All help articles
OutlookWe fix this for you
Set up a shared mailbox (info@, sales@, accounts@)
A shared mailbox lets authorised colleagues use one address through their own licensed Exchange Online accounts. The shared mailbox itself may need a licence for capacity or advanced features.
What it looks like
- ·A team is sharing one login for info@ or sales@
- ·Replies go out from a personal address instead of the team one
- ·You need cover for someone's mail while they are away
- ·Nobody can tell who already answered an enquiry
How this gets fixed
- 1
Tell us the address and who needs it
The address you want, the people who should read it, and whether each of them should also be able to send as the address or only read it.
- 2
We create the mailbox
A shared mailbox on your domain, with the members you named, and Send As or Send on Behalf granted according to what you asked for.
- 3
We turn on sent-item copying
Without this, a reply sent from the shared address lands only in the sender's own Sent Items, and the rest of the team cannot see that it was answered. We set it so sent mail is kept in the shared mailbox.
- 4
It appears in Outlook automatically
Members see the mailbox in their folder list within about an hour, with no extra password. If it does not appear, closing and reopening Outlook forces the refresh.
Questions people ask about this
Does a shared mailbox need its own licence?
An unlicensed shared mailbox is limited to 50 GB. Each person accessing it needs a licensed Exchange Online mailbox. Larger capacity, archiving, holds, or advanced features can require additional licensing. Keep direct sign-in blocked; do not share credentials.
Is a shared mailbox better than sharing one password?
Considerably. Everyone uses their own sign-in and multi-factor, so there is no shared credential to leak and no password to change when someone leaves — you simply remove them from the mailbox.
Can people send as the shared address?
Yes, if you grant Send As. Recipients then see the message as coming from the team address. Send on Behalf is the alternative, where recipients see that a named person sent it on behalf of the address.
What happens to the mail when someone leaves the team?
Nothing. The mailbox belongs to the business, not the person. We remove their access and the history stays where it is.
When to hand it to us
Whenever you need one — this is ours to do. Ask before setting up mail forwarding as a workaround: forwarding to a personal address is a common route for data to leave the business unnoticed.
If the fault turns out to be in the Microsoft service rather than your setup, we take it from there — you keep one point of contact.