Zendesk and phone.systems™ Integration#

Connecting phone.systems™ with Zendesk CRM allows you to manage customer calls and track important information. The integration includes the following features:

  • Sync contacts automatically: Keep customers (end users) updated in phone.systems™.

  • Call journaling: All incoming and outgoing calls are logged in Zendesk for tracking and reference.

  • Create new contacts automatically: When an unknown number calls, a new customer (end user) is created in Zendesk automatically.

  • User association for call journaling: Associating users enables call journaling between phone.systems™ and Zendesk. Unassociated users will not receive call details in Zendesk.


Connecting phone.systems™ with Zendesk#

This guide provides detailed steps on integrating phone.systems™ with Zendesk CRM. Follow the instructions below to complete the setup process.

Note

To connect phone.systems™ with Zendesk, you need the Identifier, Secret, and Subdomain of a Zendesk OAuth client. Generate these values by creating an OAuth client in your Zendesk Admin Center.

Step 1: Sign In to a Zendesk account#

To get started, go to the Zendesk page and Sign In to access an existing account or create a new one.

Step 2: Create an app in Zendesk#

Once you’re logged in, click the product menu next to the Zendesk logo in the top-left corner (for example, Support), then select Admin center. The Admin Center opens in a new browser tab.

Open Zendesk Admin Center

Fig. 1. Open Zendesk Admin Center#

In the Admin Center, click the Apps and integrations icon in the left sidebar, then select OAuth clients under APIs. On the first visit, select the checkbox confirming that use of the Zendesk APIs is governed by the Zendesk Developer Terms, and click Get started.

Start Building Custom Integration

Fig. 2. Start Building Custom Integration#

Click Add OAuth client.

Add OAuth client

Fig. 3. Add OAuth client#

Step 3: Enter app client basic information#

In the first section, enter the Name and Description. Company is also required and is pre-filled with your Zendesk account name. You can keep it or change it. Logo is optional.

Enter app basic information

Fig. 4. Enter app basic information#

Step 4: Set the Client kind#

Scroll down until you see the Client kind section. Client kind is set to Public by default. Change it to Confidential.

Set the Client kind

Fig. 5. Set the Client kind#

Step 5: Launch phone.systems™ and create Zendesk connection#

  1. Open a new browser tab, log in to your DIDWW account, and launch phone.systems™.

  2. In phone.systems™, go to Settings > CRM Integrations.

  3. Click Connect next to Zendesk.

Create Zendesk connection in phone.systems™

Fig. 6. Create Zendesk connection in phone.systems™#

Step 6: Copy the Redirect URL from phone.systems™ and paste it in Zendesk#

On the phone.systems™ Zendesk connection page, copy the Redirect URL.

Copy the Redirect URL

Fig. 7. Copy the Redirect URL#

Open the Zendesk Add OAuth client page, paste the Redirect URL into Redirect URLs, and click Save. Leave Scopes empty.

Paste the Redirect URL

Fig. 8. Paste the Redirect URL#

Step 7: Copy the Identifier and Secret from Zendesk and paste them in phone.systems™#

After you save the OAuth client, Zendesk generates a Secret. Click Copy next to the Secret immediately, as it is shown only once. If needed, you can regenerate the Secret later on the OAuth client edit page.

Warning

Copy and store this secret. It won’t be shown in full again after you click Save or leave this page.

Copy the Secret

Fig. 9. Copy the Secret#

Then copy the Identifier. It is shown in the Identifier field above Client kind, and in the Identifier column of the OAuth clients list.

Identifier of the OAuth client in the OAuth clients list

Fig. 10. Copy the Identifier#

Open the phone.systems™ Zendesk connection page, and paste the Identifier into Unique identifier and the Secret into Secret.

Paste the Identifier and Secret

Fig. 11. Paste the Identifier and Secret#

Step 8: Copy the Subdomain from Zendesk and paste it in phone.systems™#

In the Zendesk Admin Center, locate your subdomain next to Admin center at the top of the page. It is also the first part of your Zendesk URL, for example subdomain in https://subdomain.zendesk.com.

Copy the Subdomain

Fig. 12. Copy the Subdomain#

Then, open the phone.systems™ Zendesk connection page and paste the Subdomain into the corresponding field.

Paste the Subdomain

Fig. 13. Paste the Subdomain#

Step 9: Connect the phone.systems™ Zendesk app#

To complete the connection between phone.systems™ and Zendesk, click Connect on the phone.systems™ Zendesk connection page.

Connect button on the phone.systems™ Zendesk connection page

Fig. 14. Connect Zendesk to phone.systems™#

When the Zendesk access permissions page appears, click Allow.

Allow Access

Fig. 15. Allow Access#

After you click Allow, you will be redirected back to the phone.systems™ CRM Integrations page. Zendesk will appear under Active Integrations with the status Connected.

Note

phone.systems™ will automatically synchronize data and establish a connection with your main Zendesk account.

Active Zendesk connection in phone.systems™

Fig. 16. Active Zendesk connection in phone.systems™#


Configuring Zendesk Settings#

Once the integration is active, you can customize its behavior. To access these options, navigate to Settings > CRM Integrations and click the Settings icon next to your Zendesk connection.

Zendesk integration settings button.

Fig. 17. Zendesk integration settings button.#

Important

The following settings apply only to numbers with Call journaling enabled. Call journaling must be configured separately for each number on the Edit phone numbers page.

Zendesk integration settings in phone.systems™

Fig. 18. Zendesk integration settings.#

Call Journaling#

This section provides important information about how calls are logged in Zendesk.

Note

Tickets in Zendesk will be created only for incoming lost calls.

Auto Contact Creation#

This feature automatically creates a new user (end user) in Zendesk when a call is handled from a number that does not match an existing contact in your CRM.

Setting

Description

Inbound calls

When enabled, a new user will be created in Zendesk for all inbound calls from unknown numbers.

Outbound calls

When enabled, a new user will be created in Zendesk for all outbound calls to unknown numbers.

Call Tags and Notes#

Send the call tags and the call note that agents add to a call to the matching ticket in Zendesk.

Setting

Description

Send call tags to CRM

When enabled, the call’s tags are sent to Zendesk.

Send call notes to CRM

When enabled, the call note written by the agent is sent to Zendesk.

Both settings are disabled by default and work independently. They are not part of AI Call Insights and do not require an AI plan.

Tags and notes are sent when the call is logged in Zendesk, and the ticket is updated if they change later.

Warning

The call note is free text written by the agent. It is sent to Zendesk exactly as written and is not covered by call recording PII redaction.

Call tags and notes settings in the Zendesk integration settings

Fig. 19. Call tags and notes settings#

phone.systems™ sends the tags and the call note to the Zendesk ticket created for the call:

  • Tags: Added as Zendesk ticket tags, which you can use to search and filter tickets. Other tags on the ticket, added by agents, triggers, or other apps, are not removed.

  • Call note: Added as an internal comment that the end user cannot see. A new comment is added only when the note changes. Changing only the tags does not add a comment.

Note

Zendesk creates tickets only for missed inbound calls. Only these calls receive tags and notes in Zendesk.

After configuring these options, click Save to apply your changes.