Sending quotes from a Gmail address costs you credibility. We walk through setting up company email step by step, from choosing a domain and configuring MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC records to Outlook and phone setup and migrating from Gmail.
Picture yourself sending a quote to a customer. Is the sender ahmetconstruction1985@gmail.com or ahmet@yourcompany.com? The second looks far more professional and is more likely to get through the recipient's spam filter. And when an employee leaves, the correspondence stays with the company.
In this guide we explain how to set up company email step by step, in plain language. You do not need to be an engineer; once you understand the basics, conversations with your provider become much easier.
Why Business Email Instead of Gmail?
- Trust: email from your own domain shows your company is real and established.
- Deliverability: a properly configured domain reduces the chance of your emails landing in spam.
- Control: accounts belong to the company. When someone leaves, you can reset the password and hand their mail over to a colleague.
- Brand consistency: shared addresses such as sales@, accounting@ and support@ help customers reach the right people.
- Data residency: email contains personal data. A service hosted in Turkey simplifies cross-border transfer questions under KVKK, Turkey's data protection law.
Step 1: Get a Domain
The foundation of business email is your domain name. If you already have a website, you almost certainly have a domain, and you can use the same one for email.
If you are registering a new domain:
- Choose something short, easy to type and easy to spell out over the phone.
- Avoid Turkish characters (ç, ğ, ı, ö, ş, ü); they can cause problems in email addresses.
- .com.tr domains can now be registered without supporting documents and are a strong local signal for customers in Turkey. If you work internationally, .com is also a good choice.
- Make sure the domain is registered in the company's name, in an account the company can access. Domains stuck in a former employee's or agency's personal account are a problem we see often.
Step 2: Choose an Email Provider
With your domain ready, decide where your mailboxes will be hosted. Consider:
- Mailbox size: how many GB per user? Teams that exchange lots of attachments may need 10 GB or more.
- Access options: does it work smoothly with webmail, Outlook and phone apps?
- Security: are spam and virus filtering, encrypted connections and DKIM signing supported?
- Data location: in which country are emails stored?
- Migration support: is moving your existing email extra, or do you have to do it yourself?
- Support: can you get help in your language during setup and when problems arise?
Step 3: Configure DNS Records (MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC)
This step sounds technical, but the idea is simple. DNS is the internet's address book. When someone emails you, their server checks your domain's DNS records to learn where to deliver the message and whether mail claiming to be from you is genuine. Your provider gives you these records; you or whoever manages your domain enters them in the DNS panel.
MX Record: Telling the Postman Where to Go
The MX record tells the world which server receives email for your domain. If it is wrong, your email will not arrive.
SPF Record: Who Can Send on My Behalf?
SPF is a list of servers authorised to send email for your domain. A simple example: v=spf1 mx ~all. If your website's contact form, CRM or newsletter tool also sends email in your name, those services must be added to the SPF record too. A domain should have only one SPF record.
DKIM: A Digital Signature
DKIM adds a cryptographic signature to every email you send. The receiving server checks it against a key in your DNS to confirm the message was not altered in transit and really came from your server.
DMARC: What to Do with Mail That Fails?
DMARC tells receivers what to do with email that fails SPF and DKIM checks, and has reports sent to you. It is safe to start with a monitoring-only record: v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:dmarc@yourcompany.com. Once reports show your legitimate mail passing cleanly, tighten the policy to quarantine (send to spam) and then reject.
Together, these three records make it much harder for fraudsters to impersonate your domain and send fake invoices to your customers. Major mailbox providers increasingly require SPF, DKIM and DMARC from domains that send in bulk; these records are no longer a nice-to-have but a baseline.
Step 4: Create Mailboxes
Create a mailbox for each employee from the admin panel. Some practical tips:
- Pick a consistent naming scheme: name@yourcompany.com or firstname.lastname@yourcompany.com. Whichever you choose, apply it to everyone.
- Use aliases for shared addresses: instead of a separate mailbox for info@ or sales@, forward them to the relevant people.
