Published at: 2026-11-11

Use the Outlook Add-in

View account information in Outlook and save important emails to CRM.

Overview

The ShareCRM add-in lets you view related accounts and contacts while working with Outlook emails, sync important emails to CRM, and create CRM records for new people you communicate with.

This guide covers two groups of tasks:

Identify people and create CRM records: Review email participants, view matched account details, and add new people or business records to CRM.
Sync emails: Save received or outgoing emails to CRM, check sync results, change linked records, and view saved emails.

Before you begin

You have an active ShareCRM user account.
Your organization has installed or deployed the ShareCRM add-in, and you can open it in Outlook.
Your administrator has completed the required authorization. To log in with a linked account, your Microsoft 365 account must be linked to your ShareCRM account.
Before you sync emails, your administrator has completed Outlook Email Sync to CRM Authorization.

Open ShareCRM and log in

In Outlook, open the email you want to work with, or start composing an email.
Open the ShareCRM add-in from the Outlook toolbar or the email’s apps menu.
On the login page in the right pane, click Login to access CRM.

If your administrator has completed Microsoft 365 organization authorization and linked your current Outlook account to your ShareCRM user account, clicking Login opens the linked account without asking you to enter your username and password again. Make sure you are using the Outlook account that your administrator linked.

You can also click Use account and password login at the bottom of the login page and follow the prompts to sign in with your ShareCRM username and password.

ShareCRM login page in the Outlook side pane

After login, the top of the pane shows the current CRM user, for example, Hi, Jordan. Confirm that you are using your own account before continuing.

Note: The add-in name may vary with your organization’s deployment.

Identify people and create CRM records

First, check whether the email participants already have CRM records. You can view matched account details directly or create records for people who are not yet in CRM.

Identify email participants and matched CRM records

When you open an email, the add-in uses the sender, recipient, and Cc email addresses to display email participants and matching CRM records.

Area in the pane	What it shows
CRM records not matched by email	People without a matching CRM record. Use Add to CRM to create a record.
Data matched to CRM	Matching accounts, contacts, or other CRM records. You can view account details or select records to link to the current email.
Employee Matches	Recognized employees in your organization, helping you distinguish colleagues from external contacts.

The first two groups appear under Email-Matched Records.

Email participants, matched Account and Contact records, and Employee Matches

For example, if an email includes both a customer and a colleague, you can link the email to the relevant account. If an external participant is not yet in CRM, use Add to CRM to create a record first.

Note: A matched account or contact does not mean the email has been synced. You still need to select the records to link and complete the sync operation.

View matched account details and activities

Once an account is matched, you can review its background and existing activities in the Outlook side pane before replying.

In the CRM record list, click the blue account name.
In Account Detail, select Details to review account information, such as the owner.
Select Activities to review account follow-ups and related communication records.
To return to the email participant list, click the back arrow at the upper left of the account detail pane.

Account Detail in Outlook with the Activities tab selected

For example, before replying, review the account owner and recent follow-ups to avoid repeating questions or missing an existing arrangement.

Note: The information available in account details depends on your CRM permissions and your organization’s configuration.

Add unmatched people to CRM

When you receive an email from a new customer or find a participant who is not yet in CRM, you can start creating a record directly from the email participant list.

Under CRM records not matched by email, find the person you want to add.
Click Add to CRM next to that person.
Select the type of record to create.
Complete and check the information on the form that opens.
Save the record, then return to the email participant list to check the result.

Add to CRM menu with Account, Leads, Contact, and Opportunity

Choose the record type according to the situation:

Menu option	When to use it
Account	Create an account profile to manage an ongoing customer relationship.
Leads	Record a new prospect whose needs and interest require further qualification.
Contact	Record the individual you communicate with and maintain their contact information and account relationship.
Opportunity	Record a specific sales opportunity to track requirements, proposals, and progress toward a deal.

Before creating a record, check whether it already exists in CRM to avoid duplicates. The required fields depend on your organization’s forms.

Note: Add to CRM creates a business record. Sync Emails to CRM saves the current email. If you also want to save the email after creating a record, check the linked records and complete email sync separately.

Sync emails

Link important emails to the relevant accounts, contacts, or other CRM records so you can review the communication later. Email matching helps you find records; you still need to confirm which records belong with the current email.

Each operation applies to the current email. Open and sync other emails or later replies separately if you want to save them too.

