Using Emails and Texts in NextAgency
Articles on How Agencies Can Use NextAgency's Communications Tools
Agency Management for Life & Health Agencies
NextAgency is a comprehensive agency management system built specifically for agencies selling benefits, senior, and life policies. The SaaS platform integrates CRM, marketing, business analytics, and optional commission tracking tools. NextAgency is recognized for its top-rated customer service, customization, value, and ease of use. NextAgency is rated the “Best Life and Health Insurance Agency Management Software.” (Source: G2, 2025 and 2026). This page covers how agencies use NextAgency to communicate with prospects and clients using email and text tools.
Who This Page is For
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Help Desk Articles Concerning Emails and Texts
Synchronize and Route Emails Using NextMail
Important Update (12/10/2019): If you’re currently using a Gmail/G Suite email account, you’ll need to Whitelist your agency’s accounts after 12/31/2019. Please view this article to learn more.
NextAgency provides an internal mailing system that you can synchronize with your Gmail or Outlook account and use it to exchange emails within your agency. You can import emails, contacts, calendar events and notes from your existing email account. Any actions that you take in Office 365/Outlook or Gmail are also mirrored in NextMail. To open NextMail, click NextMail in the navigation bar.
Associating Emails with Cases
To associate the emails in NextMail with NextAgency cases, follow these steps:
Select the email that you want to associate.
In the upper-right corner of the NextMail page, click Actions > Associate to Cases.
In the popup that appears, click in the Groups/Individuals field or start typing the name of the case and then select it from the drop-down.
Click Copy Email. After that, the system will notify you that the email(s) was or were successfully assigned to cases.
Composing New Mails
To compose a mail in NextMail, follow these steps:
In the upper-left corner of the NextMail page, click Compose.
Fill in the standard email fields and click Send.
Replying To Emails
To reply to an email, click either Reply or Reply All at the bottom of the email.
Please note that all of these actions will be mirrored in your Gmail or Outlook account.
Setting Up NextMail
Under NextMail settings, you can add or delete email accounts, adjust the contact lists for those accounts, and adjust the folders that you want or don’t want to see. To open NextMail settings, follow these steps:
Hover over your profile icon and choose Settings.
On the Settings page that opens, go to the Integration tab.
On the NextMail subtab that opens, you can see a list of linked email accounts and actions that are available for them.
- View: Open the NextMail inbox for this account.
Show/Hide: Select the email folders that you want to show or hide in NextMail for this account.
Re-Sync: Re-synchronize the account with the linked Gmail or Outlook account.
Settings: Select folders that you would like to sync, and then click Synchronize.
NextMail: Special Instructions for Linking Gmail or G Suite Accounts
On January 1, 2020, Google will be enforcing new security enhancements aimed at increasing transparency when data is synced between Gmail (or G Suite) and third-party applications. NextMail is a third-party application. This means, if you’re using NextMail to link to your Gmail or G Suite account, you need to take certain steps to assure continued connectivity.
Specifically, you need to opt-in to sharing emails with NextMail by identifying us as a Trusted application. This lets Google know it’s OK to continue sharing the emails. To continue syncing emails between Gmail and NextMail you need to opt-in by January 1, 2020.
Important Note: We highly suggest the super admin who set up your agency’s Gmail/G Suite complete the steps below.
Administrators should sign in to their Google Admin Console; from the Google Admin dashboard. Go to “Security” and click on the “Settings” in the drop down menu.
Go to API Permissions and click on “Trusted Apps”.
From the Trusted Apps dashboard, click on the + button at the bottom right.
Select “Web Application”
Copy the following Google Client ID into the field: 910265067732-n72qf5urbpgqqn97387b612i9qnhf7ip.apps.googleusercontent.com
Click on “ADD.” This identifies NextMail as a Trusted App. Your emails will continue to sync between Gmail and NextMail.
Set Up the NextAgency Email Add-in for Outlook
Different goals require different solutions, and each solution comes with trade-offs. NextMail effectively reflects within NextAgency what is in your email client, automatically routing emails to and from contacts directly to their respective NextAgency case records. However, deleting an email in your client also removes it from NextAgency.
The NextAgency Email Add-In for Outlook is a powerful solution that permanently attaches emails to case records, ensuring they remain associated, regardless of your actions in Outlook.
