⚠️ Important: Connecting your email will automatically create contacts and companies from your synced email activity, which may import a large number of records from past emails. To limit what's imported, adjust your sync settings before connecting. Otherwise, you'll need to archive any unwanted contacts and companies after the sync.
Email and Calendar Sync connects your Gmail or Outlook accounts with Bonsai to automatically capture email and meeting activity in your CRM. Contacts and companies are created from the people you communicate and meet with, and relevant activity appears directly on each record so your CRM stays up to date without manual data entry.
With Email and Calendar Sync, you can connect multiple Google or Microsoft accounts, view synced emails and upcoming meetings from contact and company records, and customize privacy settings to control what information is shared.
Connecting to email and calendar sync
Select the account type you want to connect.
Follow the authorization steps to connect your Google or Microsoft account.
Review your sync and privacy settings.
Confirm your connection.
Once your account is connected, your synced emails and upcoming meetings will appear throughout your CRM.
How email and calendar sync works
Connected accounts sync email and calendar activity
You can connect Gmail, Outlook, or Hotmail accounts to Bonsai. Each user can connect up to 10 Google or Microsoft accounts.
Once connected, Bonsai syncs:
Email threads with contacts and companies
Upcoming meetings and calendar events
Meeting participants
Meeting join links
Synced activity on contact and company records
Contacts and companies are created automatically
When you email or meet with new people, Bonsai can automatically create contact and company records based on your activity.
Synced emails appear on contact and company records
Synced email threads appear in:
Contact activity feeds
Company activity feeds
Company Overview
The dedicated Emails tab
Compose & reply emails
In addition to inbound email sync, which already brings your Gmail conversations into Bonsai, you can start new emails and Reply, Reply All, or Forward any message in a thread.
Where it appears
Compose and reply is available in the Emails tab on a contact for users who have connected their Google (Gmail) inbox through Email Sync.
Start a new email
A green New Email button is available in the Emails tab toolbar. Clicking New Email opens a compose panel that slides in from the right. You can:
Add recipients by selecting CRM contacts
Type any email address and press Enter — recipients don't need to already exist as contacts
Add a subject
Write a rich-text email
Attach files
Reply, Reply All, and Forward
Open any synced email and choose Reply, Reply All, or Forward. The same compose panel handles all three modes and automatically sets the recipients correctly.
Reply sends to the original sender. When replying to an email you sent, Bonsai correctly addresses the original recipient instead of yourself.
Reply All includes everyone on the thread except you.
Forward starts with an empty recipient list.
Switching between reply modes keeps any content you've already typed, so you can change the action without losing your draft.
Replies remain threaded with the original conversation in Gmail, keeping the conversation connected across both platforms.
Draft protection
The compose panel won't close accidentally when you have unsaved content. If you click outside the panel, press Esc, or click ×, Bonsai first asks "Discard draft?" so you can safely keep working or discard the draft.
Upcoming meetings appear in activity feeds
Upcoming meetings are displayed at the top of activity feeds with key details, including participants and a one-click Join option.
Default privacy settings
Email and Calendar Sync includes privacy controls that allow you to manage what information is shared.
By default:
Only email subjects and participants are shared with your team
Full email content is not shared
You can exclude specific email addresses or domains from syncing
You can control which email and calendar activity creates CRM records
Note: Bonsai only shares email subjects and participants by default. Full email content is never shared with your team, and you can customize exclusions to control which activity is synced.
Managing connected accounts
After connecting an account, you can return to My Account → Email and Calendar to review connected accounts, update settings, or manage exclusions.
Sync settings
You can customize how Bonsai uses your email and calendar activity, including:
Auto-create scope: Choose which email and calendar activity creates contacts and companies. The default setting is Selective, which includes only sent emails and attended events.
Backsync range: Choose how much past activity is imported.The default range includes the previous year.
FAQs
How many email and calendar accounts can I connect?
Each user can connect up to 10 Google or Microsoft accounts.
Does Bonsai share the full content of synced emails?
No. By default, only email subjects and participants are shared. Full email content is not shared with your team.
Can I stop certain emails or domains from syncing?
Yes. You can exclude specific email addresses or domains from syncing.
Will Bonsai automatically create contacts and companies?
Yes. Contacts and companies can be created from email and calendar activity based on your sync settings.
Where can I view synced emails?
Synced emails appear on contact and company activity feeds, Company Overview, and the Emails tab.
Can I import past email and calendar activity?
Yes. You can configure the backsync range to include past activity. The default range includes the previous year.
Can I disconnect an email or calendar account?
Yes. Connected accounts can be managed from My Account → Email and Calendar.