<style>p { margin: 0; }span.fr-emoticon.fr-emoticon-img { background-repeat: no-repeat !important; font-size: inherit; height: 1em; width: 1em; min-height: 20px; min-width: 20px; display: inline-block; margin: -0.1em 0.1em 0.1em; line-height: 1; vertical-align: middle; } span.fr-emoticon { font-weight: normal; font-family: "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "NotoColorEmoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Android Emoji", "EmojiSymbols"; display: inline; line-height: 0; } blockquote { border-left: solid 2px #5e35b1; color: #5e35b1; margin-left:0; padding-left:5px;}blockquote blockquote{ border-color: #00bcd4; color: #00bcd4;}blockquote blockquote blockquote{ border-color: #43a047; color: #43a047;} table.grid{ border-collapse: collapse;} table.grid td, table.grid th { border: 1px solid #ddd;} .fr-fic.fr-dib{ display: block; margin: 5px auto;}.fr-fic.fr-dib.fr-fir{ text-align: right; margin: 5px 0 5px auto;}.fr-fic.fr-dib.fr-fil{ text-align: left; margin: 5px auto 5px 0;}.fr-fic.fr-dii{ float: none; margin: 5px auto;}.fr-fic.fr-dii.fr-fil{ float: left; margin: 5px auto;}.fr-fic.fr-dii.fr-fir{ float: right; margin: 5px auto;}img.fr-dib.fr-fir { margin-right: 0; text-align: right;}img.fr-dib.fr-fil { margin-left: 0; text-align: left;}img.fr-dib { margin: 5px auto; display: block; float: none;}img.fr-bordered { box-sizing: content-box; border: solid 5px #CCC;}img.fr-shadow { box-shadow: 10px 10px 5px 0px #cccccc;}img.fr-rounded { border-radius: 10px; -moz-border-radius: 10px; -webkit-border-radius: 10px; -moz-background-clip: padding; -webkit-background-clip: padding-box; background-clip: padding-box;}</style><p id="isPasted"><strong>In this guide we will cover:</strong></p><p><strong>- The basics of </strong><strong>each part of HaloCRM along with the appropriate terminologies</strong></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><strong>Admin Guides:</strong></p><ul><li><a href="https://usehalo.com/halocrm/guides/1419" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Actions</strong></a></li><li style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://usehalo.com/halocrm/guides/1409" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Agents</strong></a></li><li style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://usehalo.com/halocrm/guides/1340" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">General Settings (Asset Management)</a></li><li style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://usehalo.com/halocrm/guides/1341" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>General Settings (Tickets)</strong></a></li><li style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://usehalo.com/halocrm/guides/1862" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Self Service Portal</a></li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong>Related Guides:</strong></p><ul><li><a href="https://usehalo.com/halocrm/guides/978" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Action Button Configuration</strong></a> </li><li style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://usehalo.com/halocrm/guides/1777" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>AI Report Builder</strong></a></li><li style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://usehalo.com/halocrm/guides/1582" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Customising Your Self-Service Portal</a></li><li style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://usehalo.com/halocrm/guides/1574" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Organisation Basics</a> </li><li style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://usehalo.com/halocrm/guides/887" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Reports and Scheduling</a></li><li style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://usehalo.com/halocrm/guides/1563" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Report Builder</a> </li><li style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://usehalo.com/halocrm/guides/1619" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ticket Statuses</a></li></ul><p><br></p><p>This guide will go through the basic definitions of terms that are used within HaloCRM, and a few commonly used features within them. To learn about these areas in more detail, guides have been linked above. "Admin" guides focus on laying out buttons and settings, and what each one does. "Related" guides give a more overall view of the area. If you would like clarification on how something works, please contact our support team at <a href="mailto:support@halocrm.io">support@halocrm.io</a> who can assist you.</p><p><br></p><p><strong><em>Note: These features are interconnected with each other, so having a basic understanding of each will help you when configuring your setup. There are mentions of each feature in this guide within other features, but reading the guide in order will flow best to make sense of each.</em></strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What is a contact?