Set up email accounts

  • 10 minutes

You can add email accounts through extensions that enable accounts from different providers to connect to Business Central. The standard extensions let you use accounts from Microsoft Exchange Online, but other extensions might be available that let you connect accounts from other providers, such as Google Gmail.

The following email extensions are available for Business Central by default.

Extension Description Use
Microsoft 365 Everyone sends email from a shared mailbox in Exchange Online. When all messages come from the same department, for example, your sales organization sends messages from a sales@cronus.com account. This extension requires that you set up a shared mailbox in the Microsoft 365 admin center.
Current User Everyone sends email from the account that they used to sign in to Business Central. Allow communications from individual accounts.
Other (SMTP) Use SMTP protocol to send emails. Allow communications through your SMTP mail server.

The Microsoft 365 and Current User extensions use the accounts that you set up for users in the Microsoft 365 admin center for your Microsoft 365 subscription. To send email by using the extensions, users must have a valid license for Exchange Online.

If you're already using Business Central and have configured email through the legacy SMTP setup, you can continue using your setup in parallel with the Email - SMTP Connector extension. When your Business Central account is updated to the next release version, your legacy SMTP settings are copied to the Email - SMTP Connector extension. When the update is complete, your administrator can turn on the enhanced email capabilities on the Feature Management page, and then you can start using the Email - SMTP Connector extension. However, no synchronization occurs between the SMTP Connector extension and the legacy settings. If you change the SMTP settings in the extension, you should make the same changes in the legacy SMTP setup, and vice versa.

If you want to use SMTP protocol to send emails from Business Central, you can use the SMTP Connector extension. When you set up an account that uses SMTP, the Sender Type field is important. If you choose Specific User, emails will be sent using the name and other information from the account you're setting up. However, if you choose Current User, emails will be sent from the email account specified for each user's account. Current User is similar to the Send As feature.

If you're using the SMTP Connector extension, you can use the Send As or Send on Behalf capabilities from Microsoft Exchange to change the sender address on outbound messages. Business Central will use the SMTP account to authenticate to Exchange, but will either replace the sender address with the one you specify, or amend it with on behalf of.

When you set up an account and you want to use the Send As or Send on Behalf capabilities from Exchange, in the Sender Type field, choose Specific User.

Alternatively, you can select Current User to allow people to send messages through the SMTP Connector. The message will appear to be sent from the email account specified in the Contact Email field on the User Card for the user they're signed in as. However, it will function similar to the Send As feature and will be sent from the account specified in the setup of the SMTP Connector.

To add an email account, follow these steps:

  1. Select the search for page icon, enter Set Up Email, and then select the related link, which will open the assisted setup guide.

  2. After you have read the information, select Next.

  3. Specify the type of email account to add by choosing one of the following options and then select Next.

    • Microsoft 365

    • Current User

    • SMTP

    Screenshot of the Specify the type of email account to add page on the Set Up Email guide.

  4. If you selected to set up a Microsoft 365 account, enter the following details:

    • Account Name

    • Email Address

  5. If you selected to set up an account for the current user, Business Central will use the account settings of the sign-in account, and the account will be set automatically. Before finishing the assisted setup guide, you can specify if this account should be the default one by selecting the Set as default field.

    Screenshot of the Set Up Email guide's success page with the Set as default option turned on.

  6. If you selected to set up an SMTP account, enter the following details:

    1. In the Account Name field, enter the name of the SMTP account.

    2. In the Sender Name field, enter the name that you want to add in front of the sender email address.

    3. Enter the email address.

    4. In the Server URL field, enter the name of the SMTP server.

    5. In the Server Port field, enter the port of the SMTP server. The default setting is 25.

    6. In the Authentication field, select one of the following authentication methods:

      • Anonymous

      • Basic

      • OAuth 2.0

    7. In the User Name field, enter the username to use when you are authenticating with the SMTP server.

    8. In the Password field, enter the password of the SMTP server.

    9. Select the Secure Connection field if your SMTP mail server setup requires a secure connection that uses a cryptography or security protocol, such as secure socket layers (SSL). Clear this option if you don't want to enable this security setting.

  7. When the account settings are specified, follow the wizard steps and then close the wizard when you're finished.

You must have a default email account, even if you add only one account. The default account will be used for all email scenarios that aren't assigned to an account.