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BoldDesk Zapier integrationAutomate BoldDesk with Zapier.

The BoldDesk Zapier integration gives you 8 triggers, 8 actions and 6 searches, and every trigger is instant, even on the free plan. Here is what each one does, what it costs on your plan, and where a support Zap tends to break.

See the 22 operations

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Overview

What the BoldDesk Zapier integration actually does for your help desk

BoldDesk is a help desk: tickets, contacts and contact groups in one place. The Zapier integration lets BoldDesk start an automation when something happens there, and lets other steps write back into it. You get 22 operations, and all 8 triggers are instant, so even the free plan reacts the moment a ticket moves.

Three results people build first. A paper trail without copy-paste: when a customer replies, Create Ticket Reply starts the Zap and Create Ticket Note drops an internal note for the next agent. A contact base that stays clean: Find Contact looks a customer up by email, then Update Contact corrects the record instead of creating a twin. Tickets opened from elsewhere: a step in another tool feeds Create Ticket, and the request shows up in the queue like any other.

Now the limits. No action deletes a ticket, a contact or a group, and no trigger watches a deletion. The searches look one item up by its ID, its email, its name or an external reference, nothing broader, and none of them comes with a find-or-create variant, so looking up and creating stay two separate steps. And because each Zap starts from one event, anything that happened before you publish it stays where it is.

Comparing platforms? The same app has its own page on the Make side: BoldDesk Make integration.

Vocabulary

Zapier words you will meet on this page

Seven terms, one line each. Once explained, the page uses them without a reminder.

Zap
The automation you build on Zapier: one trigger, then one or more actions that run every time that event happens.
Trigger
The event in an app that starts the Zap. Once the Zap is on, Zapier waits for it and does nothing until it happens.
Action
What the Zap does after it starts: the step that writes, sends or updates something for you in an app.
Task
The unit Zapier bills. One task is one action your Zap completes successfully, and your plan counts those.
Polling vs instant
A polling trigger is checked on a timer. An instant trigger is reported by the app itself the moment the event happens.
Filter
A step that lets the Zap go on only when what arrived meets your condition, and stops it quietly otherwise.
Search step
A step that looks up something already in an app, so the steps after it can use what it found.
Cost

What a BoldDesk Zap costs you in tasks

BoldDesk is not a premium app, so it works from the free plan. The bill is counted in tasks, not in triggers.

  • Free plan100 tasks a month, unlimited Zaps
  • Zap size on Free2 steps: one trigger, one action
  • Premium appNo, BoldDesk runs on the free plan
  • BoldDesk triggers8 instant, so the interval grid does not apply

The trigger never costs a task, and neither does Zapier waiting for events. Each action that succeeds counts once, so a Zap with three actions eats three times what a one-action Zap does. An action that fails is not counted. The catch on the free plan: Zaps of two steps only. Add a filter or a search and the Zap becomes multi-step, which needs a paid plan. Since every BoldDesk trigger is instant, the interval grid below never slows you down.

Connect

Connect your BoldDesk account to Zapier

  1. 01

    Open the Apps page

    In your Zapier account, go to Apps and click + Add connection. A connection is your BoldDesk account linked once, then reused by every Zap step that touches BoldDesk.

  2. 02

    Pick BoldDesk

    Type BoldDesk in the search box of the dialog, select it, then confirm with Add connection. A new tab opens on the BoldDesk side, where the sign-in happens.

  3. 03

    Sign in and grant access

    Log in to BoldDesk in that tab and allow Zapier to reach the account. You need a BoldDesk account, plus read or write rights on any ticket or contact you do not own and want the Zap to change.

First Zap

Your first Zap: flag refund requests with an internal note

GoalWhen a customer replies on a ticket and the reply mentions a refund, add an internal note so the billing agent sees it.

  1. 01

    Build: set the trigger

    Start a new Zap and pick BoldDesk with Create Ticket Reply as the event. Choose your BoldDesk connection. The trigger is instant, so it fires as soon as the reply exists.

