Please Note: For a full understanding of email settings in PPS please have a look at this guide. The information below will cover in detail the SMTP settings and options.
What is an SMTP Server?
SMTP stands for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol and this just means that emails can be sent through another application (like PPS) using specific settings from your email provider. Within PPS you are able to configure the sending of emails using SMTP email settings. When you send an email via SMTP in PPS the email content that is created in PPS is relayed to the SMTP email provider that then transfers the email to the recipient's email inbox.
All PPS hosted and Express users have access to our free Sendgrid email settings to allow emails to be sent as soon as the system is set up but these settings can be changed to allow you to send emails using your own settings.
PPS local users will need to have their own email account in order to send via SMTP.
Please note: For PPS Local and Hosted users; if you are wanting to use your own SMTP settings within PPS to process your emails please note that you will need to be on PPS version 4.1.12 or above to send emails through TLS 1.2 encryption, any PPS version below this will only support sending emails through TLS 1.0 or TLS 1.1.
Section 1 - Sending via SMTP for local and hosted systems
If you have your own SMTP account then you can enter the details here to send your PPS emails via the SMTP account. You'll need to use an SMTP account if you want to send HTML or multiple emails such as in a Mail Merge.
If you do not have an SMTP account then you can acquire one from a number of free or paid for online sources. Have a look at Section 3 below for some examples of SMTP providers and the details that can be used.
Section 2 - Using your own SMTP settings
If you wish to use your own SMTP account in order to have more control over the sending and monitoring of your PPS emails and any unsubscribes then you are able to do so.
Please note: If you are a PPS hosted user please send the details of your SMTP account from the registered email account to support@rushcliff.com for the email settings to be added.
The details required for the SMTP server settings can be found via Tools > System Set-Up > Email Settings.
* The SMTP Server name
* Server Port Number
* Does the SMTP Server require authentication? If so, what is the account username and password?
* Does the SMTP Server require SSL/TLS?
Please Note: If you have previously used your own SMTP server but would like to revert to our free Sendgrid account please email support@rushcliff.com to request the change.
Section 3 - Examples of SMTP providers
Most email providers should be able to provide SMTP settings for you to use the account in a 3rd party application, like PPS.
For example, Sendgrid is the email provider that we use as the default email settings on our PPS hosted and Express systems. Sendgrid offers a free email account allowing up to 100 emails to be sent per day and anyone can sign up easily for their own account. More information on Sendgrid and the email packages can be found here. Sendgrid also have many of their own help guides to get you set up and using their email settings but this guide will explain the SMTP settings that will need to be added into PPS.
There are many other email providers and usually you can find the settings by searching in Google for 'SMTP setting for {my email provider}'.
Alternatively, your web developer may be able to set up an email account through your website domain, if applicable.
Here are some common email providers and the general SMTP settings that can be added to PPS:
SMTP Provider |
SMTP Server Name |
Port Number |
Authentication |
TLS/SSL |
| Sendgrid* | smtp.sendgrid.net | 587 | Yes - using API key set up through the account | No |
| Gmail** | smtp.gmail.com | 587 | Yes - using app password setup through your Gmail account | Yes |
| Mailjet*** | in-v3.mailjet.com | 587 | Yes - using API key set up through the account | No |
| 123 Reg | smtp.123-reg.co.uk | 587 | Yes - using account username & password | Yes |
| Outlook | smtp-mail.outlook.com | 587 | Yes - using account username & password | Yes |
| Office 365 | smtp.office365.com | 587 | Yes - using account username & password | Yes |
| Ionos | smtp.ionos.co.uk | 587 | Yes - using account username & password | Yes |
*Sendgrid - Sendgrid requires an API key to be sent up for 3rd party sending so you will need to create an API key through your Sendgrid account by following these steps and then the ‘Username’ in PPS will be ‘apikey’ and the ‘Password’ in PPS will be the API Key that is generated.
*Gmail - For Gmail SMTP settings to work with PPS you will need to turn on 2FA within your Google account and then set up an app password to use within your SMTP settings in PPS. To set up your app password in your Google account please follow these steps.
***Mailjet - For authentication on the Mailjet account you will need to access your API key through the Account settings. Enter the API Key into the 'Username' field and enter the Secret API key into the 'Password' field in the Email Settings. This information from Mailjet should get you started and this guide from Mailjet will help with additional optional account setup to reduce spam.
Section 4 - Troubleshooting Errors
If you're using your own SMTP account you may encounter some of the following errors:
Error message: Authentication Failed
This is a message reported by your email server to advise you that the authentication details you are using have failed to validate, this is usually the email account's username or password. In this instance, you should check that the authentication details you have set up in PPS are correct. To do this go to Tools > System Setup > Email Settings. If you are unsure please contact your email provider for advice.
Error Message: SMTP Failed/Server Address Invalid/Cannot be reached
This is a message to say the SMTP address you are using is either incorrect or not in use. In this instance, you should check that the SMTP address you have set is correct. To do this go to Tools > System Setup > Email Settings. If you are unsure please contact your email provider for advice.
Error Message: Syntax Error
If you receive a message regarding syntax being invalid this is usually due to there being an unrecognisable character in your PPS Email Settings. Typically there can be anomalies under the ‘Your email address’ or ‘Your name’ fields.
Error Message: OLE Dispatch Error
This can usually be resolved by re-registering the file which is used by PPS to send the email. To do this you should contact our Support team via email at support@rushcliff.com
Error Message: Error connecting to server; SOCKETTIMEOUT
This means PPS has tried to connect to the email server but it cannot send the email in the required time limit and has therefore timed out. Contact your email provider if this error is received.
Error Message: Error with connecting to server; client handshake failed
This error will usually indicate an issue with the TLS compatibility. PPS can only allow email sending through TLS 1.0 and 1.1 and is incompatible with TLS1.2. Contact your email provider to check the TLS configuration. PPS versions 4.1 and above will be compatible with sending via TLS 1.2.