Forward emails from your Microsoft 365, Office 365 or Exchange support mailbox to Atera so that incoming messages create tickets automatically. You can forward from a distribution group or from a single mailbox. If emails reach your support address but no tickets appear in Atera, the forwarding rule is usually the cause.
Accepting support requests at external email addresses on your own domain is supported. For example, requests sent to support@your-domain.com are forwarded to companyname@ticketing.atera.com, the auto-generated Atera address that creates the tickets. Your support email can also be set to automatically create tickets within the platform.
Create Contacts for Automatic Ticket Creation
First, we will need to create a Contact in o365 for automatic ticket creation via email.
1. From the Microsoft 365 admin center, access Exchange:
2. In the Exchange admin center, click on Contacts in the Recipients tab. Then click on Add a mail contact.
The Set up the basic information window appears.
3. Add the Display name that you want, the Alias, along with the External email address.
Note: the external email address is the Auto-Generated Support Address, which is found in your Atera Dashboard, in Admin > Support and ticketing > Email settings.
4. On Mail contact information (Optional), click on Next
5. Click on Create, in Review mail contact.
6. The contact is created, click on Done.
The contact now appears in Contacts under the Recipients tab.
Distribution Group Forward (1st Method)
To create a distribution list for automatic ticket creation:
1. From the Microsoft 365 admin center, access Exchange:
2. In the Exchange admin center, click on Groups in the Recipients tab. Then click on Add a group.
3. Select Distribution as a group type, then click on Next.
4. Add the Name and the Description of the Distribution list.
5. Assign the owner of the group, then click Next.
6. In the Add members section, click on Add members and select one mailbox as the owner of the DL.
7. After selecting the contact, click on Add and then on Next.
8. In the Edit settings section, add the Group email address and select the domain. Make sure to check the Allow people outside of my organization to send email to this Distribution group box and click on Next.
9. On the Review and finish adding group page, click on Create group, to finish the Distribution list creation.
10. Go to Groups under the Recipients tab, then go to the Distribution list tab.
Here you will find the Distribution list created for automatic ticket creation in the previous step. Click on the distribution list name.
11. On the next page, go to the Settings tab and click on Edit delivery management.
12. In Delivery management, select the option Allow messages from people inside and outside my organization, then click on Save changes.
13. Now, we will have to access the Atera Dashboard, to edit the email settings. Go to Admin > Support and ticketing > Email settings.
14. In Email settings, add your Distribution list by clicking on the New address option:
If everything is set up correctly, all emails sent to your Primary Customer Support Address will now create tickets in Atera.
Note: For this method to work, you need to Enable External Forwarding.
Configure Email Forwarding for a Mailbox (2nd Method)
To enable email forwarding to a User Mailbox:
1. From Microsoft 365 admin center, access Exchange:
2. In the Exchange admin center, click on Mailboxes in the Recipients tab, then select the Mailbox that you want to use for automatic ticket creation in Atera.
3. On the next page, go to the Mailbox tab and click on Manage email forwarding.
4. Set the option Forward all emails sent to this mailbox, to On.
In the Forwarding address field, add the contact that was created in Create Contacts for Automatic Ticket Creation. Enable the option Keep a copy of forwarded email in this mailbox and click on Save.
5. Now, we will have to access the Atera Dashboard, to edit the email settings. Go to Admin > Support and ticketing > Email settings:
6. In Email settings, add your support email address by clicking on the New address option:
If everything is set up correctly, all emails sent to your Primary Customer Support Address will now create tickets in Atera.
Note: For this method to work, you need to Enable External Forwarding.
Customize the Support Email Address (SMTP)
By default, all emails sent from Atera appear under the email address noreply@atera.com. You can customize the email address using SMTP settings from one of your own email addresses.
1. Go to Admin > Support and ticketing > Email settings > Domains tab.
The Support email settings page appears.
2. Click New domain.
3. Enter your domain. Then click Next.
4. From the dropdown, select a verification protocol. See DKIM verification or SMTP verification to continue.
Note: Once a protocol is selected, it cannot be changed. To switch the protocol, delete the domain and then add it again.
Use Different Emails for the Primary Customer Support Address and SMTP
If you want to use a different email address for SMTP settings than the one you have as your Primary support address, you will have to set up Send as permissions in the Exchange admin center.
The mailbox used to customize the SMTP settings will need Send as permissions to the mailbox used as the Primary support address.
1. Access the Exchange admin center, go to Recipients > Mailboxes, and click on the mailbox used as the Primary support address.
2. On the next page, go to the Delegation tab, and click on Edit, under Send as.
3. Provide the mailbox used for SMTP settings in Atera, with the Send as permissions, and save the settings.
Note: Ticket emails sent from Atera will now appear to come from the Primary support address instead of noreply@atera.com.
Enable External Forwarding
External forwarding will have to be enabled for your organization in order for the email forwarding rules to work.
1. Log in to your Office 365 Security & Compliance portal for Microsoft 365 and select Threat management > Policy
2. Under Threat policies > Policies, click on Anti-spam.
3. Click on the Anti-spam outbound policy (Default) and scroll to click the Edit protection settings link at the bottom of the sidebar.
4. Go to the Forwarding rules section and select On - Forwarding is enabled under Automatic forwarding rules, then click on Save.
Now external email forwarding is enabled.
Keep the Original Sender
Use a forwarding or redirect rule that preserves the original sender's address. Actions that resend the message as a new email, such as the Forward action in Power Automate or a rule that forwards from a technician's own mailbox, replace the From address with the forwarding mailbox. The ticket is then created under that mailbox or technician instead of the customer who wrote in.
In the Exchange admin center, create a transport rule (mail flow rule) that redirects the message to your Atera auto-generated address, rather than an inbox rule or automation that forwards it as a new message.
Note: If the requester on the ticket is correct but the sender shows a "via" tag, that is a separate setting. Disable Show "via" tag in your Microsoft anti-phishing policy.
Incorrect Sender
For cases where the tickets show an incorrect sender, it is advised to disable the option Show "via" tag.
1. From the Microsoft admin center, access the Security menu.
2. Then go to Policies & rules.
3. Access your policy, then access Anti-phishing.
4. Open the policy and click on Edit actions.
5. Uncheck the option Show "via" tag, then click on Save.
Important Notes
- If all the settings are correct and you are still not receiving tickets from forwarded emails, or you receive the error 550 5.7.520 Access denied, Your organization does not allow external forwarding. Please contact your administrator for further assistance. AS(7555), you may need to disable the email forwarding rule and create a transport rule (mail flow rule) instead.
- Double forwarding cannot be set up for your support email address, as only one redirection is allowed based on Microsoft guidelines. Exchange Online forwards a message only once: if mailbox A redirects to mailbox B and mailbox B forwards to mailbox C, the message stops at B and is dropped without a non-delivery report. Forward directly from your support address to the Atera auto-generated address in a single step.
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For SMTP settings, please add app.atera.com to the allowed list in your email server as well as the following subnets:
52.157.0.0/16
40.113.0.0/16If you cannot whitelist an IP address range of /16, please add the following:
52.157.175.0/24
40.113.216.0/24
40.113.221.0/24
40.113.222.0/24
54.240.3.0/24
51.144.126.0/24
40.122.130.0/24
54.240.106.94
54.240.106.95 - The email white labeling will apply to ticket replies only. Reports and invoices will still be sent from noreply@atera.com.
- The SMTP settings for Office 365 can be found in this Microsoft guide. While option 1 is recommended, depending on your email configuration, you may be required to use the other options described in the article.