</span></strong></p><p>Contacts are the people who raise tickets in Halo, and they each have a contact account associated to a customer. The term "contact" represents the employees of your customers, the people who are being supported with their issues. This is an example of how a contact account looks from the agent portal (which will soon be explained). A contact account is used to access the Self-Service Portal/End-User Portal and to match emails, so that when the contact emails the service desk, Halo can instantly match them to their existing contact.</p><p><br></p><p>You can see recent activity on their tickets, what client they are associated with, and information such as their name and email address in the "Details" area on the far right side.</p><p><br></p><p><strong><em>Note: The details tab may show to the left of the overview tab, this can be changed within Configuration > Processes > Advanced Settings >*Scroll to the setting named "Details screen display mode"*.</em></strong></p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6Ijg5M2FiM2E2LTJjODEtNGQyZC1hYzBhLTY1YjNhZGFjNTFhNyJ9.09NIqnvmRB4GgkE6h3LqofpidFDB7RNuMsycBPecE0A" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1223" style="width: 1225px; height: 582.206px;" height="582"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 1. Contact profile overview.</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>1) Contact's name.</p><p>2) Configuration tabs.</p><p>3) Current open tickets and opportunities from that contact.</p><p>4) Recent activity on that contact's tickets, showing any actions done by either the contact or an agent.</p><p>5) Details about the contact such as name and email address.</p><p><br></p><p>There are multiple tabs underneath the contact's name and profile picture, which can be customised based on your needs or the customer's. </p><p><br></p><p>The next two tabs after the Overview tab shows every ticket that contact has raised by type - either a helpdesk ticket, or a sales ticket. By default, it will only show tickets that are open and not on hold, but you can change this filter to view closed tickets, or every ticket ever logged by opening the dropdown in the red box in <strong>Fig 2</strong>. </p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjE4YThhNGQ5LTViYTgtNDYzYi1iMjM3LTUzOWIwNDY3MDI3YiJ9.vQXEiL2EHaV-4NmljXMRWR5Bfb3JWsv1Z4PY2Gr-NtU" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1219" style="width: 1221px; height: 573.876px;" height="574"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 2. Tickets tab on a contact.</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>The "Preferences" tab is for customising the contact's experience depending on what they want. You can select if they want acknowledgement emails if they log tickets for example, in the "Email/Marketing Settings" dropdown, which is the most commonly used option here. In "Customer Level Notifications" and "Site Level Notifications", you can set whether the contact receives acknowledgement emails for tickets logged by other people in their company. This is a useful setting for managers to look at what their team is logging tickets for.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6ImQzMzgwNzViLWJjOWItNGYxNi05ODJhLWEwOWJhMTdlMzNlZCJ9._4_63IQW5VCWHIknoSlmaAApKdePjdkxz2rXZgW9v08" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1220" style="width: 1222px; height: 576.222px;" height="576"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 3. Preferences tab on a user.</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>You can select what the contact has access to view in the "Permissions" tab. Here, the most common setting is the "Web Access Level", which is shown at the top of the list in <strong>Fig 4</strong>.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6Ijk0NDNiMGJkLTYyZGQtNDFlNC05N2YwLTFkZmNkNzJlOTZmZiJ9.-61Pjn01rR5-uTLU3LPYpKhuYE63uNq3OwOVXzJr2NI" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" style="width: 1223px; height: 575.116px;" width="1221" height="575"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 4. Permissions tab on a contact.</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>The "Web Access Level" refers to the ticket visibility of the user when they are on the Self-Service portal, the setting can be e.g. "This Contacts Tickets" which will show that contact only their tickets.</p><p><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What is an agent?</span></strong></p><p>Agents are Halo's technicians, and are the name for your company members who work within the platform. You can view your agents in Configuration > People > Agents. Here, you will see a list of your agents and some basic information about them.</p><p><br></p><p>Agents use licenses in Halo, and each agent requires a license to log in - either a named license for a specific agent or a concurrent license that can be shared, although only one agent can use it at a time. Your license count can be seen at the top of <strong>Fig 5</strong> next to "Agent accounts". Requests for additional licenses can be made through the Halo support portal in the area called "License Request".</p><p><br></p><p>Each agent is assigned Roles and Teams, which can be used to restrict access to certain areas.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjVhN2E0MzIxLWQ1MmYtNDM0Ni05NmJlLWU1NWU4ZWVkNzhiOCJ9.XMCwP015YUO1uzGBuGNxwNQU99YwqhEHqBQMM4nS-L0" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1222" style="width: 1224px; height: 577.805px;" height="578"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 5. Agents list.