Helpdesk migration

Migrate from Desk365 to Gorgias

Field-level mapping, validation, and rollback between Desk365 and Gorgias. We move data and schema; workflows are rebuilt natively in Gorgias.

Desk365 logo

Desk365

Source

Gorgias

Destination

Gorgias logo

Compatibility

75%

9 of 12

objects map 1:1 between Desk365 and Gorgias.

Complexity

CModerate

Timeline

3-5 weeks

Rollback included Accuracy guarantee Field-level validation

Overview

What this migration involves

Moving from Desk365 to Gorgias is a platform realignment that reflects a shift from Microsoft-ecosystem IT and internal support toward ecommerce-native customer support. Desk365 organizes work around Tickets with Department-based routing, SLA Policies, and Microsoft Teams as the primary agent collaboration surface. Gorgias uses a Customer and Ticket model built around ecommerce order context, with channel-based routing (Shopify, email, chat, social), macOS shortcuts, and per-ticket pricing that becomes cost-predictable for high-volume retail operations. We migrate the core record set (Tickets, Customers, Agents, Conversations, Tags, Attachments, Knowledge Base Articles) and flag the SLA Policy and automation macro inventory for the customer's admin to rebuild. IT Asset Management records from Desk365 Premium migrate as tagged notes because Gorgias does not have a native IT asset object.

Field-level fidelity

Every standard and custom field arrives verified.

Schema-aware mapping

AI proposes the map; you confirm before any record moves.

Relationships preserved

Parent–child, lookups, and ownership stay linked.

Full activity history

Calls, emails, meetings — with original timestamps.

Attachments & notes

Documents, uploads, and inline notes move with the record.

Why teams make this switch

Two sides of the same decision

Leaving

Desk365 logo

Desk365

What's pushing teams away

  • Some users report persistent UI glitches that require refreshing the page after every change, and occasional pane closures when editing the same field simultaneously by multiple agents.
  • Missing feature gaps compared to larger platforms — due dates on Tickets and fully customizable reporting dashboards are not available, requiring workarounds or external BI tools.
  • Performance can degrade with high ticket volumes, and the platform lacks the advanced analytics depth that enterprise teams expect from mature ITSM tools.
  • Support response times vary; while many reviews praise the support team, a minority report slower resolution for complex or edge-case issues.

Choosing

Gorgias logo

Gorgias

What's pulling them in

  • Shopify-native integrations pull order details, shipment status, and return data directly into the ticket view, eliminating the need for agents to switch between apps.
  • Unlimited user seats mean growing support teams do not trigger billing changes; pricing scales only on billable ticket volume.
  • AI Agent automates responses to high-volume queries like order status and returns, measurably reducing the number of billable tickets each month.
  • Omnichannel inbox consolidates email, live chat, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, SMS, and voice into a single threaded view.
  • SOC 2 Type II certification and GDPR-aligned data handling satisfy enterprise procurement requirements for customer support platforms.

Object mapping

How Desk365 objects map to Gorgias

Each row shows how a Desk365 object lands in Gorgias, including any object-level transformations, lookup resolution, or schema-design dependencies.

Typical mapping — final map is confirmed during the sample migration step.

Desk365

Ticket

maps to

Gorgias

Ticket

1:1
Fully supported

Desk365 Tickets map directly to Gorgias Tickets with Status, Priority, Created/Updated timestamps, and Assignee preserved. Desk365's Requester maps to Gorgias's Customer via email match. Custom Field values on Desk365 Tickets map to Gorgias ticket attributes or custom properties depending on field type. We flag any Custom Field that has no Gorgias equivalent for the customer to review post-migration.

Desk365

Customer

maps to

Gorgias

Customer

1:1
Fully supported

Desk365 Customer records map to Gorgias Customers by email as the dedupe key. Customer name, email, company association, and portal access status migrate. Desk365's customer-facing portal login state maps to Gorgias's external customer access flags. If a Desk365 Customer record has no email address, we create the record in Gorgias with the available fields and flag it for manual review.

Desk365

Agent

maps to

Gorgias

Team Member

1:1
Fully supported

Desk365 Agents map to Gorgias Team Members. We resolve by email match and carry forward display name, department membership, and Admin vs. Agent role designation. Desk365 Department membership maps to Gorgias Inboxes or team routing rules depending on how the customer wants to structure channel routing in Gorgias.

Desk365

Department

maps to

Gorgias

Team / Inbox

1:many
Fully supported

Desk365 Departments with their access levels (global, department-only, agent-only) map to Gorgias Teams and Inboxes. Multiple Desk365 departments can route to a single Gorgias Team if the customer consolidates teams during migration. We preserve the full department hierarchy as a written inventory so the customer can configure Gorgias team access controls post-migration.

