Case 1: Centralized Customer Communication

Goal: All customer emails logged in one place

Steps:

  1. Connect primary support email ([email protected])
  2. Configure to sync inbound emails
  3. Set auto-match to customer accounts
  4. Enable ticket creation for new inquiries
  5. All customer emails now logged automatically
  6. Team members view email history in Customer Detail

Result: Complete communication history per customer

Use Case 2: Faster Response Times

Goal: Ensure customer emails addressed promptly

Steps:

  1. Enable real-time sync
  2. Configure priority keywords (urgent, broken, etc.)
  3. Set up notifications for high-priority emails
  4. Auto-assign tickets to on-call team member
  5. Team notified immediately of urgent issues
  6. Response time improves

Result: Reduced response time, improved satisfaction

Use Case 3: Prevent Duplicate Responses

Goal: Avoid multiple team members responding to same email

Steps:

  1. Email syncs, creates ticket
  2. Team member claims ticket
  3. Ticket shows "Assigned to John"
  4. Other team members see it's being handled
  5. Only assigned person responds
  6. No duplicate or conflicting responses

Result: Coordinated customer communication

Use Case 4: Track Response Metrics

Goal: Measure team email response performance

Steps:

  1. Enable email sync
  2. Track: Time from email received to first response
  3. Track: Time to resolution
  4. Generate reports on response times
  5. Identify patterns and bottlenecks
  6. Improve processes based on data

Result: Data-driven customer service improvements

Use Case 5: Historical Reference

Goal: Review past customer conversations

Steps:

  1. Customer calls with question
  2. Agent pulls up Customer Detail
  3. Reviews email history
  4. Sees previous conversations on same topic
  5. Provides informed, consistent response
  6. Customer appreciates continuity

Result: Better informed customer service

Troubleshooting

Emails Not Syncing

Symptoms:

  • Recent emails not appearing
  • Last Sync time not updating
  • Sync status shows disconnected

Check:

  1. Connection status - still authenticated?
  2. Email account password changed?
  3. OAuth token expired?
  4. Email provider API down?

Solutions:

  1. Disconnect and reconnect email account
  2. Re-authorize with updated credentials
  3. Test connection in Settings
  4. Check email provider status page
  5. Manual sync to force refresh

Emails Matching Wrong Customer

Symptoms:

  • Email assigned to incorrect customer
  • Two customers have same email address
  • Automated match incorrect

Check:

  1. Do multiple customers share email? (family accounts)
  2. Customer email updated but old email still stored?
  3. Matching rules too loose?

Solutions:

  1. Manually reassign email to correct customer
  2. Update customer email addresses
  3. Tighten matching rules (exact match only)
  4. Flag shared emails for manual review

Tickets Not Creating Automatically

Symptoms:

  • Emails sync but no tickets created
  • Have to manually create tickets

Check:

  1. Automatic ticket creation enabled?
  2. Email meeting ticket creation criteria?
  3. Customer already has open ticket?

Solutions:

  1. Enable auto-ticket creation in Settings
  2. Review ticket creation rules
  3. Configure to allow multiple open tickets per customer
  4. Manually create tickets as needed

Too Many Spam/Irrelevant Emails Syncing

Symptoms:

  • Newsletters syncing
  • Vendor emails syncing
  • Automated emails cluttering

Check:

  1. Exclude rules configured?
  2. Spam filter working?

Solutions:

  1. Add exclude rules for common spam patterns
  2. Exclude "noreply@" addresses
  3. Exclude newsletter keywords
  4. Configure email provider's spam filter
  5. Regularly review and update exclude rules

Alpha Version Limitations

Known Issues

Attachment Handling:

  • Large attachments (>10MB) may fail to sync
  • Some attachment types not supported
  • Workaround: Download attachments manually

HTML Email Formatting:

  • Complex HTML may not render perfectly
  • Formatting may be lost in sync
  • Plain text version used as fallback

Email Threading:

  • Thread detection works most of the time
  • Occasional missed thread connections
  • Manual ticket linking may be needed

Sync Speed:

  • High-volume inboxes (100+ emails/day) may lag
  • Consider filtering to support emails only

Feature Roadmap

Planned Improvements:

  • Better attachment support
  • Improved threading detection
  • Custom matching rules
  • More email providers (Outlook, Yahoo)
  • SMS integration
  • WhatsApp/chat integration
  • Customers - View email logs in customer accounts
  • Support Tickets - Manage tickets created from emails
  • Email Templates - Send templated responses
  • Team Management - Configure ticket assignment

Best Practices

Configuration

  1. Start with one inbox - test with support@ before expanding
  2. Use strict matching - exact email match only initially
  3. Test thoroughly - verify matching accuracy before full rollout
  4. Set clear rules - document what gets synced and what doesn't

Ongoing Management

  1. Review unmatched daily - assign to customers promptly
  2. Update exclude rules - as new spam patterns emerge
  3. Monitor sync health - check for errors weekly
  4. Train team - ensure everyone understands the system

Customer Communication

  1. Respond professionally - all emails now logged permanently
  2. Use templates - consistent, quality responses
  3. Check history first - review past emails before responding
  4. Tag appropriately - use tags for easy searching later

Things to Avoid

  • Don't sync personal inboxes (use dedicated support email)
  • Don't auto-create tickets without reviewing rules first
  • Don't ignore unmatched emails (assign promptly)
  • Don't disable sync without backing up data

Quick Reference Card

Task Action/Location
Connect email account Settings > Connect Email Account
Manual sync Click "Sync Now" button
Assign unmatched email Needs Review > Assign to Customer
Create ticket from email Email actions > Create Ticket
View sync errors Scroll to Sync Log section
Update filters Settings > Email Filters
Test connection Settings > Test Connection
Disconnect account Settings > Disconnect
Review email in customer account Customer Detail > Notes/Email Log
Change sync frequency Settings > Sync Frequency

FAQs

Is this feature production-ready?

No, it's in Alpha. Use cautiously. Back up critical communications. Report bugs to Kiva Logic.

Can I sync multiple email accounts?

Currently supports one account. Multi-account support planned for future release.

What happens to emails if I disconnect?

Previously synced emails remain logged. New emails won't sync. Can reconnect anytime without losing history.

Can customers see their emails in their account?

No, email logs are admin-only unless you specifically share email contents with customer.

Does this replace our email system?

No, this supplements your email. You still send/receive through normal email client. This just logs communications to customer records.

How secure is the email sync?

Uses OAuth authentication (secure). Emails stored encrypted. Access controlled by admin permissions.

Can I sync sent emails too?

Yes, if bidirectional sync enabled. Logs both inbound and outbound emails.

What about email privacy regulations?

Ensure compliance with GDPR, CAN-SPAM, etc. Only sync business-related customer communications. Have privacy policy disclosing email logging.

Can I delete synced emails?

Yes, you can delete from customer record. Does not delete from actual email inbox.

When will this be out of alpha?

No firm timeline. Based on testing feedback and bug fixes. Kiva Logic will announce when stable.

Change Log

2026-03-01

  • Initial documentation created
  • All sections completed following template structure

End of Documentation

For additional help, contact your system administrator or Kiva Logic support.