How to integrate SAS Flex with Help Scout

Help Scout is an online support ticket system that enables you to keep track of all new support tickets submitted by your customers, whether online or via phone. If your business uses this software, integrating your account with the Help Scout app in the portal will automatically push data from your calls into your ticketing system. This eliminates the need for you to do double the work, converting messages into Help Scout cases.

In this article we'll discuss:

Connect Your Help Scout with the SAS Help Scout App
Set Contact Data Parameters
Configure Custom Mappings (Optional)
Integrate Help Scout Into Your Script

Connect Help Scout with Your SAS Account

In the SAS Flex portal, click Integrations from the left side menu

From the Apps screen, click the Install button next to the Help Scout logo.

On the next screen, click Connect to my Account. Then, in the pop-up window, select Authorize.

Setting Contact Data Parameters

Now that Help Scout is connected to the app, click Add configuration to begin the setup.

On the next page, name your configuration. This is how your Help Scout integration will be displayed within your SAS Flex portal.

Now, you'll need to tell the system how to manage the caller's contact details. Choose what email address Help Scout will show in each support ticket by selecting an option under Send Data.

If   Send call data on behalf of email provided by caller. is chosen, cases will be created under the email address the caller provides. Note that if the caller does not provide an email address, data will be sent from notifications@sasdesk.com by default.

If   Send call data from notifications@sasdesk.com is chosen, cases will be created under the email address notifications@sasdesk.com.

If   Send data from email address is chosen, cases will be created under the static email address you enter.

Then decide whether you'd like the system to Update and Overwrite existing contact data.

If   Don't update existing contacts. Create new ones. is chosen, SAS will look for an email match in your Help Scout installation. If there is no match, it will create a new case and a new contact. If there is an email match, it will just create a new case.

If   Update contacts by overwriting any data with details from SAS. is chosen, SAS will look for an email match in your Help Scout installation. If there is a match, it will overwrite any existing customer data with data we've received from the call.

If   Update contacts by appending details from SAS without overwriting existing data. is chosen, SAS will look for an email match in your Help Scout installation. If there is a match, it won't overwrite data but will add any new details received.

If you want to enable auto reply when a conversation is created, check off the Enable auto reply box beneath the Additional Settings section.

When you are finished, click Save.

Help Scout Custom Mappings (Optional)

Once the data section is complete, you can map your call data directly to specific Help Scout fields by adding Custom mappings.

Under the Mappings tab, click Add Mapping.

In the first drop down box, select either Collector or Text.

Collector will allow you to use specific SAS script variables to populate Help Scout's support ticket fields. If you select Collector, use the dropdown in the second column to select a script variable.

Text gives you the option to type your own data rather than using SAS variables. If you select Text, the second column will be a blank box where you can type specific information.

After you've completed the second column, you will set the Object, Type and Mapping.

The Object drop down gives you one option: Issue. The Object determines which Help Scout fields will be available.

The Type drop down gives you options for Standard or Custom. Selecting Standard will bring up the default fields for the Object you selected. Setting it to Custom will bring up any custom fields that you have built into your Help Scout system.

If you chose Customer in the Option dropdown, you can only choose the Standard Type option.

The Mapping drop down will display the Standard or Custom fields within your Help Scout setup. Note that depending on your Help Scout configuration, not all fields may map.

Repeat the steps 1-3 until you've completed the custom mappings.

If you want to remove any mapping, hover over the section you want removed and click Delete

When you are finished, click Save.

Back on the main Help Scout page, you can Disable, Edit or Delete your configuration by clicking on the 3-dot icon adjacent to your configuration.

Integrate Help Scout into Your Script

When all of your integration settings are complete, contact SAS at service@specialtyansweringservice.net to add the integration into the appropriate block in your SAS script, or follow these instructions to integrate the app yourself.

If you've disconnected and reconnected your configuration at any point, you'll need to re-integrate it into your script.