1. Send a test message from an outside account to the address customers use.
2. Reply to it and see where the reply lands and who can read it.
3. Check Junk, Spam, and any filtered or Other folder.
4. Look for mailbox rules or forwarding that move messages somewhere else. A rule nobody on the team set up, especially one that sends mail to an outside address or moves messages to Junk Email or RSS Subscriptions, can mean someone else got into the account: change the password, sign the account out everywhere, and check two-step sign-in before you turn the rule off.
5. Write down who is responsible for checking the inbox each day.

In Microsoft 365

1. If the address customers use is already its own user account with a shared password, do not delete it: deleting it can lose the old mail for good. Convert it instead. In the Microsoft 365 admin center, go to Users > Active users, select the account, and on the Mail tab choose Convert to shared mailbox. Then block sign-in on that account, so the old shared password stops working.
2. If the address does not exist yet, create a shared mailbox under Teams & groups > Shared mailboxes, then add the people who need it.
3. Give them Send as permission, so replies come from the business address instead of a personal one.

In Google Workspace

1. A Google Group set up as a collaborative inbox lets several people read, assign, and reply to messages sent to one address. In the group’s settings, under Posting policies, set Who can post as group to include the people who reply, and set Default sender to Group address, so replies come from the business address instead of a personal one.

• Messages arrive for some people but not for others.
• Replies go out from a personal address instead of the business address.
• No one is sure who can change the inbox settings.
• You find a forwarding or inbox rule no one remembers creating.

We trace the message path: the public address, forwarding, mailbox rules, permissions, and the address replies are sent from. In Microsoft 365, we check shared-mailbox access and send-as permissions. We change settings only after the account owner agrees, and we record who now looks after the inbox.

Should we use a shared mailbox or forwarding?

It depends on how the team replies. A shared mailbox keeps messages and replies in one place that several people can open. Forwarding copies messages into personal inboxes, which can scatter the replies. Little Fight NYC sets up shared inboxes in Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace for small teams.

Who should own a shared inbox?

One named person should check it and know who has access. The account itself should belong to the business, not to whoever set it up. Little Fight NYC can set that up.