Forward Microsoft 365 and Outlook email to Tend.

Before you start

Copy your queue's private address

1. 01In Tend, open Settings, then Email. You need permission to manage settings to see this page.
2. 02Each queue has its own card. Under Incoming, copy the address after forward incoming email to.
3. 03Keep it somewhere handy for the next steps. The address is long and random on purpose: nobody can guess it, so only mail you forward ever arrives.

• Several queues, such as support and accounts, each have their own address. Forward each public address to its own queue.
• You only forward incoming mail. Tend's emails to clients go out under your queue's name, and client replies come straight back to the request whichever route you choose below.

Step 1 · Microsoft 365 admin

Allow external forwarding for the support mailbox

1. 01Open the Microsoft Defender portal and go to Email & collaboration > Policies & rules > Threat policies > Anti-spam. The direct address is security.microsoft.com/antispam.
2. 02Click Create policy and choose Outbound.
3. 03Name the policy, for example Allow forwarding to Tend, and click Next.
4. 04Under Users, add the support mailbox only. A shared mailbox works here too. Click Next.
5. 05On Protection settings, under Forwarding rules, set Automatic forwarding rules to On - Forwarding is enabled. Leave the message limits as they are and click Next.
6. 06Review the settings and click Create.

• The default policy keeps applying to everyone else, so other mailboxes still cannot forward outside your organisation.
• Remote domain settings and mail flow rules in the Exchange admin center can also block forwarding. When one setting allows it and another blocks it, the block typically wins.

Provider reference: Microsoft: control external email forwarding and fix 5.7.520 errors

Step 2 · Route A, admin

Forward the mailbox in the Exchange admin center

1. 01In the Exchange admin center, go to Recipients > Mailboxes and select the support mailbox.
2. 02Under Mailbox > Email forwarding, click Manage email forwarding.
3. 03Turn on Forward all emails sent to this mailbox.
4. 04Choose Forward to an external email address and paste your queue's private address.
5. 05Tick Deliver message to both forwarding address and mailbox, so a copy stays in Microsoft 365 while you test.
6. 06Click Save.

• The same switch is in the Microsoft 365 admin center under Users > Active users > the user > Mail > Manage email forwarding, for licensed user mailboxes.
• Forwarding needs the mailbox to keep its licence, unless it is a shared mailbox. Removing the licence or deleting the user stops forwarding.
• Only new email is forwarded. Messages already in the mailbox stay where they are.

Provider reference: Microsoft: configure email forwarding for a mailbox in Exchange Online

Step 2 · Route B, no admin

Redirect with an Outlook rule

1. 01In Outlook, signed in as the support mailbox, open Settings > Mail > Rules and click Add rule.
2. 02Name the rule, and under conditions choose Apply to all messages.
3. 03Under actions, choose Redirect to and enter your queue's private address.
4. 04Click Save.

• Inbox rules count as automatic forwarding, so Step 1 still applies.

Provider reference: Microsoft: use rules to automatically forward messages

Last step

Test it from outside

1. 01In Settings > Email, click Send a test email to this queue. It usually opens as a request within a minute. This proves Tend's intake only: the test goes straight to the private address and never touches your forwarding.
2. 02Now, from an address outside your organisation, such as a personal account, email your usual support address. Keep a copy in the support mailbox while you test.
3. 03In Tend, check the new request shows the outside sender as the requester, not your own support mailbox.
4. 04Reply from Tend, then reply again from the outside account. The second reply should land on the same request.
5. 05Back in Settings > Email, the dot beside Incoming turns green, and the line beneath names the address the latest email was sent to.

If nothing arrives

Find where it stopped

• A bounce containing 5.7.520 means an outbound spam policy still blocks forwarding. Check your new policy includes the support mailbox and is turned on.
• Check the support mailbox kept its copy. If it did, the email reached Microsoft 365 and the forwarding step is the place to look.
• Compare the forwarding address with the one in Settings > Email, character for character.
• Look in the Spam view of the Tend inbox. Mail flagged as spam before it reaches Tend waits there for review.
• Check Settings > Email > Blocked senders. Mail from a blocked address or domain is dropped on arrival.