Customer organisations, their people and account managers
Each customer is an organisation with its people, its email domains, a default team and an account manager. Its people sign in to the portal as admins or members. You decide whether members see only their own tickets or all of the organisation's.
PLANSEvery plan
The problem it solves
- Tickets are filed under whoever happened to write in, so you cannot see all of one client's open work.
- The facilities head at a client asks for every ticket their staff raised, and you send screenshots.
- Nobody on your side owns a client, so late tickets and expiring contracts reach no one.
- A person who left the client company can still sign in and see their old tickets.
How it works
- Open Helpdesk > Customers > Customers and create the organisation with its name and address.
- In the Helpdesk tab, Helpdesk Customer is ticked. Fill in the Customer Code, the Default Team and the Account Manager.
- Under Portal, choose whether Members See All Tickets, set Maximum Portal Users (0 for no limit) and the Email Domains, such as example.in.
- On the first person's contact, choose the Helpdesk Role, Customer Admin, and grant a portal login. They get an email to set their password.
- From then on the customer's admin invites, changes and removes their own people from the portal's Team page.
- Every ticket of the organisation's people is filed under the organisation, so its list, reports and contracts work for the whole company.
Everything it does
The organisation
- Helpdesk Customer, Customer Code, Default Team, Account Manager
- Members See All Tickets: off to start with; admins always see every ticket of the organisation
- Maximum Portal Users: 0 means no limit; inviting past the limit is refused
- Email Domains, comma separated: emails from unknown senders of these domains can be added to this organisation
- From Growth: Members May Add Equipment (off), Only Admins Accept Quotes (on), and Markup on Bought Materials (%)
- Tickets button: every ticket of the organisation
Its people
- Helpdesk Role: Customer Admin or Member
- Quote Approval Limit (Growth): for an admin 0 means no limit; for a member 0 means they may not accept quotes
- Allowed Sites (Growth): the sites the person may raise tickets for; empty means all
- An email address with a login for another organisation cannot be invited
- Remove Helpdesk Access: the login is taken away, the person stops following the organisation's open tickets, and their tickets stay
- Every change of access is written on the organisation's record, with who did it
The account manager
- Can be told by escalation when the customer's tickets run late (level Customer's Account Manager)
- From Growth: gets the renewal reminder and the to-do when prepaid hours run low, unless the contract names its own account manager
Customers and internal requesters
- A ticket from a person of a Helpdesk Customer is a customer ticket: it can be covered by a contract, quoted and billed
- A ticket from anyone else, such as an employee or a resident, is marked Internal Request and is never billed
Who uses it
Service ManagerCreates customer organisations, chooses the account manager and the first admin.
Account managerOwns the customer relationship and is told of late tickets, renewals and low prepaid hours.
Customer adminSees every ticket of the organisation, invites and removes colleagues, and accepts quotes within their limit.
Customer memberRaises and follows tickets for their sites; sees colleagues' tickets only if the organisation allows it.
Where you use it
- Web: Helpdesk > Customers > Customers, the Helpdesk tab of the organisation and of each contact
- Customer portal: Overview, Tickets (Mine or All for those who see all) and Team for admins
- The SmartMy Desk app: My Tickets for the customer's people (built and in testing, not in the app stores yet)
What you control
Settings
- Members See All Tickets: off
- Maximum Portal Users: 0, no limit
- Only Admins Accept Quotes: on (Growth)
- Members May Add Equipment: off (Growth)
- Markup on bought materials: 15 % for the Entity unless the customer, contract or kind of issue sets one (Growth)
Notifications
- Portal invitation: to the new person, by email, to set their password
- Ticket Escalated: to the account manager when an escalation level names the Customer's Account Manager
Questions
Do the customer's people need a paid seat?
No. Everyone who raises tickets is free. Only your own service team in the helpdesk roles counts as agents.Can a member see what colleagues raised?
Only if you tick Members See All Tickets on the organisation. Otherwise a member sees the tickets they raised or follow. Admins always see all.Who adds the customer's staff, us or them?
Usually you create the first admin, and the admin invites the rest from the portal's Team page. You can also give access from the back office.What happens when someone leaves the client company?
An admin removes them from the Team page, or you click Remove Helpdesk Access. The login goes, they stop following open tickets, and their tickets stay for the history.Can we import our customer list?
Not yet. Importing customers, sites or equipment from a sheet is not offered; they are entered on the screen.Related features
CUSTOMER PORTALThe customer's admin manages their own peopleEach customer organisation has admins who invite and remove their own colleagues on the portal. They set each person's role, sites and quote limit. Every change is written on the organisation's record with the name of who made it.CUSTOMER PORTALCustomer portal for tickets, without a login from the emailYour customers and requesters raise and follow tickets on the web. They get a list with plain status, the times you promised, the conversation, visits, the service report, and buttons to confirm or reopen and rate. A link in every ticket email opens the ticket without signing in.CUSTOMERS, SITES AND EQUIPMENTCustomer sites with map position, access hours and areasKeep every building or branch of a customer as a site. Each has its address, map position, contact, access hours, gate notes, and the blocks, floors and rooms inside it. Tickets name the site and area, and technicians get directions and the access notes before they go.CONTRACTS AND MAINTENANCEAMC contracts and what they coverEach annual maintenance contract says which kinds of issue, sites and units it covers. It also says whether labour, parts, call-outs and after-hours work are free or billable. Every ticket is checked against it and marked Covered, Partly Covered or Billable. A team lead can override that with a reason.RAISING A TICKETTickets from email, with unknown senders heldEach team can have its own email address, such as support@ or maintenance@. An email to it becomes a ticket for that team, and replies land on the same ticket. Senders you do not know are held for review, added by their email domain, or turned away.RESPONSE TIMESEscalation before a target is missedEscalation rules act when a share of a response-time target has passed, such as 75 % or 100 %. Each level tells the team lead, the customer's account manager or people you name, and can hand the ticket to them.
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