  2. 02

    Test the trigger

    Run the Test. Zapier brings back the three most recent replies from your account, so you map the next steps on a real one instead of a guess.

  3. 03

    Add the filter

    From the plus icon, add a Filter. Pick the field of the reply to look at, a text rule such as contains, and the word refund. A text rule only works on text.

  4. 04

    Add the note

    Add BoldDesk with Create Ticket Note. Map the Ticket ID from the reply and write the Description, both required. The filter makes this a multi-step Zap, so a paid plan is needed.

  5. 05

    Test, then Publish

    Test the note step once and open the ticket in BoldDesk to see it. Then Publish the Zap to switch it on. Only replies posted after that moment will run it.

Triggers

The 8 BoldDesk triggers, and when each one earns its place

8 events start a Zap when something happens in BoldDesk, and 8 of them are instant: the app calls Zapier straight away, whatever your plan.

1

Create Contact

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a new contact is created.”

Fires each time a new person is added to your BoldDesk contacts. The Zap then has that fresh contact to work with in the steps that follow.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan
When to use it
a SaaS support team wants every new customer contact copied into the onboarding tool the same minute.
Watch out
it only sees contacts created after you publish, so your existing list needs a separate import.
2

Create Contact Group

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a new contact group is created.”

Starts the Zap when someone sets up a new contact group in BoldDesk, so the steps after it receive that group straight away.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan
When to use it
an account manager wants a new client company announced to the team as soon as support creates its group.
Watch out
it reacts to the group, not to the people later added to it; pair it with Create Contact if both matter.
3

Update Contact Group

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when existing contact group is updated.”

Runs whenever an existing contact group is edited. Useful when the group record carries information other tools rely on and you want them to stay in step.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan
When to use it
a B2B help desk keeps company details aligned with the CRM after an agent fixes a group.
Watch out
a Zap that answers with Update Contact Group on the same group sets itself off again, and burns tasks in a loop.
4

Update Contact

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when existing contact is updated.”

Picks up any change made to a contact that already exists, so the rest of your stack hears about it without anyone retyping the correction.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan
When to use it
a customer corrects their details through an agent, and the billing tool should receive the same update.
Watch out
every edit counts, even a small one, so add a filter if only certain changes deserve an action.
5

Create Ticket Note

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a new note is added to existing ticket.”

Fires when a note is added to a ticket that already exists, and hands that note and its ticket to the next steps.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan
When to use it
escalations written as notes by level-one agents should reach the engineering lead without a manual ping.
Watch out
do not answer it with Create Ticket Note on the same ticket, or each note produces the next one.
6

Create Ticket Reply

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a new message is added to an existing ticket.”

Every time a new message is added to an existing ticket, the Zap starts. This is the event to watch when the conversation itself matters.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan
When to use it
an ecommerce team wants refund requests, spotted in replies, flagged for the billing agent as they arrive.
Watch out
replying from the Zap with Create Ticket Reply on the same ticket fires the trigger again.
7

Create Ticket

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a new support ticket is created.”

Runs when a brand-new support ticket is created in BoldDesk. The Zap starts with that ticket in hand, once per ticket.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan
When to use it
an IT service desk wants every new incident logged in its project tracker before anyone triages it.
Watch out
a bulk import of old tickets can arrive as one huge batch, which Zapier may hold back.
8

Update Ticket

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a ticket is updated.”

Catches changes to a ticket that already exists, so the Zap follows the life of the ticket after its creation.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan
When to use it
a customer success manager wants to hear when a ticket from a key account changes hands.
Watch out
it fires on every update; a filter keeps only the changes worth a task.
Actions

The 8 BoldDesk actions, grouped by what you want done

BoldDesk gives you 8 actions. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

1

Create Contact

Action

In Zapier“Create a new contact.”

Adds a person to your BoldDesk contacts, ready to be linked to tickets later on.

