Email Task Management: Send and Receive Emails in Planfix
Email task management works when every request that arrives by email becomes a task instead of getting lost in an inbox. Planfix is project management software with email integration: project and employee addresses turn incoming emails into tasks, so you can assign tasks by email and reply from the same task. This two-minute video shows how to send and receive emails in Planfix with internal, virtual and external addresses.
What you’ll learn in this 2-minute video
- How project and employee addresses turn incoming emails into tasks (0:09).
- What virtual addresses are for, such as one account-wide address for customer emails (0:45).
- How to choose the sender address when you reply from a task (0:55).
- How to set up external email addresses for the company or employees (1:06).
- What to enable on your mail server and how to test the connection (1:24).
How email task management works in Planfix: internal, virtual and external addresses
Email task management turns incoming emails into tasks and sends replies from those tasks. Planfix does it with four kinds of addresses:
| Address | Who creates it | Direction | What happens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project address | Planfix, automatically | Incoming | A task in that project, with its default template and assignees, if set |
| Employee address | Planfix, automatically | Incoming; default sender | A task assigned to that employee |
| Virtual address | Account administrator | Incoming only | Tasks per its processing rules; you can forward a regular mailbox to it |
| External address | You, in Outgoing messages | Outgoing only | Sending from your own mailbox; paid and premium accounts and the trial |
How to send and receive emails in Planfix, step by step
Step 1. Use the addresses Planfix creates for you
Planfix generates project and employee addresses automatically, so there’s nothing to configure. Each project has its own project email address, shown in the Project details panel; emails sent to it become tasks there, with the project’s default template, assignees and participants if set.
Every team member also has a personal address, login@youraccount.planfix.com. An email sent there becomes a task assigned to them, with the subject as its name, the body as its description and the attachments included.
Step 2. Add a virtual email address for customer emails
Virtual addresses usually collect customer emails, for example at one shared address for the entire account. Account administrators create virtual email addresses in Account management → Email → Virtual email addresses with the New email address button, then click the address to set up processing rules.
Virtual addresses only receive mail. If you have more than one sending address, you pick the sender when replying from a task, such as your own or a company external address.
Step 3. Connect an employee’s external email address
Before you start, make sure POP3 is enabled in your mail server’s settings. To send emails from your own mailbox, connect an employee’s external mailbox: go to Account management → Email → Outgoing messages → Employee external email addresses, select the employee and click Add external email address. Then:
- choose your mail server: a popular service preset or your own;
- enter the sender’s name and email address;
- if needed, link the address to specific projects.
The same steps work for a company address in Company external email addresses. Sending from external mailboxes works in paid and premium accounts and during the trial; on the free plan, emails go out from internal addresses.
Step 4. Test the connection and save
Test the settings and save them: Planfix notifies you when the connection succeeds, and settings that fail the test can’t be saved.
Example: a customer email handled inside one task
A customer writes to your virtual address, and Planfix creates a task; a new sender also becomes a contact. The assignee comments, selects the customer in the Notify about this block and, if several addresses are available, picks the company external address as the sender. The customer gets an ordinary email, and their reply lands in the same task as a new comment, with attachments.
Who this is for
Email and task management software pays off for anyone who gets work by email:
- Project teams: send client briefs to the project address, and they arrive in that project as tasks.
- Support teams: collect requests at one virtual address, as in help desk software, and reply from a company external address.
- Account managers: forward their work mailbox to Planfix and connect it as their external address, so clients get replies from the mailbox they wrote to.
FAQ
Can I assign a task by sending an email?
Yes. Email the team member’s personal Planfix address, and it becomes a task assigned to them. You can assign and discuss tasks this way without logging in to Planfix.
What is a project email address?
It’s an address Planfix generates for every project, such as project+123@youraccount.planfix.com. It can’t be edited, and emails sent to it become tasks in that project.
What should be enabled on my mail server before connecting it?
Planfix requires POP3 on the mail server to connect an external address. The Save emails to Sent option, which keeps sent emails in the mailbox’s Sent folder, also needs IMAP access.
Bring your email into tasks
Start small: share one project’s address with the people who email you about it, and set default assignees for the project so each request gets an owner. For client conversations across channels, see omnichannel customer communication; for every setting, read the Help Center guide to working with email in Planfix. New to Planfix? Sign up for a free trial.
This video was featured in What’s New in Planfix: July – August 2025.
