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How to Use a Business Email Address With Gmail
Set up a domain-based address in Gmail through a real email service, then configure DNS and authentication correctly.
Quick answer
The straightforward way to use name@yourbusiness.ca in Gmail is Google Workspace: it includes custom business email and requires you to verify the domain and direct its MX records to Google. Gmail’s “send mail as” setting can send from another address, but it is not a substitute for correctly hosted and authenticated business email.
Choose an email service before changing DNS
A domain name does not create an inbox by itself. You need an email provider that receives mail for the domain and lets you send as that address.
Google Workspace Business Starter lists custom business email and a Canadian monthly price on Google’s pricing page. Compare the current monthly and annual commitment price at checkout instead of relying on a promotion shown in an article.
Set up delivery with MX records
After you sign up for Google Workspace, verify that you own the domain and add Google’s MX record through the company that manages your DNS. Google documents the current destination as smtp.google.com and notes that DNS changes can take up to 72 hours to be recognized.
Do this in the domain’s DNS panel, not in Gmail. Replacing MX records affects where all new mail for the domain is delivered, so photograph or export the existing records before changing them.
Authenticate the domain before relying on it
Set up SPF and, where appropriate, DKIM and DMARC according to the services that actually send mail for your domain. Google says SPF helps reduce the chance that outgoing mail is marked as spam and recommends DKIM and DMARC as well.
If you use Gmail’s send-as option with an address hosted elsewhere, recipients using some mail services may see the original Gmail address as “on behalf of” the business address. Test by sending to an independent mailbox before updating signatures or client-facing materials.
Sources: Set up SPF for Google Workspace, Send emails from a different address or alias
Sources checked 15 July 2026
Primary documentation used for this guide. Product terms, prices, and government rules can change, so follow the linked source for the current version.