Desk365

Conversation Thread

maps to

Gorgias

Message / Note

1:1
Fully supported

Desk365 Conversation records (public replies, internal notes, system-generated status changes) migrate to Gorgias as Messages and internal Notes in chronological order. The original timestamp and author Agent are preserved on each message entry. System-generated status change records migrate as internal notes so the ticket history remains complete and auditable.

Desk365

Knowledge Base Article

maps to

Gorgias

Article

1:1
Fully supported

Desk365 Knowledge Base Articles migrate to Gorgias Articles with title, body content, publish status, and folder structure preserved. Desk365's Agent-only visibility flag does not have a Gorgias equivalent — Agent-only articles land as Draft in Gorgias, and we flag them in the handoff inventory so the customer can review before publishing. Multi-language article versions migrate as separate Article records in Gorgias.

Desk365

SLA Policy

maps to

Gorgias

SLA Rule

lossy
Fully supported

Desk365 SLA Policies (First Response and Resolution time targets by Priority and Business Hours) map to Gorgias SLA rules as a written inventory with thresholds. Gorgias does not have a named SLA Policy object; instead, SLA rules are configured as conditions and timers within the rules engine. We deliver a field-by-field mapping of every active Desk365 SLA Policy to a Gorgias SLA rule specification so the customer's admin configures them post-migration.

Desk365

Automation Macro

maps to

Gorgias

Macro / Rule

lossy
Fully supported

Desk365 Automation Macros (event-triggered with conditions and actions) export as structured JSON inventory documenting trigger type, conditions, field updates, assignments, and reply templates. Gorgias separates templates (macros) from rules (automation), so we split Desk365 macros into their template component and their automation component during the inventory phase. We do not migrate macros as code; the customer rebuilds them in Gorgias using the written inventory as a specification.

Desk365

Tag

maps to

Gorgias

Tag

1:1
Fully supported

Desk365 flat string Tags on Tickets migrate directly to Gorgias Tags. No hierarchical or color metadata is carried over as most destination platforms do not support this. All tag values reapply to the migrated Ticket records in Gorgias.

Desk365

Ticket Attachment

maps to

Gorgias

Attachment

1:1
Fully supported

File attachments on Desk365 Tickets and inline in conversations are downloaded from Desk365 blob storage and re-uploaded to Gorgias as Ticket Attachments. Inline images in Knowledge Base Articles migrate as Article attachments. Attachment filenames and content types are preserved. If Desk365 Premium IT Asset records are present, asset-linked files migrate as attachments on the corresponding ticket note.

Desk365

Custom Field

maps to

Gorgias

Custom Attribute / Property

1:1
Fully supported

Desk365 custom text, number, dropdown, date, and boolean fields on Tickets map to Gorgias ticket custom attributes or properties depending on type. Dropdown with sections fields from Desk365 map to Gorgias dropdown attributes with options. We pre-create the Gorgias custom attribute schema before import so that values populate on the correct fields. Any Desk365 Custom Field with no Gorgias equivalent is flagged in the handoff report for manual resolution.

Desk365

IT Asset (Premium)

maps to

Gorgias

Tagged Note

1:1
Fully supported

Desk365 Premium IT Asset Management records (hardware/software assets linked to Tickets) extract as structured records. Gorgias does not have a native IT asset object. We migrate asset records as internal notes tagged with the asset identifier, linking them to the associated Ticket record. Dependencies between assets and asset-to-asset relationships are documented in the written inventory for the customer to address in a dedicated ITSM tool if needed.

Gotchas + challenges

What specifically takes care here

Platform-specific issues from each side, plus the pair-specific challenges that don't show up on either platform's page on its own.

Desk365 logo

Desk365 gotchas

High

AI credit-based billing can spike post-migration

Medium

Free tier 50-ticket monthly cap catches heavy import volumes

Medium

API rate limits are not publicly documented

Low

Knowledge base Agent-only visibility may not survive migration

Gorgias logo

Gorgias gotchas

High

AI Agent adds outcome-based fees on top of billable ticket costs

High

Overage billing for tickets scales nonlinearly

Medium

API rate limits restrict bulk export throughput

Medium

Agent data visibility cannot be restricted by role for GDPR use cases

Low

Knowledge Base translations require separate API calls per locale

Pair-specific challenges

  • Agent-only Knowledge Base articles land as Draft in Gorgias

    Desk365 supports knowledge base articles with Agent-only visibility — internal training docs, escalation runbooks, and internal SOPs that should not appear on the customer-facing Support Portal. Gorgias does not have an equivalent two-tier visibility model; it only has Published and Draft states. We export the Agent-only visibility flag as a property on each article record and notify the customer that Agent-only articles will land as Draft in Gorgias, requiring a manual review before any are published. This is a data fidelity issue, not a data loss issue — all content migrates but the visibility guardrails require a manual step post-migration.

