Feature
Invoices that arrive from your domain, not ours.
Studio and Agency plans let you wire Hoursmith into your own outbound email — SMTP, Amazon SES, or Resend. Invoices, reminders, and receipts ship from your address. Your DKIM. Your reputation. Your inbox if a client replies.
Plans: Studio · Agency
Free for solo freelancers · No credit card required
What's in it
Three real providers, no lock-in
Pick SMTP (any provider — Postmark, Mailgun, Fastmail), Amazon SES (cheap at scale), or Resend (modern API). The same adapter abstraction the platform default uses, so switching providers is two field changes.
Credentials encrypted at rest
Saved credentials are encrypted with AES-256-GCM and a server-only key (EMAIL_CREDENTIAL_KEY). The plaintext is never returned to the client after a save — password fields render '•••••••' so you can edit other fields without re-typing the secret.
Send-a-test before you commit
Every BYO config has a 'Send test email' button. Verify deliverability to your own inbox before a single real invoice goes out under the new config.
Per-org isolation
Each workspace stores its own provider config. Switching workspaces switches sender — agencies running multiple practices on one login don't accidentally cross-send.
System mail stays platform-default
Invites and password resets always route through the platform sender, even when your BYO is configured — so a misconfigured SMTP can't lock out your team. Invoice, reminder, and receipt mails honor BYO.
Full email log per org
Every send writes a row to your email log — type, recipients, subject, provider used, success/failure, error if any. Drives the 'Sent ✓ · 3× · last reminder 2d ago' line on every invoice.
How it works
- 01
1. Pick a provider
Settings → Email → Provider toggle. SMTP/SES/Resend each reveal the fields they need (host/port/user/pass for SMTP; region/key/secret for SES; API key for Resend).
- 02
2. Save & test
Save the config. Hit 'Send test email' to your own address. If your DKIM/SPF/DMARC is set up at your domain, the test email lands DKIM-verified.
- 03
3. Send an invoice as normal
Every Send → Reminder → Receipt now ships through your provider. The email log records which provider handled which send.
- 04
4. Switch or disconnect any time
Change provider mid-cycle: in-flight invoices still send through the new config. Drop back to platform default if your provider has an outage — your invoice flow keeps working.
Common questions
Do you store my SMTP password in plaintext?
No. Credentials are encrypted with AES-256-GCM using a server-only key (EMAIL_CREDENTIAL_KEY) before they hit the database. The plaintext is never returned to the client after save, and the column is stripped from API responses. See /security for the encryption details.
Will clients see 'sent on behalf of'?
Only if your DKIM/SPF/DMARC isn't aligned for the From domain. With proper DNS records, Gmail/Outlook show your address natively — no 'via' annotation, no warning ribbon. The platform default sender uses its own domain on purpose; that's the trade-off you flip with BYO.
What if my BYO provider is broken when an invoice send happens?
The send fails and the email log records the error. The invoice stays as the user expected (draft stays draft, sent stays sent — we never silently flip status without a successful dispatch). You can re-send once the provider is fixed.
Can I use Gmail/Google Workspace as the SMTP server?
Yes — Google Workspace supports SMTP relay with app passwords or OAuth. The fields you need are smtp-relay.gmail.com on port 587 with TLS. Personal Gmail accounts work too with an app password, but daily send limits are low; for production volume use Workspace or a dedicated provider.
Does this affect the public invoice link?
No. Shareable invoice links (the /i/[token] pages) are hosted on hoursmith.app regardless of your BYO setup — they're separate from the email channel. The Pay button on those pages still hits your own Stripe account.
Related
Try it free, in two minutes.
Create an account, set up your first client, and log an hour. The invoice will already be on the way to building itself.
Free for solo freelancers · No credit card · Cancel any time