Zapier, API, and Webhooks
HelpSpot's Zapier app starts Zaps on new or updated requests and can create or update requests, so Slack, Jira, PagerDuty, and other Zapier apps can join the workflow. The HTTP API and webhooks cover custom work.
Email and portal ticketing for internal IT
IT service desk software
for your own IT team.
Employees email IT or use a portal. Each request waits in a shared Inbox or belongs to one tech, and category rules you configure can assign it. Handle outage floods and scheduled maintenance in our US or EU cloud, or on your own servers.
What HelpSpot is
Software for the IT team you already have. Not an outsourced help desk.
HelpSpot is a ticketing system your IT staff use to receive, assign, and resolve requests from employees. We don't supply technicians, answer your users' calls, or manage your devices. If you want another company to run IT support, you need a managed IT provider or outsourced help desk service.
Inbox or one owner
A request waits unassigned in the shared Inbox or belongs to exactly one person, with its notes and field changes kept in a single history.
Routing you configure
Categories can auto-assign by round-robin, fewest open requests, a default contact, or at random. Triggers and automation rules handle exceptions. Anything no rule assigns stays in the Inbox.
Outages and scheduled work
Reply once to the tickets you select from one outage. Recurring requests create maintenance tasks on a schedule.
Self-service and hosting choice
A request portal and knowledge base for employees. US Cloud, EU Cloud, or self-hosted at the same price.
Stop struggling with your tools
IT needs precision, not complexity.
Shared Inbox or Heavy Suite
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Slow Rollouts
Long configuration projects before the first request is routed.
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Missing Context
Techs ask for the same department, device, and location details on every ticket.
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Manual Triage
Someone reads every request and forwards it to the right tech.
HelpSpot
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Guided Setup
Categories, routing, and mailboxes configured with your team through free onboarding.
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Data You Already Have
Live Lookup runs a script you configure to show employee and device details from your directory or asset database in the ticket.
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Rule-Based Routing
Triggers and category assignment you configure can route requests as they arrive.
Common IT Headaches, Solved
Patterns internal IT teams bring to HelpSpot.
Problem
Black Hole
Requests get lost in shared inboxes with no accountability.
Solution
Clear Ownership
Each ticket either waits in the shared Inbox or has one assigned owner, with a status and a full history.
Problem
Side-Channel Requests
Staff message a tech directly because the official process is a chore.
Solution
Easy Intake
Employees email the IT address or use the portal. The portal can use LDAP/Active Directory sign-in, or SAML when staff SAML is enabled.
Problem
Password Fatigue
Endless "reset my password" tickets clogging the queue.
Solution
Self-Service
Publish reset steps and how-tos in the knowledge base so staff can try them before opening a ticket.
The IT Workflow
From chaos to closed in three steps.
01
Capture
Collect requests from email, the portal, and the API in one workspace, and log phone calls as tickets.
02
Automate
Triggers you configure route hardware issues to the desktop team and monitoring alerts to the server admins.
03
Resolve
Use knowledge base articles and saved responses to fix common issues faster.
Smart Triage
Route tickets to the right tech
Each category has its own staff list and can auto-assign by round-robin, fewest open requests, a default contact, or at random. Triggers and automation rules handle exceptions, like sending network alerts to the server admins or reassigning a request nobody has updated in a day. Requests no rule assigns wait in the shared Inbox, where the whole team can see them.
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A staff list for each category
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Round-robin or fewest-open-requests assignment
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Triggers that assign requests on arrival
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Time-based escalation rules
Incoming Ticket
IF
Hardware Issue
Desktop Team
IF
Network Alert
Server Admins
IF
Password Reset
Tier 1 Support
Round Robin Assignment
Balance workload across team
Ready to simplify your support?
Batch Operations
Handle 100 tickets like 1
Server down? VPN outage? Software rollout issue? When one incident generates hundreds of tickets, select them all and send a single status update to every affected user. Each ticket stays separate, so people can still reply individually. Save the filter to send follow-ups as the situation develops.
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Select every ticket a filter shows
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Batch assign, change status, or close
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Batch respond with one status update to all affected users
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Merge duplicate reports from the same person
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Save the filter to message the same group again later
83 selected
Filter: VPN Outage 2/10
VPN not connecting - remote access down
jsmith@company.com
Cannot reach internal servers via VPN
aroberts@company.com
VPN disconnects immediately after login
mgarcia@company.com
Remote desktop not working - VPN issue?
kwilson@company.com
VPN connection timeout error
pjones@company.com
+ 78 more tickets selected
Live Lookup
Active Directory
Connected
Employee
John Smith
Department
Marketing
Manager
Sarah Johnson
Computer
MKT-JSMITH-01
Office
Building A, Floor 3
Live Lookup
Know who you're helping and what they're using
If your directory, asset inventory, or HR system already holds the data, Live Lookup can show it in the ticket: a user's department, manager, assigned computer, and office. It calls a small script you configure, so HelpSpot reads data you already keep. Live Lookup is a lookup, not device discovery.
