Resources · Zapier integration

OneDesk Zapier integrationAutomate OneDesk with Zapier.

The OneDesk Zapier integration gives you 8 triggers, 7 actions and 2 searches. Tickets, tasks, projects, timesheets and customers can start a Zap or be written by one, on the free plan too, since OneDesk is not reserved to paid plans.

See the 17 operations

Verified Trustpilot reviews · AI, automation & growth agency

Overview

What the OneDesk Zapier integration actually does

The OneDesk Zapier integration links your OneDesk account (helpdesk, project and product work in one place) to the other tools you use, without code. Something happens in OneDesk, Zapier notices it on its next check, and it does a job somewhere else. Or the reverse: an event in another app writes a ticket, a comment or a timesheet into OneDesk for you.

Three results people build first. A support queue that fills itself: Create Item turns a form reply or an email into a ticket filed in the right project. Billing that stops relying on memory: New Timesheet Created can be limited to billable hours and pushed to whatever tool prepares invoices. Customers known everywhere at once: New User/Customer sends each new contact to your CRM, and Create New Customer does the opposite trip.

Now what Zapier does not do here. None of the eight triggers is instant: every one of them is a polling trigger, so on the free plan a new ticket can wait up to 15 minutes before the Zap notices it. There is no delete action, any change to an existing item has to go through Update Work Item, and a Zap never picks up the tickets that already existed before you switched it on.

If you are still weighing tools, the Make vs Zapier comparison sits next to this page. For a broader take on the platform, see the Zapier review.

Vocabulary

Zapier vocabulary, in plain words

Seven words come back on every line of this page. Here they are once, so the rest reads easily.

Zap
The automation you build on Zapier: one trigger, then one or more actions that run each time that trigger event happens.
Trigger
The event in an app that starts the Zap, like a new ticket in OneDesk. Once the Zap is on, Zapier waits for it.
Action
What the Zap does after it starts: the step that writes, sends or updates something for you, such as a comment on a ticket.
Task
The unit Zapier bills. One task is one action that your Zap completes successfully; your plan counts those, nothing else.
Polling vs instant
A polling trigger is checked on a timer by Zapier. An instant one is reported by the app itself the moment it happens. OneDesk only has polling ones.
Filter
A step that lets the Zap continue only when what arrived meets your condition, and quietly stops it when it does not.
Search step
A step that looks up something already in an app, like an existing work item, so the next steps can use what it found.
Cost

What a OneDesk Zap costs in tasks

Zapier bills tasks, and only actions that succeed count as tasks. The trigger costs nothing, and neither do the checks Zapier runs on OneDesk, however often they happen.

  • Trigger checksFree, never billed
  • Each successful action1 task
  • Free plan100 tasks a month, 2-step Zaps
  • Filter or search stepPaid plan (multi-step Zap)

An action that fails is not counted. A Zap with three actions costs three tasks per run. The free plan gives 100 tasks a month and unlimited Zaps, but only two steps per Zap: one trigger and one action. Add a filter, a search or a second action and it becomes a multi-step Zap, which needs a paid plan. OneDesk itself works on the free plan, so a simple two-step OneDesk Zap costs nothing beyond the tasks it uses.

Connect

Connect your OneDesk account to Zapier

  1. 01

    Open the connections page

    In Zapier, go to the Apps page of your account. A connection is your OneDesk account linked once, then reused by every step that talks to OneDesk, so this is done one time only.

  2. 02

    Find OneDesk

    Click + Add connection, type OneDesk in the search box of the dialog and pick it, then click Add connection. You need an existing OneDesk account; Zapier does not create one for you.

  3. 03

    Sign in and grant access

    Sign in to OneDesk in the tab that opens, then allow Zapier to reach the account. If the Zap will touch projects or items owned by colleagues, the account you sign in with needs read or write access to them.

First Zap

Your first Zap: an onboarding item for every new customer

GoalEach new OneDesk customer gets an onboarding item in the right project, without anyone creating it by hand.

  1. 01

    Build: pick the trigger

    Create a Zap, choose OneDesk as the app that starts it and New User/Customer as the event. Select your OneDesk connection and set the trigger to customers only, so new colleagues never start it.

