Send Vtiger CRM campaigns through Postfaro

This guide shows how to connect Vtiger CRM to Postfaro so that your mass emails and campaigns are sent from your authenticated sending domain.

Field names in this guide were checked against the Vtiger CRM 8.4 open-source code. Older 7.x versions use the same screen. Vtiger Cloud editions have a different mail-server setup — [verify UI path] for Cloud before following these steps.

The one rule: only bulk mail goes through Postfaro

Postfaro is built for campaigns. It accepts large sends at once, spreads them over several days if needed (up to 5,000 emails per day per account), and paces delivery to each mailbox provider. That means a message can wait in the queue for hours or days.

Your day-to-day email — quotes, invoices, replies to customers, password resets, workflow notifications — must not wait in a campaign queue, and it must keep coming from your main domain. Keep that mail on your existing mail server and send only bulk and campaign mail through Postfaro.

If your CRM has only one outgoing server

Vtiger open-source has one global outgoing mail server for the whole CRM (CRM Settings → Configuration → Outgoing Server). There is no per-user or per-module SMTP setting. This creates a trade-off, because:

• Everything Vtiger sends uses that one server: mass emails, emails your users write inside the CRM, workflow emails, reminders, and system emails.
• When the From Email field on that screen is filled in, Vtiger sends all CRM emails with that From address. Postfaro credentials only work for their own sender address, so this field must contain your Postfaro sender address.

Pick the option that fits how you use Vtiger:

Tip for option 2: For emails a user writes inside the CRM, Vtiger normally puts the user’s own address in Reply-To, so replies still go straight to that user. For automatic emails, replies go to the sender address, and Postfaro forwards them to the mailbox you chose in the panel.

Before you start

• Your Postfaro setup is Ready in the panel.
• You have created a sender address (for example [email protected]) and copied its SMTP username and password.
• You are a Vtiger administrator.
• Write down your current outgoing server settings (take a screenshot) so you can switch back.

Step 1 — Open the outgoing server settings

1. Click the Settings menu (top right) and choose CRM Settings. [verify UI path]
2. In the left menu, open Configuration → Outgoing Server.
3. Click Edit.

Step 2 — Enter the Postfaro settings

Vtiger reads the encryption from the prefix in Server Name: tls:// turns on STARTTLS, ssl:// turns on SSL/TLS. Always include both the prefix and the port number; without them Vtiger falls back to port 25, which Postfaro does not use for sending from your tools.

Do not leave From Email empty. If it is empty, Vtiger uses each user’s own email address as the From address, and Postfaro will reject those messages because they do not match the sender address.

Click Save. Vtiger sends a test message to the administrator’s email address. It is delivered through Postfaro and counts toward your daily limit.

Step 3 — Prepare your email template

In Email Templates (or when composing the mass email):

• include a visible unsubscribe line or link, plus your company name and postal address;
• avoid copying formatting from Word, which can add hidden code that spam filters dislike;
• keep images moderate and include real text.

Postfaro adds a one-click unsubscribe header automatically. Recipients who use it are added to your Cancelled addresses list.

Step 4 — Send the campaign

1. Open Contacts (or Leads / Organizations) and filter the list you want to email. Make sure it only contains people who agreed to receive your email.
2. Select the records and choose Send Email, then pick your template.
3. Send.

If you send more than your remaining daily limit, Postfaro accepts everything and spreads it over the following days. You receive a “Batch queued” email telling you when the last message will go out. You can follow or cancel the queue in the panel.

Step 5 (option 1 only) — Switch back

As soon as Vtiger has finished sending (all messages show as sent), go back to Configuration → Outgoing Server and restore your normal mail server settings. Messages already handed to Postfaro stay in Postfaro’s queue and are delivered as planned.

Step 6 — Keep Vtiger in sync with cancelled addresses

Postfaro never writes into your CRM. Addresses that bounced, complained or unsubscribed are blocked on our side and listed in the panel under Cancelled addresses, with the reason.

About once a month, or after each campaign:

1. In the Postfaro panel, export Cancelled addresses as CSV.
2. In Vtiger, update the matching contacts — for example tick Email Opt Out — using Import with “update existing records” or a mass edit. [verify UI path]

This keeps your CRM lists clean and avoids counting blocked addresses in your plans.

Troubleshooting