To set up professional email for a New Zealand small business, you need your own domain name (such as yourbusiness.co.nz), an email provider, and a few DNS records that connect the two. For most small businesses the provider is Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, both billed per user per month. Once the domain is verified, you add the provider's MX records so mail arrives, then SPF, DKIM and DMARC records so your mail is trusted and does not land in junk. Switch on two-factor sign-in for every account and you are done.
A @gmail.com or @xtra.co.nz address works, but it tells customers you are small or temporary, and it ties your business contact details to one person's private account. This guide covers choosing a provider, setting it up and the security steps worth doing on day one.
Why it is worth doing properly
- Trust. Quotes and invoices from you@yourbusiness.co.nz look like they come from a real business. Free webmail addresses are also what scammers use.
- Ownership. The addresses belong to the business, not to whoever set them up. When someone leaves, you keep their mailbox and their customer history.
- Deliverability. Properly authenticated email from your own domain is more likely to reach the inbox.
- Consistency. Your website, Google Business Profile, invoices and email all use the same name.
Step 1: get your domain
If you do not have one yet, register a domain in your business's name first. Our guide to choosing and registering a domain name covers .co.nz versus .nz and the mistakes to avoid.
Step 2: choose an email provider
Google Workspace
Gmail, Calendar, Drive and Meet on your own domain. A good fit if your team already uses Gmail or Android, or works mostly in a browser.
Microsoft 365
Outlook, Exchange, Teams and, on many plans, the desktop Office apps. A good fit if your business lives in Word and Excel, or your accountant and clients send you Office files all day.
Email from your web host
Some hosting packages include basic mailboxes. They can be fine for a single address, but storage, spam filtering and mobile sync are often weaker, and your email becomes tied to your hosting.
What to compare
- Price per user per month, and what counts as a user.
- Storage per mailbox.
- Whether shared addresses such as info@ or accounts@ need a paid licence. Both main providers have ways to run shared or group addresses without paying for another full user.
- Where your data is stored, which matters for your privacy policy under the Privacy Act 2020.
Prices change and are usually shown per user, so check each provider's current plans and whether GST is included.
Step 3: connect your domain
Each provider walks you through this, and the steps look similar:
- Verify the domain. Add a TXT record the provider gives you to prove you own it.
- Create the mailboxes you need, such as your name and any shared addresses.
- Add the MX records. These tell the world where to deliver your mail. Remove any old MX records so mail does not split between two places.
- Wait for DNS to update. Usually minutes, sometimes a few hours.
- Send a test to and from an outside address.
You add these records wherever your domain's DNS is managed, usually at your registrar or your web host.
Step 4: authenticate your email
This is the step most small businesses skip, and it is the one that keeps your quotes and invoices out of junk folders.
- SPF lists the servers allowed to send email for your domain. Include every service that sends as you: your email provider, your newsletter platform, your accounting software if it emails invoices.
- DKIM adds a digital signature to each message, which your provider generates and you publish as a DNS record.
- DMARC tells receiving servers what to do with mail that fails those checks, and can send you reports. Start in monitoring mode, then tighten it once you are sure everything legitimate passes.
Since February 2024, Google and Yahoo have required bulk senders to authenticate their email, and properly authenticated mail is treated better by every major inbox provider.
Step 5: move your old email
Both main providers have migration tools that copy existing mail from your old account. Do this before you switch the MX records, or straight after, and tell your regular contacts about the new address. Keep the old account running for a while and set an auto-reply pointing to your new address.
Keep in mind that Inland Revenue generally requires business records to be kept for seven years, and some of those records live in email. Do not delete an old mailbox without exporting it first.
Step 6: lock it down
Email is the front door to almost everything else in a small business: banking resets, invoices, your website login.
- Turn on two-factor authentication for every account, not just the owner's.
- Use a password manager and unique passwords.
- Watch for invoice fraud. If a supplier emails to say their bank account has changed, call them on a number you already have before paying.
- Remove access promptly when someone leaves.
The National Cyber Security Centre, which now includes CERT NZ, publishes free guidance for small businesses and is where to report an incident.
Newsletters are a different job
Do not send newsletters to a big list from your everyday mailbox. Bulk sends from Outlook or Gmail get filtered, there is no proper unsubscribe handling, and the reputation damage lands on the domain you use for quotes and invoices. Use a dedicated email marketing platform or service instead. Ours sends from our own platform, authenticates your domain first and costs from $129 a month ex GST at any list size. See email marketing.
Where Media Giant fits
When we launch a website on your domain, we point the domain at the new site and leave the records your email depends on in place. Websites start at $1,500 upfront then $50 a month, or $250 a month with nothing upfront, ex GST. See our AI website design service and the pricing page.
Need a hand?
If you are setting up a new business, or tidying up a domain and email someone else set up years ago, talk to us. We will tell you what needs fixing and what it costs before we start.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best business email provider in NZ?
For most small businesses, Google Workspace or Microsoft 365. Choose Google if your team lives in Gmail and a browser, and Microsoft if you work in Word, Excel and Outlook every day.
Can I use my domain for email without a website?
Yes. Email and the website are separate services that share the same domain. You can set up email first and add a website later.
Do I need SPF, DKIM and DMARC?
Yes. Without them your mail is more likely to be marked as spam or rejected, and it is easier for scammers to send email that pretends to come from you.
How many email accounts does a small business need?
Usually one per person, plus shared addresses such as info@ or accounts@. Shared addresses can often be set up as aliases or groups rather than paid users.
Will changing my website break my email?
It should not, as long as whoever changes the DNS keeps your MX and email authentication records. Ask your developer to confirm before any DNS change.