Skip to main content
An email inbox connects a club’s real email address (for example hello@yourclub.com) to the 1Club Inbox so that messages members send to that address show up as inbound conversations you can read and reply to in one place. You forward mail from your provider to a 1Club forwarding address, verify the inbox once, and from then on every inbound email threads into the Inbox alongside your outbound messages.

​
Overview

  • One inbox per club - Each inbox is scoped to a single club and its address.
  • Forwarding address - 1Club generates a unique forwarding address per inbox; you point your provider’s forwarding at it.
  • Verification - An inbox stays inactive until you click the verification link, so mail is never captured from an address you don’t control.
  • Threading into the Inbox - Inbound mail becomes an inbound message, is matched to a contact (created if new), and is threaded onto the original conversation when it is a reply.
  • Message count and status - The list shows how many messages each inbox has captured and whether it is verified.
  • Sending domain (separate) - Verifying a sending domain lets outbound mail and replies leave from your own domain rather than a platform default. This is configured under Settings > Domains, not here, but it pairs naturally with an inbox.

​
Adding a club inbox

Inboxes live under Settings > Email inboxes (in the Communication category of Settings). Adding one takes three moves: create the inbox, forward your provider’s mail to the address 1Club gives you, then verify.
  1. Click Add Inbox in the top right.
  2. Choose the Club this inbox belongs to.
  3. Enter the Email address members already write to (for example frontdesk@yourclub.com). This is the address you own and want to capture mail from.
  4. Click Add. 1Club creates the inbox and shows a green Inbox created successfully! panel containing the forwarding address to use in the next step.
The forwarding address is generated for you in the form {organization-slug}_{club-slug}@inbox.1club.ai. Copy it with the copy button - you will paste it into your email provider.
The email address you enter cannot be changed after the inbox is created (the field is read-only when editing). If you typed it wrong, delete the inbox and add a new one.

​
Set up forwarding at your provider

In your email provider (Gmail, Outlook, or similar), set the club address to forward incoming mail to the 1Club forwarding address you just copied. The in-app setup instructions summarize the same three steps:
  1. Create an inbox with your email address.
  2. Copy the forwarding address and set up forwarding in your email provider (Gmail, Outlook, etc.).
  3. Click the verification link in the email 1Club sends you to verify your setup.
Most providers send their own confirmation code to the forwarding address before they will forward. Because that confirmation lands at inbox.1club.ai rather than a mailbox you can open, prefer providers or rules that let you enable forwarding without a round-trip code, or use a catch-all/alias rule. If your provider strictly requires a code you cannot retrieve, forward selectively with a filter instead.

​
Domain verification

There are two distinct “verifications” in play. Keep them separate:
  • Inbox verification activates inbound capture for one inbox. It is a single click on a link 1Club emails to the address you entered. Covered below.
  • Sending-domain verification lets 1Club send outbound email and replies from your own domain. It is a DNS setup under Settings > Domains and is optional but recommended.

​
Verify the inbox (activate inbound capture)

When you create an inbox (or resend verification), 1Club emails a verification link to the address you entered. Clicking it marks the inbox Verified and activates inbound capture.
  • The link carries a one-time token that expires. If it lapses, use Resend Verification to get a fresh one.
  • Until an inbox is verified, inbound mail to its forwarding address is dropped - the webhook only accepts mail for a verified inbox.
  • An unverified inbox shows an Unverified status chip (amber). A verified inbox shows Verified (green).
To resend: open the inbox row’s actions menu and choose Resend Verification, or open the inbox and click Resend Verification in its status panel. Confirm the prompt and a new link is sent to the inbox address. Verifying the domain your club emails come from means outbound messages and replies leave as you@yourclub.com instead of a platform address, which improves deliverability and trust. Without it, 1Club still sends, but falls back to the platform sending address and sets your club address as reply-to.
  1. Go to Settings > Domains and click Add.
  2. Enter your domain (for example yourclub.com) and set Purpose to Email.
  3. 1Club provisions the domain with SendGrid and shows the DNS records to add - three CNAME records when automatic security is used.
  4. Add those records at your DNS host, then click Verify. The status moves from Pending to Verified (or Failed if the records aren’t found yet - propagation can take time, so retry later).
Once the domain is verified for the Email purpose, 1Club uses a matching club or organization address as the From on outbound mail; otherwise it uses the address only as reply-to. This applies to all mail sent on the organization’s behalf, including replies you send from the Inbox.
The inbox forwarding address always uses the platform’s inbox.1club.ai domain and does not require any DNS setup from you. Sending-domain verification only affects outbound mail, not inbound capture.

