Decisions made at five people determine how painful things are at twenty.
DECIDE THE ADDRESS FORMAT
firstname@, firstname.lastname@ or initial.lastname@. Pick one and apply it to everyone, including yourself.
Consistency means addresses can be guessed correctly, which matters when a customer is trying to reach someone.
ROLE ADDRESSES ALONGSIDE PERSONAL ONES
sales@, support@, accounts@, info@. These survive staff changes and are what you publish.
Personal addresses are for relationships; role addresses are for the business.
QUOTAS AND STORAGE
Give everyone the same sensible quota, raising individuals who genuinely need more. Remember all mailboxes draw from your hosting plan's disk allowance.
WHEN HOSTING MAIL STOPS FITTING
Shared calendars, central administration, device management and very large mailboxes are where a dedicated provider earns its cost. If you need those, plan the move rather than working around the gap.
DOCUMENT IT
Keep a list of who holds which address, which role addresses forward where, and who has access to shared mailboxes. Not on the mail server.
