Central Systems IT · Help
Connect your email and Stripe
Your business workspace can send email from your own address, show your inbox, and take card payments straight into your own Stripe account. You can set all of it up yourself in about 15 minutes. You don't need to call us or be technical. Follow the steps below in order.
Before you start
- Sign in as the business owner. Only the business's owner login (its primary account holder) can add or change email and Stripe connections. Team members with Settings access can see the status and send a test email, but can't change anything.
- Find Integrations. Open your business workspace, then choose Files & Dev → Integrations. On a phone, use the menu at the top of the workspace and pick Integrations. The Overview page also has a “Connect your email and payments” card with a button for each step.
- Have these handy: your email sign-in (Gmail / Google Workspace, Outlook or Hotmail, Microsoft 365, or your bulk email service), and your Stripe sign-in if you already have a Stripe account. If you don't have Stripe yet, you can create a free account at stripe.com (opens in a new tab).
Pick how your email is sent
Invoices, e-sign requests, review requests, order updates and your email campaigns go out under your business name. Choose one way in Integrations → Email sender.
Gmail or Google Workspace
Inbox hereSends from your own Gmail or work address with a Google App Password, and can show your inbox in the workspace. Steps just below.
Outlook or Hotmail, no setup
No passwordType your Outlook.com, Hotmail, Live or Microsoft 365 address and enter the 6-digit code we email to it. Customers’ replies then go to your Outlook, and Central Systems IT’s shared sender sends your email with your business name (some email apps show “via sngrpg.com”). No inbox in the workspace: read replies in Outlook.
Microsoft 365, your company’s own Microsoft app
Inbox hereFor a work mailbox: your IT admin registers an app in your company’s Microsoft 365 once (the Integrations screen lists every value to copy), then you sign in with Microsoft. Email comes from your real mailbox, and you can see its inbox here.
A bulk sender: Amazon SES, SendGrid, Brevo, Mailgun or Postmark
Best for newsletters and high volume from your own domain. Pick your service when you add a sender; its daily limit and pace are filled in for you. Set your Outlook or Gmail address as its Reply-To to get replies there.
Not connected yet? Your email still goes out.
Until you pick one, Central Systems IT sends your customer emails for you from our address, with your business name on them and replies going to your business contact email.
Gmail or Google Workspace, step by step
Your email comes from your own Gmail or Workspace address, and replies land in your own inbox.
Step 1: Turn on 2-Step Verification in your Google account
Go to myaccount.google.com/security (opens in a new tab), find 2-Step Verification and follow Google's steps to turn it on. You only do this once. Google needs it before it lets you make an App Password.
Step 2: Create an App Password
Go to myaccount.google.com/apppasswords (opens in a new tab). Type a name you'll recognize, like CSIT workspace, and press Create.
Google shows a 16-letter password in four groups of four. Copy it now, because Google only shows it once. It is not your normal Google password, and it only works for email, so it can't be used to sign in to your Google account.
Step 3: Add it to your workspace
In your workspace, open Integrations → Email sender and add a sender. Choose Gmail / Google Workspace, then enter the name customers should see, your Gmail address, and the 16-letter App Password. Spaces don't matter. Save it.
Step 4: Check the connection and send yourself a test
Press the button to check the connection. When the sender shows Verified, send a test email to yourself. From then on, your business email goes out from your address.
Using Google Workspace (a work address like you@yourbusiness.com)?
The steps are the same. If you don't see App passwords, your Workspace administrator may need to allow 2-Step Verification for your account in the Google Admin console (Security → Authentication → 2-Step Verification).
Google lets a personal Gmail send to about 500 people a day, and a Workspace account about 2,000.
See your inbox in your workspace
Read your recent email and reply to customers without leaving your workspace. It works with a verified Gmail / Google Workspace sender (the same App Password) or Microsoft 365 through your company’s own app. Outlook / Hotmail with no setup has no inbox here: read replies in Outlook.
Step 1: Check IMAP (Google Workspace only)
Personal Gmail: nothing to do. Google keeps IMAP turned on for every personal Gmail account.
Google Workspace (a Gmail address at your own domain): your administrator must allow IMAP for your organization (Google Admin console → Apps → Google Workspace → Gmail → End User Access).