Sync an email you are reading

Save a received email containing customer requirements, quotation feedback, or other important information to the relevant CRM records.

In Outlook, open the email you want to save.
In the ShareCRM pane, find Data matched to CRM.
Click the selection circle next to each relevant account or contact.
Confirm that the selected records show orange check marks.
At the bottom of the pane, click Sync Emails to CRM.

Account and Contact selected, with the Sync Emails to CRM button at the bottom of the pane

You can select multiple records for the same email. For example, select both the relevant account and contact to link the email to both records. Although the button is labeled Sync Emails to CRM, the operation saves the current email.

Set up sync after sending

When sending a proposal, quotation, or follow-up email, select the CRM records and enable Sync After Sending before sending.

In Outlook, click New mail and enter the recipients, Cc recipients, subject, and message.
Open the ShareCRM add-in for the email you are composing.
Review the CRM records matched to the recipients and Cc recipients.
Select the records to link to this email.
At the upper right of the pane, turn on Sync After Sending.
Check the email content and selected records, then click Send in Outlook.
After sending, open the email in Sent Items and check its sync status in the add-in.

Sync After Sending enabled in the ShareCRM pane while composing an email

Note: Sync After Sending schedules sync for this email after it is sent. Saving a draft or turning on the toggle alone does not mean the email has been synced. Check the result after sending.

Check the sync result

When the email has been synced, a green Synced to ShareCRM message appears near the top of the add-in. You can then review or change the linked records.

Green Synced to ShareCRM status; Save and Cancel are visible because record selections have been changed

The screenshot shows a synced email with pending changes to its record links. The green message confirms email sync; Save and Cancel apply to the changed selections, as described in the next section.

For an email synced after sending, open it in Sent Items and check for the same green status. If the status has not appeared, check the relevant account’s activities in CRM for the email record. If the email is still missing, ask your administrator to check authorization and account binding.

Change linked records after syncing

After syncing, you can add another account or contact, or correct an incorrect record link.

For example, an email initially linked only to a contact may also need to appear in the account’s communication history. Select the account and save the change.

In Outlook, open the synced email.
Confirm that the add-in shows Synced to ShareCRM.
In the CRM record list, select additional records or clear records that should no longer be linked.
At the bottom of the pane, click Save.
Check the selected records after saving.

As shown in the screenshot above, Save and Cancel appear when you change the record selections. Click Cancel to discard the pending changes.

Changing record links does not delete the synced email itself. If you remove a link and need to find the email later, check the records that remain linked.

View synced emails in CRM

After syncing an email, open the linked account in CRM and find the email in the Activities panel on the right.

In CRM, open the account you selected when syncing.
In the Activities panel, find the Email entry.
Review the activity and its Account, Contact, and Email links to confirm that it is associated with the correct records.
Click the linked value next to Email to open the details.
In the detail view, review the email subject, sender, recipients, receipt time, and message body.

Account Activities in CRM with the linked Account, Contact, and Email record

The detail view below opens from the activity’s Email link. The left side shows the email content. The right side provides Interaction Summary and other available interaction information. The available content depends on your organization’s configuration and the current page.

Email detail view with sender, recipients, receipt time, message body, and Interaction Summary

Frequently asked questions

Why has the email not synced even though an account was matched?

Email matching helps you find CRM records. Select the records you want to link, then click Sync Emails to CRM. For a new email, select the records, enable Sync After Sending, and send it. Confirm that the green Synced to ShareCRM message appears afterward.

What if I cannot find the other person’s CRM record?

First, check the email address in the message. If the person is not yet in CRM, click Add to CRM next to them, select the appropriate record type, and complete the form.

Does adding someone to CRM also save the email?

Check record creation and email sync separately. To save the email, also confirm the linked records and complete email sync.

Can I link the same email to both an account and a contact?

Yes. Select the relevant account and contact in the matched CRM records, then sync the email or save the updated links.

What if I selected the wrong record before syncing?

Open the synced email, change the record selections, and click Save. This changes the record links without deleting the synced email itself.

Why can I not see ShareCRM or log in?

First, confirm that your organization has provided access to the ShareCRM add-in. To log in with a linked account, your current Outlook account must match the account linked by your administrator. If Login still does not open CRM, ask your administrator to check Microsoft 365 organization authorization and the binding between your Outlook and ShareCRM accounts.