TLDR
Freshservice is Freshworks' platform for IT and employee service management. Freshdesk is a separate product focused on customer service.
Use an incident for a broken or degraded service and a service request when an employee needs access or another service from IT.
Employees submit issues or requests through the channels your team enables. Agents use the Tickets module to assign and track the work.
Freshservice supports workflow automation, external system actions and Freddy AI features. Check the plan, configuration and usage allowances for the capabilities you need.
Before you create your first Freshservice ticket, decide what the employee needs IT to do. An employee who needs access to an application is making a service request; an employee whose existing access has stopped working may be reporting an incident.
That distinction affects the information you collect and how the team handles the work. This guide explains the Freshservice ticketing system from both sides of the desk, including how to submit a request, manage a ticket and choose what to automate.
What Is the Freshservice Ticketing System
Freshservice is an IT service management platform from Freshworks. Ticketing gives your team a record of each issue or request, with the information needed to assign the work and follow it through to completion.
The phrase "Freshworks ticketing system" can refer to different products. Freshservice focuses on IT and employee services, while Freshdesk focuses on customer service. Check the product name before following a setup guide.
Freshservice also offers capabilities beyond the support queue, including asset, problem and change management. Availability varies by plan, so start with the work you need to handle before choosing a package.
Incidents and Service Requests Handle Different Work
An incident records a disruption to an existing service. A VPN connection that keeps dropping or an application that no longer opens needs investigation and a fix.
A service request asks IT to provide something, such as access to an approved application. Freshservice's service catalog lets employees select the service they need and submit the information associated with it.
The distinction can be less obvious than it looks. "I can't use the reporting app" might mean an account has broken, or that the employee has never been given access. Establish that before sending the ticket down the wrong process.
For requests, define who can receive the service and who must approve it. Our service request management guide explains how to turn those decisions into a repeatable process.
How Do Employees Submit Tickets in Freshservice
Your organization decides which channels employees can use. The portal is one option; a configured support email address or chat integration may also be available.
Report an Issue Through the Portal
Sign in to your organization's portal and select its ticket submission option. Freshservice's requester guide calls this New Ticket, although your portal's labels may differ.
Describe what stopped working and what you were trying to do. "VPN disconnects immediately after sign-in" is more useful than "VPN issue." Include the error message and when it started, complete the required fields, then submit the ticket.
You can follow the ticket and reply from the Tickets tab. Check the view's filters if a ticket seems to have disappeared; the default list may show only open and pending work.
Request Access Through the Service Catalog
The catalog is available on Growth and higher plans. To request a service your IT team has published:
Sign in to the portal and select Request New Service.
Search for the relevant service item and open it.
Review its details and complete the information your organization requests.
Select Place Request and complete any confirmation shown, including the intended recipient when requesting on someone else's behalf.
Freshservice creates a service request that you can track in Tickets. Submitting it starts the process; any required approval and fulfillment still need to happen.
Creating and Managing Tickets as an Agent
Agents sometimes need to log an issue reported by phone or during a conversation. Freshservice's current ticket management instructions use this path:
Open Tickets, then List.
Select + Create, then Ticket. This opens the Create incident page.
Identify the requester and complete the required fields. Use an available template when it fits the issue.
Add relevant attachments and associate an asset if it helps the investigation.
Select Submit, then check that the ticket has reached the intended team.
You need agent or administrator privileges, and your account's required fields may differ. Use the service catalog process for a service request rather than treating every piece of work as an incident.
Once the ticket is assigned, leave a note explaining what you've checked and what needs to happen next. A colleague taking over should be able to continue without asking you to repeat the investigation.
Freshservice Ticket Statuses and What They Mean
Freshservice documents four core ticket statuses. Your organization can add others, so use its definitions when working in a configured account.
Status | What It Tells You |
|---|---|
Open | The ticket needs attention from the support team. |
Pending | Work is waiting for information or another step before it can continue. |
Resolved | The agent has provided a solution. |
Closed | The ticket is marked complete, either manually or after the configured automatic closing period. |
Resolved and Closed are separate states. Freshservice can move resolved tickets to Closed after an administrator-configured period, and requesters can confirm closure through the portal.
