Practical working guide
How to link email conversations to the right CRM record
Link an email to a CRM record using the confirmed customer context, conversation identifiers and the specific enquiry or project. Do not rely on the subject line or sender address alone. Shared inboxes, forwarded messages and several simultaneous jobs can make automatic matching ambiguous.
Define matching and review rules
| Evidence | Recommended treatment |
|---|---|
| Known thread already linked to one job | Retain the link unless context changes |
| Same sender, multiple open jobs | Ask reviewer to select the specific record |
| Forwarded message or new recipient | Recheck audience and original context |
| No confident match | Leave unlinked in a review queue |
Understand the identifiers without treating them as permissions
RFC 5322 defines Message-ID, In-Reply-To and References fields used to identify messages and replies. They can support conversation matching; they do not establish the sender’s identity, access rights or approval authority. Fictional example: one office address emails about jobs A and B with the subject “Update”. A reviewer checks the referenced job and links the message to B, preserving the original message reference and review decision.
Sources: RFC 5322 — Internet Message Format.
Correct a wrong link safely
Record the old link, corrected link, reviewer and reason. Check whether the mistaken link exposed content to another customer or triggered an action; follow your incident process where needed. Keep attachment access restricted after relinking. Apply these as requirements when assessing an email connector, or use them manually: this guide does not claim that Client Craft automatically imports or links every mailbox.