Help Desk Departments Tab
Help Desk Departments organize how tickets are routed, who receives them, and optionally how inbound email is converted into tickets automatically.
Every ticket in Manage1to1 belongs to a Help Desk Department. Departments can be purely organizational or configured to accept email, depending on district workflow needs.
To create or modify Help Desk Departments, you need the Manage Settings permission assigned to your role.
Overview
Help Desk Departments define where tickets belong, who handles them, and how inbound email is processed.
What departments control:
- Ticket routing and assignment
- Sender email identity (From address on outgoing replies)
- Email importing configuration (POP/IMAP or Google OAuth)
- Auto-assignment rules (round robin or building-based)
- Custom fields per department
- Administrator associations
Why departments matter:
- Organization - Separate tech support from facilities requests or transportation issues
- Automation - Email importing converts inbound messages into tickets automatically
- Accountability - Assigned administrators see only tickets relevant to their responsibilities
- Workflow efficiency - Auto-assignment distributes workload across support staff
Department Types
Departments can be used in two ways:
Internal Routing Only
Departments used strictly for organization and assignment without email importing.
When to use:
- Portal-only ticket submission
- Internal workflow categorization
- Districts not using email-based support requests
Example: "Technology Support" department with assigned administrators but no mailbox configured. Users submit tickets through the portal, tickets route to assigned staff.
Email-Enabled Departments
Departments configured to accept inbound email and convert messages into tickets automatically.
When to use:
- Users prefer submitting requests via email
- Unified support across portal and email channels
- Districts want centralized ticket management regardless of submission method
Example:
"Tech Help" department with email address techhelp@district.org. Manage1to1 imports messages from this mailbox, creates tickets, and routes to assigned administrators.
Departments can exist without a working mailbox. Email importing is optional for internal-only departments.
Configuration Tasks
The Help Desk Departments Tab provides tools for creating departments, configuring email importing, and managing assignment rules.
Managing Departments
Create, edit, delete, and configure department settings including name, sender email address, assigned administrators, auto-assignment rules, and custom fields.
Learn more about managing departments →
Email Importing (POP/IMAP)
Configure traditional POP or IMAP mailbox importing for departments that accept inbound email requests.
Learn more about email importing →
Email Importing (Google OAuth)
Configure Google Workspace mailbox importing using OAuth authentication for enhanced security and reliability.
Learn more about Google OAuth importing →
Common Questions
Q: Do I need to create departments before accepting tickets? Yes. Every ticket must belong to a department. Create at least one department before enabling the help desk portal or configuring email importing.
Q: Can I have multiple departments? Yes. Common setup: "Technology Support," "Facilities Requests," "Transportation Issues" - each with its own email address and assigned staff.
Q: What happens to tickets when a department is deleted? Existing tickets remain associated with the deleted department but new tickets cannot be routed there. Best practice: disable department instead of deleting.
Q: Can the same administrator be assigned to multiple departments? Yes. Administrators can be associated with as many departments as needed and will see tickets from all assigned departments.
Q: Do I need email importing to use departments? No. Departments can be used purely for internal routing and portal-based ticket submission without any email importing configuration.
Q: Can each department have a different sender email address? Yes. Each department has its own "Sender Email" field that controls the From address on outgoing ticket replies, allowing departments to maintain separate identities.
Q: How do I test email importing for a department? After configuring mailbox credentials, send a test email to the department address. Check that a ticket is created successfully and replies route correctly. Verify the sender email appears correctly on responses.
Q: What's the difference between POP/IMAP and Google OAuth importing? POP/IMAP uses traditional mailbox credentials (username/password). Google OAuth uses secure token-based authentication with Google Workspace. Google OAuth is recommended for districts using Google Workspace due to enhanced security and easier credential management.