If your clients aren't receiving invoices or quotes you've sent through Fergus, this guide will help you find and fix the problem.
💡 Jump to what you need:
📋 Check Notes & History first · 📎 Attachment too large · ⚙️ Email settings · 🔄 Reconnect Gmail/Outlook · 🚫 Client unsubscribed · 📬 Spam folder · 🌐 Browser issues · 🔧 SMTP · 🆘 Contact Support
Common Reasons Emails Fail to Deliver
The total size of your email and attachments is over 20MB
Your Gmail or Outlook connection has dropped or wasn't set up correctly
The email landed in your client's spam or junk folder
Your client was accidentally unsubscribed from Fergus emails
There's a browser issue preventing the email from sending
Your SMTP settings are incorrect
Before You Start — Check Your Notes & History
The first thing to do when an email seems to have not arrived is check the Notes & History section of the job.
Every email sent from Fergus is logged here with its delivery status. If an email failed, you'll see a red "Email failed to send." banner with an Error Details link — this tells you what went wrong without needing to contact support first.
How to find it:
Open the job in Fergus
Click the Notes & History tab
Look for the email entry
What you'll see:
✅ Successfully sent — the log will show the recipient's email address, BCC (if any), the subject line, and a "Click to view email" link
❌ Failed to send — the log will show the same email details but with a red "Email failed to send." banner at the top and an "Error Details" link on the right
💡 Click "Error Details" to see the specific reason the email failed — this is the fastest way to understand what went wrong and what to fix. If you need to escalate to Fergus Support, copy this error message and include it with your job number.
ℹ️ If the log shows the email was sent successfully but your client says they didn't receive it, the email left Fergus without issues — the problem is on your client's end, most likely their spam filter. See Step 5.
Step-by-Step Fixes
Step 1 — Check Your Attachment Size
Each email you send through Fergus has a 20MB total limit — this includes all attachments combined. If your email is over this limit, it may appear as "Sent" in Fergus but never actually arrive.
Remove some attachments and send them in a separate email
Or share large files via a cloud link (Google Drive, Dropbox) instead of attaching them directly
Step 2 — Check Your Email Settings
Go to Settings > Communication > Email. You'll see three ways Fergus can send your emails:
Option 1 — Fergus Default ✅ Most Reliable
Fergus sends emails on your behalf from no-reply@mail.fergus.com. This is the most reliable option and requires the least setup. There are three fields to fill in:
Default email + "Send emails from this address" checkbox — this is the sender address shown on all outgoing emails (quotes, invoices, job details, purchase orders, schedules). Tick the checkbox next to it. If this field is blank or the checkbox isn't ticked, emails will be sent from individual team members' personal addresses instead, causing replies to land in the wrong inbox.
Account email — used for automated emails like invoice reminders and quote reminders. Set this to the same address as your Default email to keep all outgoing emails consistent. If they differ, clients may notice reminders arriving from a different address than the original invoice.
Send copy to — optional. Any address entered here will automatically receive a copy of every outgoing email.
Once filled in, click Save Addresses.
⚠️ If you recently disconnected Gmail or Outlook: all three fields will have been cleared automatically because they were set to match your connected account. Re-enter your business email address in the Default email and Account email fields, tick the "Send emails from this address" checkbox, and click Save Addresses before trying to send again. If left blank, emails will fall back to individual team member addresses.
Option 2 — Connect to Gmail or Outlook
This lets you send emails directly from your own Gmail or Outlook account. Once connected, you'll see a green ENABLED badge next to your account name and it will show which email address is being used to send.
⚠️ You cannot use Gmail/Outlook and SMTP at the same time. If Gmail or Outlook is connected, the SMTP settings section will be disabled automatically.
Option 3 — SMTP (Custom Settings)
For most users, the default SMTP settings will work fine. Only switch to custom SMTP settings if your email provider specifically requires it. SMTP is the least reliable of the three options and requires the most troubleshooting.
⚠️ To use SMTP, you must disconnect your Gmail or Outlook account first.
