Shared Inboxes

Spark allows teams to create Shared Accounts so that multiple people can easily manage the same email address simultaneously: receive, handle, mark as Done once a reply is sent - all in one Shared Inbox.

Why use Shared Inboxes?

• An ideal solution for support@, sales@, info@, any generic email addresses
• Every message has an owner - no more double replies or missed messages
• Everybody is on the same page - set deadlines & track progress
• It is secure - no need to share account credentials with teammates

Spark offers teams functionality to make your email communication even more efficient. For example, you can draft emails together in real-time, discuss emails privately in comments to provide faster replies, and share links to specific emails.

Follow the guide to learn how to set up and use Shared Inboxes in Spark.

1. You should already have an email address that you want to set up as Shared. At the moment, Spark supports Shared Inboxes for Gmail and G Suite accounts.
2. You need to have a team created in Spark. Your teammates are people who you can share an inbox with.
3. You need to have Spark Premium for Teams. If your team hasn’t upgraded to Premium and you’d like to check whether our Shared Inboxes functionality suits you, you'll be welcomed to try a Spark Premium 14-day Free Trial while adding Shared Account. No credit info is required to start the trial, no auto-billing once it expires. 

If you have a Gmail or G Suite account and it is not added to Spark yet, Spark can easily set it up as Shared for you.

If the account you want to use as Shared is already connected to Spark, refer to the Convert Private account to Shared section. Please note that Snoozes, Pins, Reminders, and Send later options are not yet available for the case when you convert your private account.

1. Launch Spark and open Settings.
2. Open the Accounts section.
3. Click the plus button in the bottom left.
4. Select Shared Email Account and select your team.
5. Log in to the account you want to make shared.
6. Select teammates, then click Share Account.

Alternatively, click More on the sidebar > Add Account > Add Shared Account.

Convert your Private Account to Shared

If you have a Gmail or G Suite account added to Spark and would like to use it as Shared, you can convert it in a few simple steps. Please note that Snoozes, Pins, Reminders, and Send later options are not yet available for the case when you share your private account.

If the account you want to use as Shared is not connected to Spark yet, please refer to the Add Shared Account to Spark section.

1. Launch Spark and open Settings.
2. Open the Accounts section and click the personal account you want to turn to Shared.
3. Click the Share Account with Team button.
4. Select your team, select teammates, and click Share Account.

Choose the account name, title, color, and customize notifications

1. Click Spark at the top left of your screen.
2. Click Settings > Accounts and select your account.
3. Type your name in the Name: field. The name is displayed in the To: or From: field when you send or receive an email. If your account has no name, these fields are filled with your email address.
4. Fill out the Title: field. The title is used only in Spark. This is the name of your account shown on the left sidebar. You can enter any title you wish to navigate your inbox easily.
5. Click on the Color setting to choose the color for your account. For example, you can pick red for your work account and use green for personal emails. It allows you to see which account each email in your inbox belongs to.
6. You can also customize the Notification Type here. To do so, click the needed email account and tick one of the notification types: All, Smart, or No Notifications. To learn about notifications in Spark, check this article.

Learn how to use Shared Inboxes

All new emails have Unassigned status by default. To assign an email to a teammate, or yourself to show who is responsible for it, click Assign to Me to show your team you’ll be handling it or click Assign to ▼ to select one of your teammates. 

Messages assigned to you will be shown in the Assigned to me folder. Check status and deadlines for emails assigned to your teammates in the Assigned to Others folder.

Starting Spark 2.10.12, Spark syncs labels from your Gmail account and vice versa. This means that all labels created on the web page of Gmail or in its app will appear in Spark, and all labels created in Spark will appear on the Gmail web page and in its app (if you are logged in with the same account).

To show you have finished the assigned email, click on the Done button and the email will be moved to the Done folder in the sidebar.

Manage who has access to Shared Account

An owner of a Shared Account (a person who creates it becomes its owner regardless of their role in a team) can easily give and remove access to this account for their teammates. An owner can also revoke access from all team members by converting the Shared Account to Private Account.

1. Launch Spark and open Settings.
2. Open the Accounts section > Members tab.
3. To give access to the account, click the Add button at the bottom left. Then, choose a person from the list to add existing teammates or start typing the person's name or email address in the search field to invite somebody who is not a part of your team yet. Once done, click the Confirm button.
4. To remove somebody from Shared Account, click the cross icon near their email address. The removed person will lose access to the account. However, it will be still present in the Team. Learn how to remove a person from a team.

Convert your Shared Account to Private Account

Once the account's owner converts Shared Account, all team members lose access to it, and the account type is changed to Private. Comments and assignments cannot be restored after that.

1. Launch Spark and open Settings > Accounts section.
2. Click your Shared Account and look at the red button in the bottom right:

• If you see the Revoke Access from Team button (this means your private account had been already added to Spark when you turned it to Shared), click the button to make your account Private again.
• If you see the Remove Shared Account button (this means that you added your account to Spark as Shared), clicking the button will remove your account from Spark. After that, you can add it to Spark again - now, as a Private. 

Remove or quit Shared Account

Team members (except the owner) with access to the Shared account can remove it by quitting it. Once they quit the account, they lose access to its inbox and its shared information. The account owner can always add them back. 

The account owner can remove the account, but can not quit it. By removing the account from Spark, the owner revokes access from team members and changes the account type to Private. Comments and assignments cannot be restored after that.

How the owner can remove the account:

1. Launch Spark and open Settings.
2. Open the Accounts section and click your Shared Account.
3. Click the minus sign at the bottom.
4. In the pop-up message, click Delete. 

Those, who added their account as Shared, can alternatively click the Remove Shared Account button at the bottom right to remove the account from Spark.

How to quit Shared Account:

1. Launch Spark and open Settings.
2. Open the Accounts section and click your Shared Account.
3. Click Quit Shared Account.