Multi-Account Management

Managing multiple email accounts in Mail-Rulez allows you to automate email processing across all your email addresses from a single interface. This guide covers strategies, best practices, and advanced configurations for multi-account setups.

Why Multi-Account Management?

Modern users often have multiple email accounts:

• Personal and business accounts
• Different email providers (Gmail, Outlook, custom domains)
• Project-specific or client-specific accounts
• Archived accounts you still need to monitor

Mail-Rulez centralizes management while respecting the unique needs of each account.

Account Organization Strategies

Strategy 1: Personal vs Business

Personal Account Configuration:

• Relaxed processing schedule
• Longer retention periods
• More permissive whitelist
• Focus on convenience

Business Account Configuration:

• Frequent processing (every 5-15 minutes)
• Stricter retention policies
• Comprehensive rules for compliance
• Priority on organization and efficiency

Screenshot: Multi-account dashboard

Strategy 2: Provider-Based Organization

Gmail Accounts:

• Leverage Gmail's labels alongside folders
• Use Gmail-specific IMAP settings
• Handle Google Workspace accounts

Outlook/Exchange:

• Work with Exchange server limitations
• Optimize for Office 365 integration
• Handle authentication requirements

Custom/Domain Accounts:

• Configure for various IMAP servers
• Handle unique folder structures
• Optimize for server capabilities

Strategy 3: Activity-Based Organization

Active Accounts:

• Current daily-use email addresses
• Frequent processing and monitoring
• Full rule sets and automation

Archive Accounts:

• Older accounts kept for reference
• Infrequent processing
• Focus on retention and cleanup

Special Purpose:

• Newsletters and subscriptions
• Shopping and receipts
• Project or client-specific

Adding Multiple Accounts

Account Configuration Workflow

1. Plan Your Structure

   • List all accounts to be managed
   • Define processing requirements per account
   • Plan folder structures and naming conventions

2. Add Accounts Systematically

   • Start with most important account
   • Test configuration thoroughly
   • Add additional accounts one by one

3. Configure Account-Specific Settings

   • Processing mode (startup vs maintenance)
   • Check intervals and schedules
   • Folder mappings and structures

Account-Specific Configuration

Screenshot: Account-specific configuration interface

Processing Settings:

• Mode: Independent startup/maintenance per account
• Schedule: Different check intervals per account
• Priority: Process high-priority accounts first

Folder Configuration:

• Folder Names: Account-specific folder names
• Folder Structure: Different organizations per account
• Shared Folders: Common folder patterns across accounts

Security Settings:

• Credentials: Separate authentication per account
• Connection Limits: Respect server-specific limits
• SSL/TLS: Provider-specific security requirements

Cross-Account Features

Shared Lists

Lists can be shared across accounts or kept separate:

Global Lists (Shared):

• Family and friend email addresses
• Known spam domains
• Common vendor/newsletter senders

Account-Specific Lists:

• Business contacts for work account
• Personal subscriptions for personal account
• Client-specific lists for project accounts

Screenshot: Global vs account-specific list configuration

Unified Rules

Create rules that apply across all accounts:

Global Rules:

• Spam detection patterns
• Large attachment handling
• Security-related filtering

Account-Specific Rules:

• Business workflow automation
• Personal organization preferences
• Provider-specific optimizations

Cross-Account Analytics

View combined statistics:

• Total emails processed across all accounts
• Combined storage savings
• Unified error reporting
• Performance comparison between accounts

Performance Optimization

Scheduling Coordination

Staggered Processing:

• Process accounts at different times
• Prevent server overload
• Distribute system resource usage

Priority-Based Processing:

• Process important accounts first
• Allocate more resources to active accounts
• Handle failures without affecting other accounts

Resource Management

Memory Optimization:

• Process accounts sequentially for large setups
• Clear caches between accounts
• Monitor total memory usage

Connection Management:

• Limit concurrent IMAP connections
• Respect provider connection limits
• Use connection pooling efficiently

Storage Optimization:

• Separate data directories per account
• Independent backup strategies
• Account-specific log files

Account Isolation and Security

Data Separation

Each account maintains separate:

• Configuration files
• Processing logs
• List data
• Rule definitions
• Retention policies

Security Isolation

Credential Security:

• Encrypted storage per account
• Independent authentication
• No cross-account credential sharing

Access Control:

• Account-specific permissions
• Isolated error handling
• Independent backup encryption

Failure Isolation

Error Containment:

• Account failures don't affect others
• Independent retry logic
• Separate error reporting

Maintenance Isolation:

• Update accounts independently
• Test changes on single accounts first
• Gradual rollout of configuration changes

Common Multi-Account Scenarios

Scenario 1: Personal + Work

Setup:

