Zendesk → Help Scout
Import Zendesk tickets and customer profiles into Help Scout with Import2 after users and inboxes exist. The knowledge base needs Help Scout's older Zendesk tool, and macros and triggers stay behind.
Should you make this move?
Both platforms have a case. Compare what you gain with what you give up before scheduling the cutover.
Zendesk
- Mature ticketing, omnichannel support, help centers, routing, SLAs, and ecosystem depth serve complex teams
- Tickets, customer context, knowledge, automation, and service reporting share one operating system
- Customization, administration, licensing, and source-specific ticket semantics make migrations demanding
- Conversation visibility, routing logic, SLAs, and reporting history are hard to reproduce exactly
Help Scout
- Shared inboxes, Docs, and Beacon keep email support and self-service in one desk
- Tickets, customer context, knowledge, automation, and service reporting share one operating system
- Import2 skips users, workflows, and the knowledge base, and a full archive leaves through the API
- Conversation visibility, routing logic, SLAs, and reporting history are hard to reproduce exactly
Help Scout: Shared inboxes, Docs, and Beacon keep email support and self-service in one desk. This removes a major source-side concern: Customization, administration, licensing, and source-specific ticket semantics make migrations demanding.
What you lose: Mature ticketing, omnichannel support, help centers, routing, SLAs, and ecosystem depth serve complex teams. What you inherit: Import2 skips users, workflows, and the knowledge base, and a full archive leaves through the API.
Jump to a section
Know the shape of the move.
This timeline assumes
- An Account Owner or Admin on Standard, Plus, or Pro runs the import from Help Scout. Users and inboxes exist before the sample import.
- You want tickets and the customer profiles on those tickets. Docs are a separate step. Help Scout says not to start Import2 first if you also need the knowledge base, or you can get duplicates.
- You can change mail forwarding from the Zendesk address to the Help Scout inbox address before the full import.
- The site already documents Zendesk → Freshdesk and Zendesk → Intercom if the destination is a different desk.
What survives the move.
“Partial” and “manual” are not footnotes. They are work that must be scheduled and verified.
| Item | Outcome | Impact | What happens | Mitigation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Users and inbox settings | manual | critical | Help Scout's import article says users and inbox settings are not imported. Create them before the sample so data can map. The tool is for Account Owners and Administrators on Standard, Plus, and Pro. | Create every agent and inbox first. Match them to Zendesk before you connect Import2. |
| Knowledge base | partial | critical | Import2 does not import help center articles. Help Scout's Zendesk guide says forum and help center articles by admins or agents can move if you ask them to switch the account to an older tool first. Starting Import2 before that can duplicate data. Articles owned by deleted Zendesk agents are reassigned to the Help Scout account owner. | Write to Help Scout before any import if Docs must move. Follow the instructions they send for that tool. |
| Macros and triggers | manual | high | The Zendesk guide says macros and triggers are not imported. Saved Replies and Workflows are the Help Scout equivalents. The switching guide says rules, macros, and saved replies are not transferred from any of the listed desks. | Export or copy the text you still need. Recreate Saved Replies and Workflows by hand. |
| Ticket type and problem links | lost | high | Help Scout says it has no ticket type field. Problem and incident tickets still import, and they are not linked. | If those links matter, note them before the import. Tags or a custom field are the replacements Help Scout points at for types. |
| Custom fields | partial | high | The Zendesk guide, updated 8 September 2026, says Zendesk custom fields can be mapped to Help Scout fields you create first, and unmapped fields do not import. The general import article, updated 18 October 2026, lists custom fields, ticket types, and custom statuses as data the tool does not include. | Create the Help Scout fields you care about. Read the sample mapping. Do not promise a field until that screen shows it. |
| Status names | partial | medium | Help Scout's table maps Zendesk Open to Active, On-hold to Pending, and Solved or Closed to Closed. An Open status on other desks is Active. Resolved elsewhere is Closed. | Tell the team the folder names before cutover. Check a solved ticket lands in Closed. |
| Tags | clean | low | Help Scout says Zendesk tags import onto the same tickets, and tags or labels from other desks become Tags. Nothing marks a conversation as imported unless you tag the source first. They suggest a tag such as imported. | Tag Zendesk tickets before the sample if you need to find the import later. |
| Mail and other ticket sources | manual | critical | Forwarding that sends [email protected] to a Zendesk address has to send to the Help Scout inbox, which looks like [email protected]. Help Scout says to switch forwarding and other ticket sources before the full import so new mail is not stranded. The team should stop working in Zendesk when the full import starts, and ideally should not work in Help Scout until it finishes. Do not change source records during the import. | List every form, alias, and integration. Switch them in the same window as the full import. |
| Import price | partial | medium | Help Scout says imports of 500,000 records or fewer are free when you start them inside Help Scout. Above that, the Help Scout account is billed $500 per 500,000 records, including the first 500,000. Their example is $1,000 for 1 million records. | Count records before the full run if you might cross 500,000. |
| Customer Portal | manual | low | Customer Portal is a Help Scout feature on Plus and Pro. It is not something Import2 turns on. Account Owners and Administrators enable it in Settings. | Turn it on only if customers should see history on the web. Beacon can also show previous conversations to identified visitors. |
Where each thing goes.
