Top 10 Helpdesk Software in 2022

After years of revolutionary changes in businesses and their respective industries, one fact remains common:

Communication stands at the center of everything.

Be it communicating with customers to help resolve their service-related issues or solving IT requests from internal employees; most businesses eventually need some way to manage these conversations. Besides, the number of consumers buying stuff online has skyrocketed over the past few years. And we all know that more consumption plagued with supply chain problems inevitably means more irate customer calls. So if brands want to retain these customers and stay competitive, they will need appropriate tools to carry out these complex processes. Helpdesk software is (hands-down) one of the best ways to do this.

Customer service that goes above and beyond is what sticks in a customer’s mind and sets a company apart from others.

Helpdesk software has become a necessity for businesses that look to scale and expand their customer base. Integrating Helpdesk with Live chat eases managing customer service. Outsourcing customer support simplifies your efforts and makes service more effective. After all, everyone wants to see their customers delighted about their products and keep their customer support team motivated. But what is the best helpdesk software for your business?

Don’t worry…..

I’ll help you figure this out.

I’ve consolidated a detailed list of the ten best helpdesk software to help you through. Let’s get started. We’ll talk about:

• DeskXpand
• OsTicket
• SupportBee
• UseResponse
• Liveagent
• Uvdesk
• Helpdesk.com
• Helpcrunch
• Cayzu
• ProProfs Help Desk

1. DeskXpand

DeskXpand is an automated, omnichannel helpdesk software that caters to all types of business needs. It serves small to large businesses, helps reduce high-cost, laborious, and redundant data-entry tasks. It provides built-in and extensive ticketing functionalities to customer support departments of companies.

Prominent Features

I. Extensive Ticketing Features: You can group, sort, and filter incoming queries easily by using filter combinations within the system. Other ticketing features include automatic ticket importing, automatic ticket assignment, ticket notifications, and so on.

II. Shared Inbox: A shared inbox manages all the customer requests, tickets, and suggestions. It improves team accountability, transparency and ensures effective communication.

III. Unified Interface: View everything from one place through a unified dashboard and guide your team and operations.

IV. Omnichannel Support: Engage with your customers across channels of their choice and respond readily. You can set up workflows across email, phone, social media, and so on.

V. Dynamic Timers: Dynamic timers let you configure and measure your tickets’ time in various stages. You can enable automatic hierarchical escalations and enforce issue prioritization. You can set SLAs and escalation rules and modify them based on your company’s real-world performance.

VI. Automation: DeskXpand comes with built-in automation functionalities that will do away with all your redundant tasks. You can automate processes like ticket import, assignment, service level agreements, ticket status updating, notifications, escalations, and many more processes.

VII. Third-Party Integrations: You can consolidate all your third-party tools in a single interface. DeskXpand integrates with:

• ECommerce stores like Shopify and Magento.
• Project management tools like Trello and Jira.
• Social media tools like Facebook and Twitter.
• Survey tools like SurveyMonkey and Google Forms.

VIII. Analyze and Improve: DeskXpand helpdesk software helps you measure your team performance and analyze the areas of improvement to improve customer service.

IX. Flexible Customization: It lets you customize your helpdesk software fully and provide a cohesive brand experience to your customers.

X. Extensive Self-help Knowledge Base: DeskXpand comes with extensive self-help features. You can create content in the form of a knowledge base, FAQs, video tutorials, how-to guides, etc.

Feature Highlight

• Tickets within tickets
• Canned responses
• Internal documentation
• Flexible customization

Who Uses DeskXpand?

DeskXpand caters to SMBs as well as enterprise-level businesses. It caters to business niches like:

• Retail industry
• Ecommerce industry
• Healthcare industry
• Software & IT
• Education
• Manufacturing

No matter what industry you’re in, robust helpdesk software is a must. Check out its features with a free trial.

2. OsTicket

OsTicket is open-source helpdesk software that offers IT asset management and ticket management within a suite. It is an open-source helpdesk ticket system. It is a cloud-based solution best suited for small and mid-size enterprise customers.