• Personal Gmail: Relaxed rules, long retention
• Work Exchange: Strict rules, compliance retention
• Shared family whitelist
• Separate business contact lists

Benefits:

• Keep personal and work email completely separate
• Apply different policies appropriate to each context
• Maintain professional organization standards

Scenario 2: Multi-Business Owner

Setup:

• Client A account: Project-specific rules
• Client B account: Different folder structure
• General business account: Unified processing
• Shared vendor lists across business accounts

Benefits:

• Maintain client confidentiality
• Apply client-specific organization
• Centralized management with appropriate separation

Scenario 3: Family Management

Setup:

• Parent accounts: Full automation
• Child accounts: Monitored processing
• Shared family whitelist
• Different retention policies by age

Benefits:

• Centralized family email management
• Age-appropriate filtering and retention
• Shared family contact management

Scenario 4: Migration and Archival

Setup:

• New primary account: Full active processing
• Old accounts: Archive mode with retention focus
• Gradual migration rules
• Long-term archival policies

Benefits:

• Smooth transition between email providers
• Preserve access to historical emails
• Gradual cleanup of old accounts

Monitoring Multiple Accounts

Unified Dashboard

Screenshot: Multi-account monitoring dashboard

Account Status Overview:

• Processing status per account
• Recent activity summary
• Error indicators
• Performance metrics

Comparative Analytics:

• Processing volume by account
• Rule effectiveness comparison
• Storage usage trends
• Error rate analysis

Account-Specific Monitoring

Individual Account Health:

• Connection status
• Last successful processing
• Current error state
• Queue depth

Performance Metrics:

• Processing speed per account
• Resource usage per account
• Provider-specific metrics
• Optimization opportunities

Alerting Strategy

Critical Alerts (Immediate attention):

• Authentication failures
• Server connection problems
• Data corruption issues

Warning Alerts (Regular monitoring):

• Slow processing times
• High error rates
• Unusual email volumes

Info Alerts (Status updates):

• Successful processing completion
• Maintenance task completion
• Configuration changes applied

Troubleshooting Multi-Account Issues

Common Problems

Performance Degradation:

• Too many accounts processing simultaneously
• Insufficient system resources
• Provider rate limiting

Authentication Issues:

• Password changes
• Two-factor authentication
• Provider policy changes

Configuration Conflicts:

• Overlapping rules
• Conflicting schedules
• Resource competition

Diagnostic Approaches

Isolate Problem Accounts:

1. Disable all accounts
2. Enable accounts one by one
3. Identify problematic account
4. Focus troubleshooting efforts

Compare Account Configurations:

1. Export configurations for all accounts
2. Compare working vs non-working accounts
3. Identify configuration differences
4. Apply working configurations

Monitor Resource Usage:

1. Track CPU and memory per account
2. Monitor network usage patterns
3. Identify resource bottlenecks
4. Optimize resource allocation

Best Practices

Setup and Configuration

1. Start Small: Begin with 1-2 accounts, expand gradually
2. Document Differences: Keep notes on account-specific requirements
3. Test Thoroughly: Verify each account works independently
4. Plan Capacity: Ensure system resources accommodate all accounts

Ongoing Management

1. Regular Reviews: Monthly review of all account configurations
2. Performance Monitoring: Watch for degradation as accounts are added
3. Update Coordination: Apply changes systematically across accounts
4. Backup Strategy: Ensure all accounts are included in backups

Security Considerations

1. Credential Management: Use unique, strong passwords per account
2. Access Auditing: Monitor access patterns for anomalies
3. Isolation Verification: Ensure account data remains separate
4. Update Policies: Keep authentication methods current

Migration and Account Lifecycle

Adding New Accounts

Preparation:

1. Plan folder structure and naming
2. Prepare credential and settings
3. Identify rule and list requirements
4. Schedule configuration window

Implementation:

1. Add account in maintenance mode
2. Test basic connectivity
3. Configure folders and rules
4. Enable processing gradually

Migrating Between Providers

Pre-Migration:

1. Set up new account configuration
2. Begin parallel processing
3. Gradually redirect email flow
4. Monitor both accounts

Post-Migration:

1. Set old account to archive mode
2. Extend retention for transition period
3. Eventually disable old account
4. Maintain backup access

Account Retirement

Graceful Shutdown:

1. Stop processing new emails
2. Complete retention policies
3. Create final backup
4. Archive account configuration
5. Remove active monitoring

Next Steps

With multi-account management configured:

1. Performance Optimization - Optimize system performance
2. Security Configuration - Enhance security across accounts
3. Monitoring Setup - Set up comprehensive monitoring
4. Backup Strategies - Implement robust backup procedures