QReporter Email SMTP Alternatives
This article is for QReporter users who are experiencing any of the following:
Difficulty setting up the Quick Config with your email account parameters.
Sending email through QReporter and it doesn’t reach the recipient due to restrictions by your own email provider.
Your email sent through QReporter successfully sends, but the recipient doesn’t receive it due to restrictions by their email provider.
NOTE: You will need to download a copy of our Installing QTools AND/OR Updating QTools License document. Login at www.qfloors.com, then click Updates > QTools.
NOTE: Contact your network administrator for assistance if you do not understand the explanations and instructions below.
Email providers, both yours and your customers’, are becoming more and more careful with their security technology in order to prevent spam and malicious email. And Microsoft Exchange is sometimes used by you or by your email provider to manage your email, and configuring Exchange, and configuring QReporter to work with it, can be extremely technical. Therefore, we make the following recommendations.
All of your employees should have an email address in the same domain (e.g., @flooringdealer.com) as what is used for your setup in the Quick Config window. In other words, if your domain is @flooringdealer.com, it is recommended that you give all of your employees an email address with the @flooringdealer.com domain. If you don’t have a domain name for your company, purchase one and have your IT person help you set up an email address for each employee.
You may need to work with your email provider to allow what is called "relay", which is sending an email from one email address through a different email account. For example, sending from an employee’s email address of user@xyz.com with Quick Config settings for setup@abc.com. Also, some domain providers do allow sending from an email address within the domain through an email address/account within the same domain. For example: user@flooringdealer.com through setup@flooringdealer.com. Also, keep in mind that a customer’s email provider may not allow them to receive an email sent as relay.
Use a third-party SMTP service if you and/or your IT person are not able to follow through with the above recommendations, or if you are not able to successfully set up the Quick Config service with your email provider’s SMTP settings. Continue reading for details.
Third-Party SMTP Services
If any of the following apply to you, we recommend creating an account with a third-party SMTP service and using their account settings in the QTools Quick Config window.
You have a domain name name but aren’t giving employees an email address with that domain.
You have a domain name and have given your employees an email address with that domain, but you and/or your IT person have not been able to successfully set up the Quick Config service with your email provider’s SMTP settings.
Your email provider doesn’t allow “relay”, or they do allow relay but your account isn’t set up to allow it, and you aren’t going to pursue having it set up to allow it.
You use a Microsoft Exchange Server for your email, or you use Office 365, or your email provider uses Office 365 as their foundation, and your network tech is not able to configure the QTools Quick Config to work with their settings. For Office 365, see the QReporter E-Mail with an Office 365 account Knowledge Base article on our website.
Below are some SMTP services we recommend.
SparkPost
SparkPost (www.sparkpost.com) has a free SMTP service that allows you to send up to 15,000 emails per month. Contact SparkPost and/or your network administrator for assistance.
You must have your own domain name already purchased and working. Work with your network consultant if needed to purchase and set up your domain.
Go to www.sparkpost.com and click the Try Free button.
Enter your credentials then click the Create Account button.
Select the free option then click the Get Started button.
Type in your domain name then click the Add Domain button.
Type in your domain name then click the Add Domain button.
Click the SMTP option.
In the password box, click the Copy link, then paste the copied password into a password manager or other secure place for storing your passwords. You should also copy/paste the other details that are displayed (host name, port, etc.).
After your account is set up and confirmed, sit at your server computer and follow the instructions in step 4 of the Installing QTools AND/OR Updating QTools License document to enter and test the following account settings. (If you use our QCloud hosting, email your settings to QFloors Support, or call them with the settings.)
SMTP Server: smtp.sparkpostmail.com
SMTP Port: 587
User Name: your SparkPost account username
Password: your SparkPost account password
Verify your sending domain. Your network tech will need to assist you with this part. In your SparkPost account dashboard, click the Verify your sending domain link and follow the instructions. Adding a DKIM record is the preferred verification method.
SendGrid
For $9.95/month, SendGrid (www.sendgrid.com) offers an account which allows you to send up to 40,000 email messages per month (the account is free for only the first 30 days). Contact SendGrid and/or your network administrator for assistance.
To use SendGrid basic service
Go to www.sendgrid.com and click the Try for Free link to create a new account.
Enter your credentials and follow any instructions received on-screen or by email from SendGrid.com.
After your account is set up and confirmed, sit at your server computer and follow the instructions in step 4 of the Installation Instructions section of our Installing QTools AND/OR Updating QTools License document to enter and test the following account settings. (If you use our QCloud hosting, email your settings to QFloors Support, or call them with the settings.)
SMTP Server: smtp.sendgrid.net
SMTP Port: 587
User Name: your SendGrid account username
Password: your SendGrid account password
To use SendGrid WhiteLabeling - Avoiding “Sent via sendgrid.net” and Improving Overall Deliverability
With the SendGrid basic service, some of your customers’ email providers might display your email as having been sent from <your email address> via sendgrid.net. And there’s a possibility that some of your customers’ email providers may not allow the message through. To improve deliverability of your messages, your network administrator will need to follow instructions at SendGrid.com to add your domain at SendGrid.com, and add DKIM and/or SPF records with your domain host. Your network administrator will need to assist you with this - QFloors Support is not able to assist you with it.