How to Deploy EspoCRM with Email Integration

EspoCRM is a lightweight, fast CRM that tracks leads, deals, accounts, and communications. It integrates with your email so every client conversation is automatically linked to the right record. Here is the complete setup.

Step 1: Create the Docker Compose File

services:
  espocrm-db:
    image: mariadb:10.11
    container_name: espocrm-db
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - ./db:/var/lib/mysql
    environment:
      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: root_password
      MYSQL_DATABASE: espocrm
      MYSQL_USER: espocrm
      MYSQL_PASSWORD: espocrm_password
    command: --character-set-server=utf8mb4 --collation-server=utf8mb4_unicode_ci

  espocrm:
    image: espocrm/espocrm:latest
    container_name: espocrm
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "127.0.0.1:8085:80"
    volumes:
      - ./data:/var/www/html/data
      - ./custom:/var/www/html/custom
    environment:
      ESPOCRM_DATABASE_HOST: espocrm-db
      ESPOCRM_DATABASE_USER: espocrm
      ESPOCRM_DATABASE_PASSWORD: espocrm_password
      ESPOCRM_DATABASE_NAME: espocrm
      ESPOCRM_ADMIN_USERNAME: admin
      ESPOCRM_ADMIN_PASSWORD: admin_password
      ESPOCRM_SITE_URL: https://crm.yourdomain.com
    depends_on:
      - espocrm-db

Step 2: Configure the Reverse Proxy

Add a proxy host in Nginx Proxy Manager for crm.yourdomain.com pointing to espocrm:80. Request an SSL certificate.

Step 3: Configure Email Integration

Open EspoCRM, go to Administration, Outbound Emails. Add your SMTP server details. This enables EspoCRM to send emails on your behalf.

For inbound email, go to Administration, Inbound Emails. Configure IMAP connection to your email server. EspoCRM will scan the inbox and associate emails with existing contacts, leads, and accounts automatically based on the sender's email address.

Step 4: Set Up Group Email Accounts

Create group email accounts for different teams:

• sales@yourdomain.com linked to the Sales team
• support@yourdomain.com linked to the Support team
• info@yourdomain.com as the general inquiry inbox

Each group email account auto-creates leads or cases in EspoCRM. Sales emails become leads. Support emails become cases. General inquiries become contacts. The team gets notified and can respond directly from EspoCRM.

Step 5: Customise Your CRM

EspoCRM is highly customisable. Add custom fields to capture business-specific data. Create custom dashboards for sales pipelines, support ticket status, and marketing campaign performance. Set up automated workflows: when a lead's status changes to Qualified, create a task for the assigned salesperson to schedule a demo within 24 hours.

EspoCRM's formula language lets you write logic without code:

# When a lead status changes to Qualified:
ifThen(
  status == 'Qualified',
  entity\\AddLinkMultipleId('tasks', taskId)
)

This automation runs server-side. No manual follow-up reminders. No forgotten leads.

If configuring email integration and custom fields sounds like work you would rather not do, VPS1 deploys EspoCRM with email, workflows, and dashboards. You get a CRM that knows your customers better than you do.