Differences between NextMail and NextAgency Email Add-in for Outlook:
NextMail differs from the NextAgency Email Add-in for Outlook in the way they handle email synchronization, how they display these emails within case records, and what email clients they work with.
With NextMail, your emails are seamlessly synchronized with your E-mail provider and are displayed on both the NextMail master page and are automatically routed to the appropriate NextMail tab of case records. Changes in your email client are reflected in NextAgency; changes in NextMail are reflected in your email client. This means when an email is deleted from your email client, the email is removed from NextAgency as well.
The NextAgency Email Add-in for Outlook does not automatically sync with NextAgency nor are they routed to the correct cases record. Instead, it empowers you to associate just those emails you want to case records quickly and conveniently. These attached emails will then appear under the dedicated new ‘Emails’ tab within case records. They will remain there until you choose to remove them, even if you delete the emails from your Outlook account.
Another difference: NextMail works with almost every email client that supports the IMAP protocol including, but not limited to, Outlook and Gmail. The NextAgency Email Add-in for Outlook, as its name suggests, works only with Microsoft Outlook. (An add-in for Gmail is coming soon).
How to set up the NextAgency Outlook Add-in
Using the Outlook Desktop Application
Log in to your Outlook account with the same email address you use for logging in to NextAgency.
Click on ‘Get Add-ins‘ (if you don’t see it, you may need to add it to your ribbon). In the Add-ins search bar, enter ‘NextAgency‘ to find our tool. Once you locate it, simply click on the ‘Add‘ button to install the NextAgency Outlook Add-in.
After successfully adding the NextAgency Outlook Add-in, click on ‘Display all Properties‘. This action will enable you to log in to your NextAgency account.
Using the Outlook on Website
Log-on to Outlook on the web.
Click on the three dots located in the upper right of any email to open the options menu, then select ‘Get Add-ins‘. In the Add-ins search, enter ‘NextAgency‘ to find the add-in, and lastly, click on ‘Add‘ to incorporate the NextAgency Outlook Email Add-in into your web-based Outlook interface.
Click on the three dots menu again and choose ‘NextAgency‘ to access and log in to your NextAgency account.
The NextAgency Email Add-in for Outlook enables you to associate an email with case records directly from within Outlook.
When using Outlook on your desktop: Click on your Outlook Home ribbon’s NextAgency logo. (If you don’t see this logo you may need to customize your ribbon).
The add-in will prompt you to enter your NextAgency credentials. Once authenticated, a widget will open, allowing you to select one or more cases. Click Associate, and the add-in will attach your email to the Email tab for the cases you selected.
When using Outlook on a website: Click on the three dots, choose NextAgency from the options, and enter your NextAgency credentials. Then, select the desired case records and hit Save.
Upon your initial sign-in, you’ll be directed to the Microsoft permissions page. It’s essential to click on ‘Accept‘ as this step is necessary to view/download the attached files within NextAgency.
You can always remove the permissions by visiting Microsoft’s consent page.
To do so:
On the consent page, please find ‘NextAgency Email Add-In for Outlook’ and click on ‘Edit‘.
Click on ‘Remove these permissions‘ to proceed.
To View the Emails in NextAgency: Emails assigned to cases from within Outlook are displayed in the Email tab of case records. By default, this tab is hidden. To display the tab, go to Settings > Agency Settings > Preferences. Click on the Personal sub-tab and then toggle on the ‘Include Emails tab’ option.
Set Up and Use the NextAgency for Gmail Add-on
How to set up the NextAgency Gmail Add-on:
To set up the NextAgency Gmail Add-on, log in to your Gmail account and click on the ‘+’ icon to ‘Get Add-ons’.
Search for NextAgency and click on the “Install” button.
After installing the add-on, you will be prompted to log in to your Gmail account and grant permissions. Click ‘Allow’ to proceed.
How to use the NextAgency Gmail Add-On to attach your emails to case records:
To attach emails to case records in NextAgency, open the email, then click on the NextAgency icon located on the right side of the Gmail pane.
You’ll need to enter your NextAgency domain, which can be found in your URL (example.nextbroker.io). Enter your domain and click ‘Login’ to proceed.
