Manage Departments
Help Desk Departments define how tickets are organized, routed, and optionally created via email.
This guide covers creating departments, configuring auto-assignment rules, setting up email importing, and managing custom fields.
To create or modify Help Desk Departments, you need the Manage Settings permission assigned to your role.
Overview
Help Desk Departments define how tickets are organized, routed, and optionally created via email. Departments may be used for internal workflows only or configured to accept inbound email and automatically generate tickets.
The same interface is used to both create and manage departments. When editing an existing department, additional configuration options become available.
Create or edit a department
- Navigate to Settings, then Help Desk Settings.
- Open the Help Desk Departments tab.
- Select Add Department to create a new department, or Edit next to an existing department.
When editing an existing department, all previously configured options remain available and can be modified.
Department information
- Enter a Name for the department.
- Optionally enter a Description to clarify the department’s purpose for staff and shown in the public facing portal (if enabled).
- Specify a Sender Email.
The sender email is used for outbound ticket notifications and replies associated with this department.
Each department must use a unique sender email address. Reusing the same address across departments can cause reply routing issues and ambiguous ticket ownership.
Whitelisting behavior
- Enable Whitelisted Emails Only if you want to restrict ticket creation and replies to approved domains.
- Enter one or more Whitelisted Domains, separated by commas.
Only messages sent from email addresses matching these domains will be imported or allowed to reply.
Whitelisting is commonly used during phased rollouts or to restrict ticket intake to district controlled domains.
Admin Only departments
Enable Admin Only to hide a department from the public support portal. When enabled:
- The department will not appear as a selectable option when users submit tickets through the portal
- Only administrators can create tickets in this department or transfer existing tickets to it
- Existing tickets in the department remain accessible and functional
This setting is useful for creating internal-only workflows that should not be visible to end users.
Common use cases
Internal escalation queue Create an "Escalated Issues" or "Tier 2 Support" department where complex tickets can be transferred by staff. Users submit to a general department, and technicians escalate when needed.
Staff-only requests Create a department for internal IT requests (e.g., "Staff Hardware Requests" or "Network Access") that only administrators can access. Staff submit requests through other channels, and technicians create tickets on their behalf.
Sensitive or HR-related issues Departments handling confidential matters (disciplinary device issues, security incidents) can be hidden from the public portal while remaining fully functional for authorized staff.
Admin Only departments are indicated with an "Admin Only" badge in the department list, making it easy to identify which departments are hidden from the public portal.
Associate administrators to a department
- In Assigned Admins, begin typing an administrator name.
- Select one or more administrators to associate with the department.
Associated administrators become eligible for ticket assignment and visibility within this department.
Administrator association does not override role permissions. Administrators must still have the appropriate help desk permissions assigned via their role.
Automation options
Auto assign tickets
- Enable Auto Assign Tickets to allow automatic technician assignment.
- When enabled, tickets will be assigned based on department configuration and availability.
Restrict to buildings
When auto assignment is enabled, you may also enable Restrict to Buildings.
When enabled:
- Tickets are assigned only to technicians associated with the requester's building.
- If the requester's building cannot be determined, all department technicians remain eligible.
Restrict to Buildings has no effect unless Auto Assign Tickets is enabled.
Ticket ID format
Each ticket is assigned a unique identifier when created. By default, ticket IDs follow a standard format combining letters and numbers (e.g., ABC-123456). You can customize this format per department to match your organization's preferences or create meaningful patterns.
To customize the ticket ID format:
- Enter a pattern in the Ticket ID Format field
- Use format codes to define the structure
- Leave blank to use the default format
Available format codes:
| Code | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
%A | Random uppercase letter | A, B, C... Z |
%a | Random lowercase letter | a, b, c... z |
%n | Random number | 0-9 |
%y | 4-digit year | 2026 |
%Y | 2-digit year | 26 |
%m | 2-digit month | 01-12 |
%d | 2-digit day | 01-31 |
%H | 2-digit hour (24-hour) | 00-23 |
%i | 2-digit minute | 00-59 |
%s | 2-digit second | 00-59 |
%D | Department ID (3 digits) | 001, 002... |
Example patterns:
| Pattern | Result |
|---|---|
%A%A%A-%n%n%n%n%n%n | ABC-123456 (default) |
IT-%y%m%d-%n%n%n%n | IT-20260115-4832 |
%D-%Y%m-%n%n%n%n | 001-2601-7293 |
HELP-%n%n%n%n%n | HELP-84721 |
Date-based patterns (using year, month, day) make it easy to identify when a ticket was created at a glance. Department prefixes help distinguish tickets from different support queues.
Mail server configuration
Departments may optionally be configured to accept tickets via email.
