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Bounce Handler article

Amazon SES

Setup Instructions

Amazon SES uses Amazon Simple Notification Service (SNS) to deliver bounce notifications to QuillCRM. Follow these steps to set up bounce handling for Amazon SES.

Step 1: Get Your Webhook URL

  1. Go to QuillCRM → Settings → SMTP → Bounce Handling
  2. Find the Amazon SES section
  3. Copy the webhook URL provided

Your webhook URL will look like:

https://yoursite.com/\?quillcrm_webhook\=bounce\&amp\;provider\=amazonses\&amp\;key\=your_security_key\\

Step 2: Create an SNS Topic

  1. Open the Amazon SNS Console
  2. Click Topics → Create topic
  3. Select Standard type
  4. Enter a name (e.g., ses-bounces)
  5. Click Create topic

Step 3: Subscribe QuillCRM Webhook to the SNS Topic

  1. On the topic details page, click Create subscription
  2. Set Protocol to HTTPS
  3. Paste your QuillCRM webhook URL in the Endpoint field
  4. Click Create subscription
  5. QuillCRM will automatically confirm the subscription — you should see the status change to “Confirmed” within a few seconds

Step 4: Configure SES to Use the SNS Topic

  1. Open the Amazon SES Console
  2. Go to Configuration → Verified identities
  3. Select your verified identity (domain or email address)
  4. Click the Notifications tab
  5. Under Feedback notifications, click Edit
  6. For Bounce feedback, select the SNS topic you created (e.g., ses-bounces)
  7. Optionally, also set the same topic for Complaint feedback
  8. Click Save changes

How It Works

When SES encounters a bounce:

  1. SES publishes a bounce notification to your SNS topic
  2. SNS forwards the notification to your QuillCRM webhook URL
  3. QuillCRM verifies the SNS message signature for security
  4. The bounce is classified and the contact is updated accordingly

Bounce Classification

SES Bounce Type QuillCRM Classification Action
Permanent Hard bounce Contact immediately marked as “Bounced”
Transient Soft bounce Soft bounce count incremented; hard bounce after 3
Undetermined Soft bounce Treated as soft bounce by default

Troubleshooting

  • Subscription stuck in “Pending confirmation”: Ensure your site is accessible via HTTPS and the webhook URL is correct. QuillCRM auto-confirms SNS subscriptions, but the endpoint must be reachable.
  • No bounces being recorded: Check that you selected the correct SNS topic in SES notifications settings. Verify the SNS subscription status is “Confirmed”.
  • 403 Forbidden responses: The security key in the URL may be incorrect. Copy the webhook URL again from QuillCRM settings.