Best automated ticketing system software in 2024

When there was no telephone, customers would physically show up at a shop to learn about products, return them or exchange them, or book an appointment or service. Then the telephone happened, and call centres became a thing—where customer service teams would constantly be on the phone to answer questions and resolve customers’ concerns. 

Fast forward to the 21^st century, things have become more sophisticated. But it comes with its own set of challenges: more communication channels, a global customer base and the expectations of quick and efficient customer service. The result? An endless loop of emails, overflowing social media inboxes, sticky notes—and frustrated customers. 

Traditional customer service can be a messy nightmare, but it doesn’t have to be. Automated ticketing systems offer a powerful solution that transforms chaotic inboxes into streamlined workflows. Every email, message and phone call magically becomes a tracked ticket, giving your team clear organisation and control. Automated tasks take over the repetitive stuff so you and your team can focus more on what matters most—solving problems and delighting customers.

Consider this article as your no-nonsense guide to automated ticketing system software. We’ll cut through the jargon and explain:

• What exactly are ticketing systems?
• Why do you need them?
• How do you choose the right ticket software?
• And what are some of the best automated ticketing system software out there?

Shall we? Let’s start with the basics: What’s a customer service ticketing system, and how does it work?

What is ticketing system software?

Ticketing system software is a helpdesk software used for effectively—and efficiently—managing customer issues. It’s a platform where every customer request, question or complaint is registered as a ‘ticket’ for better management and resolution. 

Here’s how an automated customer service ticketing system works:

Request submission—users or customers submit their requests, issues or inquiries through a designated interface, such as a web portal, email, social media or a customised form. 

Ticket generation—after the ticket is submitted, the system automatically generates a unique ticket for each request. This ticket serves as a centralised record that includes all the relevant details like the issue description, priority level, customer information and a unique identification number.

Categorisation and prioritisation—the ticketing system automatically categorises and prioritises the tickets based on pre-defined criteria. This helps in assigning the appropriate level of urgency and importance to each request.

Assignment—the customer ticket is then assigned to the relevant individual or department responsible for handling that particular type of request. This assignment is usually automated but can also be done manually by a manager or administrator. 

Communication and collaboration—for follow-up, the ticketing system facilitates communication between the requester, support staff or relevant parties. Customers can often check the status of their requests, and support staff can update ticket details, ask for additional information or collaborate with colleagues to resolve complex issues.

Workflow automation—many advanced ticketing systems, such as Trengo, include automation features to streamline repetitive tasks. For example, they may automatically escalate high-priority tickets, send notifications for status updates or trigger specific actions based on pre-defined rules.

Resolution and closure—once the issue is resolved, the support staff updates the ticket with details about the resolution. Users are often notified, and the ticket is marked as “closed” to indicate that the request has been successfully addressed.

Reporting and analysis—better helpdesk ticketing software, Trengo being one, provides reporting tools that allow managers to analyze the performance of the support team, track response times, identify recurring issues and make data-driven decisions to improve overall efficiency.

Benefits of Automated Ticketing System Software

Ask a customer service representative about the benefits of a helpdesk ticketing system, and they may—in fact, will—term it as a lifesaver. And why not? Improved efficiency, happier customers, fewer manual tasks and less stress are some of the ‘symptoms’ of a workspace with automated ticketing system software. Need we say more? 

Here’s a list of what implementing a ticketing system can lead to: 

Enhanced efficiency

Automated ticketing systems streamline and automate repetitive tasks, reducing manual effort. For instance, in the absence of a ticketing system in place, you will have to manually receive every customer’s query from various channels, and then assign it to the relevant agent or department and then ask about the update, and then communicate the same to the customer. All this—and more—is automated, thanks to the ticketing system, which in turn translates to more efficiency. 