Step 2: Turn on the inbox
In Integrations → Email sender, find your verified Gmail sender and press Turn on inbox. The workspace signs in to check it right away. There's no new password to enter.
Step 3: Read and reply
Your recent mail then shows up in your workspace under Home → Inbox. Reading it there doesn't mark anything as read in Gmail, and nothing is ever deleted or moved. Replies you send there go out from your own Gmail, so they also appear in Gmail's Sent folder.
Your inbox is private
Your business's owner login can open the inbox. A team member can only read it if you give them the “Read the business inbox” permission (make a role with it under People → Roles, then give them that role on the Team tab). CSIT staff can't read it unless you make them a Primary (owner) member of your business. If you do, you'll get an email when they open it.
Opening the inbox, opening messages and sending replies are all logged. You can turn the inbox off at any time, or cut off access completely by deleting the App Password in your Google account.
Get paid online with Stripe
Customers pay your invoices by card on a secure Stripe page, and the money goes straight into your own Stripe balance and then to your bank. There are two ways to connect. Pick one.
Option A: use your own Stripe account keys
Best if you already have a Stripe account. It works the same way Central Systems IT connects its own Stripe.
Step 1: Sign in to Stripe
Sign in at dashboard.stripe.com (opens in a new tab). New to Stripe? Create a free account and finish Stripe's “activate payments” steps (your business details and bank account) so you can take real payments.
Step 2: Create a restricted key
In Stripe, open Developers → API keys and press Create restricted key. Name it CSIT workspace. Set these permissions to Write and leave everything else at None. A restricted key can only do what you allow, which is safer than handing over your full secret key.
- Checkout SessionsWrite
Opens Stripe's secure payment page when a customer pays an invoice.
- PaymentIntentsWrite
Charges a customer's saved card when you press Charge card on an invoice.
- CustomersWrite
Keeps a Stripe customer record for each client you save a card for.
- PaymentMethodsWrite
Shows a saved card's brand and last 4 digits, and removes a card you delete.
- SetupIntentsWrite
Lets a customer save a card for later on Stripe's secure page.
Your workspace's Integrations screen always shows the current list, and it tells you if a permission is missing when it checks your key. Press Create key and copy it. A live key starts with rk_live_.
Step 3: Paste it into your workspace
Open Integrations → Online payments (Stripe), choose to use your own Stripe account, paste the key and save. The workspace checks the key with Stripe when you save it. The publishable key (it starts with pk_) is optional.
Step 4: Add the webhook
The Integrations screen shows a web address made just for your business. In Stripe, open Developers → Webhooks → Add endpoint, paste that address, and select the events the screen lists (they start with checkout.session, payment_intent and charge.refunded).
Stripe then shows a signing secret that starts with whsec_. Copy it back into the workspace. This is how your workspace hears about payments and refunds straight from Stripe.
Try it first with test keys
Stripe has a test mode. Test keys start with rk_test_ or sk_test_ and only take pretend payments with Stripe's test cards, so no real money moves. When everything looks right, swap in your live key to take real payments.
Option B: connect with Stripe (Stripe Connect)
No keys to copy. In Integrations → Online payments (Stripe), press the connect button. Stripe walks you through its own sign-up pages and then sends you back to your workspace. This option only shows up when Central Systems IT has it turned on for the site. The screen shows any platform fee before you connect.
Cannabis businesses
Stripe doesn't allow marijuana or cannabis businesses, so Stripe can't be connected for them. Take online payments through the cannabis payment options in Shop admin → Integrations instead.
What CSIT can and can’t see
Kept private from CSIT
- Your email passwords and keys (a Google App Password, a bulk sender's key, your Microsoft app's secret) and your Stripe key. They're encrypted the moment you save them and never shown again to anyone, including your own team and CSIT staff.
- Your inbox. Only your business's owner login and the team members you allow can open it. CSIT staff can't, unless you make them a Primary (owner) member of your business.
- Your Stripe balance and payouts. With your own keys or Connect, the money is in your Stripe account, not ours.
What CSIT does see
- Whether each connection is set up: email sender connected or needing attention, inbox on or off, and which Stripe option you use. That's so we can help if something breaks.