  • SLA Policies do not migrate as configured objects

    Desk365 SLA Policies are named configuration objects with First Response and Resolution time thresholds, Priority-level targets, and Business Hours schedules. Gorgias implements SLA as timer rules within the rules engine rather than as named policy objects. We do not create Gorgias SLA rules during migration; we deliver a written inventory of every Desk365 SLA Policy with its thresholds, priority mappings, and business hours schedule so the customer's admin can configure equivalent Gorgias SLA rules. Migrations that skip this step result in tickets arriving in Gorgias without SLA targets, which is the primary compliance risk for teams with contractual SLA commitments.

  • Automation macros do not migrate as code

    Desk365 Automation Macros trigger on Ticket create and update events using conditions and firing actions (reply templates, field updates, assignments). Gorgias separates automation into Rules (event-driven) and Macros (reply templates). We do not migrate macros as executable code. We export macro definitions as structured JSON inventory and deliver them as a written specification for the customer's admin to rebuild in Gorgias. Rules that fire on specific custom field values are the highest-risk gap because the customer may not realize these automations are missing until tickets arrive without expected assignments or field updates.

  • Desk365 API has no documented rate limits

    Desk365's API documentation does not publish per-tenant or per-endpoint rate limits. This means we cannot programmatically throttle to a known safe ceiling. We implement adaptive throttling: when we encounter 429 responses, we back off exponentially and retry. For large migrations over 10,000 Tickets, we schedule the export during off-peak hours to reduce the likelihood of hitting undocumented limits mid-migration. We notify the customer of any observed rate-limit events and the resulting timeline impact.

  • IT Asset records require a non-native destination

    Desk365 Premium includes IT Asset Management that links hardware and software assets to Tickets. Gorgias does not have a native IT asset object. We migrate asset records as internal notes with structured data tags on the associated Ticket. The customer should evaluate whether their asset management needs are better served by a dedicated ITSM tool post-migration (Freshservice, Jira Service Management, or ServiceNow) if IT asset tracking is a core requirement rather than incidental to support tickets.

Migration approach

Six steps for a successful Desk365 to Gorgias data migration

  1. Discovery and scope definition

    We audit the Desk365 tenant across tier (Free/Standard/Plus/Premium), open and closed ticket volume, active agent count, department hierarchy, knowledge base article count with visibility flags, active SLA Policies with thresholds, active Automation Macros, custom field definitions, attachment volume and average file size, and IT Asset record count if Premium tier is in use. We pair this with a Gorgias tier recommendation based on channel count, Shopify integration requirements, and ticket volume. The discovery output is a written migration scope, a record count breakdown, and a list of any Premium-tier objects requiring non-native handling.

  2. Gorgias environment preparation

    We create the destination Gorgias environment structure: Teams/Inboxes based on the Desk365 department hierarchy, Agent accounts provisioned or matched by email, Knowledge Base folder structure, and SLA rule specifications documented from Desk365 SLA Policies. We pre-create any custom attributes in Gorgias to match Desk365 custom field definitions before record import begins. We disable Gorgias rules and macros that might fire during import to prevent automated reassignments or status changes on migrated tickets.

  3. Sandbox migration and reconciliation

    We run a full migration into the customer's Gorgias environment using a representative sample of records (typically the most recent 90 days of tickets plus a random sample of closed tickets) to validate mapping fidelity. The customer's support operations lead reviews record counts, spot-checks 20-30 records against the Desk365 source, and validates that Customer, Agent, Tag, and Custom Field values are correctly populated. Any mapping corrections happen in this phase. SLA Policy and Macro inventory are delivered in this phase as well so the customer can begin rebuilding in parallel.

  4. Knowledge base migration

    We migrate Knowledge Base Articles in folder structure order, carrying forward publish status (Published articles land as Published in Gorgias; Draft articles land as Draft). Agent-only visibility flag is preserved as a note on each article for manual review. Multi-language versions migrate as separate Article records tagged with their language code. We validate article body rendering post-import to confirm that embedded images and links survive the transfer.

  5. Core record migration in dependency order

    We run production migration in record-dependency order: Customers (from Desk365 Customers by email), Agents (by email match with department assignment), Tags (flat, no dependencies), Tickets (with Customer, Agent, Tag, and Custom Field values resolved), Conversation history (chronological Messages and Notes attached to each Ticket), and Attachments (downloaded and re-uploaded in the correct Ticket context). Each phase emits a row-count reconciliation report before the next phase begins. IT Asset records from Desk365 Premium migrate last as tagged internal notes on the associated tickets.