Faster response times

Around 80% of customer service teams attribute the increase in their productivity levels to the presence of a helpdesk system. And rightly so. The automation capabilities discussed above ensure that tickets are promptly assigned and escalated based on pre-defined criteria. This leads to quicker response times, addressing issues in a more timely manner and enhancing overall customer satisfaction.

Better communication

On a deeper level, customer service is not just a conversation between the agent and the customer. Customer service representatives are merely the face of the support team, and behind the scenes, there’s a whole team working on things. Automated ticketing systems facilitate that communication among team members and between support staff and customers. Notifications (email or otherwise) and updates are automatically generated, so everyone involved is informed about the progress of each ticket.

Consistent workflows

Modern customer operations platform comes with workflow automation features, which enforce consistent workflows. Each ticket follows a standardised process from the moment it is generated to its resolution. Everyone concerned is in the loop, and nothing is lost in the process. This consistency also reduces the likelihood of errors and ensures that all requests are handled in a systematic manner.

Data for continuous improvement

Automated ticketing systems generate customer service analytics full of valuable data and insights. Managers can analyze this data to identify areas for improvement, spot trends, measure SLAs, optimise processes and make informed decisions about enhancing the overall performance of the support team. 

Also, not all employees are alike. For example, even within the same team, there are team members more well-versed in a specific area (conflict resolution, for example). Using the information obtained from the ticketing software, managers can allocate team members more effectively. That is, to ensure that the right team members are assigned specific types of issues they know how to handle. 

Improved customer satisfaction

It’s a no-brainer. With quicker response times, consistent workflows and efficient issue resolution, customers experience a higher level of satisfaction. Besides, automated systems also provide transparency—customers can track the status of their requests, which contributes to a positive customer experience. 

Top 8 automated ticketing system software

Think you need one? Explore some popular options below. 

1. Trengo

Trengo is a comprehensive but easy-to-use customer operations platform built to make customer support easy, efficient, and personal. With advanced ticket management capabilities, Trengo brings all channels together, letting you focus on what matters most: your customers. 

Its ticketing system is merged with its omnichannel features, where conversations—from multiple channels, such as emails, live chats, social media messages and even WhatsApp communications—can be assigned as tickets, which are referred to as conversations in Trengo.

Trengo allows you to automate tasks, such as notifications, escalations, and even simple issue resolutions. And when it comes to integrations, Trengo goes a step further: native integrations with many tools (such as WhatsApp, Facebook, etc.) in addition to hundreds of other third-party tools. 

Pricing: Plans start at €99/month with a minimum of 5 users for the Essentials plan, €149 for Boost and €249 for Pro.

Core features of Trengo

Omnichannel ticketing experience—Trengo combines everything, emails, chats, social media, even WhatsApp–into one shared inbox. Talk to your customers where they’re comfortable. Trengo handles it all, keeping you connected with your customers everywhere. Plus, customer service agents can communicate via email, and unlike many other tools on this list, email conversations are automatically tracked in tickets. 

Source: https://www.g2.com/products/trengo/reviews/trengo-review-8693119

Automation—automate workflows and repetitive tasks, easily and without any coding required. For instance, you respond to common requests with a standard reply the moment a conversation is initiated. Additionally, using rules, you can: 

• Route tickets or, conversations based on values of fields
• Changes to ticket status and time-based conditions
• Add labels to conversations
• Set an SLA target on conversations
• Assign conversations to users or teams
• Send a message to your customer
• Mark a conversation as spam.

And many more tasks. 

Collaboration—share and collaborate on tickets with multiple customer service representatives. Additionally, shared notes, an internal comment section and real-time collaboration on drafts ensure everyone’s on the same page and understands the context of customers’ issues. Related to collaboration is smart routing: with Trengo, you can send tickets to the right agent based on their skills, availability, and even past interactions with the customer.

Help centre and knowledge base—let your customers find answers on their own with a rich knowledge base built right into your conversations. Deflect tickets as much as possible and keep everyone—customer and support teams—happy.

