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Create Your First Mailbox

This guide walks you through creating your first inbound email address in MSPintegrations and configuring it to automatically create and update tickets in Autotask. By the end, you will have a working mailbox that converts support emails into tickets and routes replies to the correct existing ticket.

Overview​

MSPintegrations processes inbound email through mailboxes and rules. Each mailbox has one or more rules, and each rule has one or more action steps. When an email arrives, rules are evaluated top-to-bottom until one stops processing.

The fundamental pattern for a support mailbox is two action steps in one rule:

  1. Update Existing Autotask Ticket - runs first, looks for an existing ticket to add a note to
  2. Create Autotask Ticket - runs second, only if the first step did not find an existing ticket

This ensures every email either updates an existing ticket or creates a new one, and never does both.

Related pages:

Step-by-Step Playbook​

Step 1: Activate a Hosted Domain​

A hosted domain is an inbound email domain managed entirely by MSPintegrations. It is the fastest way to get started because there is no DNS configuration required and the address is ready immediately after activation.

  1. Navigate to Email2AT in the console
  2. Click Hosted Mailboxes
  3. Click the Add New Domain field
  4. Enter a subdomain prefix for your account (for example, your-company)
  5. Choose one of the top-level domains provided in the dropdown (for example, onmspi.net)
  6. Click Activate

The domain is active instantly. You can start receiving email at any address on that domain right away.

Choosing a subdomain

Pick something that represents the client or use case. For example, acme-corp.onmspi.net for a customer-specific address, or support.onmspi.net for a shared support address.

Step 2: Create a Hosted Mailbox​

With the domain active, create the mailbox itself.

  1. Click New Hosted Mailbox
  2. Set Address Type to Standard Mailbox
  3. Enter an Email Address Prefix - this is the part before the @ sign (for example, support)
  4. Select the domain you just activated
  5. Click Save

You now have a working email address (for example, [email protected]). Emails sent to this address will appear in your MSPintegrations history, but nothing will happen with them until you add rules.

Testing before going live

You can send email directly to this hosted mailbox address to test your rules at any time. You do not need to reconfigure your live support address to start testing. Once everything is working, see Going Live at the end of this guide.

Step 3: Create the Rule​

A rule is a named container for one or more action steps. One rule can handle both updating and creating tickets.

  1. Click Add New Rule (or the equivalent button in the mailbox editor)
  2. Name the rule something descriptive, such as Create or Update Autotask Ticket
  3. Leave the Expression empty so that the rule fires for every inbound email
About Expressions

The Expression field lets you filter which emails trigger a rule. Leave it empty for a general-purpose support mailbox so every email is processed. Here are a few examples of how expressions can be used:

  • Subject line filter: Only fire this rule when the subject starts with ALERT: - useful for dedicated monitoring mailboxes
  • From address filter: Only process emails from a specific sender, such as [email protected] - useful when a third-party system sends notifications to a shared mailbox and you only want certain messages to create tickets
  • Suppression: Stop processing entirely when the from address ends with @microsoft.com - useful to block unwanted automated mail

Learn more about the Expression Builder

Step 4: Add the "Update Existing Ticket" Action​

This action runs first in the workflow. It scans the email for an Autotask ticket number and, if found, adds a note to that ticket. If no ticket number is found, it optionally checks Reply-All Storm Catcher™ to see whether the email is part of a thread that has already been associated with a ticket - even without a ticket number in the subject line.

To add the action:

  1. Click Add New Action
  2. In the modal window that opens, select Update Existing Autotask Ticket from the action list
  3. Click OK - the action will be displayed and expanded automatically
  4. Enter a name for this step (for example, Update Existing Ticket in Autotask)

Configuration - Ticket Matching:

FieldRecommendation
Fields to Search for Ticket NumberLeave as email.subject (the default)
Enable Reply-All Storm Catcher™Enable - routes threaded replies to the correct ticket even when no ticket number is present (learn more)
Follow trail of merged ticketsEnable - ensures notes go to the final active ticket if the original was merged

Configuration - Ticket Note:

FieldRecommendation
TitleLeave as default
DescriptionLeave as default

Configuration - Change Ticket Status:

FieldRecommendation
Ticket Status After UpdateSet to whichever status you have defined in your Autotask instance to indicate a customer has replied (for example, "Customer Added Note," "Note Added," or "Customer Applied"). You may need to create a new status if none fits. Leave empty to keep the ticket's current status unchanged.

Configuration - Attachments:

SettingRecommendation
Attach email attachments to ticketEnable
Prevent duplicate attachmentsEnable

Configuration - Advanced:

SettingRecommendation
Add email recipients as Additional ContactsEnable if you use Autotask Additional Contacts (learn more)
Suppress Autotask API exceptionsLeave unchecked

Action When Complete: Set to Stop processing the actions on this rule and all other rules - this prevents the Create action from also running.

Full configuration reference: Update Existing Autotask Ticket

Step 5: Add the "Create New Ticket" Action​

This is the second action in the workflow builder. It runs only when the Update action did not find an existing ticket - meaning this is a new support request rather than a reply.