  2. 02

    Test the trigger

    Run the test. Zapier brings back the three most recent records of the connected account, so you pick a real one and do the next steps with real values.

  3. 03

    Add the action

    Add OneDesk again with Create Item. Give the item a name, choose its type and the project it belongs to, and map the customer details from the trigger into the name.

  4. 04

    Test, then publish

    Test the action once and check the item in OneDesk. When it looks right, click Publish to switch the Zap on. It only reacts to customers added from now on, and with two steps it runs on the free plan.

Triggers

OneDesk triggers on Zapier

8 events start a Zap when something happens in OneDesk. Zapier checks for them at the interval your plan allows.

1

Item Updated

Polling trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when an item is updated.”

Starts the Zap when a ticket or a task changes in OneDesk, on the fields you choose to watch. You decide whether tickets, tasks or both count, and which updates matter.

How it fires
Zapier goes and looks at regular intervals, and how often depends on your plan: every 15 minutes on the free one.
When to use it
keeping a status in another tool in step with the status of a ticket, without anyone retyping it.
Watch out
in a two-way sync, set Ignore My Own Changes to yes and connect a OneDesk key kept for integrations only, or each update the Zap writes comes back as a new change and the loop never stops.
2

New Comments

Polling trigger

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

Picks up the new messages posted in OneDesk and hands each one to the rest of the Zap. You choose whether it listens on work items, on projects or on both.

How it fires
Zapier goes and looks at regular intervals, and how often depends on your plan: every 15 minutes on the free one.
When to use it
relaying customer replies on tickets to the team chat, so nobody has to keep the helpdesk open in a tab.
Watch out
the trigger asks you to pick public or internal messages. Choose wrong and a private note between agents ends up in a channel the customer can read, or the customer replies never arrive.
3

Project Updated

Polling trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a project is updated.”

Reacts to changes on a project rather than on the items inside it. The fields it watches are the ones you tick when you set it up, and nothing else wakes it.

How it fires
Zapier goes and looks at regular intervals, and how often depends on your plan: every 15 minutes on the free one.
When to use it
telling account managers when a client project changes state, so the client hears it from a person and not from an invoice.
Watch out
like Item Updated, it offers Ignore My Own Changes. Turn it on when another Zap writes into the same projects, or the two Zaps keep setting each other off and burning tasks.
4

New Portfolio

Polling trigger

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

Fires for each portfolio someone creates in OneDesk. A portfolio groups projects, so this event is rare and usually marks the start of a new client account or a new line of work.

How it fires
Zapier goes and looks at regular intervals, and how often depends on your plan: every 15 minutes on the free one.
When to use it
opening a matching shared folder, a channel or a CRM record whenever a new client portfolio appears, so the setup checklist runs by itself.
Watch out
portfolios created before the Zap was published are never sent; set those up by hand once.
5

New Task/Ticket

Polling trigger

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

The most common entry point: a new work item appears in OneDesk and the Zap starts. You choose whether tickets, tasks or both should count, which keeps support and delivery Zaps apart.

How it fires
Zapier goes and looks at regular intervals, and how often depends on your plan: every 15 minutes on the free one.
When to use it
posting each new support ticket in the on-call channel, or adding each new delivery task to a shared planning sheet.
Watch out
Item Type is required. Leaving it on tickets when the team logs work as tasks gives a Zap that is on and never fires.
6

New Timesheet Created

Polling trigger

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

Sends every timesheet logged in OneDesk into the Zap. One optional switch keeps only the billable ones, and it alone decides whether the Zap feeds invoicing or general reporting.

How it fires
Zapier goes and looks at regular intervals, and how often depends on your plan: every 15 minutes on the free one.
When to use it
copying billable hours into the sheet or tool that prepares client invoices, so nothing logged gets forgotten at month end.
Watch out
Zapier never sends the same timesheet twice. Correct one after it went out, and the copy downstream needs the same fix by hand.
7

New User/Customer

Polling trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when a new user or customer is created.”

Watches the people added to OneDesk: internal users, customers or both, depending on the required setting you pick when you build the Zap.

