---
title: "Shared Mailbox in a Team: How to Organize It Properly"
description: "How to organize a shared mailbox like info@ or accounting@ within a team: central connection, clear responsibility, and managed visibility."
type: "wissen"
product: "mail"
slug: "shared-mailbox-team"
source_language: "de"
target_languages: ["de", "en", "es", "pl", "tr"]
published: "2026-06-10"
status: "publish"
faq_json: [{"q":"What is a shared mailbox?","a":"A mailbox that is accessible to several people – typically info@, accounting@, or service@. Instead of being tied to one person, it belongs to the organization and is read and answered by the team."}, {"q":"What are the most common problems with shared mailboxes?","a":"Duplicate replies, unanswered mails, and loss of knowledge: when no one is responsible, no one feels in charge – and when the password is on five computers, nobody knows who handled what."}, {"q":"How do you manage responsibility for a shared mailbox?","a":"For each mailbox, you define who is responsible and who is allowed to see it. Responsibility means: this person ensures that incoming mails get handled – not necessarily that they answer everything themselves."}, {"q":"How do you technically connect shared mailboxes?","a":"The proven approach is a central connection via IMAP through the organization instead of individual password sharing. With webRichtung, the company connects its mailboxes centrally in core and defines responsible people and visibility for each mailbox."}, {"q":"Can attachments from the mailbox be archived automatically?","a":"Yes. Connected mailboxes can feed the email import into documents: attachments like invoices then automatically land in the document collection, with the mail context preserved as a search and review context."}]
language: "en"
source_id: "wissen/gemeinsames-postfach-team"
source_hash: "24b5b7bf795b9f77eb9e2ee0bb698e46a6d5fceb54eb2ff6b2e75bfefb415a73"
---

A shared mailbox – info@, accounting@, service@ – only works in a team with two clear definitions: Who is responsible, and who is allowed to see it? Without these rules, the usual things happen: mails get answered twice, not answered at all, or get stuck in the mailbox of someone who is currently on vacation.

## The problem with the shared password

In many companies, a shared mailbox is "shared" like this: the password is passed along by word of mouth to everyone who needs it, and each person sets it up on their own computer. This creates three ongoing problems:

- **No one sees what has been handled.** Has yesterday's inquiry been resolved? Has colleague A already replied while colleague B is typing?
- **Responsibility evaporates.** What belongs to everyone belongs to no one – the unpleasant email is left sitting because everyone relies on the others.
- **Security risk.** A password on five computers is five times as vulnerable, and when an employee leaves, someone rarely thinks to change it.

## The better approach: connect centrally, manage permissions

Instead of distributing passwords, the organization connects its mailboxes centrally once – and then manages two things per mailbox:

1. **Responsibility:** Who makes sure incoming mails get handled? This doesn't mean that this person answers everything themselves – they are the caretaker who lets nothing slip.
2. **Visibility:** Who is allowed to see the mailbox? Some mailboxes belong organization-wide visible (info@), others only for a small circle (applications@, accounting@).

That is exactly how [webRichtung mail](https://www.webrichtung.de/module/mail/) works: your company's mailboxes are connected centrally in core under Administration → Integrations via IMAP, and for each mailbox you define responsibility and visibility – organization-wide or private/directly shared. Reading, replying, and composing then happens directly on the platform, alongside contacts, documents, and tasks.

## What everyday work looks like with it

In the module, you select the mailbox you want to work with at the top, then the folder – the list shows messages with an unread counter. An opened email shows a preview, attachments, and actions; with "New email" you compose directly from the shared mailbox. The difference from the password model: everyone authorized works on the same state, instead of maintaining five private copies.

## Bonus: attachments take care of themselves

An underestimated advantage of centrally connected mailboxes: they can do more than mail. The same mailboxes can, if desired, feed the email import into documents – incoming attachments like invoices or delivery notes automatically land in your organization's document collection, with the mail context (sender, subject, receipt date) preserved as a search and review context. No one has to manually file the accounting email anymore.

## Three rules to get started

1. **Exactly one person responsible per mailbox.** Two responsible people are as good as none.
2. **Choose visibility deliberately.** Organization-wide is convenient but not right for every mailbox – keep sensitive mailboxes tight.
3. **Make the processing status visible.** The team needs a shared view of what is open – not five private truths.

For how to specifically get the info@ mailbox under control, read the article [info@ under control](/en/wissen/info-postfach-organisieren.html).