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Notify Ticket's Contact

This action sends notifications to the primary contact associated with a ticket or the contact associated with a time entry's ticket. It's designed to automate communication with end-users, providing them with updates, requesting information, or acknowledging their issues.

Why is it useful?

Automating direct communication with ticket contacts ensures timely updates, can reduce manual follow-up, and improves the overall customer experience by keeping them informed about the progress of their requests.

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This action is available for both Triggered and Scheduled workflows.

What It Does​

  • Sends messages to the primary contact of the specified PSA tickets or the contacts of tickets linked to specified PSA time entries.
  • Supports two primary notification modes:
    • Ticket Note: Adds a customer-facing note to the ticket, which your PSA then emails to the contact.
    • Time Entry: Creates a time entry on the ticket with the message as a public note, which your PSA then typically emails to the contact.
  • Allows for optional randomized delays before sending notifications to simulate more human-like interaction patterns.
  • Can translate notification messages into different languages (French, Dutch, German).
  • Includes an option to skip sending notifications for tickets that are already closed.
  • For Autotask, provides a specific mechanism to trigger an internal Autotask workflow rule using a User-Defined Field (UDF) for sending emails.
  • Logs the notification attempt and outcome in the Event History.

How It Works​

1. Input Data​

The action receives a list of PsaTicket or PsaTimeEntry objects to process (default_data). It also takes a list of WorkflowMessages intended for the end client (default_messages_for_end_client). Configuration settings like notification mode, language, and delay parameters guide its behavior.

2. Message Selection​

For each ticket or time entry in default_data, the executor filters default_messages_for_end_client to find messages relevant to that specific entity.

3. Message Translation (Optional)​

If use_different_language is enabled, the selected messages for the end client are translated into the specified notification_language using an AI model.

4. Notification Dispatch​

Based on the selected notification_mode:

  • Ticket Note:
    • A customer-facing note containing the (potentially translated) message is added to the ticket. Your PSA is then responsible for emailing this note to the contact.
    • ConnectWise: The ticket's automaticEmailContactFlag is set to True to facilitate the email notification by ConnectWise.
    • Autotask (UDF Workflow): If use_udf_field_to_trigger_autotask_workflow is True, a specified User-Defined Field on the ticket is set to "true". This is intended to trigger an Autotask workflow rule that you configure to send the email and then reset the UDF to "false". A 30-second delay is introduced before setting the UDF to prevent conflicts with other Neo actions that might add notes. See the Autotask Ticket Contact Notifications guide for setup details.
    • Autotask (Direct Note): If not using the UDF workflow, a standard customer-facing note is added. Autotask then handles the email notification based on your system settings for such notes.
  • Time Entry:
    • A new time entry is created on the ticket. The (potentially translated) message is placed in the public notes of this time entry.
    • Your PSA system is then responsible for emailing this time entry note to the ticket's contact, based on its configuration for time entry notifications.
    • Neo uses the neo_regular_member_id (configured in Neo Dashboard settings under your client's global settings) to create the time entry.
    • Autotask Specifics: For Autotask, a role_id is required to create a time entry. Neo will use the default work role associated with the neo_regular_member_id. If no default role is set for this resource, Neo will attempt to pick an appropriate role based on the ticket's details (e.g., a 'Service Desk Role'). Ensure the neo_regular_member_id resource has a default Service Desk Role or that appropriate roles are available for Neo to select from to prevent errors.

5. Delay (Optional)​

If include_random_delay is enabled, the action waits for a random duration (between min_range_delay_in_minutes and max_range_delay_in_minutes) before sending the notification.

6. Output Structure​

This action outputs credits_consumed (which is 0 for this action). Any messages for the dashboard or MSP are generated by the executor and are not part of the formal output schema but will appear in the Event History.

Configuration Fields​

When you add the "Notify Ticket's Contact" action to a workflow, you'll configure the following:

default_data​

The list of PSA tickets or PSA time entries for which contacts should be notified.

default_messages_for_end_client​

A list of WorkflowMessages objects containing the messages to be sent to the end client. This is typically provided by the output of a preceding action like "Acknowledge Issue" or "Build Message".

notification_mode​

Determines how the notification is delivered.

