Migrate from Halo Service Desk to Freshdesk

Halo Tickets map to Freshdesk Tickets preserving ticket type, status, priority, source channel, and timestamps (created_at, updated_at, first_response_time, resolved_at). Halo's SLA associations map to Freshdesk SLA policy assignments. We extract the ticket identifier from Halo and store it in a custom field halo_ticket_id__c for audit traceability. Note that Freshdesk does not natively support Halo's multi-site ticket routing model; site-level data is mapped to Freshdesk's company (Organization) level.

Halo Conversation records map to Freshdesk Conversations using the Conversations API. Halo's is_public flag determines whether the message becomes a Reply (customer-facing) or Note (internal) in Freshdesk. We preserve author attribution by matching the agent email to a Freshdesk agent record. Thread ordering is maintained by the conversation timestamp. Any conversation without a is_public flag defaults to a note in Freshdesk to prevent accidental customer exposure of internal threads.

Halo Customer records map to Freshdesk Requester (contact) records. We map name, email, phone, and address fields directly. Halo's site associations on Customer records are preserved as a custom field site_name__c on the Requester and linked to the corresponding Organization record in Freshdesk. Customers with multiple linked contacts in Halo map to individual Freshdesk Requesters with a shared Organization link.

Halo Company records map to Freshdesk Organizations. The company name becomes the Organization name field, and domain is stored in the website field. Custom fields on Company records are mapped to Freshdesk Organization custom fields, which must be pre-created in the Freshdesk admin panel before migration. Halo's site-level data (locations, addresses) is flattened into the Organization record or stored as a custom field depending on whether the customer uses Freshdesk's multi-location feature on higher plans.

Halo Agent records map to Freshdesk Agents with email, name, and group membership preserved. Halo's team-to-agent assignments map to Freshdesk group membership; agents can belong to multiple groups in Freshdesk matching the Halo team structure. Agent status (active/inactive) is preserved. We resolve by email match and flag any Halo Agent without a corresponding Freshdesk agent account for the customer admin to provision before production migration.

Halo KB articles map to Freshdesk Articles with full article content, category assignments, and publish status preserved. We use the Freshdesk Article API to create articles within the customer's Freshdesk portal and category hierarchy. Article attachments are migrated as linked file references where Freshdesk supports them, or stored as URL links in the article body for large binary files. Draft articles in Halo with a status of draft migrate as draft articles in Freshdesk to preserve editorial state.

Halo Teams map to Freshdesk Groups. We extract all Halo Teams and create corresponding Groups in Freshdesk using the Groups API before agent migration begins. Team-to-agent membership assignments are recreated by adding each migrated agent to the appropriate Freshdesk Group. This ensures ticket routing rules and queue views are functional on day one.

Halo custom fields of type text, number, date, dropdown, and multiselect map to Freshdesk custom fields of the corresponding type. We pre-create the Freshdesk custom field schema in the admin panel before migration begins. Dynamic SQL lookup fields in Halo have no Freshdesk equivalent and are converted to dropdown or text fields; the customer provides the target values during scoping. Multi-select picklist fields in Halo map to Freshdesk multi-select custom fields. All custom field mapping is validated during the demo migration phase.

Halo password custom fields are encrypted at rest and cannot be meaningfully transferred to Freshdesk or any destination platform. We skip these fields during migration, document each skipped field in the pre-flight checklist, and recommend the customer communicate a credential reset process to affected users post-go-live. This requires explicit sign-off before migration proceeds.

Halo SLA policies (response time and resolution time by ticket type and priority) are mapped to Freshdesk SLA Policies. We configure Freshdesk SLA policies in the admin panel before ticket migration so that SLA assignment can reference them by name. Halo's SLA calendar configuration (business hours, holidays) maps to Freshdesk's business hour settings. The customer reviews and approves the SLA mapping during scoping to ensure the correct SLA applies to each ticket type.