It has a built-in portal that allows end-users to submit tickets and track the status of their requests. Its “auto-assign” feature routes the tickets automatically to the most appropriate departments and support representatives. It allows you to send an automated response to the users to keep them updated about the status of their requests.

It comes with interactive dashboards and reporting capabilities. Customized reports can gain complete visibility into helpdesk operations and make effective decisions regarding staffing levels and ticket handling procedures.

Feature Insight:

• Task management with advanced search
• Custom fields
• Service level agreements
• Thread action
• Ticket assign, transfer, & referral
• Collision detection
• Help topics
• Ticket filters
• Custom Columns and Queues

Pros

• Open-sourced, customizable, easy to use, and multi-user friendly
• Intuitive and easy to customize
• Allows self-hosting

Cons

• Initial installation can be difficult
• It takes a lot of time to get used to its interface

Who Uses OsTicket?

It caters to the needs of SMBs and enterprise-level industries.

3. SupportBee

SupportBee is essentially an email helpdesk software for small businesses. It is perfect for tracking tickets and not letting emails go unnoticed since the ticket stays there until it is handled. It has custom and team filters for segregating and filtering clients to readily see all the work that was done for those clients. The best thing about SupportBee is that it deviates from the typical per agent per month pricing model in favor of pay-as-you-go ticket volume pricing. Although it can still do better when it comes to user experience, you shouldn’t turn technologically inept on to it.

Feature Insights

• Collaboration features
• Ticket filters
• Email snippets
• KPI reports
• Webhooks and API
• Third-party Integrations

Feature Highlight

• The “related tickets” feature helps companies and agents check (instantly) what other issues a particular client has had in the past.

Pros

• Advanced filters
• Keep track of how much “traffic” that client is causing
• Easy to integrate with third-party tools

Cons

• UX is not the cleanest
• Long message threads make the scanning and reviewing process difficult

Who uses SupportBee?

The most common users of SupportBee are from small and mid-size businesses.

4. UseResponse

UseResponse is a customer support and feedback suite. It combines the capabilities of an omnichannel support ticketing center, feedback community forum, live chat, and knowledge base. UseResponse helps introduce companies to level up their support through features like automation, chatbots, public communities, and embeddable knowledge base functionality.

UseResponse is highly customizable and can be used as SaaS & Self-Hosted solution with 100 % open code. It offers complete source code to its customers, full customization, a predefined set of automation in notifications, ticket rules, email templates that allow using the system within minutes. You can use it as:

• Feedback Software
• Knowledge base software
• Helpdesk software
• Live chat software with messengers

Feature Insight

• 10+ support channels (email, social media, live chat, community forum, messengers)
• Automated system for notifications & assignments
• Service level agreements
• Satisfaction rating tracking
• Advanced analytics and reports
• Easy integrations

Feature Highlight

• It is scalable and completely customizable helpdesk software.
• It can be cloud hosted and also allows self-hosting.

Pros

• They bring in new updates constantly
• Easy to use and affordable
• Has an excellent support team for quick technical resolutions
• It works great and is flexible for collecting feedback, ideas, and questions in real-time and asynchronously.

Cons

• The admin console can be a little bit difficult to navigate

5. Liveagent

Liveagent claims to be the fastest chat widget on the market. It helps you bring personalization to your customer interactions. Its features involve a universal inbox, real-time live chat, built-in knowledge management, and a robust customer service portal.

It helps businesses personalize their communication by taking advantage of features like customer segmentation, automation, built-in CRM, etc. It comes with over 175+ helpdesk features and 40+ integrations. It helps users handle emails, ticket systems, live chats, etc., all from a single place. This makes life so much easier for businesses as managers can have a bird’s view of the entire support. Businesses can customize the look of our custom pages and chat as well. It also lets you connect your helpdesk ticket system with your brand’s social media handles and collect support queries from there.

Feature Insight:

• Custom forms
• Live chat
• Ticket system
• WhatsApp integration

Feature Highlight

• Custom Forms

Pros

• Keeps live chat on the website as showing online without having to log every time
• Works best for in-team collaboration
• Organized messages
• Simple to use and easy to integrate

Cons

• Limited theme options

6. Uvdesk

It is a cloud-based support solution that is also available as an open-source solution. It consists of features like reporting, ticket management, email collaboration, knowledge base management, etc. It lets the users manage, track and resolve issues instantly. It helps you create a hassle-free working experience for both the staff and the customers.