- Your workspace records such as invoices and whether they were paid, like any other workspace data, when we support your account.
- Every change to these connections is logged, and your business's owners get an email about it.
You stay in control. Deleting the App Password in your Google account, or deleting the restricted key in Stripe, cuts off the workspace's access immediately, even if you can't sign in to the workspace.
Troubleshooting
I use Outlook or Hotmail. Can my business email use it?
Yes, with no setup. In Integrations → Email sender, open “Outlook / Hotmail, no setup”, type your address and enter the 6-digit code we email to it. From then on customers’ replies go to your Outlook, and your email is sent with your business name by Central Systems IT’s shared sender (some email apps show “via sngrpg.com”). There’s no inbox in the workspace for it: read replies in Outlook. A Microsoft 365 work mailbox can instead use your company’s own Microsoft app (your IT admin sets it up once), which sends from your real mailbox and can show your inbox here.
I got a confirmation code I didn’t ask for.
Press “This wasn’t me” in that email, then the button on the page it opens. We cancel the code, that workspace can’t send codes to your address any more, and its owners are told. You can also just ignore the email: nothing changes unless the code is entered. We never ask for your email password.
Can I use a bulk email service like Amazon SES, SendGrid, Brevo, Mailgun or Postmark?
Yes. In Integrations → Email sender, add a sender and pick your service: the daily limit and pace are filled in for you, and you paste the sign-in details your service gives you. It sends from your own domain, which suits newsletters and high volume. Type your Outlook or Gmail address as its Reply-To if you want replies there.
Google says my username and password weren't accepted. What's wrong?
The workspace needs a Google App Password, not your normal Google password. Turn on 2-Step Verification, create an App Password at myaccount.google.com/apppasswords, and paste the 16 letters into Integrations → Email sender. If you changed your Google password recently, Google cancels your old App Passwords, so create a new one.
I can't find “App passwords” in my Google account.
App Passwords only appear after 2-Step Verification is on. With a Google Workspace (work) account, your Workspace administrator may have turned App Passwords or 2-Step Verification off for your organization, so ask them to allow it. Accounts in Google's Advanced Protection Program can't use App Passwords.
Google won't send from the address I typed.
Gmail only sends as the address you sign in with, or an extra address you've added and verified in Gmail → Settings → Accounts → “Send mail as”. Use your Gmail address, or add the other address there first.
My inbox is empty or says it can't connect.
Personal Gmail always has IMAP on. For a Google Workspace account, your administrator must allow IMAP for your organization (Google Admin console → Apps → Google Workspace → Gmail → End User Access). The inbox uses the same App Password as your email sender, so make sure the sender shows “Verified” first.
Stripe says my key is invalid.
Copy the whole key again from Stripe (Developers → API keys). Use a restricted key (starts with rk_) or a secret key (starts with sk_), never the publishable key that starts with pk_. If you deleted or rolled the key in Stripe, create a new one and paste it in again.
Stripe says the key doesn't have permission.
Your restricted key is missing a permission. In Stripe, open Developers → API keys, edit the key, switch on the permissions listed on the Integrations screen, and save. Then press the check button in Integrations again.
Payments I made while testing don't show up.
Test keys (rk_test_ or sk_test_) only take pretend payments with Stripe's test cards. Real customer payments need your live key (rk_live_ or sk_live_). Switch the key in Integrations when you're ready to take real money.
Can a cannabis business use Stripe?
No. Stripe doesn't allow marijuana or cannabis businesses, so Stripe can't be connected for them. Cannabis businesses take payments through the cannabis payment options in Shop admin → Integrations instead.
Can Central Systems IT see my passwords, keys or email?
No screen in the site shows your App Password or Stripe key to anyone, including CSIT staff. They're encrypted the moment you save them and are never displayed again. Your inbox can only be opened by your business's owner login and the team members you give the “Read the business inbox” permission; CSIT staff can't open it unless you make them a Primary (owner) member of your business. CSIT's business list only shows whether each connection is set up.
Still stuck?
Tell us what the screen says and we'll help. Never send us your App Password or Stripe key. We'll never ask for them.