- Enforce strong passwords: at least 12 characters, hard to guess and not reused elsewhere.
- Size mailboxes to need: rather than giving everyone the biggest plan, give larger mailboxes to heavy users.
Step 5: Set Up Outlook and Phones
Most users prefer to read mail in Outlook, Apple Mail, Thunderbird or their phone's mail app. IMAP is usually used for this, so messages stay on the server and look the same on every device.
| Setting | Incoming Server (IMAP) | Outgoing Server (SMTP) |
|---|---|---|
| Port | 993 | 587 |
| Security | SSL/TLS | STARTTLS |
| Username | Full email address | Full email address |
| Authentication | Mailbox password | Outgoing server requires authentication |
Your provider supplies the server names. Choose IMAP over POP3: POP3 downloads mail to a single device, and if that computer dies, the mail can be lost. On phones, add the account with the same IMAP and SMTP details.
Step 6: Migrate from Gmail or Another Provider
Moving old email is the part people worry about most. Done in the right order, there is no interruption:
- Create the new mailboxes but do not change the MX record yet.
- Copy old email. IMAP-based migration tools copy every folder from the old account to the new mailbox. Gmail requires IMAP access and usually an app password.
- Change the MX record. From now on, new email arrives at the new server. DNS changes can take a few hours to propagate.
- Copy the final delta. Run a second migration pass to pick up email that landed in the old system during the switch.
- Do not forget contacts and calendars. Export the address book and calendar and import them into the new system.
- Keep the old account open for a while. Announce your new address to customers and forward mail sent to the old Gmail address for a transition period.
After Setup: Simple Security Habits
Once company email is running, the biggest risk is human rather than technical. A single compromised account can be used to send customers fake invoices or altered bank details in your name. A few simple habits reduce that risk considerably:
- Two-factor authentication: if your provider supports it, turn it on, especially for admin and accounting accounts.
- Phishing awareness: teach staff to be wary of emails asking for passwords or urgent payments, and to check the sender address before clicking any link.
- Confirm bank detail changes by phone: if a supplier emails to say their bank account has changed, call them on a number you already know.
- A leaver procedure: on an employee's last day, change the password, remove the account from their phone and forward incoming mail to their manager. Do not delete the mailbox immediately.
- Log out on shared computers: if webmail was used on a shared machine, always sign out.
None of this requires extra software; a short internal announcement and a yearly reminder are usually enough. Also decide in advance who staff should tell when they spot a suspicious email; an early report often stops a compromised account before it turns into real damage.
Business Email Pricing
Business email is usually billed per user per month. CloudRUX Business Email is based on Zimbra and hosted in Turkey:
| Plan | Mailbox Size | Per User per Month (VAT excluded) |
|---|---|---|
| Eko | 5 GB | 1.19 USD |
| Pro | 10 GB | 1.79 USD |
| Mega | 25 GB | 2.79 USD |
| Ultra | 50 GB | 3.79 USD |
Setup and migration of your existing email are free. If you want website hosting, email and backup in a single bundle, take a look at our SMB packages.
Frequently Asked Questions
My website is hosted elsewhere. Can my email be with a different provider?
Yes. Website and email can live on different servers. The website uses an A record and email uses MX records, managed separately. You just set MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC according to your email provider.
Will I lose email during migration?
Not if it is done in the right order. Old mail is copied first, and anything that arrives during the MX change is picked up in a second pass.
Do I need a separate mailbox for every employee?
Not strictly, but it is recommended. In a shared mailbox you cannot tell who sent what, and shared passwords are a security risk. Aliases and forwarding are a healthier way to handle shared addresses.
Why do my emails land in spam?
The most common cause is missing or incorrect SPF, DKIM and DMARC records. Have them checked, and send bulk mail such as newsletters through a dedicated service with the right records.
Move to Business Email with CloudRUX
With CloudRUX Business Email you can start using addresses on your own domain within days; we handle DNS records, Outlook and phone setup, and migration of your old email together with you. Compare plans on our business email page and SMB packages page, or contact us to plan your move.