Online & technology · Guide

Professional email for your business

Your email address is often the first thing a new customer sees, and your inbox holds years of quotes, invoices and conversations. Here's how to get a professional address on your own domain, set it up properly, and make sure one bad day can't wipe it out.

AUSBUSINESS
Last reviewed · 6 min read

In short

  • A professional address (you@yourbusiness.com.au) builds trust, keeps your business email under your control, and stays with the business if staff change.
  • You need three things - a domain name, an email service, and about an hour to set it up on your computer and phone.
  • When comparing services, check that protection against scam emails, multi-factor authentication and backup are included and switched on, not optional extras.
  • Set up "email ID checks" on your domain so criminals can't easily send email pretending to be you.
  • Moving from Gmail or another provider is easier than it sounds, and many providers will move your old email for you.

Why a professional address matters

Plenty of businesses start out on a free address like jsmithplumbing@gmail.com or an old internet-provider address. It works, until it doesn’t:

  • Trust. Customers are increasingly wary of scams, and an address on your own domain looks established and is harder to impersonate.
  • Control. The address belongs to your business, not to a free service’s terms, an internet provider you might leave, or a staff member’s personal account.
  • Continuity. When someone leaves, their mailbox and its history stay with the business.
  • Protection. Business email services come with security features, admin controls and support that free personal accounts don’t.

If you’re weighing it up, SafeSMB’s article Gmail or a professional business email: when it’s time to switch covers the tipping points. (Disclosure: AusBusiness.net has a commercial relationship with SafeSMB.)

What you need

  1. A domain name, such as yourbusiness.com.au. To register a .com.au you need an Australian presence and to be a commercial entity (usually an active ABN or ACN), and the name must relate to your business. Our guide to domain names and hosting explains how to choose and register one.
  2. An email service that hosts your mailboxes on that domain (see below).
  3. About an hour to set up mailboxes, connect the domain, and add the account to your computer and phone. Many services now walk you through it step by step.

Choosing an email service

The main options for a small business:

Option What it is Good to know
Microsoft 365 Email with Outlook, plus Office apps and Teams, depending on the plan Widely used; extra protection and separate backup may cost more or need setting up
Google Workspace Gmail on your own domain, plus Google Drive and Meet Familiar if you already use Gmail; check backup and security settings
Email included with web hosting Basic mailboxes bundled with a website plan Cheap, but usually limited protection, backup and support
All-in-one managed email Email with protection and backup bundled in and switched on, often with setup help Simplest to run; compare what’s included and the support you get

Whichever you choose, check these before you sign up:

  • Protection included: filtering of scam emails, dangerous attachments and fake login pages.
  • Multi-factor authentication available for every mailbox.
  • Backup and archiving: can you get back an email deleted months ago, or a whole mailbox after an attack? For how long?
  • Support: can you reach a real person, and when?
  • Price per mailbox per month, and whether security or backup are extra.
  • Moving help: will they bring across your existing email?

SafeSMB has plain-English explainers on what’s included in Microsoft 365 email for a small business and on whether email security is already included with Microsoft.

Setting it up properly

Mailboxes and addresses

  • Give each person their own mailbox. Shared logins make it impossible to know who did what, and to remove access when someone leaves.
  • Use shared mailboxes for general addresses like info@ or accounts@, so several people can manage them without sharing a password.
  • Add a consistent email signature with your name, business name, phone number and website.

Protection, switched on from day one

  • Turn on multi-factor authentication for every mailbox before you start using it.
  • Set up “email ID checks” on your domain. These are three records, known technically as SPF, DKIM and DMARC, that tell other email systems which services are allowed to send email for your domain. They help your genuine emails reach inboxes, and make it much harder for criminals to send fake emails in your name. The Australian Signals Directorate recommends all three. Good providers set them up for you, or give you step-by-step instructions.
  • Check that scam and malware filtering is on, and that the “this came from outside your business” warning is turned on.

Backup and archiving

Deleted emails don’t stay recoverable forever, and a hacked account can be emptied in minutes. Make sure your service, or a separate backup, keeps copies of every mailbox for long enough to recover from a mistake you only notice weeks later. Then test it: restore one old email every few months.

Email on your phone

For tradies and anyone working on the move, the phone is the office. Use your email service’s official app, or your phone’s built-in mail app with the account added properly, rather than forwarding everything to a personal address. Make sure every phone with business email has a screen lock and can be wiped remotely if it’s lost.

SafeSMB’s Business email on your phone: a guide for crews on the go walks through the setup.

Moving from Gmail or another provider

Switching sounds like a hassle and a downtime risk, but with a little planning it’s usually invisible to customers:

  1. Set up the new service and mailboxes first.
  2. Move your old email across. Many providers will do this for you, or offer a tool that copies mail, contacts and calendars.
  3. Point your domain’s email to the new service at a quiet time, such as a Friday afternoon.
  4. Keep the old account for a few months and forward anything that still arrives there.
  5. Update your address everywhere: website, Google Business Profile, invoices, signage, social profiles and supplier accounts.
  6. Tell your regular customers and suppliers, and remind them you’ll never change your bank details by email.

Everyday habits that keep email safe

  • Confirm any change of bank details by phone, on a number you already have.
  • Check the real sender address, not just the display name.
  • Don’t click login links in emails; go to the website or app directly.
  • Never share a multi-factor code with anyone.
  • Remove access the day someone leaves the business.

Our guide to cyber security and backups covers these, and what to do if something goes wrong.

Where SafeSMB fits

SafeSMB is professional email built for Australian businesses with 1–20 staff. It puts email on your own domain, with protection and backup switched on from day one, under one monthly price. Setup is guided, so you can do it yourself, and real people are there to help if you get stuck. It’s one option among those above, so compare it the same way as any other. Find out more at safesmb.com.au.