</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>By clicking into an agent, you can set information, permissions and preferences to their account in the same way you can with contacts.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6ImMwOWFkODQxLTlmYWUtNDZkMy04ZjI1LTk4ZjlhMTVjYmYzYiJ9.f2L2az1xcEMioimXRkpeDvLrcAFQKAq1To_aUzQ29L0" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1220" style="width: 1222px; height: 570.775px;" height="571"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 6. Agent configuration.</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>1) Agent's name and job title. The job title can be set on the "Details" tab.</p><p>2) Configuration tabs.</p><p><br></p><p>Agents are assigned tickets to work on and can complete actions on these. Agents are the accounts you and your employees will use to communicate with your clients.</p><p><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What is a customer?<br></span></strong></p><p>Customers are your clients, and what your contacts are associated with. The Customers area can be accessed from the highlighted box on the left side, and provides a list of your customers upon opening. Here is where you can also access your Sites and Contacts.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjAyZDQwMTk5LTdlZWEtNGRiYy04MTYwLWEwMWM2NzdlYWFmYyJ9.wyg769Lz7KVTQEqDYojXcgxVmDtRkIROIaQlK9w_wRU" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1221" style="width: 1223px; height: 576.73px;" height="577"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 7. Customers area.</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>Clicking into a customer brings up an Overview screen similar to the contact overview. Here you can see tickets raised by contacts under that customer, details about the customer at the right side, and tabs that show extra information.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjE4NDdkNDkxLTVmZDYtNDgzOS1iZjg3LWUwNjI1NGI1ZTVmZiJ9.N_NwUU_BNdy5igekr_CcoM9NThiUfkFy-BjBcb1OJjs" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1226" style="width: 1228px; height: 582.014px;" height="582"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 8. Customer overview.</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>1) Customer name and profile picture.</p><p>2) Configuration tabs.</p><p>3) Current open tickets from that customer.</p><p>4) Recent activity associated with that customer - actions done on their tickets.</p><p>5) Customer details - <strong><em>Note: Can also be shown in a configuration tab in some instances.</em></strong></p><p><br></p><p>The "Sites & Contacts" tab is an important one here. By toggling the dropdown shown in <strong>Fig 9</strong>, you can see sites or users that are associated with that client.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjdmNGYyZWMxLTE2NjMtNDFlNS1iYjFhLWFjY2VlMzhhNTBjOSJ9.GM3zJ_VnZ2cbrHZniiBcrslq2CT44-TD74ZdXwI5CyU" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1219" style="width: 1221px; height: 574.476px;" height="574"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 9. Sites & Contacts tab on a customer.</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What is a site?</span></strong></p><p>A site is a location under a customer. The customer is split into sites, and contacts are split into those sites under the customer. You can view sites within the Customers area, as well as in the dropdown under a customer's profile in <strong>Fig 9</strong>.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjY5ZDZkMWUzLWVmMmQtNDk3ZS1iYjJhLTY5MWZmZTk0ZDgyNCJ9.VQ8M7JCbjtNXkxVkLQo0NgUT_dYPC3wL7LmVOqt-Um8" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1221" style="width: 1223px; height: 574.778px;" height="575"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 10. Sites list.<br></span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>The site overview gives a similar layout to the customer overview.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6ImRlZWZlMTFhLWYyZDgtNDA3Zi1iZWRlLWUyNDc2ODU4ZDk4MiJ9.q_30sRXSRcx0B00Bd3-m7O-ikbFoPMYbXHvwAtS0704" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1221" style="width: 1223px; height: 575.755px;" height="576"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 11. Site overview.<br></span></strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What is a top level?</span></strong></p><p>Top Levels are a way of creating a group of customers. If enabled, it will show in your "Customers" area.</p><p><br></p><p>To use this, go to Configuration > People > Contacts > General Settings and enable "Show an additional level ("Top Level") for grouping Customers".</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjFjOTg1NGYzLTY1YjctNDJiMC04NzI5LTAwNjYzZTk3MzNiZSJ9.vAbGByyNS1C0a3b3DCM4-ha_D-zoR-Sb7s6zS0H0bPE" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1225" style="width: 1227px; height: 578.617px;" height="579"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 12. Top Level within Customers area.</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>Customers can be assigned to the Top Level within the "Details" area/right side tab of the customer configuration, and will then appear under the group.