Everything you need to know about an MSP ticketing system

1. Streamline tickets from different channels 

A good ticketing system will keep track of all your incoming support requests, be it by phone, email, or chat in a single place. Your technicians can have context of requests coming from different channels in a single window. This saves technicians from having to juggle between multiple windows and can get straight into solving the issue without having the customer repeat the issue over and over again. 

2. Improves efficiency with automation 

A ticketing system is packed with automation capabilities to resolve tickets faster. It lets you automate routine tasks including ​​categorizing requests, assigning tickets to the appropriate technician, and escalating when a critical issue arises. You can also set up alerts to keep technicians aware when a support ticket is created. 

3. Resolve common queries faster with self-service 

Self-service lets customers get resolutions to common queries on their own without waiting for an agent. A ticketing system will help you build a self-service offering with ease. Customers can get access to the knowledge base, FAQs, and service catalogs and get faster resolution. This in turn also reduces the number of incoming ticket queries. 

4. Keep track of your metrics

What better way to analyze your performance than measuring your performance against a set of metrics? A good ticketing system will offer insights into support request volume, response times, customer satisfaction metrics, and more. It offers you a 360-degree view of your team’s performance and it also helps you collect customer feedback. This can also be on a rating scale. This valuable information will help you optimize operations, identify areas of improvement, and make better business decisions.

How does an MSP ticketing system work?

The working of an MSP ticketing system is similar to that of a normal ticketing system. Here’s how it goes. 

Ticket creation → Ticket Assignment → Ticket Management → Ticket Resolution → Ticket Analysis

Ticket creation: Clients raise an issue via any of the available support channels including phone, email, or chat, and that gets converted into a ticket in a ticketing system. This ticket will contain all the required information about the issue. 

Ticket assignment: Ticketing systems can automatically assign tickets to technicians based on predefined rules like workload or skillset. 

Ticket management: In this stage, the technician analyzes the ticket and updates the ticket with the tags and other relevant notes. The technician can also request extra information from the user to resolve the issue.

Ticket resolution: Here, the technicians will resolve the issue and close the ticket. If the issue is still prevalent, it will be escalated to the right team or senior technicians to get it resolved. 

Ticket analysis: This is the final stage where the ticket is analyzed to identify trends, common queries, and also the performance of technicians against the metrics to deliver a better service experience to the clients. 

1. Multi-channel ticket creation 

Gone are the days when support was offered only via a single channel either phone or email. Customers now reach businesses via multiple channels. This makes it crucial to have a ticketing system that will help you keep track of all support requests in a single window. 

2. Time tracking 

This is quite an essential feature for MSP technicians as it helps them keep track of the time spent on a particular ticket. You can define your Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and work towards accomplishing it. 

3. Integration capabilities 

While integrations aren't very crucial, it really does enhance your tool stack when you use multiple tools for your service delivery. If you use an external RMM system, having an MSP ticketing tool that easily integrates with other RMM vendors in the market can help you seamlessly handle multiple tools. 

4. Priority view 

Priority view is a great addition to your ticketing tool to keep track of your tickets and stay on top of your metrics. This view shows a clear view of tickets that have been assigned, and ones that are overdue, and oversee the progress and level of importance. This will help the technicians balance their workload more efficiently. 

5. Collaborative capabilities 

Managing an MSP business involves multiple stakeholders and at times involves more than one person to resolve an issue. Your MSP ticketing system should enable you to collaborate with your agents and third-party vendors when required. 

For instance, the Side Conversations feature offered by SuperOps lets you manage all your communication with vendors and external stakeholders be it a ticket, project, invoice, or quote from a single window. 

6. Custom ticket tags 

When you receive multiple tickets, some might easily get lost away in the clutter. Having custom ticket tags will let technicians prioritize, categorize, and group tickets based on their preferences. This helps boost productivity and deliver resolutions to customers more systematically. 

7. Mobile application

When offering field support, having a ticketing system on the go will come in handy when needed. Having a ticketing system that has a mobile application will help them easily access ticket details, billing information, and others from their mobile devices. The mobile app should support both iOS and Android operating systems.

⁠1.SuperOps

⁠SuperOps is a truly unified, future-ready PSA-RMM platform built for fast-growing MSPs. It is also packed with IT documentation and project management to give technicians access to a full-suite MSP tool. SuperOps offers a modern ticketing platform to help technicians deliver exceptional IT services. 

It offers automation capabilities to assign tasks and eliminate routine tasks without manual intervention. With context-rich ticketing, you can resolve client issues rapidly. With a lot more interesting features, SuperOps starts from $59 per month. 

2. Halo PSA 

Halo PSA offers a ticketing system that allows MSPs to manage customer issues and support requests. The ticketing system enables MSPs to track customer issues, assign them to the appropriate team member, and resolve them effectively.

With Halo PSA's ticketing system, MSPs can set up customized workflows, including ticket prioritization, escalation rules, and notifications, ensuring that customer issues are resolved according to agreed-upon service level agreements (SLAs).

Cons

• Halo PSA is not an unified MSP platform and so MSPs will have to integrate with another RMM platform. 

• The cost of using the Halo PSA tool is on the higher side, especially for MSPs with smaller client bases or limited resources.

3. N-able MSP manager 

N-able MSP Manager's ticketing system is a powerful tool for MSPs looking to improve their customer support capabilities, increase efficiency, and deliver exceptional customer service. With N-able MSP Manager's ticketing system, MSPs can track customer issues, assign them to the appropriate team member, and resolve them quickly and effectively.

N-able MSP Manager's ticketing system also includes a knowledge base, which enables MSPs to provide customers with self-service options, such as articles, FAQs, and video tutorials.

Cons 

• N-able does not offer a unified PSA-RMM solution which limits MSPs from leveraging all the capabilities of an MSP tool. 

• It is a complex tool with many features and functionalities, which may make it difficult for some MSPs to learn and use effectively.

4. Zendesk 

Zendesk is a customer service and support platform that provides MSPs with a range of tools to help them manage and resolve customer issues efficiently.

With Zendesk, MSPs can streamline their support operations, automate workflows, and manage all customer interactions from a single platform. This includes features such as ticket management, self-service portals, live chat, and reporting/analytics

5. Freshdesk 

Freshdesk is a comprehensive customer support platform that provides MSPs with a range of tools to manage and resolve customer issues, including ticket management, knowledge base, self-service portals, live chat, phone support, and more.

With Freshdesk, MSPs can streamline their customer support operations, automate workflows, and collaborate effectively with their teams. Freshdesk offers features such as ticket prioritization, SLA management, and time tracking, allowing MSPs to meet service level agreements and resolve customer issues quickly.

While Zendesk and Freshdesk are good ticketing solutions, they might not be suitable for MSPs looking for a unified solution. Having these ticketing systems would still require MSPs to integrate with other third-party apps for a PSA and RMM solution.