How Tickets Work
When a client submits a support request, it becomes a ticket. Tickets flow through a defined lifecycle from submission to resolution:
- Client opens a ticket — selects a department, sets a subject, writes the message, and optionally attaches files.
- Department assignment — the ticket is routed to the selected department immediately on submission.
- Staff picks up the ticket — any staff member with access to that department can open and reply.
- Replies and updates — both parties exchange replies. Each reply is timestamped and attributed to the sender.
- Resolution — staff sets the ticket to Closed when the issue is resolved, or it is closed automatically after a period of inactivity.
Ticket Numbers
Every ticket is assigned a unique numeric ID at creation (e.g., #1042). This ID appears in all notification emails, in the admin list, and in the client portal URL. Ticket IDs are sequential and never reused.
Email-Based Replies
Clients and staff receive email notifications when a ticket is updated. Replying directly to the notification email creates a new reply on the ticket — the sender does not need to log in to the portal.
The system matches the reply to the correct ticket using a token embedded in the reply-to address. Plain-text replies are accepted; quoted history from the original email is stripped before the reply is saved.
[!TIP] If a client reports their email reply "didn't work," confirm they replied to the notification email directly and did not forward it or compose a new message.
Feature Summary
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Departments | Route tickets to the right team |
| Statuses | Open, Answered, Customer Reply, In Progress, On Hold, Closed |
| Priorities | Low, Medium, High, Urgent |
| Staff assignment | Assign any ticket to a specific staff member |
| Internal notes | Private notes visible only to staff |
| Canned responses | Pre-written replies inserted from a dropdown |
| Attachments | Images, PDFs, logs, archives |
| Email replies | Replying to a notification email adds a reply to the ticket |
| Auto-close | Unanswered tickets closed after a configurable number of days |
Admin Entry Point
Staff manage all tickets at Admin → Support → Tickets. The list view shows ticket number, subject, client, department, status, priority, last update, and assigned staff. Columns are sortable; the default sort is by last activity descending.
Clients manage their own tickets at Client Area → Support → My Tickets.
Departments and Access
Tickets belong to exactly one department. Staff members can be restricted to specific departments via their staff profile. A staff member who is not assigned to a department cannot see tickets in that department.
See Ticket Departments for setup instructions.
Lifecycle at a Glance
Client opens ticket
│
▼
Status: Open
│
Staff replies
│
▼
Status: Answered
│
Client replies
│
▼
Status: Customer Reply
│
Resolved / no activity
│
▼
Status: Closed
[!IMPORTANT] "Answered" status is set automatically when a staff member submits a reply. It is not set manually.