Support has always been the backbone of the services that Frappe offers. From the time we began providing support in 2010 with just Umair in our team, we utilized the support module of ERPNext to manage customer tickets. In those early days, the module was quite basic, allowing for the creation, replies, and closure of tickets.

As our offerings expanded and our customer base grew, the demand for more features increased. To enhance our response times and track SLAs as promised in contracts, we added a reverse countdown feature to the core product, and we started collecting feedback in response to repeated support escalations via email and social media. This led to the gradual enhancement of the ERPNext support module to better meet our needs. However, over time, development on this module slowed and was mostly confined to bug fixes.

In 2021, Frappe experienced a wave of new product development, and Frappe Helpdesk emerged from this initiative. Our goal was to build a modern, open-source ticketing system to enhance the support experience for both our customers and our support team. The first team to adopt Helpdesk was the Frappe Cloud team around 2022. At that time, Frappe Cloud was still a new offering with a relatively small customer base and ticket volume, making it an ideal testing ground for Helpdesk. It performed well for their needs.

Why we migrated to Frappe Helpdesk

Helpdesk had already proven stable for Frappe Cloud support. However, managing two separate support portals—one for ERPNext and Framework, and one for Frappe Cloud—was becoming cumbersome. The Frappe Cloud team was using an older version of Helpdesk, while the latest version wasn’t being utilized. We decided it was time to fully migrate our support operations to Helpdesk. This move would streamline our support processes and expose Helpdesk to a broader range of use cases. Dogfooding our apps is a core principle, and this migration aligned perfectly with that.

So we decided to officially migrate to Frappe Helpdesk from our older support portal on 1st August 2023.

Frappe Helpdesk in action

Of course, like any significant change, this migration was met with some initial resistance. Adapting to the new system took about 1-2 weeks as we worked through edge cases and stabilized the processes. But the effort paid off, and the transition was well worth it.

Since the migration, Frappe Helpdesk has become our primary tool for managing customer support across all our products, including ERPNext, Framework, and Frappe Cloud. We’ve handled around 13,000 tickets, averaging over 1,000 tickets each month. Since the move, over 600 customers have used our portal.

Our support team, which has around 25 agents divided into 10 teams, works daily to handle these tickets. We’ve set up 4 different SLAs to meet various customer needs and use server scripts to automate processes.

All support requests come through our portal at support.frappe.io or via email, so our agents work from a single ticket queue. We’ve also set different ticket priorities with their own SLAs to ensure timely responses.

To help reduce the number of tickets, we have help articles in the knowledge base that customers see before raising tickets. Our support team uses pre-written responses to handle common questions quickly. We’ve also set up assignment rules to ensure tickets go to the right team and agent based on specific conditions.

Additionally, the discussion feed in Helpdesk allows team members to collaborate internally, ensuring that the best solutions are discussed and agreed upon before responding to the customer. We also collect customer ratings and feedback on each ticket closure to continuously improve our service.

Finally, we’ve integrated Frappe Insights to pull data from our support portal, allowing us to monitor and analyze our support operations effectively.

Frappe Helpdesk has not only consolidated our support operations into a single platform but has also significantly reduced our operational burden. By centralizing everything in one place, it has improved visibility for the entire team, enhanced tracking of SLAs, and streamlined feedback collection. As a result, we’ve seen a noticeable improvement in our efficiency and overall support quality.

Why you should use Frappe Helpdesk

Good customer support is crucial for any business, as retaining existing customers is significantly more cost-effective than acquiring new ones. A well-defined support process is essential, and a comprehensive tool that manages everything—from ticket creation and handling, to SLA management, closure, and customer feedback—can make a huge difference.

As a product, Frappe Helpdesk is truly effective. It’s simple, straightforward, and customizable. It provides nearly all the features needed for managing support operations. Don't just take our word for it, also check what our customers have to say.

But let’s set aside any biases and look at it from a purely business perspective. Frappe Helpdesk is affordable due to its open-source nature. This means you get all the essential features without the burden of licensing fees. The minimal cost you see is only for hosting, starting at just $5/month (₹410/month). For small and medium-sized businesses looking to scale their support operations efficiently, Frappe Helpdesk on Frappe Cloud is an excellent choice with no limits to the number of users.

Imagine this: You start with a support team of 5 members. Popular per-user-based helpdesk tools in the market could cost you anywhere from $12 to $60 per agent per month. That’s already up to $300 a month. Now, as your team grows to 20 members, those costs could skyrocket to $600 - $1200 monthly!

But with Frappe Helpdesk, you get all these features for free, and hosting starts at just $5. Depending on your usage, you could end up saving over 80% on your current support costs! That’s a significant win for your budget! 💰😉

Seems exciting? Give it a shot!