To add the action:

  1. Click Add New Action
  2. In the modal window, select Create Autotask Ticket from the action list
  3. Click OK - the action will be displayed and expanded automatically
  4. Enter a name for this step (for example, Create Ticket in Autotask)

Configuration - Contact and Account matching:

FieldRecommendation
Locate contact byLeave as From Address - matches the sender's email to an Autotask Contact
Create new account if unmatchedLeave unchecked to start. Enable later if you want unknown senders to automatically create new Accounts
Default accountSet to your zero Account or a dedicated "Unknown Senders" Account
New contact creationCheck the first box (create contact if a matching Account is found). Leave the second box unchecked (do not create contact when falling back to the default Account)

Configuration - Ticket fields:

FieldRecommendation
TitleUse the default template - it handles emails with no subject line, which Autotask would otherwise reject
DescriptionUse the default template that includes To, From, Subject, and email body
StatusNew
QueueYour primary support queue
SourceCreate a dedicated Autotask source named after the mailbox address (for example, [email protected]) for clean reporting
PrioritySet as appropriate
Using the { shortcut

In any text field inside an action step, type { to open the variable autocomplete menu. Every email property and metadata variable available to your rule will appear. This is the fastest way to explore what data you can include in ticket fields.

Configuration - Attachments:

SettingRecommendation
Attach email attachments to ticketEnable
Prevent duplicate attachmentsEnable - prevents signature images from being re-attached every time a customer replies
Attach original email as .eml fileEnable if customers may send formatted emails that you want to view in full fidelity

Configuration - Advanced:

SettingRecommendation
Add all email recipients as additional contactsEnable if you use Autotask Additional Contacts (learn more)
Suppress Autotask API exceptionsLeave unchecked. If you find yourself needing this, something in your configuration needs attention

Action When Complete: Set to Stop processing the actions on this rule and all other rules

Full configuration reference: Create Autotask Ticket

Step 6: Order the Actions Correctly​

The order of actions within the rule matters. Update must come before Create:

  1. Update Existing Ticket in Autotask (runs first - stops if a ticket is found)
  2. Create Ticket in Autotask (runs only if the Update action did not stop processing)

If your rule was created with Create first, drag the Update action above it using the three-bar handle on the left of each step, then save the order.

Step 7: Save and Test​

  1. Click Save on the rule
  2. Send a test email directly to your hosted mailbox address from any email client - you can do this at any time without affecting your live support address
  3. Navigate to History in the console and click Refresh until the email appears
  4. Click the details icon on the email to inspect the processing log

The processing log shows every step taken, every Autotask API call made, and every response received. If something did not work as expected, the log will show exactly where it stopped and why.

To verify that the Update action works: send a second email to the same address with the Autotask ticket number in the subject line. The log should show the Update step finding the ticket and the Create step not running.

Replay for testing

The Play button on a history entry re-processes the same email through your current rule configuration. Use this while adjusting rules - no need to send a new test email each time.

A suppression list is a rule placed at the top of the rule order whose sole purpose is to stop certain emails from being processed at all. Common examples:

  • Out-of-office auto-replies you want to discard
  • Emails from known spam senders
  • Notification emails from third-party systems that should not create tickets

To set it up:

  1. Create a second rule named Suppression List
  2. Click Add New Action, select Stop All Processing, and click OK
  3. Add an Expression matching the emails you want to suppress
  4. Drag this rule above Create or Update Autotask Ticket and save the order
  5. If you have nothing to suppress yet, create the rule, leave the Expression empty, and disable the rule so it is ready when you need it

Learn more about the Stop All Processing action

Key Takeaways​

  • Order matters: Put Update before Create so replies update existing tickets instead of creating duplicates
  • Both actions must Stop on success: If either action succeeds and continues, the next action will also run, resulting in double-processing
  • Reply-All Storm Catcher prevents duplicate tickets: Enable it on the Update action to handle email threads where replies don't contain a ticket number (details)
  • The { shortcut reveals all variables: In any text field, type { to see every email property and metadata variable available
  • Use the processing log: Every email in History has a full execution log - use it to diagnose any unexpected behavior
  • Ticket titles must never be empty: Autotask rejects tickets with no title. The default title template handles no-subject emails automatically - keep it or replicate its logic
  • Source field tip: Create a dedicated Autotask source named after each mailbox address to make it easy to report on ticket volume per address

Going Live​

While testing, you can send email directly to the hosted mailbox address at any time. Your live support address is unaffected.

When your rules are tested and working, the final step is to configure your live production support address to forward incoming emails to your new hosted mailbox. This typically means:

  • If your support address is hosted in Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace: Set up a forwarding rule or mail flow rule that forwards (or redirects) all incoming mail to the hosted mailbox address
  • If your support address is already a third-party helpdesk or ticketing system: Update the forwarding or integration setting in that system to point to the hosted mailbox address instead

Once forwarding is in place, all emails to your live address will flow through Email2AT and be processed by the rules you have configured.

What's Next​