Migrate from Helpshift to Zoho Desk

Helpshift Issues map directly to Zoho Desk Tickets as the primary record. Issue status (New, Active, Waiting, Resolved, Closed) maps to Zoho Desk Ticket Status values, with a custom field hs_original_status__c preserving the original Helpshift status name. Issue priority maps to Zoho Desk Priority (Low, Medium, High, Urgent). Created and updated timestamps are preserved in Zoho Desk's system fields, though Created Time defaults to migration time unless embedded in a comment body per Zoho Desk's limitation.

Helpshift End Users map to Zoho Desk Contacts. We use end-user email as the primary deduplication key. Phone, display name, and user metadata (device platform, app version, language) migrate to Zoho Desk Contact fields and a custom field hs_device_context__c. Note: if the Helpshift account uses legacy SDK below version 6.x, user identity may be anonymized and end-users will appear as anonymous in SDK X; we audit SDK version history during discovery and flag any orphaned anonymous Issues before migration.

Helpshift Agents map to Zoho Desk Agents with role preservation (Admin, Supervisor, Agent). We export agent identity, email, role, and group associations. Zoho Desk requires agents to accept an invitation email before becoming active; we coordinate with the customer's admin to provision agent accounts before the migration phase begins. Deactivated Helpshift agents cannot migrate their associated tickets; we flag this in the discovery audit and recommend reassigning open Issues before migration.

Custom Issue Fields from Helpshift (text, number, date, dropdown) map to Zoho Desk custom fields scoped per department. Critical constraint: Helpshift dropdown CIFs are capped at 1,000 selectable options. If any CIF exceeds this limit, we split it into multiple text or multi-select fields in Zoho Desk. Zoho Desk Enterprise tier supports custom fields and RegEx validation natively; Standard and Professional tiers have restricted custom field support and we scope this during edition selection. CIF schema is exported from Settings > Workflows and translated to Zoho Desk field definitions during provisioning.

Helpshift Apps define SDK configurations and issue streams. Multiple Helpshift apps feeding a single inbox map to multiple Zoho Desk Departments. We export app configuration during discovery, map each app to a Zoho Desk department, and note which app-level settings (branding, SDK key, guided issue filing) need manual recreation. This is a configuration migration, not a record migration; the Helpshift app data itself does not copy into Zoho Desk records.

Helpshift Tags attach to Issues as a flat label list and migrate directly to Zoho Desk Tags. Tag names and their associated Issue IDs are preserved. Tags that represent issue categories in Helpshift map to Zoho Desk Tags with no transformation required; the customer chooses whether to use Tags or a custom Tag-based view during Zoho Desk configuration.

Helpshift FAQ Sections map to Zoho Desk Help Center Categories. Section hierarchy (parent section, child subsections) translates to Zoho Desk Category and Sub-category nesting. We preserve publication state (published, draft) and section sort order from Helpshift during the export.

Helpshift FAQ Articles map to Zoho Desk Help Center Articles within their corresponding Categories. Article body text, internal link references, and publication state migrate directly. Note: internal links to other FAQs will not automatically update to new Zoho Desk article IDs; we document all internal link references in a separate inventory for the customer's admin to update post-migration.

Helpshift conversation messages nested within Issues flatten to Zoho Desk Ticket Threads and Comments. Message content, participant identity (agent vs end-user), message type (text, image, attachment), and timestamps export via the Helpshift REST API and map to Zoho Desk Thread entries in chronological order. The Helpshift dashboard CSV export does not include message bodies, so API extraction is required; this two-step fetch is factored into migration timeline estimates.

Issue attachments export as file references with metadata from the Helpshift REST API. We download files, store them in a migration blob store, and re-upload them into Zoho Desk Tickets linked to the corresponding Thread. Zoho Desk's Zwitch migration caps file uploads at 10 GB per migration job; for larger attachment volumes we use the direct Zoho Desk API upload. Attachment metadata (filename, MIME type, upload timestamp) is preserved in Zoho Desk's native attachment fields.

Helpshift Automations (auto-tagging, auto-assigning, auto-replies) are workspace-level configuration not accessible via REST API. We document every Automation during the discovery phase by reading the Helpshift Workflow Management dashboard, then deliver a written automation inventory with trigger conditions, action sets, and recommended Zoho Desk Blueprint or workflow rule equivalents. The customer's admin or a Zoho Desk consultant rebuilds these post-migration; this is not included in standard migration scope.

Helpshift Smart Views and Queues organize Issues by filter criteria and routing rules. Zoho Desk's Saved Views replicate filter-based ticket organization but do not carry over the original Helpshift filter logic automatically. We document every Smart View and Queue with its filter conditions, sort order, and agent assignment rules, and deliver this as a configuration guide for the customer's Zoho Desk admin to rebuild under Setup > Views.