Shared mailbox, alias or group: which does your team need?

By the RelyPost team · Digital Shift LLC

The short answer

Use a personal mailbox for one person’s email and sign-in. Use an alias for another address that delivers to an existing destination. Use a group to distribute messages to multiple recipients. Use a shared mailbox when several people need access to one mailbox and its conversation history.

An address such as support@yourcompany.com can look the same to a customer in each setup. What changes is where the message lives, who can see it and how the team handles replies. Choose based on the workflow behind the address.

Use an alias for an extra address

An alias is useful when one person or an existing mailbox handles several addresses. For example, a small team might send hello@ and contact@ to the same mailbox. This avoids creating a separate inbox for every public-facing address.

An alias is not a separate user account or a place to keep an independent message history. It also does not, by itself, grant permission to send as that address. Confirm the intended sender configuration before using it for replies.

Use a group to distribute a message

A group works when one incoming message should reach several recipients, such as a team announcement address. Each recipient handles their own copy. A distribution group does not create one shared place to see who has handled a customer conversation.

Before adding external recipients, consider whether the message content should leave the organization. Review group membership when people join or leave the team.

Use a shared mailbox for shared conversations

A shared mailbox suits sales, operations or support when multiple authorized teammates need the same mail history. Grant access individually instead of sharing a password. RelyPost separates read, write, management and send permissions so access can match a person’s responsibilities.

Receiving access and permission to send a reply are distinct. Check both when onboarding a teammate, and test revocation when they leave the role. Shared mailboxes are included up to the limits of eligible paid Mail plans. Review pricing before choosing this setup.

Choose the smallest setup that does the job

If one person answers every message, begin with a personal mailbox and aliases. If everyone needs a copy but not a shared history, consider a group. If multiple people need to coordinate replies, use a shared mailbox and agree on who handles each conversation.

A shared mailbox is an email collaboration tool. It does not automatically provide ticket assignment, response-time reporting or a help-desk service level. If your support workflow needs those features, evaluate them separately.

Next: Explore business email for teams

Need help with your setup? Contact RelyPost support or compare plans.

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