  6. Cutover, delta migration, and handoff

    We freeze Desk365 writes during cutover, run a final delta migration of any records created or modified during the migration window, then enable Gorgias as the system of record. We deliver the SLA Policy inventory, Macro inventory, and IT Asset inventory documents to the customer's admin team. We support a one-week hypercare window to resolve any reconciliation issues raised by the support team. We do not rebuild Desk365 Automation Macros as Gorgias Rules or SLA Policies as Gorgias SLA rules within the migration scope; these are separate rebuild tasks documented for the customer's admin.

Platform deep dives

Context on both ends of the pair

Desk365 logo

Desk365

Source

Strengths

  • Aggressive pricing starting at $12/agent/month with no surprise line items on the base plan.
  • Strong Microsoft Teams native experience — tickets, notifications, and agent collaboration all happen inside Teams.
  • Includes a full knowledge base, SLA management, and automation macros on all paid tiers.
  • Offers a free tier with 50 tickets/month and a migration assistance program for switching customers.
  • HIPAA compliance controls, data redaction, and encryption are available for regulated industries.

Weaknesses

  • AI Agent add-on uses a credit-based billing model ($50/1,000 credits) that introduces unpredictable consumption costs.
  • No publicly documented API rate limits or bulk/batch endpoint, forcing conservative sequential API calls during migration.
  • Feature set is shallower than enterprise ITSM platforms — missing due dates, advanced reporting, and field service capabilities.
  • Microsoft ecosystem lock-in is a strength and a constraint: non-Microsoft shops may find Teams integration irrelevant overhead.
  • Limited marketplace of third-party integrations compared to Zendesk or Freshservice.
Gorgias logo

Gorgias

Destination

Strengths

  • Shopify and BigCommerce integrations surface order, return, and shipment data natively inside every ticket.
  • Unlimited agent seats remove per-user licensing friction as support teams grow.
  • AI Agent reduces billable ticket volume through automated resolution of high-frequency queries.
  • SOC 2 Type II certified with GDPR-aligned data handling for enterprise procurement readiness.
  • Omnichannel inbox aggregates email, live chat, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, SMS, and voice into a single threaded view.

Weaknesses

  • Ticket-volume pricing with overage fees creates unpredictable monthly costs during seasonal traffic spikes.
  • Custom reporting is shallow; raw event-level data export for BI tooling is not natively supported.
  • Knowledge Base, Macros, and Rules lack simple export tooling, making competitive migrations complex.
  • GDPR compliance limitations mean customer data cannot be hidden from agents by role, blocking use by teams with freelance staff.
  • Performance and glitch reports emerge in G2 reviews at higher ticket volumes.

Complexity grading

How hard is this migration?

Moderate Helpdesk migration. 3 of 7 objects need a mapping; the rest are 1:1.

C

Overall complexity

Moderate migration

Derived from compatibility, mapping clarity, API constraints, and data volume across Desk365 and Gorgias.

  • Object compatibility

    C

    3 of 7 objects need a mapping; the rest are 1:1.

  • Field mapping clarity

    C

    Field mapping is derived from defaults — final spec confirmed during the sample migration.

  • Timeline complexity

    B

    7-object category — typical timelines run 2–7 days end-to-end.

  • API constraints

    B

    Desk365: Not publicly documented.

  • Data volume sensitivity

    B

    Desk365 doesn't expose a bulk API — REST + parallelization used for high-volume runs.

Estimator

Estimate your Desk365 to Gorgias migration cost

Rule-based pricing — no per-record fees, no manual quotes. Migrations over 2M records are scoped individually.

Step 1

What are you migrating?

Pick a category, then your source and destination platforms.

Category

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about Desk365 to Gorgias data migrations

Answers to the questions buyers ask most during Desk365 to Gorgias migration scoping. Not seeing yours? Book a call.

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Most migrations land between three and five weeks for accounts under 15,000 Tickets, 5,000 Customers, and 200 Agents with a clean knowledge base and no Premium IT Asset records. Migrations with large knowledge base archives, active SLA Policies requiring written threshold mapping, IT Asset records from Desk365 Premium, or parallel-run delta windows move to eight to twelve weeks. The Gorgias Help Desk Migration tool documentation confirms that most migrations complete in one to two weeks for straightforward scope, but Desk365's undocumented API rate limits and the SLA/Macro inventory work extend timelines for complex configurations.

Adjacent paths

Related migrations to explore

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