Migrate from HelpDesk to Freshdesk

HelpDesk Tickets map directly to Freshdesk Tickets. Subject, description, status, priority, type, channel, and timestamps migrate as native fields. The HelpDesk ticket id is preserved in a custom field hd_ticket_id__c for reconciliation and cross-reference. Freshdesk's native status values (Open, Pending, Resolved, Closed) align with HelpDesk's equivalents, and we apply a status mapping table during import to ensure open tickets remain actionable and resolved tickets land in the correct closed state.

HelpDesk Customer records with a populated company name field split into Freshdesk Contact (the primary requester) and Company (the organizational record). Customers without a company name create only Contact records. We use email as the dedupe key. Company records in Freshdesk gain domain associations and industry fields if those were captured in HelpDesk's custom properties, and we pre-create Companies before Contact import so that the CompanyId lookup resolves at insert time.

HelpDesk Agent accounts (name, email, role, availability status) map to Freshdesk Agents. We resolve by email match against Freshdesk's agent table. Role mapping translates HelpDesk's admin and agent roles to Freshdesk's Agent, Admin, and Super Admin roles. Any HelpDesk agent without a matching Freshdesk user goes to a reconciliation queue for your admin to provision before ticket import begins.

Conversation threads on HelpDesk tickets migrate as Freshdesk Conversation entries with author attribution preserved. Customer replies and agent responses maintain their ordering by timestamp. We set the Freshdesk conversation author reference to the corresponding migrated Contact or Agent record by email resolution. If a conversation references an agent email that has not yet been provisioned in Freshdesk, we hold that conversation segment and flag the gap for resolution before resuming.

Tags on HelpDesk tickets migrate as string labels into Freshdesk's tag system. We preserve the tag association on each migrated ticket so that tag-based filtering and reporting work immediately in Freshdesk without re-tagging. Tag normalization handles any whitespace or casing inconsistencies present in the HelpDesk export.

Reusable response templates migrate as Freshdesk Canned Responses. HelpDesk's folder structure for canned responses maps to Freshdesk's category grouping. Content migrates as plain text; any embedded dynamic variables (such as ticket requester name or ticket ID) are preserved as placeholder strings that Freshdesk's variable substitution syntax can re-enable post-migration.

HelpDesk attachment URLs are time-limited and expire after account closure, making direct URL re-linking unreliable. We copy all referenced attachments to FlitStack-managed storage during the discovery phase before any data moves, then re-upload them to Freshdesk and re-link each attachment to its parent ticket. Attachment filename, size, and content type are preserved. This step runs early in the migration sequence to avoid the risk of unrecoverable attachments if the HelpDesk account is closed before migration completes.

HelpDesk custom fields do not export their schema definition in the data export. We enumerate all custom field names, types, and current values during discovery by querying the HelpDesk API, then pre-create matching Freshdesk custom fields before any ticket data is imported. Freshdesk supports dropdown, text, number, date, checkbox, and paragraph types. If HelpDesk uses a field type that Freshdesk does not support, we flag the discrepancy and discuss transformation options such as splitting into multiple fields or converting to a text representation.

HelpDesk SLA policies (response time and resolution time targets) are not exportable as portable configuration. We document all active SLA configurations during discovery, including the ticket filters that determine which tickets the SLA applies to and the time targets in hours or business hours. We then map each SLA to a Freshdesk SLA Policy with matching first-response and resolution targets, and provide a rebuild guide your Freshdesk admin can use to configure the policies in the Freshdesk admin panel. Complex SLA policies with multiple escalation stages require manual recreation in Freshdesk.

Automated inbox rules in HelpDesk (ticket routing, group assignment, priority escalation based on conditions) use a proprietary rule engine. We document every active inbox rule during discovery, including trigger conditions, filters, and actions, and provide an automation inventory with Freshdesk equivalents. Freshdesk's Scenario Automations (event-triggered) and Time-based Automations (scheduled) cover most inbox routing use cases, though rule chains with multiple nested conditions may require manual recreation. This documentation is delivered as part of the migration package and is not rebuilt as part of the standard data migration scope.