| Source | Destination | Method | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ticket | Conversation | automatic | Import2, after users and inboxes exist. |
| Requester | Customer profile | automatic | Profiles associated with the tickets come with the import. |
| Open | Active | transform | Help Scout's status table. |
| On-hold | Pending | transform | Same table. |
| Solved or Closed | Closed | transform | Both Zendesk statuses map to Closed. |
| Tag | Tag | automatic | Add an imported tag on the Zendesk side first if you need one. |
| Macro | Saved Reply | manual | Not imported. |
| Trigger | Workflow | manual | Not imported. |
| Help center article | Docs article | manual | Ask Help Scout for the older Zendesk tool before Import2. |
Make the move recoverable.
Create the source-of-truth backup
Keep Zendesk intact until the sample mappings are accepted and forwarding has a rollback.
- Export or copy the macros and triggers you will recreate.
- List every address and form that creates a ticket.
- Tag source tickets with imported if you want to find them later.
- Leave Zendesk users able to read history until the full import is reviewed.
Proof to capture: The macro notes, the source list, and the sample import email are stored.
Sample import
See mappings before mail moves.
- Create users and inboxes.
- If Docs must move, stop and ask Help Scout for the older tool.
- Open Settings, Import Data, choose Zendesk, and run the sample.
- Review objects, field mappings, filters, and mailboxes before the full run.
Proof to capture: Save the input, output, command or tool settings, warnings, and final item counts.
Forwarding cutover
Send new mail to Help Scout without stranding it in Zendesk.
- Change the forward from the Zendesk address to the Help Scout inbox address.
- Switch forms and integrations in the same window.
- Start the full import.
- Stop Zendesk edits. Avoid Help Scout edits until Import2 finishes.
Proof to capture: Save the input, output, command or tool settings, warnings, and final item counts.
The things most likely to hurt.
These are operating limits. Treat every “Stop if” condition as a blocked migration, not a suggestion.
Import2 starts before Docs
You need the help center and you already clicked the standard import.
- Consequence
- Help Scout says that order can duplicate imported data.
- Mitigation
- Ask them to switch tools first.
Stop if: Docs are in scope and Import2 has already run.
Agents keep editing both desks
Zendesk is still open for replies during the full import.
- Consequence
- Help Scout says not to change source records while the import runs, and new replies can miss the file.
- Mitigation
- Stop Zendesk work when the full import starts.
Stop if: You cannot pause the queue for the import window.
Forwarding flips late
The full import starts and mail still forwards to Zendesk.
- Consequence
- New tickets land in the desk you are leaving.
- Mitigation
- Switch forwarding before Start Full migration.
Stop if: You cannot list every source that still points at Zendesk.
Do the work in this order.
- Days 1 to 3 · inventory
People, inboxes, and sources
4 to 8 hours active2 to 3 days elapsedAgent invites waiting- Create Help Scout users and inboxes.
- List mail sources.
- Decide whether Docs are in scope.
Depends on: Owner or Admin on a paid Help Scout plan
Stop / go checkpointSample, or ask about Docs first?
Go when: Users and inboxes exist, and Docs are either out of scope or already requested.
Stop when: You need articles and have not written to Help Scout.
- Days 3 to 4 · backup
Macros and a source tag
2 to 4 hours active1 day elapsedCopying replies waiting- Copy macros and triggers.
- Tag Zendesk tickets if you want an imported marker.
Depends on: Inventory
Stop / go checkpointCan you rebuild the replies?
Go when: The text you need is outside Zendesk.
Stop when: A macro you will use on day one is only inside Zendesk.
- Days 4 to 8 · pilot
Sample import
3 to 6 hours active2 to 4 days elapsedImport2 email waiting- Connect Zendesk and Help Scout.
- Review mappings.
- Check one open, one on-hold, and one solved ticket.
Depends on: Users and inboxes
Stop / go checkpointFull import?
Go when: Statuses and tags match the table, and any custom field you need is visible.
Stop when: The October import article's exclusion shows up as a missing field you cannot drop.
- Days 8 to 10 · cutover
Forwarding and full import
2 to 4 hours active1 to 2 days elapsedFull migration waiting- Switch forwarding.
- Start the full import.
- Pause Zendesk edits.
