Migrate from GrooveHQ to Zoho Desk

Groove Conversations map directly to Zoho Desk Tickets. The conversation subject becomes the Ticket subject; the full message thread (both customer replies and agent responses) migrates as Ticket Threads with the original author, timestamp, and direction preserved. Internal notes from Groove transfer to Zoho Ticket Comments marked as internal by setting isPublic=false. Status mapping: Groove Open/Pending/Resolved maps to Zoho Open/Pending/Closed. Priority transfers to the Zoho Priority field. We use the Groove conversation ID as TicketExtId for dedupe validation on re-migration.

Groove Customers (name, email, phone, and custom contact-level fields) map to Zoho Desk Contact. Email serves as the primary dedupe key. Contact-level custom fields migrate to Zoho Contact custom fields with equivalent data types (string, number, date, checkbox). Any Groove custom fields scoped only to the Plus and Pro tiers are flagged during schema discovery if the source account is on Standard, as those fields may not exist in the source export.

Groove Company records map to Zoho Desk Account. Company name becomes Account Name; website maps to Website; phone, industry, and address fields map to their Zoho equivalents. Company custom fields transfer to Account custom fields. When a Groove Customer is associated with a Company, the Zoho Contact receives a lookup to the migrated Account via AccountExtId resolution.

Groove Inboxes do not map to a single Zoho object. Each Inbox becomes a Zoho Department with its own ticket pipeline, agent permissions, and SLA configuration. Inbox-level agent assignments transfer as agent membership in the corresponding Department. If a Groove account uses a single inbox, it maps to a single Zoho Department. If multiple inboxes exist, each creates its own Department. We validate that the target Zoho plan supports the total department count before migration begins.

Groove Agents (name, email, role, and assignment permissions) map to Zoho Desk Agents. We resolve agents by email match against the Zoho destination portal's user list. Agents without a matching Zoho user enter a reconciliation queue for admin provisioning before record migration proceeds. Agent roles (Admin/Member) map to Zoho permission profiles (Support Admin, Support Agent) and are applied per department.

Groove Tags applied to Conversations transfer as Zoho Desk Ticket Tags. Tags are stored as a comma-separated list on the Ticket object. We preserve the full tag vocabulary from Groove so that saved views and reporting by tag remain functional in Zoho. Tags with no corresponding Zoho field are created during schema setup.

Conversation-level custom fields from Groove Plus and Pro accounts map to Zoho Ticket custom fields. Zoho custom fields are scoped per Department, which means a custom field created in Department A is not automatically available in Department B. We create each migrated custom field in every Department that receives tickets, ensuring consistent data across the department structure. Field types (dropdown, date, text, number) map to equivalent Zoho field types.

Contact-level and Company-level Groove custom fields migrate to Zoho Contact and Account custom fields respectively. These are global in Zoho (not department-scoped), so a single field definition applies across all departments. We validate field type compatibility and flag any Groove field types that lack a direct Zoho equivalent (e.g., Groove-specific structured objects may require a JSON-stored custom field).

Groove Knowledge Bases map to Zoho Help Center sections. The primary Knowledge Base designation from Groove is preserved as the primary Help Center in Zoho. Non-primary knowledge bases are transferred to additional Help Center sections. Locale, password protection, and IP restriction settings from Groove are documented in the configuration JSON for manual recreation in Zoho since these are not API-configurable on import.

Groove Articles (title, body content, category assignment, meta tags, open graph fields) map to Zoho Help Center Articles within the corresponding Help Center section. Title, body HTML, and SEO meta fields migrate directly. Article attachments are handled separately as file attachments and linked to the article post-migration. We preserve the category hierarchy from Groove so that article organization is maintained in Zoho.

Groove Smart Folders are saved filtered views based on status, assignee, custom field conditions, or inbox scope. The conditional filter logic does not export as executable code. We extract the filter conditions as structured JSON (field, operator, value) and deliver a written inventory mapping each Smart Folder to a Zoho Saved View with the equivalent filter configuration for the customer's Zoho admin to create manually. This ensures the admin rebuilds each view with correct Zoho filter syntax.

Groove Rules (automation triggers and actions) are exported as structured JSON documenting the trigger event, condition logic, and resulting actions. There is no direct automation migration path because Groove Rules and Zoho Macros use different event models and action types. We deliver a written Macro inventory document listing each Groove Rule with its equivalent Zoho Macro configuration guidance. The customer's Zoho admin rebuilds the rules as Macros in Zoho Desk Setup. Groove Instant Replies are included in this inventory as suggested Zoho Macro templates with variable placeholder guidance.

Groove file attachments are stored as URLs pointing to Groove's file storage. We download each file from Groove's CDN URL, validate the file type and size, and re-upload to Zoho Desk's file storage. The original filename, MIME type, and upload timestamp are preserved. Files over 10MB require chunked upload handling. The total file migration batch must stay within Zoho's 10GB per-migration-request cap; large attachment volumes require staged migration batches with error logging per file.

Groove conversation message history already transfers as part of the Conversation-to-Ticket migration above (ticket threads include the full back-and-forth). Any standalone engagement records not tied to a ticket (e.g., outbound emails logged manually without a ticket) transfer as Zoho Ticket Tasks and Events linked to the corresponding Contact. Outbound call logs map to Zia Call tasks with duration and disposition.