Migrate from LiveHelpNow to Zendesk

LiveHelpNow stores chat conversations as separate records linked to Tickets via a linking table. Zendesk represents all channel activity as Ticket Comments. We flatten each chat conversation at migration time, preserving message content, operator name, customer identity, and timestamp, and insert them as public Comments on the corresponding Zendesk Ticket in chronological order. The original LiveHelpNow conversation ID is stored in a custom Zendesk field for cross-reference.

LiveHelpNow Tickets map directly to Zendesk Tickets. We map LiveHelpNow ticket status (New, Open, Pending, Resolved, Closed) to Zendesk ticket status (New, Open, Pending, Solved, Closed), and priority (Low, Normal, High, Urgent) to Zendesk priority. The original LiveHelpNow ticket ID is preserved in a custom field for audit and cross-referencing linked conversations.

LiveHelpNow Agent profiles map to Zendesk Users. We resolve agents by email match, creating a cross-reference table that maps LiveHelpNow operator IDs to Zendesk user IDs. Group and queue assignments from LiveHelpNow map to Zendesk Support groups; the customer's admin confirms group membership during scoping because LiveHelpNow queue settings do not have a direct Zendesk equivalent and may require reconfiguration.

LiveHelpNow KB articles map to Zendesk Guide Articles. Article body content, title, author, and publication date migrate directly. LiveHelpNow article IDs do not persist across export and import, so we build a cross-reference table mapping old article IDs to new Zendesk article IDs. The customer must update any embedded KB widget URLs, chat button links, or published bookmarks post-migration.

LiveHelpNow KB categories form a hierarchical folder structure. We replicate the full category tree in Zendesk Guide as Sections and Subsections. The category order is preserved so article navigation remains consistent. Note that Zendesk Guide Sections are scoped to a single Help Center, so multi-brand LiveHelpNow setups require one Zendesk Help Center per brand.

LiveHelpNow Canned Responses (individual templates and shared folders) map to Zendesk Macros. We export the folder hierarchy and content, and import them as Zendesk Macros organized by folder. Agent-level vs shared scope maps from LiveHelpNow's individual/shared flag to Zendesk's personal vs group macro visibility. Macro placeholders like {{customer_name}} are preserved as Liquid markup if compatible or flagged for manual adjustment.

LiveHelpNow custom fields on tickets (text, number, dropdown, checkbox, date) map to Zendesk Ticket Fields. We extract the field schema during discovery and create matching Zendesk ticket fields before import. Field types are matched directly for text, number, and date. Dropdown and checkbox fields map to Zendesk tagger and checkbox fields respectively. If a Zendesk field does not exist, we create it as a custom ticket field during schema setup.

LiveHelpNow tags on tickets and KB articles migrate as Zendesk Tags. Tag behavior differs: LiveHelpNow uses flat tags while Zendesk supports tag inheritance on tickets and has separate Topics for knowledge base classification. We apply all source tags as Zendesk Tags on the migrated records and flag whether the customer wants to use Zendesk Topics for KB classification as a separate configuration decision.

Post-chat and post-ticket survey configurations (questions, triggers, routing rules) are platform settings in LiveHelpNow and cannot be exported. We migrate survey response data (CSAT scores, open-text answers) to Zendesk Ticket Comments or a custom field for reporting continuity. The customer's admin must rebuild survey triggers in Zendesk as SLA or trigger rules. Survey results referenced by date range in reporting should be flagged for a brief gap during transition.

Facebook, Twitter, and other social channel messages surface as ticket-linked conversations in LiveHelpNow. We migrate message content and attach it to the corresponding Zendesk Ticket, preserving the channel origin in the comment metadata. Social-specific metadata (Tweet ID, Facebook post ID) is stored in a custom field for cross-reference. Zendesk's social channels integration requires separate configuration post-migration to reactivate real-time social ingestion.

Historical chat transcripts attach to LiveHelpNow conversations and are exportable as part of the conversation record. We preserve full text content, duration, channel, and operator attribution during migration. Zendesk represents these as Ticket Comments with the channel noted in the comment metadata. Chat window customization settings (button placement, proactive invitation triggers) are LiveHelpNow configuration and do not migrate; these require redesign in Zendesk's Widget configuration.

Scheduling rules, agent availability windows, and queue routing from LiveHelpNow workforce management dashboards are configuration records rather than transactional data. We export them as a written schedule inventory documenting shift patterns, availability windows, and queue assignments. Zendesk's Schedule and Business Hours features must be rebuilt by the customer's admin in Zendesk Admin Center, as schedules are destination-specific platform configuration.