Source: https://www.getapp.com/customer-service-support-software/a/trengo/reviews/3a3489a60b/

Integrations—Trengo seamlessly integrates with most of your favourite marketing platforms, communication tools, CRM software and e-commerce solutions. For many tools, we create native integrations that are simple to set up with no issues.  

Reporting and analytics—Trengo provides analytics tools that offer important business metrics and insights into the whole customer experience. It also offers tools for managing and tracking service-level agreements (SLAs), CSAT and other performance indicators. So, you can track progress, anticipate trends, allocate resources more efficiently and learn more about consumer interactions and response times.

Source: https://www.g2.com/products/trengo/reviews/trengo-review-7752094

Excellent onboarding support—we pride ourselves on customer support. Our dedicated onboarding team is constantly on its feet to help customers make the most of the platform, from automation to integrations. The very purpose of Trengo is to enable customer support teams to guide their customers. How can we afford to let our customers lose their way? ‘You are never lost with Trengo’ is what makes the foundation of our customer care. 

But don’t just take our word for it—let’s hear it from some of our customers. 

Mosha L., a data analyst, says: 

Also: 

It doesn’t cost you to see how it works. Get a demo now.

2. Zendesk

Zendesk is a leading omnichannel customer service platform designed for businesses of all sizes. It offers a comprehensive suite of features to manage tickets, conversations, knowledge base and reporting across multiple channels. Zendesk also automatically turns calls, voicemails and texts into tickets for easy record-keeping and issue resolution. 

Pricing: Their Suite Professional starts at €115/agent per month, with a minimum of 5 agents. Free trial available. 

Core features of Zendesk

• Multichannel support—manages email, phone, chat, social media and web forms in one platform.
• Scalability—accommodates small teams to large enterprises with high ticket volume.
• Reporting and analytics—offers insights into customer interactions, agent performance, and key metrics.
• Automation—automates repetitive tasks like routing, notifications and escalation.
• Extensive app marketplace—integrates with hundreds of third-party tools.
• Self-service portal—customers can find answers and resolve issues independently.

Cons of Zendesk

• Can be expensive for small businesses
• A steep learning curve for beginners
• Heavy reliance on integrations can lead to complexity
• Poor customer support. “Terrible,” as Zendesk users would call it. 
• Some users faced issues with ticket updates when customers responded by email. 

3. Zoho Desk

Zoho Desk is a budget-friendly, multichannel helpdesk solution ideal for small and medium-sized businesses. It offers a user-friendly interface and core features to manage tickets, collaborations and basic reporting. Other than its native tools—Zoho CRMS, Bookings, Forms and SalesIQ—Zoho Desk supports integrations with many third-party tools. 

Pricing: Free plan available; Their professional plan is €35/agent per month. 

Core features of Zoho Desk

• User-friendly UI—easy to learn and use, even for non-technical team members
• Multiple support channels—email, help centre, social media, live chat, etc. 
• Helpdesk customisation—custom email templates, forms, ticket templates, etc. 
• Basic reporting and analytics—pre-defined and custom reports and dashboards
• Affordable pricing—competitive plans make it accessible to smaller teams

Cons of Zoho Desk

• Limited customisation options compared to Zendesk
• It is not ideal for handling exceptionally high ticket volume
• Poor customer support and onboarding assistance
• Some users find issues in email forwarding and email system configuration. 

4. Freshdesk

Freshdesk is another automated helpdesk software designed for teams that prioritise simplicity and efficiency. It offers an integrated ticketing experience across email and social media. Any incoming customer query can be automatically converted into a ticket and assigned to the right team—or agent. It also offers automation capabilities, team collaboration and a built-in knowledge base to enhance user experience and agent productivity. Besides, you can integrate Freshdesk with 1000+ apps for better workflows and customer experience. 

Pricing: Their Pro plan is €59/agent per month. Free plan is available, needless to say, with limited features. 