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6ImUzN2M4ZTY0LTU3NTItNDVjYS1iYzc4LWY5MGQzYmRhMTRlZiJ9.IcuvjpN-mXS9ZaxsUeow33bFB0wr_BakG0ZQHpXh6_Q" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1220" style="width: 1222px; height: 576.595px;" height="577"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 13. Clients list added to a top level called "Areas".</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>The "Overview" tab shows the same layout as customers, except it shows the tickets and actions across every customer within that list. This feature can be useful for tracking actions and tickets for VIP customers for example.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6ImVkOGRlYTc3LTIyMGUtNDZiMC04ZDc3LWE1OWFjNDhhMmNkMCJ9.CfwwHCj6ntNuXxnTtXTgsgoqYPkmLQaN2bw3CVzoG1k" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1222" style="width: 1224px; height: 578.142px;" height="578"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 14. Overview tab on a top level.</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What is an organisation?<br></span></strong></p><p>An organisation in HaloCRM is your business, and stores information such as its name, billing details, and the organisational chart of your employees. You can have multiple organisations by enabling multi-tenancy, which can be useful for multiple departments in larger businesses, but we will stick to single-tenancy in this example.</p><p><br></p><p>Configuration > People > Organisation > Configure My Organisation.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjAyNjZmMmMwLTE1YTQtNGE4YS1hYmFhLTFhYzI3OGM4OTJkYyJ9.e6i-7iqyJtFKSf2zDZMOS4wxD92YmNyOFk0OKSNPVDI" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1220" style="width: 1222px; height: 576.559px;" height="577"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 15. Organisation details.</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>The "Departments" tab shows the departments under the organisation, and agents can be added as members of these. In the "Organisational Chart" tab, this then shows your agents and their job titles, sorted into a chart based on which departments they are a member of.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjZhNmM2NTA0LTg5MDUtNDQ4YS1hZWUxLWRhZmE3MzBjOThmMyJ9.G3I-WVRmhCaJYAzgZyQHlts2z__ikQ8405DGmJFJgEE" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1222" style="width: 1224px; height: 578.479px;" height="578"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 16. Organisational chart of an organisation.</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What is a ticket?</span></strong></p><p>Tickets are the main area your agents will work on within HaloCRM. Tickets can be created manually by agents, by contacts within the self-service portal, or by contacts from emailing the mailbox set up in your instance.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjU0MGU0MjBiLThhY2EtNDY4Yi05NzcxLTgxNzUzMTRhOGJlMSJ9.Ze1nUcY87n4zbESk5OWVl6SizXzW6ZeM12sdJGuituU" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1222" style="width: 1224px; height: 569.997px;" height="570"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 17. Ticket screen.</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>1) Action buttons used to work on the ticket.</p><p>2) Ticket ID and summary.</p><p>3) Stages set from the workflow the ticket is using.</p><p>4) Progress feed showing actions completed on the ticket.</p><p>5) Service Level Agreement/SLA area.</p><p>6) Ticket information area showing details about the ticket and who it is assigned to.</p><p>7) Additional system actions.</p><p>8) End-User details area showing information about the contact's account.</p><p><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What is an action?</span></strong></p><p>All work on tickets within HaloCRM is done through actions. The actions show on the ticket in order with most recent at the top by default, and a majority are created by the action buttons on a ticket. Let's take a closer look at the actions on the ticket example just shown, which shows the most commonly used.</p><p><br></p><p>The "Reply" action is the most recent in the list. By default this is configured to send emails to the email address assigned to the contact account who raised the ticket. A majority of communication on tickets will be done this way.</p><p><br></p><p>The "Internal Note" action is also very commonly used. This is a note that by default will be hidden from the contact unless changed, so is a useful method of agents leaving notes to either themselves or other agents on the ticket. You can see whether an action is hidden from the contact by the small crossed-out eye icon next to the action name.</p><p><br></p><p>The Opened action is done automatically when the ticket is opened, and is not done through action buttons like the other two. </p><p><br></p><p>You can also see which actions have changed the status of a ticket by the status box underneath the action name. The "Internal Note" action changed the status from "New" to "In Progress", and the "Reply" action changed the status to "With User", both shown by the coloured status box on that action.</p><p><br></p><p>If an action does not change the status, no status will show on the action.