This article provides an overview of Homhero’s Unified Inbox, including how email behaviour can be configured and how messages are sent and received within the system.
What is Unified Inbox?
Unified Inbox is intended to be used as an additional product to a Property Managers Outlook/Gmail. Unified Inbox does not replace their current outbox. It is simply a ‘Unified Messaging Service’ which means that it allows you to receive and send all messages from a Unified location.
When a message is sent from Unified Inbox, Homhero automatically sets the reply-to address to slug@inbound.prod.homhero.com.au, when this reply email is attached. Homhero will receive the reply and place it into the corresponding folder in Homhero.
What configuration options are available?
There are four supported ways to configure email behaviour in Homhero’s Unified Inbox:
- Default behaviour — replies return to Unified
- Forward emails to Unified — bring external emails into Unified
- Replies don’t come to Unified — manage everything externally
- Disable 2-Way + forwarding Inbox — external management with partial visibility
1. Default behaviour — replies return to Unified
How it works
When sending emails from Unified Inbox, Homhero automatically sets the Reply-To address to the client’s Unified collection inbox: <slug>@inbound.prod.homhero.com.au
What happens to replies
- Guest replies are delivered directly into Unified Inbox
- Replies do not appear in the property manager’s personal email account
When to use this
This is ideal for clients who want all communication fully centralised within Homhero, without relying on an external email platform.
2. Forward emails to Unified — bring external emails Into Unified
How it works
This setup builds on the default behaviour, with the addition of a forwarding rule configured in the client’s email platform (e.g. Gmail, Outlook, Zoho).
Any emails forwarded to the Unified collection inbox <slug>@inbound.prod.homhero.com.au will appear in Unified Inbox.
What happens to replies
- Emails sent from Homhero will receive replies directly in Unified
- Emails forwarded (manually or automatically) from an external inbox will also appear in Unified
- If the sender cannot be matched to a known contact, the message will appear as a generic email
Limitations - Email assignment is not currently supported in Unified (planned for a future update)
When to use this
Best suited for clients who receive emails across multiple platforms but want a centralised view of communications inside Unified.
3. Replies don’t come to Unified — manage everything externally
How it works
The client enables Disable 2-Way Email in Homhero and does not configure any forwarding rules in their email platform.
Emails are still sent from Homhero, but the Reply-To address will match the configured Send Emails From address (e.g. Gmail or Zoho).
What happens to replies
- All replies go directly to the client’s external inbox
- No replies are captured in Unified Inbox
- All communication must be managed outside of Homhero
When to use this
Ideal for clients who already use dedicated email workflows (e.g. Zoho Desk, Gmail filters, Outlook rules) and prefer not to manage conversations within Homhero.
4. Disable 2-Way + forwarding Inbox — external management with partial visibility
How it works
This hybrid setup allows clients to manage outbound communication externally while still forwarding selected incoming emails into Unified for visibility.
Setup steps:
- Enable Disable 2-Way Email in Homhero
- Ensure the Send Emails From field is set to the client’s email address
- Create a forwarding rule in the external inbox to send selected emails to:
slug@inbound.prod.homhero.com.au
What happens to replies:
- Guest replies are received in the client’s external inbox
- Outbound replies sent from the external inbox will not appear in Unified
- Only forwarded incoming messages will appear in Unified
- Unified will display a partial thread (incoming messages only)
Why outbound replies don’t appear in Unified
Homhero’s Unified collection inbox treats all received emails as incoming guest messages. Because of this, it cannot distinguish between outbound emails sent by the client and genuine guest replies.
When to use this
- This is best for client who prefer to manage all communication through their own email platform, and
- Still want visibility of incoming guest enquiries within Unified for operational awareness
The best option will depend on how your team prefers to manage guest communication. If you’re unsure which setup is right for your business, please reach out to Homhero Support for guidance.