ConnectWise Ticketing System Setup: Service Boards, Workflows, Escalations

The need to keep pace with new and advanced technology is one of the top priorities for modern businesses. A ticketing system is a tool that addresses this need and helps organizations manage and track customer service requests, issues, or incidents. 

ConnectWise ticketing system is a perfect example designed to reduce the complexity of IT infrastructure, service distribution, and management of general business operations. The platform caters primarily to MSPs, IT departments, and other technology solution suppliers.

In this post, we will explore the ConnectWise platform in detail and discuss how its ticketing system setup works.

Understanding the ConnectWise Ticketing System

ConnectWise ticketing system is a powerful software platform that works by capturing service requests as tickets, issues, and incidents. The system then assigns these requests to IT service professionals, tracks progress, logs time, and automates updates.

It comes with smooth service management and several automation features to help businesses keep everything organized so that MSPs and IT teams can manage and resolve issues efficiently.

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The platform:

• Streamlines task management and service ticketing for efficient operations
• Addresses fragmentation in IT service management tasks, thus ensuring a unified platform for specific user needs
• Offers a range of features, including advanced ticketing, robust reporting, and workflow automation

Key Features of the ConnectWise Ticketing System

ConnectWise ticketing system comes with a range of features such as multi-channel ticketing, intelligent dispatching, mobile access, automated escalations, and service team performance monitoring. 

Some of these features are discussed in more detail below:

• Multi-channel ticketing: This system is built to manage tickets from various channels to ensure none are missed.
• Time entry management: The platform provides a suite of tools to help you track and manage billable hours with precision.
• Intelligent dispatching: It ensures that all tasks are allocated efficiently to optimize resource management. 
• Mobile access: The platform permits technicians to access and manage tickets on their smartphones or other mobile devices with ease.
• Incident management: The system lets you track and resolve unanticipated disruptions in IT services. 
• Automated escalations: It uses predefined automated rules to escalate tickets.
• Service Level Agreement (SLA) Management: ConnectWise ticketing system allows you to track and ensure adherence to SLAs for timely responses and resolutions. 
• Service team performance monitoring: The tool provides you with deeper and valuable insights into team performance metrics to help evaluate the ongoing improvement opportunities.
• Project management: It lets you manage ticket-related projects and tasks with ConnectWise’s built-in tools.

ConnectWise Ticketing System Setup: Service Boards, Workflows, Escalations 

In the ConnectWise ticketing system, the Service Board, Workflows, and Escalations procedures work together to efficiently manage support tickets. Thus, to set up the system, you first need to define them.

The Service Board offers a visual representation of open tickets, whereas Workflows automate tasks such as assignments and notifications. Escalations, on the contrary, ensure the timely resolution of complex or urgent issues by routing tickets to suitable experts. 

Let's discuss them in more detail here:

1. Set up service boards

Service boards in ConnectWise organize tickets based on teams, departments, or level of expertise. They route them to the right people and offer visibility into the support process.

Here is how you can set service boards:

1. Create service boards: Set up individual boards for each functional team or area, such as:

• Tier 1 Support
• Tier 2 Support
• Project Team
• Escalation Team

Each board will serve as a queue for related tickets, helping your team stay organized.

2. Assign users: Once service boards are created, assign users to the appropriate boards based on their roles and responsibilities.

3. Define board rules: Establish rules for how these tickets move between boards; for example, shift the ticket status to 'needs escalation' before changing the board. 

2. Configure workflows 

Automated ticket workflows are designed to automate a number of different actions on tickets, like reassigning them or updating their status, all based on specific conditions. This allows for all of your tickets to continue their flow through the support process consistently. 

Here is how you can set up the Workflow:

• Define events: Go to the Workflow section in ConnectWise and define trigger events, such as when a ticket’s status changes to "In Progress" or "Needs Escalation".
• Define actions: Once you've put together your events, positively identify specific actions that will happen when an event occurs. Those actions can include assigning a ticket, notifying someone about the same, changing a status, etc.
• Create workflow rules: Then, combine those events and actions to create workflows for certain situations. For example, maybe you want to assign tickets automatically by type and/or priority.

3. Create escalation rules

Escalation processes in the ConnectWise ticketing system ensure that all critical issues are managed promptly by moving tickets to a senior team or manager. This prevents delays and improves customer satisfaction. 

Here is how you can set up escalation procedures and ticket escalation rules to work in ConnectWise:

• Define "Needs Escalation" status: Start establishing a status for tickets that require further attention. 
• Document troubleshooting efforts: Now, you will require technicians to document their troubleshooting steps before escalating the ticket.
• Create a workflow rule for review: Set up a workflow rule that automatically moves tickets with "needs escalation" status to a dedicated escalation board. 
• Assign senior resources: Assign senior technicians or managers to handle tickets on the escalation board. Here you can also utilize ConnectWise PSA's features, such as service teams and custom fields, to track and manage escalations effectively. 

ConnectWise Ticketing System: Use Cases

ConnectWise utilizes an extensive ticketing system that supports multiple use cases, primarily designed for MSPs and IT departments. Some of them are:

• Service desk ticketing: The system ensures efficient multi-channel help desk ticketing so that no support requests are missed. Plus, it facilitates efficient time entry management, intelligent ticket dispatch scheduling, and seamless remote access to the help desk. 

• SLA-based escalation: It allows automatic escalation of a ticket in case it remains unresolved 30 minutes before the SLA breach.

• Billing reconciliation: The system ensures error-free and accurate invoicing and revenue protection by automating various billing processes.

• Tiered ticket management: It facilitates routing of general queries to Tier 1, and also scales tech-heavy tickets to Tier 2 based on factors such as subject or keywords.

Key Takeaways 

• Service Boards organize tickets by teams or functions, improving visibility and task routing.

• Workflows automate routine ticket actions, ensuring consistency and saving time.

• Escalation Rules ensure urgent or unresolved tickets are addressed promptly by senior staff.

• Automation within ConnectWise reduces manual effort and enhances efficiency.

• Centralized Ticket Management improves SLA adherence, billing accuracy, and customer satisfaction.

• Proper Setup leads to smoother operations and scalable service delivery for IT teams and MSPs.

Conclusion

A well-configured ConnectWise ticketing system, complete with service boards, workflows, and escalation rules, empowers IT teams and MSPs to manage support efficiently and proactively.

With automation, clear visibility, and defined processes, tickets are resolved faster and with greater accuracy. This setup not only streamlines operations but also boosts customer satisfaction and team performance. 

If you’re ready to take your MSP to the next level, reach out and consult with our experts at Bering McKinley today. With several years of rich experience, we have helped a large number of MSPs implement ConnectWise for scalable and efficient service delivery, with a revenue growth of 20 %+ and a net profit achievement of over 17%.

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