Connect your email to Commslayer – Zoho Mail

Before you start

You'll need:

Access to your Zoho Mail account (Settings or Admin Console)
Access to your domain's DNS settings (wherever your domain is registered)
An email address on your own domain (e.g. support@yourstore.com) — not a free @zohomail.com address

Step 1: Create your inbox in Commslayer

Go to Settings → Inboxes and click Add inbox
Select Email
Choose Standard setup (the recommended option)
Enter your support email address (e.g. support@yourstore.com)
Give your inbox a name (e.g. "Support" or your store name)
Click Create inbox

Commslayer will show you two DNS records to add. Keep this page open.

Step 2: Add DNS records in your domain registrar

Zoho Mail hosts your email, but DNS records are managed wherever your domain is registered (e.g. GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare). Log in to your registrar and open your domain's DNS settings.

Add the DKIM record

Click Add New Record (or equivalent)
Set the type to TXT
Fill in:
- Name / Host: Copy from Commslayer (looks like xxxxxxxx._domainkey) — do not append your domain manually, most registrars do this automatically
- Value: Copy the long string from Commslayer
- TTL: Leave as default (1 hour)
Click Save

Add the Return-Path record

Click Add New Record
Set the type to CNAME
Fill in:
- Name / Host: Copy from Commslayer (looks like pm-bounces)
- Value / Points to: Copy from Commslayer
- TTL: Leave as default
Click Save

Verify your records

Go back to Commslayer and click Verify. Records usually verify within a few minutes but can take up to 48 hours.

Zoho Mail note: If your domain was registered through Zoho, log in to the Zoho Mail Admin Console, go to Domains, select your domain, and navigate to the DNS tab to add records directly.

Step 3: Set up email forwarding in Zoho Mail

Log in to your Zoho Mail account at mail.zoho.com
Click the Settings gear icon in the top right corner
Go to Mail Accounts
Select the email address you want to forward from
Under the Forwards section, paste the forwarding address shown in Commslayer
Click Add — Zoho Mail will send a confirmation code to your Commslayer inbox
Open your Commslayer inbox, find the verification email, and copy the confirmation code
Paste the code back in Zoho Mail's Forwards section and click Confirm

Important: Forwarding won't activate until you complete the verification step. The confirmation code email will arrive in your Commslayer inbox — check there if you don't see it elsewhere.

Use forward — not "send as" or "reply to". Forward all messages, not just specific ones.

Step 4: Test your setup

Send a test email to your support address from a different email account. It should appear in your Commslayer inbox within a minute or two.

Only new forwarded emails will appear in Commslayer — historical emails are not imported.

Common issues

Forwarding not working

Check your Commslayer inbox for the confirmation code from Zoho Mail — forwarding won't activate until you verify the address. This is the most common issue.

DNS records not verifying

Wait up to 48 hours for propagation
Check whatsmydns.net to see propagation status
Make sure you didn't duplicate the domain in the Name / Host field
Copy values exactly — no extra spaces

Emails not appearing in Commslayer

Verify forwarding is enabled and the confirmation step is complete
Check that the forwarding address matches exactly what's shown in Commslayer
Look for any Zoho Mail filters or rules that might be intercepting emails before they're forwarded

Zoho Mail free plan limitation

Email forwarding to external addresses is not available on Zoho Mail's free plan. You'll need to be on a paid Zoho Mail plan to enable forwarding.