Features of Freshdesk

• Automation—automates follow-ups, escalations and other repetitive tasks using time- and event-based conditions. You can also assign tickets based on skill, load or via round-robin.
• Built-in knowledge base—customers can find answers independently to most of their common questions.
• Collision detection—agents can know if another agent is viewing or replying to a ticket to avoid duplication. 
• Reports and dashboards—you can create custom reports unique to your business needs. 

Cons of Freshdesk

• Customer support and billing practices. “Untrustworthy! We had been Freshdesk users for two years until they took down our account with no warning or explanation,” a user mentions. “We’ve been trying to cancel our account with FreshDesk for over 2 months now, they keep telling us it’s canceled, but we keep getting charged,” writes another user. 
• Limited analytics and reporting capabilities
• Fewer advanced features for complex support needs.
• Can feel less robust for large teams. Tickets may sometimes get lost. 

5. Help Scout

Help Scout is a user-friendly helpdesk ticketing system suitable for businesses of all sizes, especially those prioritizing personalised email support and relationship building. It has a shared inbox, meaning that all conversations can be managed from a centralised location and that agents are aware of conversations and customer issues. Besides automation and collaboration tools, you can integrate the platform with 50+ third-party tools and apps. 

Pricing: $20/user per month for Standard, $40 for Plus, and $65 for Pro. A 15-day free trial is available. 

Features of Help Scout

• Shared inbox—manage customer conversations across channels from a shared inbox with collaboration and automation.
• Automation rules—automate repetitive tasks like organizing conversations, assigning roles, and replying to conversations. Also offer automated confirmation replies or standard replies for out-of-office hours.  
• Team collaboration—assign conversations or leave internal notes. Team members can also see when another team member is replying to avoid duplicate replies.
• AI-powered solutions—offer AI assistance, AI summarise, and AI drafts, but only in higher-tiered plans. 
• Knowledge base—build a knowledge base to let your customers find answers on their own with a comprehensive library of how-to articles and FAQs.

Cons of Help Scout

• Limited multichannel. Help Scout would qualify more as an email management tool, with less robust options for phone, live chat, social media and other channels.
• Fewer integrations. Compared to some strong contenders on this, the number of integrations offered by Help Scout is rather limited.
• Scalability limitations. It is ideal for smaller teams; large enterprises may struggle with high ticket volume.

6. HubSpot Service Hub

HubSpot is a full-service software platform offering solutions for sales, marketing, CRM, etc. It offers help desk and ticketing software as part of Service Hub. With its ticketing system, you can record, organise and track all your customer interactions in one dashboard. Support teams can prioritise tickets, automate workflows and utilise customer portals to help customers with self-service. Plus, it also lets you know your customer’s purchase history, preferences, service issues and even past conversations before they speak a word. It offers integrations with its own products as well as many other apps. 

Pricing: Free plan is available. Plans start from €45/month for individuals and small teams (with a minimum of 2 users) and go all the way up to $3,600/month for enterprises. 

Core features of HubSpot Service Hub

• CRM integration—while you can integrate third-party CRM, you can leverage your existing HubSpot CRM data to personalise support and offer proactive solutions.
• Conversational inbox—manage all channels (email, chat, social) in one centralised inbox for a seamless workflow.
• Knowledge base—knowledge base and feedback loop reduce support workload and improve customer satisfaction. 
• Reporting and analytics—offers deep insights into support performance with detailed reports and dashboards to optimise your strategy. 

Cons of HubSpot Service Hub

• CRM dependence—it’s based on Service Hub. While you can integrate Zoho, Salesforce, etc., it requires existing HubSpot CRM for core functionality, limiting its standalone use. 

• Steeper learning curve—integrating CRM data and mastering features might require initial training. “It’s a big and complex system, which makes it difficult to onboard new clients… it’s very complicated for non-marketers to adapt to using the system.” 
• Integration issues with some other third-party tools (Salesforce and Zoom, for example.)
• Billing issues. For instance, marketing contacts, automatic price increases, overcharging, etc.  