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Active Directory, asset database, or HR system you already run
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A lookup script you control, over HTTP or the command line
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Can fill custom fields when a request arrives
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Reads live data, so there is no sync job
Enterprise security.
Your control.
Built for organizations that take data sovereignty seriously.
F-01
On-Premise Option
Run HelpSpot on your own servers behind your firewall. Full control over your data. Learn more.
F-02
SAML Single Sign-On
SAML 2.0 for staff sign-in, with setup guides for Microsoft Entra ID and Google Workspace. Native LDAP/Active Directory login is also available.
F-03
Permission Groups
Silo data by team. HR sees HR tickets. Desktop support sees desktop tickets.
F-04
History and Audit Log
Each request keeps its notes and field changes in order. An audit log, on by default, records logins and admin changes, such as staff, trigger, and permission edits.
Tools for the day-to-day IT queue
Dark Mode
Native dark mode support for those late-night deployment shifts. Easy on the eyes, professional, and built-in.
Response-Time Rules
Automation rules act on request age or time since the last update, then notify, reassign, or mark requests urgent.
Collision Detection
See who else is viewing a ticket in real time, so two techs don't unknowingly answer the same request.
Time Tracking
Track time spent on every ticket for billing or internal resource planning.
Multi-Department Support
Run IT, HR, and Facilities from one HelpSpot. Each team gets their own categories, portals, and mailboxes while you maintain central oversight.
Recurring Requests
Turn a saved response into a scheduled ticket: daily, workdays, weekly, monthly, quarterly, twice a year, or yearly, with category, assignee, and status preset.
Six things to test in your trial
Run a week of real IT requests through HelpSpot during the 21-day trial. These checks show whether it fits how your team works.
F-01
Routing and ownership
Set up desktop, network, and accounts categories plus one trigger. Send ten sample requests and confirm each reaches the owner you expect, and that anything no rule matches waits in the Inbox.
F-02
Outage day
Open test tickets about one outage plus a few unrelated ones. Filter and batch reply, then confirm the update reached only the outage tickets. Send a follow-up from the saved filter.
F-03
Recurring work
Turn a weekly task, like checking backup logs, into a recurring request. Confirm it arrives on schedule with the right category and assignee.
F-04
Restricted categories
Limit a category, such as HR or security, with permission groups. Sign in with two staff accounts and confirm each sees only the requests it should.
F-05
Sign-in and directory data
Test staff login with SAML or LDAP/Active Directory, and employee login to the portal. Run one Live Lookup against a test directory or asset database and check the fields it fills.
F-06
Self-service and reports
Have an employee find a fix in the knowledge base, then submit a portal request and confirm it lands in the intended category. Check workload and response times in reporting.
Is HelpSpot the right kind of IT tool?
HelpSpot is a focused service desk for internal IT. Some needs call for a different kind of product, or a service provider instead of software.
Look elsewhere if you need
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People to do the IT work. Outsourced help desks and managed IT providers supply technicians. HelpSpot supplies software.
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Device discovery or a CMDB as your system of record. Live Lookup reads asset data you already keep through a configured script. It is not a discovery tool.
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Formal ITIL change and problem processes, a service catalog, or multi-step approvals. Confirm whether categories, custom fields, and rules cover them, or compare a broader ITSM platform.
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Business-hours SLA clocks with pauses. HelpSpot uses configured response targets and late-response filters, so validate the clocks, pauses, and reports your policy needs.
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Chat or phone as your main intake channel. HelpSpot is built email-first, with a web portal.
HelpSpot fits when
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Your own IT staff answer requests from employees, students, or other departments.
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Each request needs one clear owner and a history you can review later.
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Routing by category, round-robin, workload, and rules covers your process.
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Outages and scheduled maintenance create predictable bursts of tickets.
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You want US or EU cloud hosting, or your own servers, at the same price.
Trusted by IT pros since 2005
From small teams to the US Space Force.
"I started my professional career in IT in 1995. Now that we are starting to more fully utilize HelpSpot I must say that it is by far the best help desk tool I have ever evaluated and/or used. We simply could never live without it."
