EngageBay and Outlook: what syncs, what doesn't, and how to set it up
EngageBay syncs Outlook and Office 365 mail in both directions, plus calendar and contacts, and adds a desktop add-in for logging. Mailbox sync needs a Pro plan.
- Connector
- Native features built by EngageBay: mailbox sync, Office 365 calendar and contact sync, and an Outlook desktop add-in. Set up inside EngageBay Preferences.
- Sync direction
- Two-way for email; Outlook → EngageBay for contacts and logged email; EngageBay → Outlook for sales tools in the compose window
- Setup time
- Not stated by EngageBay; mailbox and calendar connection take four to six steps each
- Availability
- Mailbox sync: Sales Bay Pro or All-in-One Pro only. Calendar, contacts and add-in: plan not stated in the docs. Works with Outlook, Office 365 and Exchange mailboxes.
- Our rating
- 4 out of 5. Two-way mailbox sync plus Office 365 calendar and contacts, but mailbox sync needs a Pro plan and the add-in's plan is undocumented.
| What | Direction | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Email conversations | Two-way | Mail sent from your mailbox appears in EngageBay, and mail sent from EngageBay goes out through your own email server. EngageBay calls this the Conversational Inbox. |
| Existing mailbox history | Outlook → EngageBay | A setup option imports existing conversations into EngageBay. It is a checkbox you choose when adding the account. |
| Correspondents as contacts | Outlook → EngageBay | Two setup options create contacts from existing conversations and from new ones. Leave them off to avoid contacts for every sender. |
| Office 365 contacts | Outlook → EngageBay | A separate Office 365 option in the Connect apps list syncs your contacts into EngageBay. |
| Calendar events | Two-way | Office 365 Calendar events show on the EngageBay Calendar next to tasks and booked appointments. EngageBay's feature page calls this 2-way sync; the help article only describes events appearing in EngageBay. |
| Logged emails | Outlook → EngageBay | The Outlook desktop add-in logs a sent email, with attachments, to the contact, company, deal or ticket timeline. A recipient who isn't in the CRM becomes a new contact unless you clear the box. |
| Open and click tracking | Outlook → EngageBay | The add-in inserts a tracking pixel and records opens in the activity feed. Click tracking needs a paid seat. |
| Snippets, templates, documents, meeting links, sequences | EngageBay → Outlook | The add-in's Sales Tools menu inserts these into a new message. It can also enroll the recipient in a sequence. |
| Record actions from the inbox | Outlook → EngageBay | From the add-in you add leads or contacts, add notes, create activities and tasks, and convert a lead to a contact. |
Setting it up
- Confirm your plan. Mailbox sync needs Sales Bay Pro or All-in-One Pro.
- In EngageBay, click your account avatar, open Preferences, and choose Email Accounts.
- Click Add Account and enter your Outlook or Office 365 address. Choose whether to sync existing conversations, existing conversations as contacts, and new conversations as contacts.
- To sync your calendar, open Preferences, choose Sync, and click Enable next to Office 365. Enter the credentials EngageBay asks for and press Save.
- To log and track from Outlook, install the EngageBay Outlook desktop add-in. Sign in with your EngageBay username and API key or password.
- Open the add-in settings and list the email addresses and domains you never want logged. You can also set this in your EngageBay account settings.
Where the integration stops
- Mailbox sync is a Pro feature. EngageBay's Preferences article says Conversational Inbox is available in All-in-One Pro or Sales Pro only. Sales Bay Pro lists at $79.99 per user per month on monthly billing. Older articles name only All-in-One Pro.
- The add-in docs cover Outlook desktop on a PC. They don't mention Outlook on the web or on Mac, and they don't say which plan includes the add-in. Test it on your plan before rolling it out.
- Tracked and logged are separate boxes. A tracked email is not logged, and a logged email carries no open or click data. Tick both when you want both. Free users cannot track clicks.
- Logging only works from known sender addresses. The sending address must be an EngageBay user, a connected email address or a configured alias. Otherwise the email is not logged.
- The docs don't give a sync interval. They also don't say whether edits or deletions in Outlook change EngageBay records. Treat those as untested.
EngageBay connects to Outlook through features it builds itself. Mailbox sync shows your Outlook conversations in EngageBay. Calendar and contact sync bring Office 365 data across. A desktop add-in logs and tracks email from the Outlook compose window. It suits small teams that live in Outlook and want email history on CRM records.
The fact that surprises teams is the plan. EngageBay's Preferences article limits two-way mailbox sync to the Pro plans. If you are on Basic or Growth, the mailbox won't sync, and you will log email one message at a time.
Three features, not one connector
EngageBay doesn't ship a single Outlook connector. Mailbox sync lives under Preferences > Email Accounts. Calendar sync lives under Preferences > Sync. The Outlook add-in installs separately and signs in with your EngageBay credentials.
Each part has its own setup and its own gaps. A team can run the calendar sync without the mailbox sync. Check each one against your plan before you promise it to the sales team.
Mailbox sync is two-way and Pro-only
Once connected, mail from your mailbox appears in EngageBay. Mail you send from EngageBay goes out through your own email server, so it also shows in Outlook. EngageBay supports Outlook, Office 365 and Exchange, as well as Gmail and IMAP accounts.
Three setup checkboxes control what comes in. You can import existing conversations, create contacts from them, and create contacts from new ones. Turn the contact options off until you have seen what the import produces.
EngageBay's help articles say Pro, and two older ones name only All-in-One Pro. The Preferences article names Sales Pro as well. Our EngageBay pricing page lists the current per-user prices.
The add-in logs and tracks, and the docs stop short
The add-in adds a Log to CRM box and a Track Email box to the Outlook ribbon. Logging saves the email and its attachments on the record. Tracking records opens, and paid seats also get click data. EngageBay's page describes Outlook desktop on a PC and doesn't say which plan includes the add-in.
The Sales Tools menu moves content the other way. It inserts snippets, templates, documents and meeting links, and it enrolls a recipient in a sequence.
What needs another route
The docs don't describe automatic sync of Outlook calendar changes into EngageBay deals or tasks. Zapier's listing shows templates that create or update EngageBay contacts from new Outlook emails, and update EngageBay events when Outlook calendar events change. See EngageBay and Zapier for that route. If your team uses Gmail, read EngageBay and Gmail. The Outlook integrations hub compares other CRMs, and the EngageBay vendor page covers the rest of the product.