A waiting status should explain what the team is waiting for. "Waiting on requester" and "Waiting on vendor" point to different follow-up actions, even when both pause active investigation.
How Do Priority and SLAs Work
Priority helps the team decide what to work on first. A service-level agreement, or SLA, sets targets for responding to the ticket and resolving it.
Freshservice's Priority Matrix can calculate incident priority from impact and urgency when an administrator enables it. Impact describes the effect on the business; urgency describes how soon the issue needs attention. The administrator chooses the combinations and resulting priorities.
This matrix applies to incidents. Freshservice doesn't apply it to service requests, so check how your team sets request priorities separately.
SLA policies can use business or calendar hours, with escalation rules for missed targets. Pending doesn't automatically mean the clock has stopped: administrators can configure whether the SLA timer runs for Pending and custom statuses.
What Can You Automate in Freshservice
Workflow Automator connects events to conditions and actions. An event starts the workflow, conditions decide whether it applies, and actions carry out the configured steps.
For a first workflow, route a specific access request to the team responsible for it. Trigger it when the request is created, match the relevant catalog item, then assign the group. Add approval handling where your policy requires it.
Workflows save as drafts and won't run until activated. Limit the conditions to test tickets, activate the workflow, then try a request that should match and one that shouldn't. Check the ticket's activity history to confirm the result before expanding the rule.
Automation can also reach outside Freshservice. Its Orchestration Center provides app actions for supported tasks such as user provisioning and license changes. Those actions require the relevant integration and permissions, and orchestration uses transaction allowances.
For an access workflow, check the destination application too. A ticket can reach the right team while the employee still has no access, so verify that the account or permission actually changed.
Freshservice in Slack and Microsoft Teams
Servicebot supports requester actions in Slack and Microsoft Teams, including ticket creation, updates and approval notifications. Freshservice documents these requester capabilities across plans, although your administrator must configure the integration.
Freshservice also offers Freddy AI capabilities, including assistance for agents and conversational support. Check which AI features your plan includes; enabling a chat integration doesn't mean every Freddy AI feature is available.
Test a Real Request Before Choosing Freshservice
I believe one familiar request is the best place to start an evaluation. Take an access request your team already handles and follow it through approval and fulfillment, including a declined approval or an error from the connected application.
Decide who'll maintain the setup before you add more workflows. Give that person responsibility for routing rules and catalog items, and check that your reports answer the questions your team actually asks, such as which requests wait longest for approval.
If Jira is also on your shortlist, our Jira ticketing system guide explains its support workflow.
Automate Employee Requests With Ravenna
For teams that handle employee requests in Slack and Teams, our AI ITSM platform's Agents can answer questions from connected knowledge, collect missing details in the conversation and trigger configured workflows.
For a software access request, Ravenna's workflow builder can route approval and carry out supported actions in connected tools. Conditional steps let you choose different paths for different requests, and workflow runs show what happened at each step.
Your policies determine where approval is needed and when a person takes over.
We're happy to walk through how Ravenna would handle that request, or you can explore our software access automation guide first.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Freshservice the Same as Freshworks?
Freshworks is the company, and Freshservice is its IT and employee service management product. Freshdesk is a separate Freshworks product focused on customer service, so check the product name before following setup instructions.
How Do You Create a Ticket in Freshservice?
Employees use their configured portal, support email or chat integration. Agents can select Tickets, List, then + Create and Ticket to open an incident form. For a service request, use the relevant catalog item.
Can Freshservice Assign Tickets Automatically?
Yes. Administrators can configure Workflow Automator to assign tickets when specified events and conditions match. Check the workflow's scope and activation state, then use a test ticket to verify routing.
Does Pending Pause the SLA Timer?
It depends on the account's configuration. Freshservice lets administrators turn the SLA timer on or off for Pending and custom statuses, so confirm the setting before assuming that waiting time is excluded.
