Many clients would rather email a support address than sign in to a hosting account or open a ticket manually. For a reseller, that means support requests arrive in an ordinary inbox, where they are easy to miss, hard to track and difficult to share with a team.
The Truehost Reseller Panel can connect a support mailbox to a ticket department. Eligible emails sent to that mailbox become support tickets, and replies are added to the right ticket automatically.
Your clients can simply email your support address. Every eligible message becomes a support ticket, and replies are added to the correct ticket automatically.
This gives you:
- Easier communication for clients, who do not need to sign in to ask for help.
- Automatic ticket creation.
- Automatic association of replies with existing tickets.
- Less manual work for you.
- Better organisation of customer support requests.
Not every email is guaranteed to become a ticket. This article explains the conditions and exceptions, so you can set things up correctly and know what to expect.
How Email-to-Ticket Works #
- A client sends an email to your support mailbox.
- Your email provider receives it. The message waits in the mailbox on your provider’s mail server.
- The panel checks the mailbox every five minutes.
- The panel identifies the message and determines whether it should be imported.
- An eligible new email becomes a support ticket in the department connected to that mailbox.
- A reply with the correct ticket reference is added to the existing ticket instead of creating a new one.
- The client can keep communicating by email. They can reply directly to the ticket notification emails they receive.
The panel uses the ticket reference in the email subject to find the right ticket. It looks like this:
[Ticket #123456]
The number above is only an example. Real ticket numbers will differ.
Before You Start #
Have these details ready before you connect your support mailbox.
| Requirement | Example |
| Protocol | IMAP (recommended) or POP3 |
| Incoming mail server | mail.yourbrand.co.ke |
| Port and encryption | 993 with SSL for IMAP; 995 with SSL for POP3 |
| Username | Usually the full email address |
| Password | The mailbox password |
| Support mailbox | For example, [email protected] |
A few points to understand:
- IMAP and POP3 are protocols (sets of rules) used to retrieve email from a mail server.
- IMAP is recommended for this integration.
- Server settings come from your email hosting provider – The examples above are illustrations. Providers do not all use the same hostnames or configuration, so check your provider’s documentation.
- The credentials must be correct – The panel cannot read the mailbox if the username or password is wrong.
- The mailbox should be dedicated to support – The next section explains why.
Important: Use a Dedicated Support Mailbox #
Use a mailbox that exists only for importing support email. Do not use it as an ordinary personal or business inbox.
IMAP behaviour #
The panel imports unread messages and marks them as read.
If someone opens a message in Outlook, webmail, or another mail application before the panel imports it, the message may not be imported. That support request could then be missed.
POP3 behaviour #
Every imported message is deleted from the mailbox.
In simple terms, once the panel imports a message, the copy on the mail server is gone. If the mailbox is also your everyday inbox, you could lose emails you wanted to keep.
Why a dedicated mailbox matters #
A dedicated support mailbox keeps messages from being accidentally read or deleted before the panel processes them. Let the panel handle incoming messages and work on them as tickets.
How to Connect the Support Mailbox #
You connect the mailbox to a ticket department.
- Log in to the Truehost Reseller Panel.
- Go to Setup → Ticket Departments.
- Find the department that should receive these emails, for example, General.
- Click Edit.
- Tick Enable mail import (email piping).
- Enter the incoming email settings from the table below.
- Set the sender restrictions (Accept mail from unknown senders below).
- Save the changes.
Mail import fields #
| Field | What to enter |
| Protocol | IMAP or POP3 |
| Encryption | SSL or STARTTLS |
| Mail Server Host | The incoming mail server provided by the email host |
| Port | Leave empty to use the default, or enter the correct port |
| Username | The mailbox login |
| Password | The mailbox password |
| Folder | INBOX, unless the email provider specifies otherwise |
| Delete messages from the mailbox after import | Configure according to the desired mailbox behaviour |
| Accept mail from unknown senders | Enable if people without client accounts should be allowed to create tickets |
Default ports #
If you leave Port empty, the panel may use a default port based on your protocol and encryption:
| Protocol | Encryption | Default port |
| IMAP | SSL | 993 |
| POP3 | SSL | 995 |
| IMAP | STARTTLS | 143 |
| POP3 | STARTTLS | 110 |
These are standard defaults. They will not work with every custom mail server setup. If your provider gives you a different port, enter it in the Port field.
Who can create tickets? #
Accept mail from unknown senders controls who may open a ticket by email. Enable it if people who do not have a client account, such as prospects, should be able to reach support. If you leave it off, you stay in control of who can create tickets by email, but messages from other senders may not become tickets.
Password handling #
The mailbox password is stored encrypted. When you edit the department later, leave the Password field blank to keep the existing password.
Keep the mailbox password private. Never share it with clients or include it in support replies.