Matthew Foust
Director of IT, Audiofile Engineering
Bio Fire Defense
"HelpSpot has been a huge time saver for our IT department. It's the best Helpdesk platform I have ever used in my 15 years in the industry."
Shawn Matheson
IT Manager
X-Formation
"We've integrated HelpSpot with Jira so we can quickly push requests from HelpSpot into Jira for further processing. HelpSpot makes this easy."
Henrik Goldman
CTO
St. Andrew's School
"HelpSpot has allowed our technology team of 6 to serve a community of 450 faculty, students, and staff. It keeps us on top of issues and organized."
Peter Hoopes
Director of Technology
"It was overwhelming. But I'm glad we had HelpSpot."
Lisa DeLapo
Director of Instructional and Information Technology, Union School District
Deploy Your Way
Same price, same features. Choose the deployment that works for you.
Same powerful features and pricing across all hosting options.
US Cloud
CloudUS-East Region
Dedicated AWS infrastructure with 99.9% uptime. Managed updates and automated backups.
EU Cloud
CloudFrankfurt Region
GDPR-compliant hosting. Full data sovereignty with all information isolated within the EU.
Self-Hosted
EnterpriseOn-Premise Infrastructure
Complete control on your own hardware. Ideal for air-gapped networks or strict compliance.
Maximum Control & Data ResidencyBuilt for Scale
HelpSpot has been refined for over 20 years under extreme conditions. Example stats from a longtime customer:
10M+
Tickets
50M+
Emails Processed
500+
Mailboxes
50+
Portals
Battle-Tested Infrastructure
Trusted by the United States Space Force, Northrop Grumman, and the University of Michigan for mission-critical support.
Common IT Questions
Software. HelpSpot is a ticketing system your own IT staff use to manage requests from employees. Our team helps your admins with onboarding and product support, but we do not provide technicians or answer your users' IT questions. If you want another company to handle IT support, look for a managed IT provider or outsourced help desk service.
Pricing is annual and based on team size, with every feature included. Plans start at $899/year for 3 agents, and 10 agents cost $2,199/year. Licenses cover staff who log in to manage tickets, run reports, or administer HelpSpot. Employees who only submit requests do not need one. Cloud and self-hosted cost the same. See pricing for other team sizes and the 21-day trial.
Yes. HelpSpot offers a fully supported On-Premise version that you can run on your own Linux or Windows servers. It is the exact same software as our Cloud version, with the same price. Self-hosting also lets Live Lookup reach internal systems that are not exposed to the internet. Check the system requirements before you install.
Yes. Staff can sign in with native LDAP/Active Directory authentication, and the employee portal can use LDAP/AD as well. Live Lookup can also pull user details from AD into tickets through a small script. The HelpSpot docs include sample Active Directory lookups.
Through Live Lookup. A script you configure reads asset or directory data you already keep and shows it in the ticket, and custom fields can record a device name or serial number on each request. Live Lookup is a lookup, not device discovery or a CMDB. If you need those, check whether your existing asset tool plus Live Lookup covers the workflow, or evaluate a dedicated asset or ITSM platform.
ServiceNow and Jira Service Management are built for broader IT service management. Depending on the package or plan, they add change processes, service catalogs, asset and configuration management, and approval workflows. Atlassian, for example, lists CAB-style change approvals and advanced asset management under Jira Service Management Premium. HelpSpot focuses on the request queue: intake, ownership, routing, and resolution. If you need change approvals, a catalog, or a CMDB, test those requirements during the trial or ask our team. If your team mainly needs a well-run queue, read our notes on switching from ServiceNow or Jira Service Management.
You configure response targets with automation rules and filters. Live conditions, like request age and time since the last update, can trigger notifications, reassignment, or urgency. First-response speed is historical: it measures the time from opening to the first staff reply, so filters on it review answered requests that missed a target, not requests still waiting. Business-hours first-response speed is a display column, not a filter condition. Before you buy, confirm the clocks, pauses, and reports your policy requires.
Absolutely. Permission Groups allow you to silo data so that HR cannot see IT tickets, and Desktop Support cannot see Server Admin tickets, if desired. Many organizations also use HelpSpot to manage HR and Facilities requests alongside IT.
Yes. HelpSpot supports SAML 2.0 for staff sign-in. The admin manual has setup guides for Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD) and Google Workspace. Other SAML 2.0 identity providers are configured with the same entity ID, SSO URL, and certificate settings. Once staff SAML is enabled, the employee portal can use SAML too.
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