Rhythm + Microsoft Outlook Integration Guide

The Rhythm Assistant for Outlook brings your Rhythm AMS data directly into your inbox. Without leaving Outlook, your staff can look up contacts, organizations, memberships, chapters, sections, committees, and event registrants; see live member context like engagement scores and activity history; build recipient lists; and log activities back to Rhythm in real time.

This guide walks through everything you need to set up the integration, test it, use it day to day, and troubleshoot the most common issues.

Table of Contents

• Before You Begin
• Step 1: Configure Rhythm
• Step 2: Install the Rhythm Assistant in Outlook
  • New Outlook for Windows
  • Classic Outlook for Windows
  • Outlook for Mac
  • Outlook on the Web
  • For IT Administrators / Enterprise Deployments
• Step 3: Test the Integration
  • Contacts
  • Activity Logging
  • Organizations
  • Membership
  • Chapters
  • Sections
  • Committees
  • Events
• Using the Rhythm Assistant Day to Day
• What Data Is Shared
• Frequently Asked Questions

Before You Begin

Three things must be true before the integration will work..

1. The integration must be enabled in your Rhythm environment.
Outlook is a licensed integration. Before setup, reach out to your Account Manager or Project Manager to confirm it's enabled. If it isn't enabled, you'll be able to install the add-in but will hit an error on sign-in: "You don't have access to this feature yet. Please reach out to Rhythm Support for assistance."

2. Your Outlook email must match your Rhythm console login email — exactly.
The email address you're signed into Outlook with must be the same address used for your Rhythm console user. If they don't match, sign-in will fail with an access error. 

3. You need a supported version of Outlook.
You'll need Outlook 2016 or later. The integration is currently supported in:

• New Outlook (desktop, Windows)
• Classic Outlook (desktop, Windows/Mac)
• Outlook on the web

Step 1: Configure Rhythm

The integration surfaces data from the following Rhythm Services (a Service is a subcategory of an application — e.g., to access contact information, the application is Contacts & Organizations and the service is Contacts):

• Contacts
• Organizations
• Events
• Members
• Chapters
• Sections
• Committees

So you can test the full experience later, make sure each of these is configured (to the extent it applies to your organization). Configuration help:

• CRM — Contacts, Organizations, Activities
• Membership — Memberships, Chapters, Sections, Committees
• Events

Recommended test data: Create at least one contact populated with:

• Membership
• Engagement Score (if applicable)
• Organization
• Contact Role
• Custom Fields
• Activities
• Event Registration
• Belong to a
  • Chapter
  • Section
  • Committee

We also recommend an organization with all fields filled out.

Step 2: Install the Rhythm Assistant in Outlook

Installation differs depending on which version of Outlook you use. Not sure which you have? See Microsoft's What version of Outlook do I have? Once installed, the add-in syncs across your Outlook versions. 

Use the following instructions to install and launch the add-in the various versions of Outlook. You can directly access the Microsoft Outlook Marketplace via this link.

New Outlook for Windows

To install:

1. On the ribbon or navigation bar, select More apps → Add apps.
2. In the Apps page, search for Rhythm Assistant for Outlook.
3. Select the Rhythm Assistant for Outlook, review it, and click Add.

To launch:

1. Create a new message or reply to one.
2. On the ribbon, select the Message tab, then choose Rhythm Assistant. 
3. The Assistant opens in a panel on the right. Sign in with the email that matches your Rhythm console login.

Classic Outlook for Windows

To install:

1. On the Home tab of the ribbon, select Get Add-ins (or All Apps, depending on your version). If you use the Simplified Ribbon, click the ellipsis (…) and then choose Get Add-ins / All Apps.
2. In the add-ins dialog, search for Rhythm Software (or browse the list).
3. Select the Rhythm Assistant for Outlook and click Add. 

To launch:

1. Create a new message or reply to one.
2. Select the Message tab.
3. Select Rhythm Assistant from the ribbon. If the add-in doesn't appear on the ribbon, select All Apps to view your installed add-ins.
4. The Assistant opens in a panel on the right. Sign in with the email that matches your Rhythm console login.

Outlook for Mac

To install:

1. On the ribbon or navigation bar, select the ellipsis → Get Add-Ins.
2. When the AppSource page opens, search for Rhythm Assistant for Outlook.
3. Select the Rhythm Assistant for Outlook, review it, and click Add.

To launch:

1. Create a new message or reply to one.
2. On the ribbon, select the ellipsis, then choose Rhythm Assistant. 
3. The Assistant opens in a panel on the right. Sign in with the email that matches your Rhythm console login.