7. AzureDesk

AzureDesk is another customer operations platform that offers an automated ticketing solution. Its core features include ticket management, reporting, knowledge base management and email-to-ticket conversion. Using AzureDesk, agents can categorise tickets by using Tags for better handling and understanding. It offers collaboration tools, enabling teams to make suggestions, ask questions, seek advice or review messages from new team members before sending them to customers. 

Pricing: One plan for all, priced at $33/user per month. A 14-day free trial is available. 

Core features of AzureDesk 

• Team collaboration—use Private Notes and Internal Tags to communicate with the internal team. 
• Self-service portal for customers—lets your customers find answers when you are not readily available. Also offers a knowledge base. 
• Workflow automation—use business rules for streamlined workflows and other automated tasks. 
• Integrations—offers integrations but with a limited number of tools. 
• Reports—basic metrics like tickets per agent, tickets per customer and average response time available. 

Cons of AzureDesk

• Limited integration capabilities. Only with some select tools, such as Slack, Jira, Olark, Asana, and a few others. 
• Offers only one plan for all, making it less scalable than others on this list. The available features may be more than what a small business needs in the given budget. Conversely, the features may be lacking for large businesses. 
• “For tickets that need further investigation or approval, it becomes tedious as there is no designated priority list or category that can be assigned,” writes an AzureDesk user. 
• Limited reporting capabilities—it lacks channel fields. 

8. SupportBee

Many tools discussed above would broadly qualify as comprehensive customer service platforms. SupportBee is different in that it is focused more on ticketing solutions than on other areas of customer operations. It offers a shared inbox where you can assign tickets to the right agents, collaborate on tickets or share draft responses for review before you send them to customers. It also provides a web portal for your customers to send, manage and track the progress of their support requests. Additionally, SupportBee supports integrations with popular apps, such as Slack, Trello, Zapier, etc. 

Pricing: $13/user per month for Startup and $17/user per month for Enterprise plans. 

Core features of SupportBee

• Shared inboxes and collaboration—work seamlessly with transparent shared inboxes, add internal comments on tickets for context and teamwork and share draft responses for review. 
• Knowledge base—create, organise and publish information about your product or service. If need be, you can create multiple knowledge bases in a single account. 
• Customer portal—with easy access, it provides a dedicated space for your customers to manage and track the progress of their support requests.
• Reports—offers metrics, such as average first response time, number of tickets being handled by team/agent, etc. 
• Private inboxes—besides the shared inbox and private team inboxes, every agent has a private inbox to access those tickets that are assigned to them. 

Cons of SupportBee

• Limited multichannel support (primarily email-focused).
• Scalability might be limited for larger teams or high ticket volumes.
• Fewer integrations compared to some competitors.

Still stuck about which would qualify as the best automated ticketing system software? Read on. 

Essential features of ticketing systems

Not all businesses are equal, and so their ticketing system needs. Here are the essential features you can consider while choosing a helpdesk ticketing solution. 

Core functionality

• User-friendliness — any effective ticketing system begins with a user-friendly interface for submitting requests. At the same time, the dashboard should be user-friendly for the support team. It’s about customer service—so neither customers nor agents should feel lost. 
• Ticket creation — this should be simple and accessible across multiple channels (email, phone, social media, web portal, etc.). Look for options like pre-populated forms, self-service portals, and knowledge base integration to reduce manual data entry.
• Ticket routing and assignment — you don’t have to manually assign tickets to the right agent with the relevant expertise. The automated ticketing solution should have automatic routing based on keywords, categories or custom rules. Many ticketing platforms offer features like skill-based routing, round-robin assignment and workload balancing.
• Ticket tracking and prioritisation — your support team should be able to track ticket progress in real time with detailed timelines, status updates and escalation rules. Prioritisation features like urgency levels, SLAs and customer impact scoring would help agents focus on important customer issues.
• Collaboration and communication — look for features like internal notes, mentions and shared ticket views. Better if the platform has agent collision detection, live chat within tickets and external communication channels like email or SMS. When it comes to collaboration, Trengo takes the lead: including the features mentioned above, it offers real-time collaboration on drafts. 
• Reporting and analytics — without deep insights, all may go in vain. A competitive ticketing system must offer valuable insights into agent performance, ticket volume, time to resolution and customer satisfaction through comprehensive reports and dashboards.