How it fires
Zapier goes and looks at regular intervals, and how often depends on your plan: every 15 minutes on the free one.
When to use it
adding each new customer to the mailing list or the CRM, or giving each new colleague the accounts they need in other tools.
Watch out
set to both, the same Zap mixes staff and clients. Pick one, or add a filter, which turns the Zap into a multi-step one on a paid plan.
8

New Project

Polling trigger

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

Every project created in OneDesk sets this Zap off. It has no setting to fill in: every new project counts, whoever creates it and wherever it sits.

How it fires
Zapier goes and looks at regular intervals, and how often depends on your plan: every 15 minutes on the free one.
When to use it
creating the kickoff item, the shared folder or the client channel that each new project calls for, the same way each time.
Watch out
do not pair it with an action that creates projects in the same account, or each new project creates the next one.
Actions

OneDesk actions on Zapier

OneDesk gives you 7 actions. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

1

Create Comment

Action

In Zapier“Creates a new comment on a work item.”

Writes a message on an existing work item. You point it at the item, choose the type of post and type or map the text.

When to use it
logging on the ticket what happened in another tool, like a refund or a shipped order.
Watch out
the item is required, so an earlier step must provide it.
2

Create Container

Action

In Zapier“Creates a new container, probably with input from previous steps.”

Creates a container in OneDesk, of the type you choose, from details passed by earlier steps. A type and a name are all it needs.

When to use it
opening a project when a deal is won in your CRM, named after the client.
Watch out
if the type you pick is a project, pairing it with New Project in one Zap makes a loop.
3

Create New Customer

Action

In Zapier“Creates a new customer.”

Adds a customer record in OneDesk with an email, a first name, a last name and the organization they belong to. All four are required.

When to use it
registering every new buyer from your shop or billing tool before they ever open a ticket.
Watch out
a source without a last name or organization leaves a gap the Zap cannot fill.
4

Create Item

Action

In Zapier“Creates a new work item”

Opens a new ticket or task, with a name, an item type and the project that will hold it, all three required.

When to use it
turning a web form, an email or a chat request into a tracked ticket in the support project.
Watch out
the connected account needs access to the chosen project, or it will not show in the list.
5

Create Timesheet

Action

In Zapier“Creates a new timesheet.”

Logs time on a work item for a given user: the work done, the share of the item completed, a start and a finish. You can also mark it billable.

When to use it
moving time tracked in another tool into OneDesk so reports stay in one place.
Watch out
it needs both a user and an item, so map them from earlier steps.
6

Create New User

Action

In Zapier“Creates a new user.”

Adds a staff member to OneDesk. The email you give becomes their login name, and you can grant administrator rights from the same step.

When to use it
giving each new hire a OneDesk seat once the HR tool has registered them.
Watch out
the user type list also holds customer types; pick a user type.
7

Update Work Item

Action

In Zapier“Updated a work item using its external ID”

Changes an existing ticket or task, found by its identifier. It is the only way a Zap closes the loop on an item it did not create.

When to use it
moving a ticket forward when the matching order ships or the invoice is paid in another app.
Watch out
without the item, nothing moves; use Find Work Item first.
Searches

OneDesk searches on Zapier

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

A search step finds a work item or a container that already exists, so the next action knows which one to touch. Searches sit at the bottom of the Action event list, under SEARCH. Three settings decide what happens when the result is not a clean single match.

1

Find Container

Search

In Zapier“Finds a container based on some fields.”

Looks up an existing OneDesk container. You say which type of container, which field to search on and the value to match.

When to use it
finding the client project before Create Item drops a ticket in it.
Watch out
how strict the match is depends on OneDesk, not Zapier, so test with a value you know exists.
2

Find Work Item

Search

In Zapier“Finds a work item based on some fields.”

Retrieves a ticket or task by the field of your choice and the value you give it, then hands its identifier to later steps.

When to use it
just before Update Work Item or Create Comment, when the source app only knows the ticket by another value.
Watch out
several matches fall back on the first one by default.

