Airtable is perfect for managing operations, tracking projects, and running lightweight databases. But getting email data into Airtable has always been a pain. Until now.
This guide shows you how to automatically forward emails to Airtable and turn them into rows. Perfect for support tickets, CRM, operations tracking, or any email-powered workflow.
Why Forward Emails to Airtable?
Airtable's power comes from organizing data. Email integration unlocks new possibilities:
What You Can Build
Email integration with Airtable unlocks powerful workflow possibilities. You can build a complete support ticket system that turns emails into trackable tickets, create a CRM that captures every client conversation, set up an operations dashboard to track requests and issues, organize lead management by automatically organizing inquiries, and implement invoice tracking that auto-logs receipts and invoices.
The Benefits
When emails flow into Airtable, they become structured data you can filter, sort, and analyze. Attachments save directly to Airtable, ensuring nothing gets lost. Team visibility improves dramatically since everyone sees important emails in one place. You can set up automations to trigger actions based on new emails, and use Airtable's powerful reporting tools to analyze email data and gain insights into your communication patterns.
What You'll Need
You'll need an Airtable account (free or paid) and an email account like Gmail or Outlook. The entire setup process takes about 5 minutes, and we'll help you create an Airtable base to receive emails if you don't have one ready yet.
Step 1: Set Up Your Airtable Base
First, create an Airtable base (or use existing one) to receive emails.
Create a new base
Open Airtable and create a new base or workspace. Name it something descriptive like "Emails", "Support Tickets", or based on your specific use case. Add a table with these essential fields: Subject (Single line text), From (Email), Date (Date), Body (Long text), Attachments (Attachment), and Status (Single select) which is optional but highly recommended for workflow management. The good news is that Mailsink can create these fields automatically during setup. You can add custom fields later based on your needs like Priority, Assigned To, Category, and more.
Step 2: Connect Airtable to Mailsink
Airtable
Inbox
Address
Mailsink makes the connection seamless:
- Sign up at mailsink.app.
- Connect Airtable to authorize Mailsink access.
- Create an inbox from the
Inboxestab.- In the create form, select the Airtable tab.
- Pick the Airtable base and table you want to populate, or let Mailsink create a new table for you.
- Leave Auto-create fields enabled so Subject, Sender, Date, Body, Attachments, and status fields are added automatically (you can adjust these later).
- Create the inbox. Mailsink verifies the connection, autoconfigures the table, and generates a unique inbox address (like
abc123@in.mailsink.app). - Copy the generated inbox address — you'll use this for email forwarding.
- Optional: Customize mappings later in the inbox detail view. The Email Content, Email Metadata, and Attachments tabs let you map each piece of email data to specific Airtable fields or rerun autoconfigure if you add new columns.
Once the inbox is created, any email sent to that address becomes a structured Airtable row.
Step 3: Forward Emails to Airtable
Now configure your email provider to forward to Airtable.
From Gmail
Set up a Gmail filter:
- Gmail → Search options → Create filter
- Set conditions (from, to, subject, etc.)
- Action: "Forward it to" your Mailsink address
- Create filter
Example: Forward all emails from customers@company.com to your support ticket base.
Need help? See our detailed Gmail to Notion guide (same process works for Airtable).
From Outlook
Create Outlook rule:
- Settings → Rules → Add new rule
- Set conditions
- Forward to your Mailsink address
- Save rule
More details: Check our Outlook integration guide (works identically for Airtable).
From Any Email Provider
Most email services support forwarding. Look for:
- "Forwarding" in settings
- "Rules" or "Filters"
- "Auto-forward" options
Real-World Use Cases
1. Customer Support Tickets
Setup: Forward support@yourcompany.com to Airtable
Auto-extracted: Mailsink automatically extracts typical email metadata (Subject, From, Date, Body, Attachments) and can use AI integration to help categorize tickets
Custom fields: Add your own fields like Status, Priority, Assigned To
View: Board view grouped by Status (New, In Progress, Resolved)
Win: Visual ticket management, team assignments, resolution tracking
2. Sales Lead Management
Setup: Forward inquiry emails to "Leads" base Auto-extracted: Mailsink automatically extracts typical email metadata, and AI integration can help identify contact information and company details Custom fields: Add your own fields like Contact Name, Company, Source, Status, Follow-up Date View: Pipeline view by status Automation: Send follow-up reminders, score leads
3. Operations Requests
Setup: Forward internal requests to operations base Auto-extracted: Mailsink automatically extracts typical email metadata, and AI integration can help categorize request types Custom fields: Add your own fields like Request Type, Priority, Assigned To, Status View: Kanban board by department Reports: Track request volumes and response times
4. Invoice & Receipt Tracking
Setup: Forward receipts to finance base Auto-extracted: Mailsink automatically extracts typical email metadata and attachments, and AI integration can help identify vendors and extract amounts Custom fields: Add your own fields like Vendor, Amount, Category, Paid Status View: Gallery view showing attachment previews Reports: Monthly spending by category
Airtable vs Notion: Which Is Better?
Both are great! Here's when to use each:
Choose Airtable if:
- ✅ You need relational databases
- ✅ You want advanced views (calendar, gallery, Gantt)
- ✅ You need complex automations
- ✅ You're building operational systems
Choose Notion if:
- ✅ You want an all-in-one workspace
- ✅ You need docs + databases combined
- ✅ You prefer simpler, cleaner interface
- ✅ You want easier collaboration
Related: See our Notion CRM guide for Notion-specific use cases.
Advanced Airtable Features
Automations
Once emails are in Airtable, trigger automations:
- Send Slack notification when new email arrives
- Assign to team member based on email content
- Create tasks in other bases
- Update status automatically
Linked Records
Connect emails to other tables:
- Link to Clients table
- Link to Projects table
- Link to Products table
- Create relationships between data
Views for Every Workflow
- Grid: Spreadsheet view of all emails
- Calendar: See emails by date
- Kanban: Drag-and-drop status updates
- Gallery: Visual view with attachments
- Gantt: Timeline of email-related tasks
- Form: Collect structured data
Common Questions
Q: How quickly do emails appear in Airtable? A: Usually within 10-30 seconds of being forwarded.
Q: Can I forward to multiple Airtable bases? A: Yes! Create multiple inbox addresses, each pointing to different bases.
Q: What's the attachment size limit? A: Check your Mailsink plan for current limits. Airtable's own limits also apply.
Q: Can I customize which fields get populated? A: Yes, you can map email data to any Airtable fields during setup.
Q: Does this work with Airtable Forms? A: This is for email forwarding. Forms are separate, but you can combine both!
Next Steps
You now have email → Airtable working! Consider:
- Set up automations in Airtable to act on new emails
- Create custom views for different team members
- Build integrations with other tools via Zapier
- Track metrics using Airtable's interface designer
Also explore:
Ready to start? Try Mailsink free →
Last updated: November 6, 2025