Connecting your Google email to Dubsado lets you send and receive client emails from your own address, with everything logged right inside the project. This works for any Google account, whether that's a personal @gmail.com address or a custom domain hosted through Google Workspace (formerly G Suite).
Step 1: Connect your Google email
You can connect your Google account whether you use a standard @gmail.com address or a custom domain hosted through Google Workspace. Connecting an email account is an Admin or Owner action, and your workspace can have only one connected email account at a time.
Only one email account can be connected to a workspace at a time. Connecting a new account replaces the current one.
To connect your Google email:
Navigate to Messages ➔ Settings ➔ Emails or Settings ➔ Emails.
Under Connect an account, click Continue with Google.
Select your Google account and follow Google's prompts to authorize Dubsado.
The Google authorization screens are controlled by Google, not Dubsado, so the exact wording of the consent prompts may differ slightly from what you see here.
Once you're connected, the section heading changes to Connected account and shows your provider (Google) and email address, with a Disconnect button beside it. Your workspace can now send and receive client emails from your connected address.
Step 2: Set up SPF and DKIM
Setting up SPF and DKIM helps email providers recognize that emails sent through Dubsado are legitimately from you, which helps keep your emails out of spam. Whether you need to do anything depends on the type of address you connected.
If you use an @gmail.com address
No action needed. Google handles SPF and DKIM automatically for standard Gmail addresses. In Messages ➔ Settings ➔ Emails, the Email Deliverability section shows a green "You're all set! No verification needed." banner under SPF. This is purely informational, so there's no record to copy and no button to click.
If you use a custom domain through Google Workspace
If your address is on a custom domain (like @yourbusiness.com), you'll need to set up SPF and DKIM yourself. These records let providers like Google and Yahoo confirm that emails sent through Dubsado are actually coming from your domain, so they aren't flagged as spam or spoofed.
Custom-domain users: set up SPF and DKIM right after connecting your account to keep your client emails out of spam folders.
The Email Deliverability section in Settings ➔ Emails is where you'll verify your SPF record and generate your DKIM record. Follow our guide to set up SPF and DKIM records for the full walkthrough.
Step 3: Test that your email is connected
Once you've connected your account, send a quick test to confirm everything is working.
Go to Contacts and add a test contact using your own email address.
Open that contact and go to the Messages tab.
Send a test message.
Check that the email arrives in your regular inbox outside of Dubsado.
FAQ
Can I connect an alias email address instead of my primary address?
No. You can only connect a primary email address, because Dubsado can't connect an address that doesn't have its own password or authentication.
I'm not seeing my client's replies in Dubsado.
Check these three things:
Your client's email is saved in Contacts. Only emails from saved contacts appear in Dubsado.
Check your Messages inbox. When a saved contact starts a brand-new email thread, it lands in your Messages inbox, not inside a project.
Make sure you initiated the email from within Dubsado. Replies to emails you sent from outside Dubsado won't appear in Dubsado.