Most email notification problems are diagnosed by walking back from the recipient to the configuration: who sent it, which template, which automation triggered it, and whether the org's deliverability settings allowed it through. The setup steps below cover the common case: a Flow-triggered notification using an Email Alert. Adjust the steps for Approval Processes, Apex, or Workflow Rules.
- Create or pick the Email Template
From Setup, navigate to Email Templates (Classic Email Templates for legacy automation, or Lightning Email Templates for record-bound Quick Actions). Use Visualforce, HTML, or Text templates per the org's deliverability preferences. Set the From Address to an Organization-Wide Email Address rather than a personal user. Merge fields should reference the triggering record so recipients see the right context, and link URLs should use absolute paths so they work in any client.
- Define the Email Alert
From Setup, open Email Alerts and click New. Choose the Object the alert is associated with, reference the template, and add recipients. Recipients can be users, roles, public groups, related users (Case Owner, Account Owner, Contact Email), or hardcoded addresses (up to five external addresses). Set the From Email Address to a Default Workflow User or an Org-Wide Address. Save and copy the unique name (API name) for use in the Flow.
- Wire the Flow to the Alert
In Flow Builder, drag a Send Email Alert action onto the canvas at the point where the notification should fire. Map the alert API name and the record ID. For more dynamic flows, use Send Email (the raw action) with explicit body and recipient variables. Test the flow in a sandbox with debug enabled, verifying the email appears in the test recipient's inbox and that merge fields resolved correctly.
- Monitor deliverability and adjust
After deployment, open Email Logs (Setup > Email > Email Logs) and request the last 24 hours of logs. The CSV shows every message sent with delivery status, bounce reason, and the user who triggered the send. For ongoing observability, schedule the Email Deliverability dashboard to be exported weekly into a reporting tool and alert on any bounce-rate spike. If the org sends to external customers, enable DKIM signing and align the from-domain to the org's DNS to maintain sender reputation over time.
- Sandbox refreshes set Email Deliverability to System Email Only by default. Test sends will succeed silently but never reach the inbox. Always verify the setting after a refresh.
- Daily email limits are per org for automation-sourced emails (5,000 external addresses per 24 hours by default) and per user for Apex and Quick Action emails. Exhausting the limit blocks password resets too.
- Hardcoded external recipients in Email Alerts cap at five. For larger lists, use a Public Group containing Contact records and reference the group.
- Email merge fields that resolve to null render as empty strings, often resulting in awkward sentences. Use IF formulas in the template to substitute a fallback value.
- Bounce tracking flags the Contact, not the email address used. If the same address appears on multiple Contacts, only the specific Contact is marked bounced and other records continue to send.