Mailboxes

What is a mailbox and how do I request one in Clew?

How to set up an email address that automatically creates records in Clew

Contents

• 1. Introduction & Context
• 2. Key Features & Functions
• 3. Requirements
• 4. Step-by-Step Guide
  • Requesting a Mailbox
  • Understanding the Mailbox Fields
  • Restricting Who Can Send to a Mailbox
• 5. Common Issues & Troubleshooting
• 6. Related Articles

1. Introduction & Context

A Mailbox is a dedicated email address that automatically creates a record in Clew (such as a Risk Action) whenever someone sends an email to it, so people who do not have a Clew user account can still contribute information into the platform.

Who is it for? Mailboxes are configured exclusively by Clew's internal admins. Client system admins do not have access to the Mailboxes screen and cannot create or edit mailboxes themselves. Instead, the client tells Clew what they want, for example the Register the record should be saved into, the Type of record to create, and who it should be assigned to, and Clew's team configures the mailbox on their behalf. Once set up, the mailbox address itself can be used by anyone your organisation wants to allow, including people who do not have a Clew login, such as external contractors, board members, or staff who only need to submit information occasionally.

What does it impact? Every email sent to an active mailbox address creates a new record in the Register and of the Type configured for that mailbox, owned by the mailbox's Default User. This gives organisations a way to capture information into Clew without needing to create and manage a user account for every possible sender.

2. Key Features & Functions

• Automatic record creation: Any email sent to the mailbox address creates a new record of the configured Type (for example, a Risk Action) in the configured Register.
• No user account required for senders: Records are attributed to the mailbox's Default User, so the person sending the email does not need their own Clew login.
• Attachment capture: When Attachment Enabled is turned on, files attached to the inbound email are saved to the created record.
• Sender restriction: The Inbound Whitelisted Emails/Domains field lets you limit which email addresses or domains are allowed to create records through the mailbox.
• Enable/disable control: The Active toggle lets an admin switch a mailbox on or off without deleting its configuration.
• Triage option: When Triage Enabled is turned on, incoming emails can be reviewed before they are turned into records, rather than being created automatically.

Example: A Risk & Assurance team sets up a mailbox at actions@yourorganisation.com, with Default User set to the GM Risk & Assurance, Type set to Risk Action, and Register set to the Strategic register. Any staff member, contractor, or board member can now email that address to log a new risk action, without needing a Clew account of their own.

3. Requirements

• Mailboxes are configured by Clew's internal admins, so the client does not need Admin Settings access to use this feature. Instead, the client must know and be able to communicate the configuration they want, for example the Register, Type, Default User, and Role, so Clew can raise a support ticket on their behalf.
• The Type, Register, and Role you want the mailbox to use must already exist in Clew before Clew can create the mailbox.
• A Default User must exist in Clew to be assigned as the mailbox's owner.

4. Step-by-Step Guide

Requesting a Mailbox

The Mailboxes screen in Admin Settings is only accessible to Clew's internal admins, so clients cannot create or edit a mailbox themselves. To get a new mailbox set up, or an existing one changed:

1. Decide on the configuration you want, using the field descriptions below as a guide, for example the Register the record should be saved into, the Type of record to create, the Default User it should be owned by, and the Role it should be linked to.
2. Raise a support ticket with Clew, setting out the mailbox address you want (if it is a new mailbox) and the configuration decided in step 1.
3. Clew's internal admins create or update the mailbox on your behalf and confirm once it is Active.

Understanding the Mailbox Fields

• Email: the email address people send messages to in order to create a record. This is the mailbox's identity.
• Default User: the Clew user that every record created by this mailbox is attributed to and owned by.
• Type: the kind of record created for every inbound email, for example Risk Action.
• Register: the register the new record is created in, for example a Strategic register.
• Role: the role linked to records created through this mailbox, for example GM Risk & Assurance.
• Attachment Enabled: when checked, any files attached to the inbound email are saved to the created record.
• Active: when checked, the mailbox is switched on and will process inbound emails. Uncheck to pause a mailbox without deleting its configuration.
• Triage Enabled: when checked, incoming emails are held for review rather than automatically becoming a record straight away.

Restricting Who Can Send to a Mailbox

The Inbound Whitelisted Emails/Domains field is also only editable by Clew's internal admins. To restrict or update who can send to a mailbox:

1. Decide which specific email addresses or domains should be allowed to send to the mailbox, in the format abc@example.com or @example.com.
2. Raise a support ticket with Clew listing the addresses or domains to whitelist, or confirm that the mailbox should remain open to any sender.
3. Clew's internal admins update the Inbound Whitelisted Emails/Domains field and confirm once the change has been saved.

5. Common Issues & Troubleshooting

Best practices:

• Request a separate, clearly named mailbox address for each purpose or team, rather than one shared address for everything.
• Ask Clew to populate the Inbound Whitelisted Emails/Domains field for any mailbox address that may be known outside your organisation.
• Review your list of mailboxes periodically and raise a support ticket with Clew to turn off Active for any that are no longer in use.
• Confirm inbound email routing with your DevOps/IT team as part of requesting any new mailbox, before relying on it in production.

6. Related Articles

• Custom Types
• Adding Users