The three settings every search exposes

  1. Successful if no search results are found?
    Left on its default, a search that finds nothing stops the Zap there and the later steps are skipped. Switched on, the Zap continues with empty values.
  2. Create X if it doesn't exist yet?
    This box turns a search into a find-or-create. OneDesk offers no such variant on Zapier, so neither of its searches shows it.
  3. If multiple search results are found?
    Three ways out: keep the first match (the default), stop the Zap, or pass every match on to the next steps.
When it breaks

When a OneDesk Zap breaks

Zapier links no help article to OneDesk and publishes no OneDesk-specific limit. What breaks is what breaks on every app, with a OneDesk flavor.

Four cases cover most stuck Zaps. When the cause is still unclear, the Zapier troubleshooting page walks through the checks one by one.

  • The old tickets never arrive

    A Zap only reacts to what happens after you switch it on. Tickets, customers and timesheets that already existed stay where they are; moving them is a separate job.

  • The Zap keeps setting itself off

    A Zap that writes where its own trigger looks restarts on its own output and burns tasks. On the update triggers, Ignore My Own Changes is there for exactly that.

  • A bulk import goes quiet

    After a mass import into OneDesk, a trigger can return a huge batch at once, and Zapier's flood protection may hold it back instead of running it all.

  • An item shows up only once

    Zapier remembers what a polling trigger has already seen, so the same ticket never starts the Zap twice, even if it is edited later on.
Need help

Need help automating OneDesk with Zapier?

A person reads every message.

FAQ

OneDesk Zapier integration: frequent questions

01Is the OneDesk Zapier integration free?
Yes, it works on the free Zapier plan, because OneDesk is not one of the apps Zapier keeps for paid plans. The free plan gives 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 step or a second action, the Zap becomes multi-step and needs a paid plan. The OneDesk account itself is separate, and you need one to connect.
02How many tasks does a OneDesk Zap use?
One task per action that succeeds, and nothing else. The trigger is free, and so are the checks Zapier makes on OneDesk to find new tickets, however often they happen. A Zap that creates an item and then writes a comment costs two tasks per run. An action that fails is not counted. Adding a search step makes the Zap multi-step, so it needs a paid plan, even if the search itself finds the right ticket every time.
03Does OneDesk trigger Zaps in real time?
No. All eight OneDesk triggers are polling triggers: Zapier checks OneDesk on a timer rather than being told by OneDesk. On the free plan that check runs every 15 minutes, on Professional every 2, and on Team and Enterprise every minute. On paid plans the interval can be changed and a check can be run by hand from the editor. The trigger type comes from the app, so no setting turns these into instant ones.
04What does connecting OneDesk to Zapier require?
A OneDesk account and access to what the Zap will touch. Open the Apps page in Zapier, click + Add connection, pick OneDesk, sign in in the tab that opens and grant access. If the Zap writes into projects or items that belong to colleagues, the account you connect needs read or write rights on them. Otherwise the project list in Create Item stays empty and the Zap cannot be finished.
05How can a two-way OneDesk sync be stopped from looping?
Turn on Ignore My Own Changes on Item Updated or Project Updated, and connect a OneDesk key kept for integrations only. Without it, each change the Zap writes into OneDesk is seen as a fresh update on the next check, the Zap runs again, and it keeps going while it eats tasks. The same risk exists with New Project and Create Container, or New Comments and Create Comment, in a single Zap.
06What if the OneDesk operation needed is missing?
Then the Zap has to get there another way. Zapier offers 8 triggers, 7 actions and 2 searches for OneDesk, and nothing outside that list. There is no delete action, for instance. Update Work Item covers most changes to an existing ticket, and Find Work Item or Find Container fetch the record first. If the need goes beyond that, the gap sits on the Zapier side for this app, not in a hidden setting.
07Zapier, Make or n8n for OneDesk?
It comes down to a few criteria rather than a winner. On Zapier, OneDesk runs on the free plan with two-step Zaps and 100 tasks a month, and every trigger is polling, so the delay depends on the plan. Anything with a filter, a search or several actions needs a paid plan. If those limits suit the volume and the delay is acceptable, Zapier is the shortest path; if not, compare what the other tools offer for OneDesk before choosing.
Same platform

Other docs you might need on this stack.

Browse all integrations