Step-by-step guide: How to turn emails into tasks for multiple clients in Foco

If you manage multiple clients or projects, you know how easy it is to lose important emails across inboxes. Turning emails into tasks for multiple clients in one place prevents requests from slipping through the cracks. Foco lets you centralize those emails as tasks, assign them to the right work (with its color), and attach the original email as a note—all without leaving your task manager. This way, you don’t rely on marking emails as 'unread' or copying and pasting information between apps.

1. Set up your Foco forwarding address (one-time setup)

• Open Foco on desktop or mobile and go to Settings > Copilot > Email Capture.
• Copy the unique address shown (example: your-username@capture.foco.app). This address is private, and you can rotate it anytime from the same menu.
• Save this address in your contacts as 'Foco - Forwarding' for quick access from any email client.

2. Forward an email to turn it into a task automatically

• Open the email you want to turn into a task (from Gmail, Outlook, etc.).
• Use the 'Forward' option and paste the Foco address you copied earlier.
• Send the email. Within a minute, Foco will create a task with: the email subject as the title, the email body attached as a note, and any detected details (dates, priority, or reminders if mentioned in the text).
• If the email includes attachments (PDFs, images), Foco saves them as notes within the task.

3. Assign the task to the correct work (and its color)

• Open the newly created task in Foco. You’ll see it appears in the 'Automatic' work (default) or the one you configured for email capture.
• If you want to move it to another work (example: 'Client X - Web Design'), tap the current work name and select the destination. The task will update to that work’s color.
• If you use Plus Connections (Notion, Asana, etc.), Foco can automatically assign the task to the correct work based on the email content. More details in step 5.

4. Complete the task and sync it back to the source (optional)

• Work on the task like any other in Foco: add a due date, duration, tags, or assignees if collaborating with someone.
• When you mark the task as 'Done', Foco will ask if you want to complete the original item in the connected tool (example: close a task in Asana or comment on a Notion page). Enable this option in Settings > Connections if you want to keep both systems in sync.
• If the email was a client request, you can share the completed task via a public link (without granting access to the rest of Foco).

5. Automate assignment with Plus Connections (Notion, Asana, etc.)

• Go to Settings > Copilot > Connections and enable the integration with the tool you use (Notion, Asana, Linear, GitHub, Jira, or an MCP server).
• Choose a 'destination work' for each connection: 'Automatic' (Foco decides based on content) or a fixed work (example: 'Client Y - Development').
• When you forward an email related to that tool, Foco will assign it to the correct work without manual input. For example, if the email mentions an Asana project, the task will appear in the work linked to that connection.

Why Foco beats alternatives for turning emails into tasks for multiple clients

The typical alternative is copying and pasting information between your email client and a notes app or spreadsheet. This has three drawbacks: 1) You lose context (the original email isn’t attached), 2) There are no color-coded filters by client, and 3) You can’t sync with tools like Notion or Asana. Foco solves this by: centralizing emails from multiple clients in one dashboard, each with its color and work; attaching the full email as a note to preserve details; and with Plus, automating assignment to projects and syncing with other apps. Plus, when you complete a task in Foco, you can automatically close the original item in the connected tool, avoiding duplicate work.