Migrate from Chatwoot to Zoho Desk

Chatwoot Conversations map directly to Zoho Desk Tickets. The Conversation status (open, resolved, pending, snoozed) maps to Zoho Ticket Status, priority maps to Priority, assignee maps to Agent lookup, and the inbox assignment maps to Department. Chatwoot's conversation created_at timestamp preserves as Ticket Created Time. We validate that the Zoho Department exists before migration because conversation routing depends on Department being configured in Zoho first.

Chatwoot Contacts map to Zoho Desk Contacts. Standard fields (name, email, phone, custom_attributes) migrate directly. Chatwoot's contact identifier becomes a ContactExtId field in Zoho's import schema for cross-reference. If the source Chatwoot account has no Contacts (Hacker plan users rarely configure them), we create minimal Contact records from conversation initiator data during migration. Custom attributes require pre-created fields in Zoho Desk before contact import begins.

Chatwoot Messages map to Zoho Desk Ticket Threads. Each message carries content, sender_type (agent/customer), created_at timestamp, and attachment URLs. We preserve message order by created_at and migrate both customer messages and internal notes as Thread entries in Zoho. Agent private notes map to Zoho's private comment capability if the destination role permits. Attachments store as URL references; Zoho Desk does not re-download them, so attachment accessibility depends on whether the source URLs remain reachable.

Chatwoot Inboxes (website live chat, email, WhatsApp, Facebook, API channels) map to Zoho Desk Departments. Each Inbox becomes a Department in Zoho Desk, and conversations from that Inbox route into the corresponding Department as Tickets. We create the Zoho Department schema before conversation migration so that every incoming Ticket has a valid Department reference. Multiple Chatwoot Inboxes can map to a single Zoho Department if the customer prefers consolidated routing.

Chatwoot Agents map to Zoho Desk Agents (User records). We resolve by email match. Agent roles (administrator, agent) map to Zoho Desk roles (executive, admin, agent) during scoping. Chatwoot's agent availability status does not transfer; agents start as active in Zoho Desk. Any Chatwoot Agent without a matching Zoho User email goes to a reconciliation queue for the customer's admin to provision before migration resumes.

Chatwoot Teams (Business and Enterprise tier only) map to Zoho Desk Teams. Teams are available on Chatwoot's paid tiers, so we check the source plan during scoping. If the source is on Hacker or Startups, no Teams exist to migrate. For sources with Teams, we create matching Team structures in Zoho Desk and assign the migrated Agents to their corresponding Team. Team-based routing in Zoho is configured after agent import.

Chatwoot Labels (string tags applied to Conversations) map to Zoho Desk Tags. Labels are simple key-value records and migrate directly as tags on the corresponding Ticket. Tag color metadata from Chatwoot does not transfer; tags in Zoho Desk use a single color scheme per tag unless manually recolored after migration.

Chatwoot Custom Attributes (text, number, dropdown, checkbox attached to Conversations or Contacts) map to Zoho Desk Custom Fields. We pre-create the custom field schema in Zoho Desk before import using the Zoho Desk Custom Fields API, matching the field type from Chatwoot to the equivalent Zoho field type. Values migrate as raw data; downstream reporting on custom fields requires manual dashboard configuration in Zoho after migration.

Chatwoot Canned Responses (pre-written reply templates with shortcut codes) map to Zoho Desk Templates. We export the full set including content and shortcut triggers and re-import as Zoho Desk Ticket Templates. Shortcut code triggers are documented in the migration output but must be manually reconfigured in Zoho Desk's Template settings because the shortcut trigger model differs between platforms.

Chatwoot Help Center Articles (available on Startups tier and above) map to Zoho Desk Help Center Articles. Article title, body (markdown), category, and locale migrate directly. Article author attribution does not transfer; the migration user becomes the author. Note: Zoho Desk Help Center does not migrate attachments to articles; article attachments must be re-uploaded manually in Zoho Desk after migration.

Chatwoot Automation Rules (Business tier and above) do not migrate. The rule logic is Chatwoot-specific and cannot be expressed in Zoho Desk's Workflow Rules or Blueprint format without manual redesign. We deliver a written inventory of every active Chatwoot Automation Rule with its trigger, conditions, and actions, plus a recommended Zoho Desk Workflow Rule or Blueprint equivalent. The customer's admin rebuilds these post-migration.

Chatwoot Integrations (Slack, Webhooks, third-party bots) do not migrate because webhook URLs, Slack channel mappings, and bot tokens are credentials-bound and will not function at the destination. We document every active integration, the Chatwoot configuration values, and the recommended Zoho Desk integration equivalent. Slack integration in Zoho Desk requires a separate Slack app setup with org-level token authorization that the customer's admin configures post-migration.