If mail server information is not configured, the department functions as an internal-only ticket destination and will not accept inbound email replies.
Generic email providers
- Select the Generic provider.
- Enter the mail server hostname.
- Enter the POP or IMAP port.
- Enter the email address and password for the mailbox.
Use a dedicated mailbox for each department. Imported messages are deleted from the mailbox after successful ticket creation.
Google (OAuth2)
If using Gmail or Google Workspace, configure Google OAuth importing instead of entering a mailbox password.
See Email Importing - Google for the full step-by-step OAuth configuration.
Custom Fields
When editing an existing department, the Custom Fields tab becomes available.
Custom fields allow you to collect additional information from users when tickets are submitted to this department.
When configuring a custom field, you’ll define:
-
Field Name The label displayed throughout the system.
-
Field Type Determines how data is entered and stored.
-
Description Optional helper text shown beneath the field to guide staff entering data.
-
Dropdown Options Used only for dropdown fields. Values are entered as a comma-separated list.
-
Hide on Profile Controls whether the field appears directly on the profile page. Even when hidden, the field remains available on edit screens and in exports.
-
Required Field Tickets cannot be submitted without this field being filled out when this option is enabled.
Field order
Custom fields can be reordered by dragging rows in the Order column.
The order determines how fields appear on the ticket submission form.
Custom fields are department specific. Fields created for one department do not automatically appear in other departments.
Saving and validation
- Select Save Settings to apply changes.
- If mail importing is configured, the system will validate connectivity during save.
If validation fails:
- Confirm mail server settings or OAuth configuration
- Confirm the correct mailbox account was authorized
- Confirm redirect URIs match exactly for Google OAuth
Once saved successfully, changes take effect immediately for new tickets and incoming messages.
Common Questions
Q: Can I use the same sender email for multiple departments? No. Each department must use a unique sender email address. Reusing the same address causes reply routing issues and ambiguous ticket ownership. If you need shared branding, use aliases pointing to different mailboxes.
Q: What happens if I don't configure email importing? The department works perfectly for portal-only ticket submission. Users can still submit tickets through the web interface, and assigned administrators can manage them normally. Email importing is optional.
Q: How does auto-assignment decide which technician gets the ticket? Tickets are assigned using round-robin distribution among eligible administrators. If Restrict to Buildings is enabled, only administrators associated with the requester's building are eligible.
Q: Can I change a department's name after creation? Yes. Edit the department and update the name. Existing tickets remain associated with the department and will reflect the new name.
Q: What field types are available for custom fields? Common types include text input, dropdown (single select), checkbox, and textarea. Dropdown fields require you to specify options as a comma-separated list.
Q: Will custom fields appear on existing tickets? Custom fields apply to tickets submitted after the field is created. Existing tickets do not retroactively show new custom fields unless edited.
Q: What happens to custom fields if I delete a department? Custom field data remains associated with existing tickets but cannot be used on new tickets. Best practice: disable department instead of deleting to preserve configuration and historical data.
Q: Can I test email importing without affecting production tickets? Yes. Send a test email to the department address and verify a ticket is created successfully. You can immediately close/delete the test ticket. Check that replies route correctly and sender email appears as expected.
Q: Do whitelisted domains apply to portal submissions? No. Whitelisting only affects email-based ticket creation and replies. Portal submissions are controlled by the Require Login setting in the General Tab.
Q: What happens if an email is sent from a non-whitelisted domain? The message is rejected and no ticket is created. The sender does not receive a bounce notification. Use whitelisting carefully to avoid missing legitimate support requests.
Q: What is the difference between Admin Only and Whitelisting? Admin Only hides the department from the public portal entirely—users cannot see or select it when submitting tickets. Whitelisting restricts which email addresses can create tickets via email but does not hide the department from the portal. Use Admin Only for internal workflows; use Whitelisting to control email-based ticket creation.
Q: Can users still reply to tickets in an Admin Only department? Yes. If a ticket is transferred to an Admin Only department, the user can still reply via email or view the ticket if they have the ticket ID and key. The department is only hidden from new ticket submission on the portal.
Q: Can I change the ticket ID format after creating tickets? Yes. Changes to the ticket ID format only affect newly created tickets. Existing tickets retain their original IDs. This allows you to update your format without affecting historical data.
Q: What happens if a generated ticket ID already exists? The system automatically regenerates a new ID if a collision occurs. This is extremely rare with properly designed patterns but is handled gracefully to ensure every ticket has a unique identifier.
Q: Can different departments have different ticket ID formats? Yes. Each department can have its own custom format, or use the default. This is useful for distinguishing tickets from different support queues at a glance (e.g., IT tickets vs. facilities tickets).