Depends on: Passed sample
Stop / go checkpointWork in Help Scout?
Go when: Import2 reports complete and a new mail arrives in the inbox.
Stop when: Mail still arrives in Zendesk.
- Days 10 to 17 · observe
A week of new mail
3 to 5 hours active5 to 7 days elapsedLive queue waiting- Watch for stranded sources.
- Rebuild the first workflows.
- Keep Zendesk readable.
Depends on: Full import
Stop / go checkpointClose Zendesk replies?
Go when: New mail is only in Help Scout and the sample tickets look right.
Stop when: A form still creates Zendesk tickets.
Cut over with a way back.
Cutover
Put new conversations in Help Scout and finish the ticket import without editing Zendesk in the middle.
- Finish the sample review.
- Switch forwarding and the other ticket sources.
- Start the full Import2 migration.
- Stop replies in Zendesk until it finishes.
- Reply from Help Scout after the completion email, then check one new message and one old ticket.
Proof to capture: A new email is in Help Scout, a solved Zendesk ticket is Closed, and Zendesk was not edited during the run.
Rollback
Send mail back to Zendesk if the import mappings or forwarding are wrong.
- Point forwarding back at the Zendesk address.
- Tell the team which desk is allowed to reply.
- Export any Help Scout replies that have no Zendesk copy.
- Review those replies before you paste them into Zendesk.
- Leave the Import2 result in place until you decide whether to undo it with Import2.
Proof to capture: New mail arrives in Zendesk, and Help Scout-only replies are listed.
- Docs were imported twice
- A custom field you required is missing
- Mail still arrives in Zendesk after the switch
- Agents edited Zendesk during the full import
- Solved tickets did not land in Closed
Prove the migration worked.
Every blocking check must pass. Capture the evidence before cleanup begins.
| Pass | ID | Check | Method | Expected result | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
V-01Blocking | Plan and role | Confirm Owner or Admin on Standard, Plus, or Pro. | Import Data is available. | Help Scout settings. | |
V-02Blocking | Users and inboxes | Compare Zendesk agents and addresses with Help Scout. | Each one exists before the sample. | User list. | |
V-03Blocking | Tool order | If articles are in scope, confirm Help Scout switched tools before Import2. | You did not start the standard import first. | Help Scout reply. | |
V-04Blocking | Three tickets | Open one Open, one On-hold, and one Solved ticket in Help Scout. | Active, Pending, and Closed. | Sample review. | |
V-05Blocking | Mapping screen | Read Import2 field mappings against the fields you promised. | Each required field is mapped, or you have dropped it on purpose. | Mapping screen. | |
V-06 | imported tag | Search the tag if you added one. | Imported conversations can be found. | Tag search. | |
V-07Blocking | New message | Send a message to the public support address after the forward change. | It arrives in Help Scout, not Zendesk. | Test email. | |
V-08Blocking | Record count | Read Import2's count before the full run if you may exceed 500,000. | You accept the free tier or the $500-per-500,000 billing Help Scout describes. | Import2 status. |
Remove the scaffolding safely.
Safe after: New mail arrives only in Help Scout, sample statuses match, and Zendesk was not edited during the full import.
- Rebuild the Saved Replies and Workflows you copied.
- Keep Zendesk readable until rollback closes.
- Remove leftover forwards that still point at Zendesk.
- Store the Import2 completion email with the source list.
- Turn on Customer Portal only if Plus or Pro customers should see history.
- Schedule a pass over tags once the queue is calm.
When the plan met reality.
First-hand accounts are preferred. Vendor case studies are labeled, and every note below is an editorial paraphrase—follow the link for the full context.
On 22 May 2016, benrict wrote on Hacker News that their team had switched from Zendesk to Help Scout. The reason he gives is the docs portal, which did not fit, including markdown editing and other details he no longer remembered. He says the migration was painless and that Zendesk issues were imported into Help Scout. He prefers the interface, and he likes that a customer email looks like a normal email, without an issue number in the subject or a special signature. He says they use it for conversations and cannot speak to the knowledge base. He does not name the company or the ticket count. The comment is a finished import as he experienced it in 2016, not a current Import2 walkthrough.
- Treat a short public comment as proof that an import can finish, then still run Help Scout's current sample import before you trust mappings.
- Decide whether the knowledge base is in scope. This team left that question open after the ticket import.
- benrict's reason for leaving Zendesk was the docs portal, and the ticket import itself is what he calls painless.
- The customer-facing change he valued was a plain email, without a ticket number in the subject.
Verify against the primary material.
Platform behavior changes. Check these sources and the review dates above before executing a production migration.
- Help Scout: move from ZendeskAccessed 2026-11-04
- Help Scout: import emails or ticketsAccessed 2026-11-04
- Help Scout: switching help desksAccessed 2026-11-04