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Connect to Microsoft 365

Integrating Kinabase with Microsoft 365

Linking your Microsoft 365 tenant (including Microsoft Entra ID, formerly Azure Active Directory) to Kinabase enables single sign-on (SSO), automatic user provisioning, and SharePoint file storage integration.

What you can do with Microsoft 365 integration

Single Sign-On (SSO)

Allow users to sign in to Kinabase using their existing Microsoft 365 credentials.

User Sync

Import users directly from your Microsoft 365 directory, including their names, email addresses, profile photos, job titles, and manager relationships.

SharePoint File Storage

Store files in your SharePoint document library instead of Kinabase's built-in storage.

Outlook Add-in

Log emails as activities and add contacts directly from Microsoft Outlook.

1. Enable Microsoft 365 Sign-In

To connect your Kinabase organisation to Microsoft 365:

  1. Click on your name in the bottom-left corner of Kinabase and select Settings.
  2. Navigate to Organisation → Identity & Provisioning.
  3. Under Allowed sign-in methods, toggle the switch next to Microsoft 365 to enable it.
  4. You will be redirected to Microsoft to grant permission. A Microsoft 365 administrator must approve the connection.
  5. After approving, you will be returned to Kinabase with a confirmation message.


Once enabled, users can sign in to Kinabase by clicking Microsoft on the sign-in page and using their Microsoft 365 credentials.

2. Syncing Users from Microsoft 365

Once Microsoft 365 is connected, you can import users from your directory:

  1. Go to Settings → Organisation → Identity & Provisioning.
  2. In the Microsoft 365 section, you will see a panel showing your connection status and tenant ID.
  3. Click the Sync now button to open the user selection dialog.


  1. The dialog shows all users from your Microsoft 365 directory who are not yet in Kinabase.
  2. Use the dropdown filter to show users from a specific security group, or view all users.
  3. Select the users you want to add by ticking the checkboxes.
  4. For each user, click User type & roles to assign:
    • A user type (User, Administrator, or Billing Administrator)
    • One or more roles for collection permissions
  5. Click Add X user(s) to import the selected users, or click Sync to update existing users without adding new ones.


Synced users appear in both the Users settings page and the Colleagues collection. Each user counts towards your Kinabase licence allocation.

What data is synced from Microsoft 365?

When you sync users, the following information is imported:

  • Name (display name)
  • First name and last name
  • Email address (user principal name)
  • Profile photo (if available in Microsoft 365)
  • Job title
  • Manager (if configured in Microsoft 365)
  • Security group memberships

Profile photos are also fetched automatically when users sign in with their Microsoft account for the first time, if they don't already have a photo set in Kinabase. Users can still upload a custom photo via Settings > Profile if they prefer a different image.

3. Importing Job Titles and Manager Hierarchies

If your Microsoft 365 directory stores job titles and manager relationships, you can sync this information to your Colleagues collection:

  1. Ensure your Colleagues collection has fields for 'Job Title' and 'Manager'.

To learn how to configure the Colleagues list, see our Colleagues List guide.

  1. In Settings → Organisation → Identity & Provisioning, scroll to Sync Microsoft 365 colleague information.
  2. Map your Colleagues collection fields to the corresponding Microsoft 365 data:
    • Map 'Job Title' to receive the user's job title from Microsoft 365
    • Map 'Manager' to receive the reporting structure
  3. Click Sync now to import or update the information.



Manager hierarchies are useful for workflows and approvals where you need records to be reviewed by a user's manager.

4. SharePoint Integration

With Microsoft 365 connected, you can use SharePoint as your file storage provider:

  1. Go to Settings → Organisation → File Storage.
  2. Under Storage Provider, change from Kinabase (built-in) to SharePoint.
  3. If prompted, grant Kinabase additional permissions to access SharePoint.
  4. Select the SharePoint document library you want to use. We recommend using an empty or dedicated library.
  5. Click Update to save your settings.

Why use SharePoint with Kinabase?

  • Co-editing: Open Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files directly in desktop applications from Kinabase.
  • Structured folders: Kinabase automatically creates a folder for each collection, with subfolders for each record.
  • Bi-directional sync: Files uploaded in Kinabase appear in SharePoint, and files added in SharePoint appear in Kinabase.
  • Version control: SharePoint's native versioning remains available for tracking changes.

For detailed instructions, see our SharePoint Integration guide.

5. Outlook Add-in

The Outlook add-in requires Microsoft 365 integration to be enabled. It allows users to:

  • View matching contacts and organisations from emails
  • Add new contacts and organisations to Kinabase from email senders
  • Log emails as activities against Kinabase records

For setup instructions, see our Outlook Add-in guide.

Troubleshooting

Common issues and solutions

Admin approval required

A Microsoft 365 global administrator must approve the initial connection. If you're not an admin, contact your IT department to grant consent.

Users not appearing

Only users with 'Account Enabled' set to true in Microsoft 365 will appear in the sync dialog. Check the user's account status in your Microsoft 365 admin centre.

SharePoint permissions

If SharePoint storage shows a permissions error, your Microsoft 365 administrator may need to grant additional permissions for Kinabase to read and write to SharePoint.

Field mapping changes

If you rename or remove fields in your Colleagues collection, revisit Identity & Provisioning to update the field mappings for job title and manager sync.

Billing considerations

Each user synced from Microsoft 365 counts towards your active Kinabase user licences. Adding users will update your subscription and be included in your next invoice.

Connecting Kinabase to Microsoft 365 centralises sign-ins, user management, and file storage - while maintaining a secure and consistent environment.

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