Outlook on the Web

To install:

1. Navigate to the AppSource page. Search for Rhythm Assistant for Outlook.
2. Select the Rhythm Assistant for Outlook, review it, and click Add.

To launch:

1. Create a new message or reply to one.
2. Select the Insert tab.
3. On the ribbon, select Apps, then choose Rhythm Assistant. 
4. The Assistant opens in a panel on the right. Sign in with the email that matches your Rhythm console login.

For IT administrators / enterprise deployments

If your organization restricts which add-ins users can install, or you want to deploy the Rhythm Assistant centrally, the add-in can be deployed organization-wide through the Microsoft 365 admin center / Azure rather than installed by each user. 

If individual users can't find or add the Rhythm Assistant from the store, your IT team may need to approve or deploy it. Plan for this step during implementation; it's often required for larger or security-conscious organizations.

Step 3: Test the Integration

Within the Outlook integration you will be able to see data related to the following Services:

• Contacts
• Organizations
• Events
• Members
• Chapters
• Sections
• Committees

We will walk through the utility of each of these in this article.  It is recommended that you create a test record for each of these to see the full functionality. 

Contacts

1. In Outlook, open up the Rhythm Assistant.
2. Click Contacts.
3. Search for a contact you know has information in many fields.
4. Click their name.
5. Ensure the information that is in Rhythm is reflected in Outlook.

Activity Logging

1. In Outlook, open up the Rhythm Assistant.
2. Click Contacts.
3. Search for a test contact you have and open the record.
4. Select the Activity tab.
5. Click the Add Activity button.
6. Enter the activity’s type, summary, date, and description.
7. Click the Submit button.
8. Click the pop-out by the contact's name to open their contact record in the Rhythm console.
9. Click the contacts Activity tab
10. Ensure the Activity you logged appears in Rhythm

Organizations

1. In Outlook, open up the Rhythm Assistant. 
2. Click Organizations.
3. Search for your test Organization and open the record.
4. Confirm the data matches Rhythm across the Organization, Membership, Custom Fields, and Activity tabs.
     Note: Organizations will not show an email address, that only lives on a contacts record  
5. Click the pop-out by the organization’s name to ensure you can open their organization record in the Rhythm console.

Membership

1. In Outlook, open up the Rhythm Assistant.
2. Click Membership.
3. Search for a member and ensure the search result information matches what is in Rhythm.
   
   Note: This search will return Contacts and Organization members unless specified in the Owner Type field.
    
4. Click into a member and ensure the information that is displayed in Outlook matches what is in Rhythm.

Chapters

1. In Outlook, open up the Rhythm Assistant.
2. Click Chapters.
3. Search for a Chapter whose members you want to view.
4. Select the Chapter.
5. Confirm its members in Rhythm appear in Outlook.

Sections

1. In Outlook, open up the Rhythm Assistant.
2. Click Sections.
3. Search for a Section whose members you want to view.
4. Select the Section.
5. Confirm its members in Rhythm appear in Outlook.

Committees

1. In Outlook, open up the Rhythm Assistant.
2. Click Committees.
3. Search for a Committee whose members you want to view.
4. Select the Committee.
5. Confirm its members and their positions in Rhythm appear in Outlook.

Events

1. In Outlook, open up the Rhythm Assistant.
2. Click Events.
3. Search for the name of an event you have in Rhythm.
4. Select the event.
5. Click the Search Registrations button.
6. Select a registration.
7. Verify that the information there reflects what is in Rhythm.

Using the Rhythm Assistant Day to Day

Beyond looking up records, the Assistant is built to help you write and send email faster.

Look up live member context while you write.
With an email open, pull up any constituent in the Assistant to see membership status, engagement score (with color coding, if enabled), custom fields, activity history, and more — pulled live from Rhythm, so you're always working from current data.

Add recipients to your email — individually or in bulk.
You don't have to start from an incoming message. Search the membership database from inside Outlook and add email addresses straight into your message. Select records one at a time, or multi-select to add a group all at once.

Build targeted recipient lists.
Search and filter across contacts, organizations, members, chapters, sections, committees, and event registrants to reach exactly the right people — without exporting files or switching tabs.

Log activities and notes as you go.
Record emails and notes back to Rhythm contact and organization records directly from the Assistant. Write-backs appear in the Rhythm console in real time, giving your whole team a complete picture of every interaction — even the ones that started in email.

What Data Is Shared

From Rhythm → Outlook