Autovella has two kinds of connection in Settings. Settings, Customization, Integrations lets an administrator connect Slack and choose a channel and the events to announce there. Settings, Company Settings, Email connects a Gmail or Outlook / Microsoft 365 mailbox, or a custom SMTP server, so the emails Autovella sends come from your own account. Microsoft Teams, GitHub and WhatsApp Business appear in the Integrations list but are marked Coming soon and cannot be connected yet.
In this guide
Which integrations are available and who can set them upHow to connect Slack and choose a channelHow to choose which events post to SlackHow to connect Gmail or Outlook for sending emailWhat the email connection sends, and how SMTP fits inFrequently asked questions
Which integrations are available and who can set them up
Here is what exists today:
- Slack: available. Posts project and task updates to a Slack channel.
- Microsoft Teams, GitHub and WhatsApp Business: listed in Integrations with a Coming soon label. There is nothing to configure for them yet.
- Gmail and Outlook / Microsoft 365: available under Settings, Email, for sending email.
- SMTP: available under Settings, Email as an alternative sender for system emails.
Setup is for administrators. The Integrations page is part of the Customization group in Settings, and it only appears for Admins when your organization has integrations switched on. Each integration is enabled per organization by Autovella, so if you cannot see Integrations in Settings, contact support to ask for Slack to be enabled on your account. Connecting or changing an integration needs permission to update Settings. If the page lists Slack but says Not configured on this server, the platform side of the Slack connection still needs to be set up, which support can do.
The email connections need the Email Integration module to be enabled for your organization. If connecting fails with a message that the feature is not available, ask support to enable it.
How to connect Slack and choose a channel
- Go to Settings and, under Customization, click Integrations.
- On the Slack card, click Connect. You are taken to Slack to approve access for your workspace. Autovella asks for permission to post messages, including to public channels, and to read the list of channels.
- After approving, you return to Settings and see Slack connected successfully!. The card shows a Connected badge and the Workspace name.
- Under Channel, open the drop-down and pick a channel. Autovella saves the choice immediately (Channel saved). The list shows public channels only.
- Click Send test. A message saying Autovella is connected to this channel is posted to the channel. The button is disabled until a channel is chosen.
Only one Slack workspace is connected per organization, and one channel receives the notifications. Use a dedicated channel such as #autovella-updates so the feed does not drown out conversation.
How to choose which events post to Slack
Below the channel picker, Notify on lists the events you can announce. Tick or untick a box and Autovella saves it straight away (Notifications updated):
- Task created
- Task status changed, which is ticked by default when you first connect
- Project created
- Project status changed
- Member added to project
- Comment added
- Invoice paid
- RAID item created, see RAID log
Messages are short: for example a new task or project name, a status change showing the old and new status, or an invoice that has been paid. Comment messages include the first part of the comment text.
Start small. Task status changed and Invoice paid are usually the most useful. Comment added and Task created can be noisy in busy projects, so add them only if the channel is for that purpose.
Messages are sent in the background, and a Slack problem never blocks anyone in Autovella. If a post fails, the card shows Last error with the reason. Common causes are an archived or deleted channel, or the Slack app being removed from the workspace. Choose a channel again, or disconnect and reconnect.
Disconnect Slack
Click Disconnect on the Slack card and confirm. Notifications stop immediately, Autovella revokes its access in Slack and the saved channel and event choices are removed, so you will choose them again if you reconnect.
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How to connect Gmail or Outlook for sending email
Go to Settings, then Company Settings, then Email. There is a card for Google Gmail and one for Microsoft Outlook. Each connection is a two-part setup: first register Autovella as an app with Google or Microsoft, then connect your mailbox.
Gmail
- In Google Cloud (console.cloud.google.com) go to APIs & Services, Credentials and create an OAuth 2.0 Client ID.
- Set its redirect URI to the address shown in the amber box on the Gmail card. It ends in
/api/email/callback/google. - Paste the Client ID and Client Secret into the card and click Save Credentials. The secret is shown masked afterwards.
- Click Connect Gmail, sign in to Google and approve. The card then reads Connected as your address.
Outlook / Microsoft 365
- In the Azure portal (portal.azure.com) open App registrations and choose New registration.
- Set the redirect URI to the address shown on the Outlook card, ending in
/api/email/callback/microsoft. - Paste the Application (Client) ID and the Client Secret Value. Leave Tenant ID as
commonfor personal or multi-tenant accounts, or enter your own tenant ID. - Click Save Credentials, then Connect Outlook and approve.
To remove a connection click Disconnect beside it and confirm. Each person sees only their own connections.
Redirect URI mismatches are the top cause of failure. If Google or Microsoft shows a redirect error, check the address you registered matches the one on the card exactly, including https and no trailing slash. If you return to Settings with a connection failed message, re-save the credentials and try again.
What the email connection sends, and how SMTP fits in
Autovella uses the connection for system emails that are sent on behalf of your organization, such as password resets, scheduled reports and automation emails. It picks a sender in this order:
- The organization's connected Gmail or Outlook mailbox. If several are connected, the one connected first (and still active) is used, which is usually the administrator's.
- The organization's own SMTP settings.
- Autovella's default sender.
Mail sent through a connected mailbox is sent as that account. Gmail may replace a custom From address with the connected account's address unless it is a configured alias. Because of this, connect a shared or service mailbox such as notifications@yourcompany.com rather than a person who may leave.
Custom SMTP
The SMTP (transactional) card on the same page is used for password resets and other system emails when no mailbox is connected. Fill in Host, Port, Username, Password and From address, tick Use TLS (port 465) if your provider uses implicit TLS, and click Save SMTP. Leave it blank to use Autovella's defaults.
For sending to customers you may also want branded emails and templates, see Invoice and quote templates and Scheduled reports and alerts.
Frequently asked questions
Not yet. They appear on the Integrations page with a Coming soon label, and there is nothing to configure. Slack is the only chat integration you can connect today.
Integrations is visible only to administrators, and only when integrations are enabled for your organization. Contact support to have Slack enabled.
Task created, Task status changed, Project created, Project status changed, Member added to project, Comment added, Invoice paid and RAID item created. You tick the ones you want under Notify on.
The channel list shows public channels only, so choose a public channel for notifications.
System emails such as password resets, scheduled reports and automation emails. If no mailbox is connected it uses your SMTP settings, and then Autovella's default sender.
Open Settings, Integrations and look for a Last error message on the Slack card. Check the channel still exists, use Send test, and if it keeps failing disconnect and reconnect Slack.