​
How inbound email threads into the Inbox

When a member emails your club address and your provider forwards it to the 1Club forwarding address, 1Club receives it through a SendGrid Inbound Parse webhook and does the following:
  1. Finds the inbox by matching the forwarding address back to the organization and club. If no verified inbox matches, the mail is ignored.
  2. Resolves the sender by email. If no contact exists yet, a new contact is created from the sender’s name and email; if the display name changed, the contact’s name is updated.
  3. Creates an inbound message with direction: inbound, tagged to the inbox, storing the original club address as the recipient.
  4. Threads replies when the incoming mail carries In-Reply-To / References headers that match an existing message, or when the subject is a Re: of an earlier inbound message. Otherwise it starts a new conversation.
The result appears in the Inbox as an inbound conversation you can open and reply to. Replies you send from the Inbox use your verified sending domain when one is set up (see above).
Inbound messages are attributed to a staff user internally (the owner, or the earliest-added admin, manager, front-desk, or instructor). This is a system detail; in the Inbox the conversation is shown against the member contact who wrote in.

​
Viewing captured messages

The inbox list shows a Messages count per inbox. Day-to-day, you read and answer captured mail in the Inbox rather than on this settings page - this page is for setting inboxes up and checking their status.

​
Worked examples

​
Padel club front desk

Your racket-sports club publishes bookings@acepadel.com on its website and members reply to booking confirmations there.
  • Add an inbox for the Ace Padel club with email bookings@acepadel.com.
  • Forward bookings@acepadel.com to the generated acepadel_downtown@inbox.1club.ai.
  • Verify the inbox. Now a member replying “can I move my court to 7pm?” lands in the Inbox threaded under the original confirmation, and the front desk answers without leaving 1Club.

​
Multi-location gym chain

Your fitness organization runs three clubs, each with its own address.
  • Add one inbox per club (northside@, harbor@, airport@), each scoped to its club.
  • Each gets its own forwarding address, so mail is attributed to the right location automatically.
  • Verify your yourgym.com sending domain once under Settings > Domains so replies from every club go out branded.

​
Martial-arts school with one shared mailbox

Your jiu-jitsu and muay-thai academy runs everything through info@northgatemma.com.
  • Add a single inbox for the academy’s club with that address.
  • Forward info@ to the forwarding address and verify.
  • New senders who aren’t members yet are auto-created as contacts, so first-time enquiries from prospective students still land in the Inbox and can be followed up.

​
Tips & best practices

  • Verify before you rely on it. Inbound mail is silently dropped for unverified inboxes. Send a test email to the club address and confirm it appears in the Inbox before announcing the address.
  • One inbox per real mailbox. Don’t point two clubs’ forwarding at the same source address; capture is keyed on the forwarding address per club.
  • Pair inbox capture with a verified sending domain. Members reading a reply from your own domain trust it more, and deliverability is better.
  • Keep the club address stable. Because the address can’t be edited, choose the mailbox you intend to keep before creating the inbox.

​
Troubleshooting

Issue: Emails sent to the club address don’t appear in the Inbox. Cause / fix: The inbox is not verified, or forwarding isn’t actually enabled at your provider. Confirm the status chip reads Verified; if not, use Resend Verification and click the link. Then re-check that your provider is forwarding to the exact ..._...@inbox.1club.ai address (copy it again to be sure). Issue: The verification link says it is invalid or expired. Cause / fix: Verification tokens expire. Open the inbox and click Resend Verification (or use the row action) to send a fresh link, then click it promptly. Issue: My provider won’t enable forwarding without confirming a code sent to the forwarding address. Cause / fix: The forwarding address is a capture endpoint, not a readable mailbox, so provider confirmation codes sent there can’t be retrieved. Use a forwarding method that doesn’t require a returned code (a filter/rule or catch-all), or contact support. Issue: Replies I send from the Inbox come from a platform address, not my club’s. Cause / fix: Your sending domain isn’t verified. Add it under Settings > Domains with purpose Email, add the DNS records, and click Verify. Until the domain is verified, your club address is used as reply-to only. Issue: An inbound email created a duplicate-looking contact. Cause / fix: The sender wrote from an email 1Club hadn’t seen, so a new contact was created. Merge or update the contact from the member’s profile if it duplicates an existing record with a different address.
  • Inbox - Where captured inbound mail lands and where you reply.
  • Notifications - Route new-message alerts to the right staff.
  • Message templates - Reusable content for replies and sends.
  • Integrations - Other external connections for your organization.