A shared Gmail inbox is a good start
Most small teams begin the same way. There is a support@ address, three people have the password, and everyone replies when they see something. It costs nothing, and for the first few months it works fine.
Then it quietly stops working. Nothing breaks. You just start finding out about problems from customers instead of from your own inbox.
Signs you have outgrown it
- Two people answer the same customer. Or nobody does, because each assumed the other had it.
- You cannot tell what is waiting. An unread count is not a to-do list. Read does not mean handled.
- Nobody knows what is about to go late. There is no reply deadline, so the angry email from Tuesday is found on Friday.
- Context lives in one person's head. When they are on leave, the history of that customer goes with them.
- Newsletters and alerts bury the real emails. Your support address ends up on mailing lists, and the signal is lost in the noise.
- WhatsApp is a separate world. Half your customers message a phone that one person carries.
If three or more of these sound familiar, the inbox is costing you customers, even if you cannot see the number yet.
What a support inbox needs that Gmail does not have
- An owner on every conversation, so you can see who has it.
- A status (new, waiting on us, waiting on the customer, done) that is not just read or unread.
- A reply deadline with a warning before it passes.
- Internal notes your team can write on a conversation without the customer seeing them.
- One customer record with their earlier conversations, whichever channel they used.
- Canned replies for the answers you type ten times a week.
Your three options
| Shared Gmail or Google Group | Big helpdesk (per agent) | Resolvo | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | Per agent, per month, usually in US dollars | Per brand: free, ₹999 or ₹2,499 a month. No per-seat fees |
| Owner and status | Labels and workarounds | Yes | Yes |
| Reply deadlines | No | Yes, often on higher plans | Yes, with a warning before they pass |
| WhatsApp in the same queue | No | Often an add-on | Yes, the official WhatsApp Business API |
| Newsletters kept out of the queue | Filters you set up yourself | Varies | Automatic, and you can overrule it |
| Time to set up | None | Days to weeks | Most teams are live in under 10 minutes |
How to move in an afternoon
- Connect your support email. Keep the same address. Customers notice nothing.
- Invite your team. Adding people does not change the price.
- Set a reply target. For example, first reply within 4 working hours.
- Add three canned replies for the questions you answer most.
- Answer one real email from the new inbox, and you are live.
The email inbox is part of the Pro plan (₹999 a month per brand), and you can try it free for 14 days. Resolvo also keeps newsletters and automated alerts out of your queue and your counts, and you can close them in one click.
When Gmail is still fine
If one person handles under ten emails a day and there is no WhatsApp, a shared inbox is enough. Do not buy a helpdesk you do not need. Come back when a second person joins, or when something goes missing for the first time.
Questions people ask
Can I keep my existing support email address?
Yes. You connect the address you already use, so customers keep writing to the same place.
Do I pay for every agent?
No. Resolvo is priced per brand, not per seat. Two agents or twenty cost the same.
What happens to old emails in Gmail?
They stay in Gmail. New conversations arrive in Resolvo, where each one has an owner, a status and a reply deadline.
Is there a free plan?
Yes. The Free plan is for tracking issues with your team. The email inbox, smart assignment and AI drafts are on Pro, which has a 14-day free trial with no card.
Try it on your own tickets
Per-brand pricing, so your whole team is covered at the same price. 14-day free trial, no card needed. If you'd like me to set it up with you, write to contact@resolvogroup.com.
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