How to set up a proper business email

When a customer gets a quote from dave.plumbing.1987@hotmail.com, a little voice asks whether Dave is a real business. When it comes from dave@daveplumbing.com.au, that voice goes quiet. Same Dave, same price - one of them just looks like a company that will still be around next year.

A business email on your own domain is the cheapest credibility you can buy. Here is how it works and how to get one without it turning into a project.

What you are actually setting up

Two separate things, and people muddle them:

A domain - your name on the internet, like daveplumbing.com.au. You rent this, usually around $15-30 a year.
A mailbox on that domain - the actual inbox for dave@daveplumbing.com.au, which sends and receives mail. This is a small monthly cost, or sometimes free with the right setup.

If you already have a website, you almost certainly already own a domain - which means step one is done and you can skip to the mailbox.

Step one: get the domain (if you do not have one)

Australian business domains end in .com.au. To register one you need an ABN - which you have - so go to a registrar (search “register com.au domain”; common ones are VentraIP, Crazy Domains, GoDaddy), type the name you want, and it tells you if it is free.

Tips before you buy:

Keep it short and say-able down the phone. daveplumbing.com.au is good. davesplumbingandgasfittingservices.com.au is a mouthful on a voicemail.
Avoid hyphens and numbers where you can - they get lost when spoken aloud.
Buy the .com.au - it reads as a real Australian business. You do not need to also buy ten other versions; one is plenty to start.

Step two: get the mailbox

You have three honest options, cheapest first.

Option A - free, using what you already have

Some domain registrars include email forwarding for free. This sends anything arriving at dave@daveplumbing.com.au straight to your existing Gmail or Hotmail, so you read it in the inbox you already check. Replying from the business address takes a bit of fiddling, but for receiving it is free and instant.

Good enough when you are starting and watching every dollar.

Option B - the proper setup (recommended)

A real mailbox through Google Workspace or Microsoft 365. You get the full inbox, send and receive as dave@daveplumbing.com.au, calendar, and a big chunk of storage. Runs about $8-12 per user per month.

This is what most established trades use. It just works, on every device, and it does not look like a workaround.

Option C - whatever your web host bundles

If someone built you a website, the hosting often includes a mailbox or two at no extra cost. Worth checking what you are already paying for before you buy anything new.

Step three: connect it (the technical-sounding bit)

To make mail actually flow to your new address, a couple of settings on the domain need pointing at your mailbox - MX records, if you ever hear the term. This is the one step that scares people off, so two plain facts:

Whoever you buy the mailbox from (Google, Microsoft, your host) gives you a step-by-step page for exactly this. You copy a few values across. It is fiddly, not hard.
If the domain and the mailbox are bought from the same company, this part is often done for you automatically.

Once it is connected, send a test email to yourself from your phone. If it lands, you are done.

Step four: set up your signature

The last 10% that makes you look switched-on. In your new email settings, add a signature with:

Your name and trade
Business phone number
Your website, if you have one
Your licence number if your trade requires one on quotes

Now every email you send finishes like a business, not a bloke with a phone.

What “good” looks like when you are done

Customers get mail from you@yourbusiness.com.au, not a free address
It works on your phone and any computer
Your name, number and licence sit at the bottom of every message automatically

That is the whole job. An afternoon, once, and every quote you send for the next ten years looks the part.