  • Options: TICKET_NOTE, TIME_ENTRY
  • (default: TICKET_NOTE)

include_random_delay​

If set to True, a random delay will be introduced before sending the notification to make it appear more human-like.

  • (default: False)

min_range_delay_in_minutes​

The minimum possible delay in minutes if include_random_delay is true.

  • (default: 10)

max_range_delay_in_minutes​

The maximum possible delay in minutes if include_random_delay is true.

  • (default: 20)

skip_notifications_for_closed_tickets​

If set to True, notifications will not be sent for tickets that are already in a closed status.

  • (default: True)

use_udf_field_to_trigger_autotask_workflow​

(Autotask only) If set to True and notification_mode is TICKET_NOTE, Neo will update a User-Defined Field (UDF) on the ticket to trigger an Autotask workflow rule responsible for sending the email.

  • (default: False)

autotask_wf_udf_field_name​

(Autotask only) The name of the User-Defined Field on the Autotask ticket that Neo should update if use_udf_field_to_trigger_autotask_workflow is true.

  • (default: Notify Contact by Email)

use_different_language​

If set to True, the notification messages will be translated into the language specified in notification_language.

  • (default: False)

notification_language​

The target language for translating notification messages if use_different_language is true.

  • Options: French, Dutch, German
  • (default: French)

Output Fields​

This action makes the following information available to subsequent actions in the workflow:

credits_consumed​

The number of NeoAgent credits consumed by this action. Notifying ticket contacts does not consume any credits.

  • (default: 0)

Use Cases​

1. Automated First Response​

  • Trigger: Ticket Created
  • Action 1: L1 Engineer - Attempts to resolve an issue (e.g., asks for more information, acknowledges the issue or provides simple steps to resolve).
  • Action 2: Notify Ticket's Contact - Sends the acknowledgment to the ticket contact via a ticket note.

2. Chase Customer for Response​

  • Workflow 1 (Scheduled):
    • Action 1: Filter Tickets - Finds tickets in "Waiting on Customer" status for more than X days.
    • Action 2: Chase Customer - Generates a follow-up message.
    • Action 3: Notify Ticket's Contact - Sends the chase message.

Best Practices​

  • Clear Messages: Ensure the default_messages_for_end_client input (usually from a "Build Message" or similar action) provides clear, concise, and user-friendly information.
  • Autotask UDF Setup: If using use_udf_field_to_trigger_autotask_workflow in Autotask, ensure you have correctly set up the UDF and the corresponding Autotask workflow rule as detailed in the Autotask Ticket Contact Notifications guide.
  • ConnectWise Email Flag: Be aware that this action sets automaticEmailContactFlag to True in ConnectWise when using TICKET_NOTE mode. Understand how this flag interacts with your ConnectWise email settings.
  • Time Entry Mode: If using TIME_ENTRY mode, ensure your PSA is configured to send email notifications for new time entries with public notes. Also, verify the neo_regular_member_id is correctly set in NeoAgent's global settings for your client, as this resource will be used to create the time entry.
  • Random Delays: Use the include_random_delay feature thoughtfully to make automated communications feel less robotic, but ensure the delay range is appropriate for the context.
  • Language Translation: When using use_different_language, test the translations to ensure accuracy and appropriateness for your end-users.
  • Skip Closed Tickets: The skip_notifications_for_closed_tickets option is generally recommended to avoid sending unnecessary updates for resolved issues.
  • Autotask Specifics: For Autotask users, this action leverages specific notification templates and settings. Refer to the Autotask Ticket Contact Notifications guide for more details on how these are handled.
  • Review Event History: Regularly check the Event History to ensure notifications are being delivered correctly and to troubleshoot any issues.
  • Test Environment: If possible, test workflows involving customer notifications in a staging or test environment before deploying to production.