Features Insight

• Alerts / Escalation
• Automated Routing
• Customizable Branding
• Document Storage
• Email Management
• Knowledge Base Management
• Macros/Templated Responses
• Multi-Channel Communication
• Real-Time Chat
• Remote Access/Control
• Reporting/Analytics
• Self Service Portal
• Service Level Agreement (SLA) Management
• Social Media Integration
• Ticket Management

Pros

• Value for money
• Advanced features and easy to implement
• Ticket reassignment to balance the workflow

Cons

• Error messages are not clear. For example, when you try to do something and you get an error, the message doesn’t describe the type of error.
• You need to contact its support to know what happens all the time.

Who Uses Uvdesk

UVdesk helpdesk software is used in various industries like real-estate, hospitality, e-commerce, insurance, etc., and it is an excellent tool for SMEs for lending support to the users.

7. Helpdesk.com

HelpDesk is suitable for small businesses and enterprise clients. It has easy-to-use features and an intuitive UI that are designed to simplify your team’s efforts. HelpDesk lets you manage all the requests and interactions with your customers in one place. It has features like tags, ticket assignments, and private messages to resolve customers’ issues with greater precision. Helpdesk.com also gives you one transparent pricing plan with all the features included.

Feature Insight

• Alerts / Escalation
• Assignment management
• Automated routing
• Chat/Messaging
• Collaboration tools
• Complaint monitoring
• Content management
• Customer complaint tracking
• Customizable branding
• Dashboard
• Email distribution
• Email management

Pros

• The software can be accessed online from anywhere.

Cons

• The spam filter sometimes misses necessary non-spam tickets
• It asks you to change passwords every now and then
• The entry field for due dates is not present

8. HelpCrunch

HelpCrunch is a customer communication tool for your support, marketing & sales needs. It provides a highly customizable live chat widget for customer engagement and data acquisition. It helps you reply to customers’ questions and reach out to them proactively through automated personalized chats.

HelpCrunch integrates easily with products to track custom data, specific to their business needs. It helps you monitor user behavior and target them with auto-messages tailored to their individual goals. You can send follow-ups directly from the chat window, target users with one-time emails (with news, updates, discounts, or promotions.) It increases customer satisfaction and retention by providing timely and personalized support.

With HelpCrunch helpdesk software, you can manage all customer communication in one shared dashboard. You can search, merge, assign, transfer, close, and re-open chats. You can set up specialized departments. It also lets you collect quantifiable customer feedback and monitor your team’s performance. Real-time customer data, communication, and online statuses chat notes and tags to prioritize actions and manage each customer case effectively.

Features Insight

• Live Chat
• Auto Messages
• Email Marketing
• Knowledge Base
• Popups
• Mobile apps

Pros

• Easy-to-understand and clean interface

Cons

• Slow customer support

9. Cayzu

Cayzu helps keep your team together with modern features that you’d expect from a best-of-breed helpdesk software. It integrates easily with your third-party tools so that companies do not have to worry about lost or duplicate efforts. Other features include automated processes, communicating wherever your customers are, customized customer experience, reporting on feedback, and critical metrics. They also allow you to set up a self-service portal for your customers, complete with FAQs and a form for ticket submission. The system works well with emails and provides updates as well. It’s easy to set up agents and permissions and assign tickets. You have to do a lot of back and forth to check things out. Reporting of tickets from a high level also falls short, and it’s hard to see the performance.

Feature Insight

• Automate emails
• Custom rules
• Built-in SLA rules
• Real-time insights
• Personalization

Pros

• Great value for money
• Allows high level of customization

Cons

• Not all the features are maximized to their full potential
• UI is a bit outdated and reminiscent of the 2000s.