When to use it
new customers signing up elsewhere should already exist in BoldDesk before their first email.
Watch out
this step creates, it does not look first; run Find Contact before it if the person may already exist.
2

Create Contact Group

Action

In Zapier“Create a new contact group”

Sets up a fresh contact group in BoldDesk from data an earlier step brought in.

When to use it
a deal closed in your sales tool should give support a group for that company straight away.
Watch out
check with Find Contact Group first, or a second deal from the same client creates a twin group.
3

Update Contact Group

Action

In Zapier“Update an existing contact group”

Modifies an existing contact group, for when facts about a customer company change somewhere else first.

When to use it
an account that upgrades its contract in the CRM gets its group updated for support.
Watch out
do not pair it with the Update Contact Group trigger on the same group, or the Zap feeds itself.
4

Update Contact

Action

In Zapier“Update an existing contact”

Edits the record of a contact already in BoldDesk, keeping one clean version of each customer.

When to use it
a customer changes details in your app and support should see the new ones.
Watch out
the step needs to know which contact to edit, which is where Find Contact comes in.
5

Create Ticket Note

Action

In Zapier“Create note to an existing ticket”

Adds a note to an existing ticket, written by the Zap from what arrived earlier.

When to use it
context from a CRM or an order system should sit on the ticket for the agent who picks it up.
Watch out
it needs a Ticket ID and a Description; without the ID the step has nowhere to write.
6

Create Ticket Reply

Action

In Zapier“Create reply to an existing ticket”

Posts a reply on a ticket that is already open, written by the Zap from what came in earlier.

When to use it
a shipping update from your logistics tool should be answered on the matching ticket.
Watch out
Ticket ID and Description are both required, so the Zap must know which ticket it answers.
7

Create Ticket

Action

In Zapier“Create a new ticket”

Opens a new ticket in BoldDesk from data that arrived in an earlier step, so a request lands in the queue without anyone retyping it.

When to use it
a form on your site or a chat tool should open a ticket on its own.
Watch out
Brand is required, so the step cannot open a ticket without one.
8

Update Ticket

Action

In Zapier“Update an existing ticket”

Changes a ticket that already exists, so another tool can move it forward without an agent opening it.

When to use it
once an order is refunded in your billing tool, the related ticket gets updated too.
Watch out
Brand is required here as well, and a Zap triggered by Update Ticket must not write back to the same ticket.
Searches

The 6 BoldDesk searches, and the settings that decide what happens next

6 search steps look for data that already exists in BoldDesk, so a later step can use it.

A search step finds an item that already exists, then hands it to the next steps. In the editor, the searches sit at the bottom of the Action event list, under SEARCH. Three settings decide what happens when the result is not the one you expected.

1

Find Contact Group by External Reference Id

Search

In Zapier“Find Contact Group by External Reference Id”

Looks up a contact group by the external reference you stored on it, typically the ID the same company has in another system.

When to use it
your CRM knows the account by its own ID, and the Zap needs the matching BoldDesk group.
Watch out
the ContactGroup External Reference Id is required, so the reference must exist on the group.
3

Find Contact by External Reference Id

Search

In Zapier“Find Contact by External Reference Id”

Retrieves a contact through the external reference attached to it, rather than through the email.

When to use it
your product database identifies users by an ID, and emails can change.
Watch out
Contact External Reference Id is required, and a contact without one will never be found this way.
5

Find Ticket by External Reference Id

Search

In Zapier“Find Ticket by External Reference Id”

Locates a ticket from an external reference, for teams that tie tickets to orders or incidents in another tool.

When to use it
an order update arrives with its order number, and the note must go on the related ticket.
Watch out
Ticket External Reference Id is required and has to be set on the ticket beforehand.

The three settings every search exposes

  1. Successful if no search results are found?
    Left as is, a search that finds nothing stops the Zap and skips the steps that relied on it. Switched on, the Zap carries on empty-handed.
  2. Create X if it doesn't exist yet?
    This box turns a search into find-or-create. BoldDesk offers no find-or-create variant on Zapier, so this box does not apply to it.
  3. If multiple search results are found?
    Three ways out: keep the first match, which is the default, stop the Zap, or pass every match on at once.
When it breaks

Where a BoldDesk Zap breaks, and how to see it coming

Zapier attaches no help article to BoldDesk and no rate limit is documented for it. What breaks is the general mechanics, and a help desk hits them fast.

