Gmail settings for automatically forwarding to the Mailbox

Gmail settings for automatically forwarding to the Mailbox

We recommend that only invoices or contracts are received in the Mailbox of the Spend Cloud, so that the scans from the mailbox can be processed as efficiently as possible in the Spend Cloud. Below we explain step by step how to set up Gmail so that invoices are automatically forwarded to the Mailbox.

AlertImportant: When you set up an automatic filter in Gmail to forward emails, the original subject line is preserved — no "FW:" or "Fwd:" is added to the subject. Therefore, always use a filter instead of forwarding manually.

Step 1: Add a forwarding address in Gmail

Before you can set up a filter, you must first add the Spend Cloud mailbox address as a forwarding address in Gmail.

  1. Open Gmail and click on the gear icon (⚙) in the top right corner and select See all settings.
  2. Go to the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab.
  3. Click on Add a forwarding address.
  4. Enter the Spend Cloud mailbox address: [customername]@invoice.spend.cloud.
  5. Click Next and confirm the forwarding address.
  6. Gmail will send a confirmation email to the specified address. Contact the Spend Cloud administrator to have the confirmation link in this email approved, or look up the confirmation code in the Spend Cloud Mailbox.
  7. Enter the confirmation code in Gmail or click the confirmation link to activate the forwarding address.
Info
Please note: Set the option "Forward a copy of incoming mail to..." to Disable forwarding. We will use a filter to forward only relevant emails (with attachments), not all emails.

Step 2: Create a filter to automatically forward invoices

Now that the forwarding address is set up, you can create a filter to automatically forward only emails with attachments.

  1. Open Gmail and click on the gear icon (⚙) in the top right corner and select See all settings.
  2. Go to the Filters and Blocked Addresses tab.
  3. Click on Create a new filter.
  4. Check the Has attachment checkbox (at the bottom of the filter window). Optional: Enter the email address or domain of the sender(s) in the From field if you only want to forward invoices from specific suppliers.
  5. Click Create filter.
  6. Check the Forward it to option and select the previously added mailbox address ([customername]@invoice.spend.cloud).
  7. Optional: Check Never send it to Spam, so that invoices do not accidentally end up in the spam folder.
  8. Click Create filter to save the filter.

Step 3 (optional): Filter to exclude unwanted emails

To prevent reminders, newsletters, or other unwanted emails from being forwarded to the Mailbox, you can set up additional filters.

  1. Go back to Settings → Filters and Blocked Addresses → Create a new filter.
  2. In the Subject or Has the words field, enter keywords you want to exclude, for example:
    • reminder
    • newsletter
    • unsubscribe
  3. Click Create filter.
  4. Do not check the Forward it to option (leave it empty). Optionally check Delete it or Skip the Inbox if you want to hide these emails.
  5. Click Create filter to save.
IdeaTip: You can combine multiple keywords in one filter by separating them with OR in the Has the words field. For example: reminder OR newsletter OR herinnering OR nieuwsbrief.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are attachments not arriving in the Mailbox? 

Check whether the emails actually contain attachments and whether the filter is correctly set to "Has attachment". Also verify that the forwarding address is confirmed and active.

Can I also forward existing emails via the filter? 

Yes, when creating a filter you can check the option Also apply filter to matching conversations to retroactively apply the filter to existing emails.

I see "Fwd:" in the subject of forwarded emails. What now? 

This only happens when you manually forward emails. Make sure you use an automatic filter (as described in Step 2). Filters in Gmail preserve the original subject without adding "Fwd:".

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