Channels Integration

Understanding Inbox Channels

Inbox channels in AchieveApex allow you to connect different communication sources to your ticket management system. When properly configured, emails sent to your support addresses will automatically create tickets in your AchieveApex account, enabling centralized management of all customer communications.

Supported Channel Types

AchieveApex currently supports the following inbox channel types:

• Gmail: Connect Google Workspace or personal Gmail accounts
• Outlook: Connect Microsoft 365 or Outlook.com accounts

Setting Up Email Inbox Channels

Setting up email inbox channels allows AchieveApex to create tickets from incoming emails and send responses from within the platform. This section covers how to connect your email accounts to AchieveApex.

Accessing Inbox Channel Settings

To access the inbox channel settings:

1. Navigate to your organization's settings page
2. Select "Inbox Channels" from the left navigation menu
3. You'll see a list of any existing connected inboxes and options to add new ones

Connecting a Gmail Account

To connect a Gmail account to AchieveApex:

1. In the Inbox Channels section, click "Connect Gmail"
2. A Google authentication window will open
3. Sign in with the Gmail account you want to use for support
4. Review and accept the permissions requested by AchieveApex
5. You'll be redirected back to AchieveApex once authentication is complete
6. Configure additional settings for your Gmail channel (see below)
7. Click "Save" to finalize the connection

Connecting an Outlook Account

To connect a Microsoft Outlook account:

1. In the Inbox Channels section, click "Connect Outlook"
2. A Microsoft authentication window will open
3. Sign in with your Microsoft 365 or Outlook.com account credentials
4. Review and accept the permissions requested by AchieveApex
5. You'll be redirected back to AchieveApex once authentication is complete
6. Configure additional settings for your Outlook channel (see below)
7. Click "Save" to finalize the connection

Configuring Inbox Channel Settings

After connecting an email account, you can configure additional settings:

• Display Name: A name for this inbox channel (e.g., "Technical Support" or "Billing Inquiries")
• Email Address: This will be filled automatically based on the connected account
• Default Status: The initial status assigned to new tickets from this channel
• Default Priority: The default priority for tickets created from this channel
• Default Assignee: The team member to whom new tickets will be assigned (optional)
• Auto-tagging Rules: Automatically apply tags based on email content or sender (optional)

Managing Email-to-Ticket Conversion

Once you've connected an inbox channel, AchieveApex will automatically convert incoming emails to tickets. This section explains how this process works and how to configure it.

How Email-to-Ticket Conversion Works

When an email is sent to your connected inbox:

1. AchieveApex detects the new email
2. The system creates a new ticket with:
   • The email subject as the ticket subject
   • The email body as the first message in the ticket
   • The sender's email address used to identify or create a contact record
   • Any attachments included in the ticket
3. Default status, priority, and assignments are applied based on your settings
4. Auto-tagging rules are processed if configured
5. Notifications are sent to assigned team members (if enabled)

Email Threading

AchieveApex maintains email threading to ensure all replies are properly organized:

• All replies to the original email are added to the same ticket
• Email headers are maintained to preserve proper threading
• When you reply from AchieveApex, your response will appear in the customer's email thread

Email Filtering

You can control which emails create tickets with filtering rules:

1. In the Inbox Channel settings, locate the "Email Filters" section
2. Click "Add Filter" to create a new rule
3. Specify conditions based on:
   • Sender email addresses (include or exclude specific domains or addresses)
   • Subject line keywords
   • Email content
4. Choose the action to take when the filter conditions are met:
   • Create a ticket (with optional custom settings)
   • Ignore the email (no ticket will be created)
   • Forward to another address
5. Save your filter rule

Email Channel Limitations

It's important to understand that AchieveApex currently supports connecting only one email channel from a single provider. This means you can connect either:

• One Gmail account, OR
• One Outlook account

Using Your Email Channel Effectively

Since you can only connect one email account, choose your support email address carefully:

• Use a General Support Address: Consider using a general address like support@yourcompany.com rather than department-specific emails
• Email Forwarding: You can set up forwarding rules in your email provider to direct emails from multiple addresses to your single connected support inbox
• Email Filtering: Use the filtering features described above to categorize and prioritize tickets from your single email channel

Working with a Single Channel

When working with a single email channel:

• Use ticket tags to categorize tickets by department or purpose
• Create custom ticket views filtered by tags for different team members
• Configure email filters based on the subject line or sender to apply automatic tagging
• Use ticket assignment rules to route tickets to the appropriate team members

Troubleshooting Channel Connections

If you encounter issues with your inbox channel connection, try these troubleshooting steps.

Common Issues and Solutions

Reconnecting a Channel

If you need to reconnect an email channel:

1. Go to the Inbox Channels section in settings
2. Find the problematic channel in the list
3. Click the "Reconnect" button
4. Follow the authentication process again
5. Verify that the connection works by sending a test email

Best Practices for Channel Management

• Clear Naming Conventions: Use descriptive names for your channels to easily identify their purpose
• Regular Authentication Checks: Periodically verify that your channel connections are working properly
• Organized Routing: Create logical email filtering rules to ensure tickets are properly categorized
• Team Training: Ensure all team members understand which channels to use for different types of responses
• Response Templates: Create channel-specific response templates that match the branding and tone for each channel
• Regular Audits: Periodically review your channels to ensure they're still needed and properly configured

Next Steps

Now that you understand how to connect and manage email channels for tickets, you may want to explore:

• Setting up automated workflows for ticket assignment based on channel source
• Creating channel-specific response templates
• Configuring more advanced filtering rules
• Managing tickets that come in through your connected channels