Once logged in, you’ll see options to attach emails to case records and sub-agents. Choose the relevant option and select the case record or sub-agent.
To view the emails in NextAgency: Emails assigned to cases from within the NextAgency Gmail Add-on are displayed on the Emails tab of case records. By default, this tab is hidden. To display the tab, go to Settings > Agency Settings > Preferences. Click on the ‘Personal’ sub-tab and then toggle on the ‘Include Emails tab’ option.In the appropriate Case record, click on the ‘Emails’ tab. Here you will see any emails you have attached to this case from within Gmail.
Using Email Templates
To start managing email templates in NextAgency, follow these steps:
In the upper-right corner of any NextAgency page, click your profile icon and choose Settings.
On the Settings page that opens, go to the Sales Settings tab.
Go to the Email Templates subtab.
On the Email Templates page, you can see a list of all email templates that have been created in NextAgency, with their names, descriptions, and available actions.
Adding an Email Template
To add a new email template, follow these steps:
In the upper-right corner of the page, click Add Email Template.
On the Add Email Template page that opens, fill in the fields for the email template, just as you would do when composing a new email in NextMail.
Under Select Field, choose the variables that you will use in the email body: the contact’s first name and last name as well as the related company name and case name.
When ready, click Save. The template will appear in the list from where you can edit, view, or delete it via Actions.
Using Email Templates
You can use the email templates when creating new case-specific tasks in NextAgency (via Actions or on the Tasks tab of the client/prospect card). Just select the template under Assign Email Template, and then click Generate Email.
This will instantly generate an email with the body variables replaced by the corresponding names related to the case.
It is also possible to generate emails based on templates when creating tasks that are associated with workflow triggers.
Send Direct Messages Using NextText
You can use NextText to send direct messages to your prospects or clients in real-time. Before you start, you should set up the text message format as follows:
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Go to Settings.
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On the Settings page, go to the Integrations tab.
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On the Integrations page, go to the NextText tab.
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On the NextText page, you can customize the message format with various tokens. Click Edit to select the token fields, such as User First/Last Name, Agency Owner First/Last Name, and/or Agency Name, to be automatically added to your messages.
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When ready, click Save.
To exchange direct messages, follow these steps:
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On the home page, open the case record of the prospect or client that you want to text.
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All phone numbers on the Contacts page will be automatically listed on the NextText page.
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On the NextText page, you can exchange direct messages with the prospect’s or client’s contacts.
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When you type your message, the settings will be applied to the message body. For example, if you have selected User First Name + User Last Name, the name is Malcolm Henney, and the message body is Test, then the message will look like this:
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When your prospects or clients reply to your text messages, you will see a notification at the top of the page.
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Click the notification to open the text message module where you can see all of your pending new messages.
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Click the contact’s name to display the associated cases, phone number, and basic contact information.
How to send Text Messages via Workflows
Texts have impact. They get read more often—and sooner—than emails. In this article you’ll learn how to add texts to the automated Workflows you set-up in NextAgency. Before you begin, please ensure that NextText is enabled and a valid phone number is saved under the Contacts tab of case records.
To start, go to Settings (top right) > Automations > Workflows, then click Add Workflow.
Details tab: Enter a workflow name and an optional description.
Trigger tab: Next, configure the trigger conditions. In this example, the workflow is case-specific and is triggered when the case stage changes to Active. You may also create workflows based on other scenarios, such as effective or renewal dates, birth dates, and more. You can learn more about Workflows here. Click Continue to proceed.
Actions tab: On the Actions tab, select Add Action, then choose Add Text.
The name field is for your agency’s internal use only so your team understands the purpose of this workflow.
Next, in the “To” field, enter the role of the recipients you are targeting. Be sure to enter when you want the texts to go out relative to the Trigger Date (for details, please see the video mentioned above).
Then enter the text message information. You can customize your texts using “Receiver Fields” so, for example, the recipient’s first name is included in the text. Remember, people expect texts to be short and to-the-point.
Finally, click Save and Activate to enable the workflow. Your text messages will now be sent automatically when the criteria you set in the Trigger step are met.
Note: NextText uses a platform with a long history of getting your texts delivered. We pass their fees through to you to reflect your actual usage. You can see this pricing here: NextAgency Pricing.