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjZhOWVjMzljLWM2YzUtNGEyZi1iODVkLWQzMGIwZDljNzhhMSJ9.VsNVe8vxtGDwMjQ-T2s37WzdBT1DQ-JCngT1AsxOuRM" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="934" height="501"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 18. Actions on a ticket.</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What is a status?</span></strong></p><p>Statuses are set on a ticket to track its progress. These can be created and customised to your needs, but we will go over the out-of-the-box ones here as a general overview of their use.</p><p><br></p><p>Statuses show in the "Ticket information" area on a ticket. They can be changed manually on the dropdown here, or automatically through actions like we just saw.</p><p><br></p><p>The "Email User" action we looked at changed the status to "With User". By default, this status puts the ticket on hold so the SLA timer pauses, and the ticket does not show in your agents' open tickets list. If the user responds to the ticket, by default this will then change to "Updated" and this takes the ticket off of hold, and puts it back in your agents' lists.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjlmNzdiMTY2LWNlNjQtNGYyZS1hNjQ0LWYxYTRkNzlhY2EzYyJ9.BSOUih_GwqLER71RscxP8NftJVNUTbLQEPeDCecCutw" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="249" height="670"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 19. Status dropdown in Ticket information area.</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What is a system action on a ticket?</span></strong></p><p>System actions are like actions, but ones that the system has created rather than your agents. They appear stating that the action was done via the system instead of an agent name, and show in the Progress Feed the same way regular actions do.</p><p><br></p><p>The action at the top (most recent) is done by an agent, whereas the first action to open the ticket was done by the system.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjljOTJlMzY1LTE1NTMtNGZiMy1hYzE0LTM2OTlmZWFmYjdjNCJ9.juxYfwDJbL3z1dbB0DPlt1T7qIZPfuHy8lMKQ50i_go" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1215" style="width: 1217px; height: 295.03px;" height="295"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 20. System action on a ticket.</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What is an service level agreement/SLA?</span></strong></p><p>Service level agreements, or SLAs, are what are used to track timely response and resolution to the tickets your customers raise, and your agents work on. SLAs will appear on tickets, and based on priority, you can set different timed targets for response and resolution.</p><p><br></p><p>"Response Target" is the time your agents should aim to send a response to the client.</p><p>"Resolution Target" is the time your agents should aim to have the ticket completed and closed by.</p><p><br></p><p>Upon logging the ticket, the grey bar shown in these figures, will show the response target. This is the time your agents should aim to respond within, and the bar will count down until they do.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjU4ZWUwODNhLTBjMWYtNDAzMi1iNzMwLTJlZDIwMDc1YWQwZiJ9.NACknCIZW8B9SKp9BM5YLL56Yp3J_k5nawK8S63d1FE" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="235" height="159"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 21. SLA on a ticket that has not been responded to.</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>After sending a response, the response bar switches to the resolution bar as the response target is only to track the first response. Responses can go back and forth during this time, and the timer will only pause when the ticket is "On Hold" (seen with the blue text underneath). The Response Target line will either show a green tick or a red cross next to it, to indicate whether the target was met or not.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjhhOGM2ZTZmLWY1OGMtNDliMi1iMzgxLWIxMzFjNDRmZDEzMyJ9._ifNhn1uBgmakHH4w5HptjYwyYTZVI8h7o4Lh7Uv0Ws" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="245" height="168"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 22. SLA on a ticket that has been responded to but not resolved/closed.</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>The colour will change from green, to yellow, to orange the closer to these targets it gets to. If the target is missed, the bar will turn red and a red cross icon will appear next to the target time instead of a green tick. In this example below, the neither target was met.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6ImU5M2I2OGEzLTJmNDQtNDU5My1iOTljLTRmMjMxY2ZkYzdjMiJ9.yVyfLUFQCwQq6zsB8BGt2i-ufIt6RjOhhlaWzEunAOQ" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="248" height="167"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 23. SLA on a ticket that has met response target but not resolution.</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What is a custom field?</span></strong></p><p>Custom fields are a way of adding your own information fields with whatever information you would like them to contain. You can have different formats such as text, single selection, multiple selection and checkboxes.</p><p><br></p><p>They can be added to a large list of areas, including customer and assets, but this example shows them in tickets as their most common use.