How to install a sales Kanban inside Gmail (Chrome)

You do not need a demo call to put a sales Kanban in Gmail. You need Chrome, the store listing, and one thread that is actually a deal. This is the walkthrough for KanbanMail — a free Chrome extension that injects the board into Gmail, plus an optional Gmail add-on for the message you have open.

If you wanted send-later or open tracking, this is the wrong tutorial. Those are other extensions. This one is columns, cards, and the fields you type: next step, company, value, close date, notes.

Before you start

• Browser: Google Chrome (Chromium-based browsers that run Chrome extensions usually work; this tutorial assumes Chrome).
• Account: the Google account you already use for Gmail.
• One real thread: a conversation you would hate to lose. Do not start with a newsletter.

You will sign in with Google so the board is yours. That is profile — name and email — not a mailbox scan. We do not request gmail.modify. We do not read the mailbox from our servers. You choose the thread; we store the card.

The 40-second install

1. Open the KanbanMail listing on the Chrome Web Store.
2. Click Add to Chrome, then confirm. The extension icon appears in the toolbar.
3. Go to gmail.com and refresh if the inbox was already open. The board loads inside Gmail; you should not need a new tab for the pipeline.
4. Sign in with Google when asked. You should see a consent screen for basic profile, not a request to read or modify all mail.
5. Open the thread you picked. Send it to the board (one click from the inbox or the open mail). It lands in a column — by default something like Lead or Contacted.
6. On the card, write a next step in one sentence. Add company, value, and close date if you know them. Notes are for the one fact that is not in the subject.

That is the install. The rest is habit: tomorrow, open the board before you open unread.

What you should see in Gmail

The board is columns you can rename. Default stages are enough for a first day: Lead, Contacted, Negotiation, Won, Lost. Drag the card when the thread actually changes stage — a number in the mail, a yes, a no — not when you feel optimistic.

Each card keeps a link back to the Gmail thread. Do not paste the whole email into notes. When you need the words, open the mail from the card. The CRM fields are the things Gmail’s list will not show: money, date, next action, a private line.

If the board does not appear, check that the extension is enabled for mail.google.com, hard-refresh Gmail, and try a normal inbox window rather than a stripped embed. Corporate Chrome policies sometimes block store extensions; that is an IT conversation, not a missing button in our UI.

Optional: the Gmail add-on

The visual Kanban lives in the Chrome extension. The Gmail add-on is a side panel on the message you have open — useful if you want the card while you read, including in Gmail on a phone. You do not need it to use the board on a laptop.

If you install both, they talk about the same cards. You still choose which emails enter the pipeline. Nothing auto-ingests the inbox.

Your first ten cards (the part people skip)

Do not import history. Take last week. For every thread that is commercial, create a card in the honest column. Skip production noise and newsletters. Write a next step on each live one before you congratulate yourself on the install.

Empty value is fine. A fake €0 is not. Close date can wait until you would defend it in a meeting. The field that cannot wait is next step. If you cannot write one, the card is not a deal yet.

Rename columns only after you have used the defaults for a few days. Adding “Hot” and “Warm” on day one is how boards become mood boards. A later extra column (Proposal sent, On hold) is fair when deals repeatedly sit between two stages.

For the method, not the buttons, read how to build a sales pipeline inside Gmail and how to use Gmail as a CRM. For what we store, see what we don’t read.

FAQ

How long does install really take?

About forty seconds to extension plus first card, if Chrome and Gmail are already how you work. Filling fields on ten old threads takes longer — that is onboarding, not install.

Does this work on Firefox or Safari?

The board is a Chrome extension. Use Chrome (or a Chromium browser that can install from the Chrome Web Store). The optional Gmail add-on can show the open-message panel in Gmail clients that support add-ons, including mobile Gmail.

Will you scan my mailbox?

No. You pick the thread. We do not scan the inbox. We do not read the mailbox from our servers. We do not request gmail.modify.

Is it free?

Yes. KanbanMail is free.

Do I have to use the Gmail add-on?

No. The Kanban you drag lives in the Chrome extension inside Gmail on the desktop. The add-on is extra context on the open email.

What if I uninstall?

Removing the extension removes the board from Gmail. Your Gmail itself is unchanged — we did not file labels on your behalf as the product. If you want account or data questions, use support or the privacy policy.

Can I share the board with my team?

KanbanMail is a personal board on the Gmail you open. If you need a shared mailbox CRM with boxes and merge, look at a heavier tool (Streak is the usual comparison). Do not expect a personal Kanban to become a team inbox.