Four cases come back again and again on support Zaps. When one of them has already hit you, the Zapier troubleshooting page is the place to start.

  • Old tickets never come through

    A Zap only reacts to what happens after you publish it. Tickets and contacts that existed before stay out, and moving that backlog is a separate job.

  • The Zap that keeps firing itself

    Update Ticket as trigger and Update Ticket as action on the same ticket: each write sets the trigger off again, and the task count drains fast.

  • A bulk import that stalls

    Importing a batch of contacts or tickets fires many events at once. Zapier's flood protection can hold such a sudden wave back.

  • A search that stops everything

    Find Contact or Find Ticket finds nothing, the setting is left on default, and the steps that depend on it are skipped without a sound.
Need help

Need help automating BoldDesk with Zapier?

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FAQ

BoldDesk Zapier integration: the questions people ask

01Is the BoldDesk Zapier integration free?
Yes, BoldDesk is not a premium app, so it runs on the free Zapier plan. That plan gives you 100 tasks a month and unlimited Zaps, but each Zap is limited to two steps: one trigger and one action. As soon as you add a filter, a search like Find Contact or a second action, the Zap becomes multi-step and needs a paid plan. No price is quoted here because the grids change too often.
02How many tasks does a BoldDesk Zap use?
One task per action that succeeds, nothing for the trigger. A Zap that goes from Create Ticket Reply to Create Ticket Note uses one task each time a reply comes in. Add a second action and each run costs two. Waiting for events is free, however many there are, and an action that fails is not charged. So the volume of tickets, replies or contact edits that pass your filters drives the bill.
03Is the BoldDesk integration real time?
Yes. All 8 BoldDesk triggers are instant: BoldDesk tells Zapier the moment a ticket, a reply, a note or a contact changes, and the Zap starts right away. The plan intervals of 15 minutes on Free or 2 on Professional only apply to polling triggers, which BoldDesk does not have. In the editor, an instant Zap shows a lightning bolt, which lets you check it yourself. No setting needs changing for that.
04What does it take to connect BoldDesk to Zapier?
A BoldDesk account, plus read or write rights on any ticket or contact you do not own and want the Zap to touch. The connection is made from the Apps page of Zapier with + Add connection, then you sign in to BoldDesk in the new tab and grant access. Before you start, know which Brand your tickets belong to, because Create Ticket and Update Ticket both require one, and neither runs without it.
05Why does a BoldDesk Zap create duplicate contacts?
Because Create Contact is a creation step, not a lookup: it adds the contact it receives. The fix is a search step first: Find Contact looks the person up by email, or Find Contact by External Reference Id by the ID your other tool uses. Then Update Contact edits the record found. BoldDesk offers no find-or-create variant on Zapier, so the two steps are separate, and the Zap becomes multi-step. Worth it on any team that imports contacts from several tools.
06What if the BoldDesk operation you need is not in the list?
Then it is not available on Zapier today, and no setting will bring it in. Often a combination does the job: a search such as Find Ticket followed by Update Ticket handles an edit on a ticket you can identify. Deleting a ticket or a contact, though, has no action at all. If a missing operation is central to your process, compare what other platforms offer for BoldDesk before you build. Updating and replying, by contrast, are well covered.
07Zapier, Make or n8n for BoldDesk?
Judge by criterion, not by ranking. On Zapier, BoldDesk exposes 22 operations and every trigger is instant, which matters if you stay on the free plan. Check first that the operations your process needs are in this list. Then weigh how you want to pay, by task here, and who will maintain the Zaps. If you compare, set what the other platform exposes for BoldDesk against this list, operation by operation. Then decide on what you read, not on a reputation.
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