</p><p><br></p><p>The three fields below are located in the "Order Details" custom tab on a ticket (the "Additional Fields" tab is the default area to appear if not set elsewhere). Since it is a single selection field, we can choose one option from the dropdown.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjQzMGE0ZTRiLTJiNTEtNDc2MC1hODY4LThkNTRjYzljM2I1OSJ9.JmHBA0ljbvMyIrAAqAOoyz-2_gmiYIVA6wecMqLNFVs" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="983" height="371"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 24. Single Selection custom field.</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What is a view/list/filter profile/bulk action?</span></strong></p><p>Views, filters, lists and bulk actions all refer to configuration options for ticket lists, so we will discuss these together.</p><p><br></p><p>Views refers to how the list of ticket appears sorted. A default can be set for every agent in Configuration > Tickets > Views > Views section, or per agent in their account > Preferences tab > Tickets dropdown.</p><p><br></p><p>You can switch between views regardless of defaults by clicking the current view at the top (currently "Incidents by Team") and the list underneath will appear.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjdmZGI4YWFjLTQyNTAtNDY2MC1hYzIwLTY5Y2QxYTYzMDgzYiJ9.Af4DCIkqVNOoPMP7EbALy58hGzK42TTjilJOQnYlr8Q" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1219" style="width: 1221px; height: 575.751px;" height="576"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 25. Views area on a ticket list.</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>If you click "My Lists" in this dropdown, you can then access your lists as well. These are custom from Configuration > Workspace > Views > Configure Lists button, where you can create lists and add filters of which tickets are included.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjM3M2EzNmVhLWYyN2YtNDliZS05YWE0LTExODY3ZGQxZWY2OCJ9.GYDQrJtx3bcmHt_qjX4fByGGQRhkMweR_GCT60-hTjc" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="744" height="488"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 26. My Lists view.</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>Filter profiles dictate which tickets appear in these dropdowns.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6ImMwMGE0MmM4LWY5NzQtNDI4Ny1iMWFkLTM3ODg1MGZmZWUwMyJ9.TmZY9gsX4FvOXySePGu9I3QWy5Cx00SACQ9c6Z_zimk" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="378" height="247"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 27. Filter profile dropdown.</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>Custom ones can be created and the built-in ones can be edited in Configuration > Workspace > Views > Configure Filter Profiles button. This "Open Tickets" profile has criteria to exclude tickets closed or on hold.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6ImEzNDVkYzcxLWE3NzYtNGQ5YS04MjEwLTM0NDUyYzZlYmE4NyJ9.JY0HyE5WZ9oFBCrP0LUbIbWfP-Kf4fcfBsfGDGinNgI" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1219" style="width: 1221px; height: 469.496px;" height="469"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 28. Open Tickets filter profile.</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>Bulk actions can be used to change something about a group of tickets, often like status changes to close a few a once. The checkboxes at the left side of the tickets in the list can be selected to choose the tickets, and selecting the box in line with the column titles will select every ticket.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjA4M2VhMGEyLWQ4YmItNDMwNC1hMjE2LTZmNTVjNjU3MTU5ZiJ9.JdZ68aI3FMvOyE8f0dXHgiOPM0ufbKLLLC1KRt4kOP0" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="256" height="298"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 29. Edit button when tickets are ticked.</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>Hovering over the "Edit" button then gives the options of what can be done.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6Ijk1YTQxODA1LTU0MGEtNDVhNi1hODJlLTJlZWJmYjg3ZjMyZCJ9.KWDRJeemASucpq2E04Dur8erW2KwcrUWBvCriQC02YY" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="253" height="767"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 30. Change options.</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What is an asset?</span></strong></p><p>Assets are tangibles your company owns (<em><strong>Note: Not the items you sell</strong></em>). Opening the "Assets" area shows a list format similar to tickets, and the views are configurable on the left side in a similar way.</p><p><br></p><p>The "Assets" area will appear if the "Asset Management" module is enabled in Configuration > Miscellaneous > Asset Management.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6ImUwYjljOTQ0LTE2NjktNGJmYS1iZTQ1LTk0NTcwZWZlY2JkNCJ9.rgq-e4zeAJFeQmxA4qIS_4OI9czxU1-j-6Mjw5Hsegc" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1217" style="width: 1219px; height: 573.909px;" height="574"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 31. Assets list.