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Odoo integrations

Use MailDesk with Purchase

5 min read Odoo 18.0

Create a request for quotation (RFQ) from a supplier email, link the email to an RFQ or order that already exists, and see its status and total next to the message.

Who this is for: buyers and purchasing staff (daily use) and MailDesk administrators (one-time setup per mailbox).

You need:

  • The MailDesk Purchase Integration module (maildesk_mail_client_purchase). It is a separate module.
  • MailDesk Basic and MailDesk Pro.
  • The Odoo Purchase app.
  • A connected mailbox that syncs.

Which MailDesk plan includes this module is described in Plans and included features.

Before you begin

  • Install the module on your Odoo database and check that Purchase is installed. Install steps are in Install MailDesk.
  • Administrators: turn the integration on for each mailbox that needs it (Step 1). It is off by default.
  • Users: you need normal Odoo Purchase access. The panel works as you, so your purchase access rules still apply. You also need access to the mailbox. See Security and access rights.

Step 1: Turn on Purchase for a mailbox (administrator)

  1. Open MailDesk ▸ Configuration ▸ Mailboxes ▸ Mailbox Accounts and open the mailbox.
  2. Open the Settings tab and find the card Purchase Linking & RFQ Flow.
  3. Switch Enable on. The card shows its options.
  4. Set the options you need, then save the mailbox.

The Purchase Linking and RFQ Flow card on the Settings tab of a mailbox account, with the Enable toggle switched on

What you should see: the card expands and shows Defaults, Permissions and Automation.

Group Options
Defaults Default Buyer, Show Purchase Order Status, Show Purchase Order Total
Permissions Allow Create RFQ, Allow Link Purchase Document, Allow Unlink Purchase Document, Allow Buyer Change, Allow Vendor Reference Change, Allow Expected Arrival Change
Automation Auto-link by Reply Headers (Purchase), Auto-link by Subject Token (Purchase), Log Agent Replies (Purchase), Log Customer Replies (Purchase)

Set the default buyer once

New RFQs then start with the buyer you choose. Turn the integration on for purchase@ and leave it off on other mailboxes.

Step 2: Open the Purchase panel on an email

  1. Open an email in MailDesk.
  2. Click the Purchase panel button (shopping cart icon) on the email toolbar.

The Purchase button, a shopping cart icon, on the toolbar of an open email

What you should see: the Purchase panel opens beside the message. If nothing is linked, it says This email is not linked to any RFQ or purchase order yet. and shows Create RFQ, Create with AI and Link Existing.

The Purchase panel for an email that has no RFQ or order linked yet

Step 3: Create an RFQ from the email

  1. In the panel, click Create RFQ.
  2. New Request for Quotation opens in a window. MailDesk fills in the vendor (when the sender matches exactly one contact), the Default Buyer, the email subject as source and vendor reference, and the email text as a note.
  3. Add the order lines, complete the other fields and save.

The new RFQ form opened from the panel and filled in from the email

What you should see: the RFQ appears in the panel as a card. The first linked document carries the Primary badge.

The panel showing the new RFQ as the first linked document, marked Primary

Create with AI

Create with AI opens the MailDesk AI panel and starts an RFQ draft. The AI reads the email text and proposes the vendor, the vendor reference, the requested items and a summary. You can change the draft, and nothing is created until you confirm. The RFQ has no order lines: the requested items go into its notes, and the buyer adds the lines. If the draft has no vendor name, nothing is created. AI features belong to MailDesk Pro; see AI permissions and data access.

  1. In the panel, click Link Existing.
  2. In Link Existing Purchase Document, choose the RFQ or purchase order.
  3. Tick Make Primary if this document should be the main one for the email. (This option appears when the email already has linked documents.)
  4. Click Link.

The Link Existing Purchase Document window with the order field

Unlinking is safe

Unlinking removes only the link between the email and the document. The RFQ or order is not changed or deleted.

Step 5: Change an order from the panel

On a card, click the edit icon to open the quick-edit fields. If your administrator allowed it, you can change the buyer, the vendor reference and the expected arrival. Click the card to open the full document in a window, or use the icon to open it in a new tab.

Step 6: Check the email in Purchase

Open the RFQ or order in Odoo. The linked email appears in its chatter with an Open in MailDesk link.

A linked email shown in the chatter of the purchase order, with the Open in MailDesk link

What you should see: in MailDesk, the toolbar button shows a badge with the number of linked documents, and each card shows the status and total when Show Purchase Order Status and Show Purchase Order Total are on.

Log options

The options Log Agent Replies (Purchase) and Log Customer Replies (Purchase) are on the card, but the module does not post a separate message into the order's chatter. The linked email itself is the record, and followers of the order are not notified again.

How automatic linking works

When Auto-link by Reply Headers (Purchase) or Auto-link by Subject Token (Purchase) is on, MailDesk links a follow-up email on its own, but only when the match is exact. Both options are on by default. A scheduled action does the work in the background, so the link can appear a few minutes after the email arrives.

  • Reply headers: the reply belongs to an email that is already linked.
  • Subject token: the subject contains [RFQ-123] or [PO-123], which names one document.

If it does not work

Symptom Check Safe next step
There is no Purchase Linking & RFQ Flow card. Is the module installed? Is the Settings tab open? Install the module, then reload the mailbox form.
There is no Purchase button on emails. Is Enable on for this mailbox? Do you have access to this mailbox? Ask an administrator to turn it on or give you access.
Create RFQ, Create with AI or Link Existing is missing. The permission options on the card. Ask an administrator to switch on Allow Create RFQ or Allow Link Purchase Document.
The cards show no status or total. Show Purchase Order Status and Show Purchase Order Total. Ask an administrator to switch them on.
Create with AI shows an error. Is an AI provider set up, and is AI allowed for this mailbox? See AI permissions and data access. Use Create RFQ instead.
Odoo shows an access error. Your Purchase access rights. Ask your Odoo administrator for Purchase access.
A follow-up email was not linked. Are the auto-link options on? Does the token match a document? Link it by hand with Link Existing.

For other problems, see Troubleshooting.

Next step

Use MailDesk with Inventory to link emails to transfers and deliveries.