Connect Gmail

Connect your Gmail inbox so event inquiries surface automatically in the Inbox, and reply without leaving Joinways.

For many venues, email is still the very first channel through which inquiries arrive: a couple looking for a wedding venue, a company planning a seminar, a caterer asking about a date. Connecting your Gmail inbox to Joinways lets the platform detect those inquiries automatically, surface them in unified Inquiries, and then let you reply straight from the event file, without ever leaving Joinways.

The goal is simple: never lose an inquiry in a crowded inbox again, and keep the whole commercial conversation in the same place as your quotes, contacts and planning. This guide walks through connecting a Gmail or Google Workspace account step by step, what actually syncs, how the mechanism works under the hood, and how to resolve the rare hiccups.

Prerequisites

Before you start, make sure you have the following in place. They ensure the authorization goes through smoothly.

A Gmail or Google Workspace account: this is the address that receives the inquiries you want to surface in Joinways.
Rights to authorize an app: on a Google Workspace account managed by an organization, the admin can restrict third-party apps. Check that you can grant access, or ask your administrator.
Access to Joinways with the permissions needed to open Settings and manage your workspace integrations.

What you'll learn

Connect your Gmail account securely via OAuth2.
Choose the sync scope between new emails and recent history.
Check that inquiries come through to Inquiries and attach to the right contact.
Diagnose and fix the main issues: reconnection, sync delay, permissions.

Connect Gmail, step by step

Connecting takes only a moment. Follow these steps in order; at each one, the guide explains what you see on screen and what you authorize.

Go to Settings then Integrations. This is the control center for every external connection in your workspace.
In the Inquiry sources section, find the Gmail row and click Connect next to Gmail.
A Google window opens. Authorize Joinways via the Google window (OAuth): pick the relevant account, then confirm the requested access. You stay on Google's servers throughout this step.
Back in Joinways, choose the scope: new emails only, or recent history to also pull in messages already received.

Once these steps are done, the connection becomes active and the first sync starts in the background. There is nothing else to configure to start receiving your inquiries.

Reference: what syncs and what you authorize

This section recaps, factually, the scope of the connection as described above. It helps you understand exactly what Joinways sees and does with your Gmail inbox.

The sync scope

New emails only: Joinways analyzes messages received from the moment of connection onward. This is the lightest scope, ideal for a clean start.
Recent history: Joinways also pulls in messages already in your inbox, so you recover in-progress inquiries that arrived just before connecting.

What comes through to Joinways

New emails are analyzed and detected inquiries surface in the Inbox.
You can reply directly from the event file, without reopening Gmail.
Threads are automatically attached to the right contact, keeping the history clean.

How access is secured

The connection is built on OAuth2, Google's authorization standard. In practice, this means you grant access from the Google window, and your credentials are never stored by Joinways. You can revoke that access at any time, either on Google's side or by disconnecting the account in Joinways.

How it works

Once the connection is established, Joinways watches your Gmail inbox according to the scope you chose. For each new incoming email, the content is analyzed to determine whether it is a relevant inquiry for a venue.

When an inquiry is detected, it surfaces in unified Inquiries. From there, you handle the conversation like any other exchange: you reply from the event file, and the thread stays attached to the right contact.

Syncing is continuous: you do not need to refresh manually. The first sync may take a few minutes while Joinways processes the first messages.

Edge cases

Several inboxes: depending on your plan, you can link several Gmail addresses to the same workspace. Just repeat the connection steps for each inbox.
Managed Workspace account: if your organization restricts third-party apps, authorization may require an administrator to act before the Google window grants access.
Google password change: changing your password can revoke the access you granted. In that case you need to reconnect the account.

💡 Good to know: the connection uses OAuth2. Your credentials are never stored by Joinways — you stay in control and can revoke access at any time.

Best practices

Connect the address that actually receives your commercial inquiries, rather than a rarely used personal inbox.
Choose recent history if you have in-progress inquiries that arrived just before connecting, so nothing is lost.
After connecting, wait a few minutes then check Inquiries to confirm the first sync went through.
Always reply from the event file to keep the whole conversation centralized and attached to the right contact.

Troubleshooting

Nothing comes through to Inquiries

Problem: you connected Gmail but no inquiry appears.

Cause: the first sync has not finished yet, or the connection is not active.

Solution: check that the connection is active in Settings then Integrations, and wait a few minutes for the first sync.

Sync delay

Problem: inquiries take a while to appear after connecting.

Cause: the first sync processes messages in the background and can take a few minutes depending on volume.

Solution: let the sync finish, then refresh Inquiries. Subsequent new emails then come through continuously.

Connection lost or permissions revoked

Problem: the connection shows as inactive, or emails stop coming through.

Cause: a Google password change or an access revocation on Google's side can cut the connection.

Solution: reconnect the account from Settings then Integrations, and re-authorize Joinways via the Google window.

Real-world example

Tilleuls Estate receives all its wedding inquiries at contact@tilleuls-estate.com, a Google Workspace address. The manager opens Settings then Integrations, clicks Connect next to Gmail, picks the account in the Google window, and authorizes Joinways.

Because several couples wrote in the previous week, she chooses the Recent history scope. A few minutes later, those inquiries appear in Inquiries, each attached to the right contact. She replies to the first one directly from the event file, never reopening Gmail.

Another example

An urban event space runs two separate addresses: one for corporate events, one for private parties. Its plan allows linking several inboxes, so the team connects both Gmail accounts one after the other, choosing New emails only each time.

The result: every inquiry, whatever address it lands on, converges into the same unified Inquiries. When the Google password for the corporate inbox is changed a month later, the connection drops; the team reconnects it in two clicks from Settings then Integrations.

FAQ

Can I connect several inboxes?

Yes. Depending on your plan, you can link several addresses to the same workspace. Repeat the connection steps for each inbox.

Are my Gmail credentials stored by Joinways?

No. The connection uses OAuth2: your credentials are never stored by Joinways. You grant access via the Google window.

What's the difference between new emails and recent history?

New emails only processes messages received after connecting. Recent history also pulls in messages already present, useful to recover in-progress inquiries.

How long before I see the first inquiries?

The first sync usually takes a few minutes. After that, new emails come through continuously.

Why did my connection stop?

Most often, a Google password change revokes access. Reconnect the account from Settings then Integrations to restore syncing.

Can I reply to inquiries without opening Gmail?

Yes. You reply directly from the event file in Joinways, and the thread stays attached to the right contact.

What if my account is managed by an organization?

On a managed Google Workspace account, you need rights to authorize an app. If access is restricted, ask your administrator.