Skip to main content

​
Overview

Every Knead business gets a dedicated inbox email address — ready to use the moment you create your account. No DNS records, no configuration, no waiting. Customers email you, messages appear in Knead, and you reply without leaving the app.

​
Your Inbox Email Address

Your inbox address follows a simple pattern: 
{your-slug}@inbox.kneadapp.co
Your slug is the short URL identifier for your business. You can find it in Settings > Business Profile. Some examples:
Business NameSlugInbox Address
Jimmy’s Donutsjimmy-donutsjimmy-donuts@inbox.kneadapp.co
Southern Peach Pastriessppspp@inbox.kneadapp.co
Sweet Rose Bakerysweet-rosesweet-rose@inbox.kneadapp.co
Maria’s Catering Comarias-cateringmarias-catering@inbox.kneadapp.co
Your inbox address is live as soon as your account is created. There’s nothing to enable — just start sharing it.

​
What It Looks Like Before Your First Message

When you first open the Inbox, you’ll see an empty state showing your email address with a green Ready badge. This confirms your inbox is active and waiting for messages. Empty inbox state showing the business email address with a Ready badge, and upcoming channels like Instagram DMs, SMS, and TikTok marked as Coming Soon The empty state also shows upcoming channels (Instagram DMs, SMS, TikTok) that will be available in the future.

​
Three Ways to Start Receiving Messages

​
1. Share your inbox address directly

The simplest way: give customers your inbox email address. Put it on your website, social media bio, business cards, or order confirmation emails.
“Questions about your order? Email us at jimmy-donuts@inbox.kneadapp.co”
When a customer sends an email to that address, it lands in your Knead inbox. You reply from Knead, and your response arrives in their regular email.

​
2. Forward your existing business email

Already have a business email like orders@jimmysdonuts.com? Set up email forwarding so messages sent to your existing address automatically land in Knead too. In Gmail:
  1. Go to Settings > Forwarding and POP/IMAP
  2. Click Add a forwarding address
  3. Enter your Knead inbox address (e.g. jimmy-donuts@inbox.kneadapp.co)
  4. Confirm the verification email
  5. Select Forward a copy of incoming mail
In Outlook:
  1. Go to Settings > Mail > Forwarding
  2. Check Enable forwarding
  3. Enter your Knead inbox address
  4. Check Keep a copy of forwarded messages (recommended)
In Apple Mail / iCloud:
  1. Go to iCloud.com > Mail > Settings
  2. Click Forwarding
  3. Enter your Knead inbox address
Full Apple Mail setup guide →
Forwarding is the best option if you already give out a business email. Customers keep emailing the address they know, and you manage everything inside Knead.

​
3. Customers reply to Knead notification emails

When Knead sends your customers emails — order confirmations, ready-for-pickup notifications, invoice receipts — those emails come from your inbox address. If a customer hits reply, their message lands in your Knead inbox automatically. This means you don’t need to do anything extra. As you use Knead to send invoices and order updates, your inbox starts filling with customer replies naturally.

​
What Happens When a Message Arrives

When someone emails your inbox address:
  1. Knead matches the sender — If the sender’s email matches an existing client, the conversation is linked to their profile. You’ll see their name, order history, and allergens right in the sidebar.
  2. New senders are saved automatically — If the email is from someone new, Knead creates a client record using their name and email from the message.
  3. Messages are threaded — Multiple emails from the same client about the same topic are grouped into a single conversation thread.
  4. Order intelligence runs — Knead scans the message for order intent (dates, products, quantities) and shows you a capacity verdict. Learn more about Order Intelligence.

​
Once Messages Start Flowing

After your first few conversations arrive, your inbox looks like this — conversations sorted by most recent, with unread badges, client names, and message previews: Inbox with active conversations showing unread counts, priority stars, and message previews Each conversation shows:
  • Client name and avatar
  • Channel icon (email, Instagram, etc.)
  • Subject line and message preview
  • Unread count badge
  • Priority star for VIP clients
  • Timestamp of the last message

​
Tips for Getting Started

  • Add your inbox address to your website and social media. The more places customers see it, the faster your inbox fills up.
  • Set up email forwarding early. If you already have a business email, forwarding takes 2 minutes and means you never miss a message.
  • Reply from Knead, not from your personal email. Keeping conversations in Knead means order history, client notes, and allergen flags are always visible.
  • Set up canned responses for replies you send often — pricing inquiries, availability questions, pickup instructions.
Still need help? Contact us