10. ProProfs HelpDesk

ProProfs helpdesk is quite a popular helpdesk software hosted on the IBM cloud platform. A shared inbox enables you to track, prioritize, assign, and resolve all support tickets in a jiffy. It enables you to reduce repetitive tasks by leveraging an automated workflow. Tickets can automatically be assigned to relevant agents, and you receive automated alerts & notifications. With integrations like a knowledge base and live chat, you can reduce the ticket volume & engage with customers.

Feature Insight

• Ticket resolution
• Canned responses
• Issue tracking
• Reporting and analytics

Best Suited For

Companies that are into marketing, healthcare, or any form of customer support can go for ProProfs helpdesk software. It fits into companies of all sizes (from startups to large enterprises.)

Pros

• It has a child feature that lets you create tickets within the tickets.
• It helps you get a detailed review of agent performance.

Cons

• Ticket routing cannot be customized. The tickets get assigned to random agents instead of specialized agents.
• It doesn’t allow you to create personalized automated responses. This may feel robotic to customers.

So, these were the ten prominent helpdesk software to look forward to while you’re searching for a support tool for your business niche.

Choosing Your Perfect Helpdesk Software

Adopting a new tool or moving to a new helpdesk software is a considerable investment to upgrade your customer support and (to a more significant extent) your company. A long feature list is nice, but choose a broader approach in mind. Remember, picking a tool that works for your team (and your customers) comes with a cost, and the cost here is high. So take the time to make an informed decision. I have accumulated certain dos and don’t that’ll help you make an informed decision. Make sure you follow this checklist:

1. Customer Expectation

Start with understanding your customer’s expectations. Each industry functions differently. If you are in the retail industry, you must receive ample queries every month. On the other hand, the banking industry gets fewer to no queries. Hence, knowing your customer behavior and analyzing what they want from you would be step one of the ticketing software selecting process.

2. Employee Expectation

Understand what your team wants. Let’s say your business gets many queries over social media; your team’s goal would be more towards social media support. Hence you would need to make social media support functions in the ticketing software to align with these needs.

3. Make a future-proof plan.

The next thing to consider is your company’s scalability plans. If you are looking forward to expanding your company in the near future, you must consider adopting helpdesk software to scale as per your plans.

4. Budget

Once you’re done sketching the above details and know what you want from your ticketing software, it is time to draw a budget carefully. Keep the following things in mind:

• Decide the budget based on three aspects: Team size, integration tools, and software compatibility.
• Go for companies that offer size-based solution pricing.
• Be aware of the hidden charges and limitations of the software that each company offers.
• Find a ticketing software that offers you maximum features at a lower price.

5. Decide the Features

Your helpdesk ticket system must have certain essential/basic features. Whereas you’ll only need some features if your businesses belong to a specific niche. Many companies offer feature-based pricing too. Make sure you check that out too. Here’s a quick list of features that I think a good helpdesk software must have:

• Ticket Management features
• Collaborative Team Inbox
• Multi-Channel Support
• Self-Service Support
• Analytics and Reporting
• Automation
• Customization
• Email Helpdesk
• Dynamic SLA Features
• Easy Integrations

6. Explore Your Options

Start searching and making a list of available options for your helpdesk software. Look through review sites, community forums, recommendations from experts, and so on. Find out reviews from the people who have had first-hand experience using ticketing software. This might help you eliminate a few from the long list of your options. The last thing is to do is to put the decision to test. You can never find out good helpdesk software just by reading about it. This is why you must try taking a free trial from all the available options. I’m sure you’ll be able to tell the difference and make a wise decision once you operate the software yourself.

Essential Tip:

Involve your support agents in the trial and error process as well!

Ready to Serve an Excellent Customer Support?

When it comes to maintaining brand identity and retaining customers, customer support proves to be a lynchpin for any organization. Brands across the globe need to leverage helpdesk ticket system and see it as an essential opportunity to delight customers and engage with them in unique ways.

A visionary entrepreneur will want to solve issues even before they arise. It is all about shifting from reactive customer support to a proactive one. And only the best helpdesk software can help you perform this. DeskXpand helpdesk software by BitzechCS can help you become smarter by forecasting your future problems pertaining to customer support and solving them.

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