Step 3 — Reconnect Your Gmail or Outlook ✅ Most Common Fix
If you're connected via Gmail or Outlook and emails are failing, reconnecting almost always resolves it. Watch the short video below or follow the steps:
Go to Settings > Communication > Email
Click Disconnect next to your Gmail or Outlook account
Click Connect to Gmail or Connect to Outlook
Follow the prompts and make sure you tick all permission checkboxes when asked
Try sending your invoice or quote again
💡 If it still doesn't work after reconnecting once, disconnect and reconnect a second time. Some accounts need two reconnections to fully restore.
Step 4 — Check if Your Client Was Unsubscribed
Sometimes a client gets accidentally unsubscribed from Fergus emails — this means every email you send them will be silently blocked. You'll often spot this in the Notes & History of the job, where the email will show a failed status or an unsubscribed error in the Error Details.
Click the button below, enter the client's email address, and click Resubscribe to restore delivery:
Step 5 — Ask Your Client to Check Their Spam Folder
Fergus emails can sometimes be caught by spam filters, especially the first time you email a new client.
Ask your client to:
Check their spam or junk folder
Add
no-reply@mail.fergus.comto their safe senders list
How to add to safe senders by email app:
Gmail: Open a Fergus email → click the three dots → "Filter messages like these" → "Create filter" → tick Never send it to Spam
Outlook: Settings → Junk Email → Safe Senders → add
no-reply@mail.fergus.comYahoo: Settings → More Settings → Filters → Add filter with
no-reply@mail.fergus.com→ set destination to Inbox
ℹ️ Once Fergus shows an email as "Sent" in Notes & History, it has been handed off to your client's email provider. If it still doesn't arrive after that, it's being filtered or blocked on their end — outside of Fergus's control.
Step 6 — Try These Browser Fixes
Sometimes the issue is browser-related rather than an email problem. Try these steps in order:
Double-check the client's email address is typed correctly
Refresh the page
Log out of Fergus and log back in
Clear your browser cache and cookies
Try sending from an Incognito or private browsing window
Switch to Google Chrome if you're using a different browser
Try on a different device
Step 7 — SMTP Users: Check Your Sent Folder
If you're using custom SMTP settings, check the Sent folder in your email account after attempting to send.
Email not in Sent folder — The problem is your SMTP configuration. Go to Settings > Communication > Email > SMTP Settings and disconnect, then reconnect. Contact your IT administrator if the problem continues.
Email is in Sent folder but client didn't receive it — The issue is on your client's side. Follow Step 5 to help them check their spam settings.
Step 8 — Still Not Working? Contact Fergus Support
If none of the above steps resolve the issue, contact our support team. To help us investigate quickly, please have ready:
The job number or invoice number
The error message shown in Notes & History — click Error Details on the failed email entry and copy the message
ℹ️ Our team can check the delivery logs on our end to find out exactly what happened.
Tips to Prevent Email Delivery Issues
Use the Fergus default email service where possible — it has the highest deliverability because of the volume of emails Fergus sends daily on behalf of all customers.
Always keep your Default email and Account email fields filled in — if either field is blank, emails fall back to individual team member addresses and replies will go to the wrong inbox.
Set your Default email and Account email to the same address — this ensures all outgoing emails, including automated reminders, come from one consistent address.
Avoid spam trigger words in your email subject or body — words like "free," "guaranteed," "winner," or "earn" can cause emails to be flagged.
Keep links simple — use plain URLs like www.example.com rather than hyperlinked text, which is more likely to trigger spam filters.
Attach images rather than embedding them — embedded images are more likely to trigger spam filters.
Keep attachments small — especially for jobs with lots of site photos. Large form PDFs are a common cause of emails hitting the 20MB limit.
Check Notes & History regularly — don't wait for a client to tell you they didn't receive something. A quick check after sending will show you straight away if the email failed.
Send invoices directly from Fergus — avoid forwarding Fergus emails, as this can accidentally unsubscribe your client from future emails.
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