</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>Opening an asset provides information and details about it in a similar format to the customer overviews. Assets can be linked to tickets, so tickets related to them will show here. You can also set relationships between assets, note warranties, and assign the asset to a site.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6ImFhNmJmZjlhLTA2MzUtNDQzNi05MzU1LWFhNWE1MjhkYTBiZSJ9.kIusCFlSN44cFpxWfeYNZdtteHs3W7BbLyQQKWTxbdM" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1221" style="width: 1223px; height: 576.092px;" height="576"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 32. Asset overview.</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What is an item/product?</span></strong></p><p>Items are the products that can be issued on tickets for instance. They are what are given to your users, unlike the assets you own. </p><p><br></p><p>The Items module will bring up a list of any items within your Halo system, and information associated with them sorted into columns. This module will appear if the "Items and Stock Control" module is enabled in Configuration > Miscellaneous.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjE2NWE1YzA5LTc3MGQtNDlkNS1hYjgyLTgyODIzZjA3ZTNiYyJ9.XuqbQ_vglfZwQTCSKBbKpxM65hEgTGosJpOpadc54E8" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1220" style="width: 1222px; height: 575.922px;" height="576"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 33. Items list.</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>Clicking into an item will bring up its details and associated configuration options. Here you can set names, pricing, cost.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6ImJhNDE1ODYyLWE4ZDAtNDQzMC1hOWQ0LTBlOWFhM2E0MzY2ZCJ9.VMAc7nrzlvFrLmkAiuMZXXbYewgthzwHUhJPP38G5Qo" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1219" style="width: 1221px; height: 571.694px;" height="572"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 34. Item overview.</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>1) Item name, which comes from the "Name" setting at the top of the "Details" tab.</p><p>2) Configuration tabs.</p><p><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What is the reporting suite?</span></strong></p><p>The reporting suite is the area in HaloCRM where reports on data within your instance can be created and stored. If you have knowledge of SQL, you can use this to make your own advanced reports.</p><p><br></p><p>However, do not worry if you do not! There is a query builder where you can enter fields to add, as well as an AI query builder where you can describe what you want to create. There is then also the system data sources you can add.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjU2MzQ4MmNlLTQwMDctNGUyYy04NTUxLTkwMTRjOTJjZTc3MCJ9.qWHiR0PpU3kfsrFCRLMHYaI4Wy5DQwAq1Fa0mbXu4Rg" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1217" style="width: 1219px; height: 572.55px;" height="573"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 35. Reporting suite.</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>1) Report groups to organise reports, My Reports shows ones an agent has saved to their own section.</p><p>2) List of reports within that group.</p><p>3) New report button.</p><p>4) Data sources that can be used to make query builder reports. These can be downloaded from the Online Repository.</p><p>5) Composite reports joins multiple reports in one save, which can then be sent.</p><p>6) Online Repository holds a number of pre-made reports to choose from that can be saved to your own instance. Looking at the SQL of these can be helpful if you are unsure how to create something.</p><p><br></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What is the self-service portal?</span></strong></p><p>The self-service portal is the place where contacts can complete actions within Halo tickets, or view anything made available to them.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6IjY2MjZkNmMyLWVlNTktNDQ3YS04YTI4LWJhOTQ3NjRhMGFkZCJ9.ahuvczDDa_JAfjThObGFUcQMi1kUzTG7B4NoOHnNipo" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1222" style="width: 1224px; height: 591.16px;" height="591"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 36. Self-service portal.</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>1) Organisation logo.</p><p>2) Navigation bar showing buttons to quickly access an area.</p><p>3) Contact profile.</p><p>4) Search bar that searches everything the logged-in contact has access to.</p><p>5) Tiles to navigate to areas of the portal.</p><p>6) Widget showing the most popular knowledge base articles.</p><p><br></p><p>For instance, clicking on the "Log a ticket" tile takes the user to a page to log a ticket with whatever fields have been set on the ticket type form.</p><p><br></p><p><img src="https://halo.haloservicedesk.com/api/attachment/image?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpZCI6Ijc0YjQ2YjU5LTViY2UtNGRkMi05ZDYwLTE5MDJjYjc4ODkzOCJ9.gvMqGYgxB9MtZ8TytSGGyUESv23LGFo9L13wVM68m7c" class="fr-fic fr-fil fr-dib" width="1221" style="width: 1223px; height: 575.417px;" height="575"></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Fig 37. Ticket logging screen for contacts.</span></strong></p><p><br></p><p>The tiles can be used to log tickets, view existing tickets, view the knowledge base, view their assets, link to an external URL... it's really customisable.</p>
