Setting up Twilio SMS in your helpdesk

Communicating with your customers on the fly is very important. Not only it is important, but it also provides a better customer support experience while your support ninjas are saving the world.

With Trakdesk twilio SMS Integration, you can send SMS messages to your customers and support agents right inside of your helpdesk account. You can also configure the app to automatically convert SMS messages into support tickets. Additionally, customers and agents can also update existing support tickets by replying to the message thread. 

Setting up Twilio SMS app

1. Login to your helpdesk as an administrator.
2. Go to the Admin Page.
3. Select the Integrations option.
4. Click on the Marketplace button, there you will find all apps that are current available to you.
5. Hover the Twilio SMS app and click on the view option.
6. Once the popup modal has opened. Review the app information and click on the Install App button to install the app. 
7. After the app has been successfully installed, you will be redirected to the configuration page. 
8. If you do not have a Twilio account, go to their website and signup for one. http://twilio.com
9. Once logged into your twilio account, copy your ACCOUNT SID and AUTH TOKEN.Enter your ACCOUNT SID and AUTH TOKEN along with your twilio phone number into the twilio app settings in your helpdesk account. If you would like to automatically convert SMS messages to tickets, make sure to check the "SMS to Ticket" option as well.

   Note: If your phone number contains a + sign at the beginning, do not enter it in the app settings. Example. If your phone number is +1 222-333-444, you must enter it as 1222333444

10. Now, you need to configure the messaging endpoint for your phone number. Click on the "#" icon on the left side menu.
11. Click on the phone number that you would like to configure. Make sure it is the same number you have setup in the twilio app settings in your helpdesk account.

    Note: If you do not yet have a twilio phone number, you will need to purchase one. 

    
12. Finally, let's configure the messaging endpoint. Under the Configure tab, scroll down to the Messaging section and configure it with the following settings:

    CONFIGURE WITH: Webhooks/TwiML
    A MESSAGE COMES IN: Webhook - https://yourhelpdesk.trakdesk.com/apps/twilio/sms/

    
13. That is all. You can test the integration by sending a message to your twilio phone number.
    Notify agents when SMS messages are converted into support tickets with event-based automation.

Sending SMS messages from your helpdesk

1. Login to your helpdesk as an agent.
2. Open any ticket in your helpdesk.
3. While viewing the ticket, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the Phone icon in the message action section.
   
4. Now, enter the phone number you would like to send the SMS to, along with your message.

   Note: If the requester of the ticket has a mobile number setup in his/her profile, it will automatically populate the phone number in the SMS To field.

   
5. Finally, click on the Send SMS button to send the message.
   Sending SMS notifications for SLA violations.

Updating existing tickets

You can update existing tickets by inserting the ticket number in your message reply.

For example:

Hello support team,
The problem has been resolved, you can close the ticket. #7550#
Thank you

Note: The ticket number will be stripped from the reply.