It doesn’t end here, though. Customers expect quick and efficient support and that is possible only if your support team is equipped with tools that take the burden of manual tasks off them. Yes, automation capabilities are what I am talking about. 

Automation and efficiency

• Workflow automation — the tool you finally choose should automate repetitive tasks like ticket tagging, escalation processes and SLA notifications to let agents focus on more complex issues. 

• Self-service portal — teams may not be available round-the-clock, and even if they are, they should focus more on urgent and not-so-common issues. So, you would need self-service portals. They significantly reduce ticket volume by offering a knowledge base, how-to guides, FAQs and automated troubleshooting tools. 

• Integrations — connect your ticketing system with other tools you use, like CRM, accounting software, communication tools or project management platforms, to streamline workflows and eliminate data silos. Look for open APIs and a wide range of pre-built integrations. Even better if the tool offers native integration for most apps, like Trengo does. 
• Mobile access — work doesn’t end at the office, especially if you are a manager or working remotely. A mobile app lets you manage tickets and interact with customers on the go.

If a tool has all — or most — of the above, it is a contender. But if your business needs are complex and versatile, you may add the following features to the list. 

Advanced features

• Omnichannel support—look for a unified platform that consolidates all interactions into a single ticket view. With that, you can offer seamless support across multiple channels like email, phone, chat, social media and even messaging apps. 

• AI and machine learning—it’s an AI-powered world today, and some tools have adapted to it. Leverage AI-powered features like sentiment analysis, chatbots and predictive routing to automate repetitive conversations and improve resolution times. Without sacrificing personalised customer interactions. 

• Security and compliance—don’t ignore this. Ensure that the system you choose meets industry standards for data security and compliance with regulations like GDPR—and HIPAA if required. Features like two-factor authentication, data encryption and audit logs are essential.
• Scalability and customisation—if you grow, so should the platform. Choose a system that can adapt to your growing needs and customise it to fit your specific workflow. It could be the number of users, additional features or API access for advanced integrations. 

Pick your ticketing system

Today, quick and efficient customer support will make or break your brand. However, managing tickets across platforms can be a huge challenge, wasting time and frustrating both your team and your customers. Automated ticketing systems are here to save the day—literally!

Think of it this way:

• No more manual sorting: Tickets automatically reach the right agent based on skills and availability. 
• Notifications on autopilot: Forget manually chasing updates; notifications and escalations happen automatically, keeping everyone involved in the loop. 
• Repetitive tasks disappear: Automate routine tasks like data entry and follow-ups. Let your team focus more on managing deeper customer interactions.

The result? Relaxed, more efficient agents delivering better service to happier customers. It’s a win-win!

And while choosing the ticketing solution, there are tens of — if not hundreds of — automated ticketing systems available online, all promising automation, efficiency and streamlined support. Which one is perfect? 

Go from tickets to conversations

Ticketing systems are great if you want to get the job done, but we're not only talking about fixing and solving tickets. We're also talking about building customer relationships, starting conversations and delivering on delight. So when you're choosing the right platform or system for you, have a think.

If you want to look at your customer contact and deliver on delight pick: Trengo. 

This powerful system isn’t just about managing tickets; it’s about automating tedious and repetitive tasks. It’s about letting your teams focus on what truly matters — building meaningful connections with your customers.

Go for a demo to see how it works!