{"id":34310,"date":"2026-02-13T07:32:24","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T07:32:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/help.desk365.io\/en\/?post_type=docs&p=34310"},"modified":"2026-03-13T11:51:24","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T11:51:24","slug":"custom-departments-in-desk365","status":"publish","type":"docs","link":"https:\/\/help.desk365.io\/en\/articles\/custom-departments-in-desk365\/","title":{"rendered":"Using custom departments in Desk365"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\nAvailable with:<\/span>\n\n\n<\/circle>\n<\/path>\n<\/svg>\nPremium<\/span>\n<\/span>\n<\/div>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The\u00a0custom\u00a0departments feature in Desk365 helps you organize support within a company by grouping contacts into departments such as HR, Finance, Sales, or IT. Departments always belong inside a company and are used to keep support requests, content, and communication well organized.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Desk365 is flexible about how contacts are set up.\u00a0A contact\u00a0can belong to a department within a company, be linked directly to a company without a department, or exist on its own without being part of any company. This makes it easy to match Desk365 to how your organization or customers are structured.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Departments also play a key role in controlling what contacts can see and\u00a0access.\u00a0In the\u00a0support\u00a0portal, departments can\u00a0determine\u00a0which ticket forms, knowledge base articles, and announcements are visible to users. In the\u00a0agent\u00a0portal, departments make it easier for agents to view, filter, and manage tickets, ensuring requests are routed and handled by the right teams.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

This guide explains how departments work and how to use them step by step, so you can confidently set up and manage departments in Desk365.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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What are departments? <\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Departments help you segment users within a company. For example, a company may have Finance, HR, and IT.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

With Desk365, you can:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

  • Add\u00a0custom\u00a0departments to a company<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>
  • Associate contacts with one or more departments<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>
  • Choose a primary department for each contact<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>
  • Control visibility of ticket forms, announcements and knowledge base articles based on departments<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    Adding and managing departments in a company <\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    You can add departments when creating a company or by editing an existing one.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

    To add or remove departments:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

    • Go to Accounts > Companies<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>
    • Add a new company or open an existing company<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>
    • Add new departments or\u00a0delete\u00a0unwanted ones<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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      \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"add-remove-departments-from-company-desk365\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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      When a department is removed from a contact, any tickets associated with that contact are also removed from that department.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

      If an entire company is\u00a0deleted, all associated contacts will have their department set to null, and any related tickets will also have their department cleared.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

      Note<\/span><\/i><\/b>: If a company\u00a0or its department\u00a0has\u00a0an\u00a0automation rule or visibility\u00a0configured\u00a0(ticket form, KB,\u00a0announcement), the company cannot be\u00a0deleted. You must first remove or update the associated automation rules, ticket forms, and any other company-based configurations before\u00a0deleting\u00a0the company.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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      Associating contacts with departments <\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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      Contacts\u00a0can belong to one or\u00a0custom\u00a0departments.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

      You can set this while:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

      • Creating a contact\u00a0or<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>
      • Editing an existing contact<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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        Primary\u00a0<\/span>d<\/span>epartment<\/span>:<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>The first selected department becomes the primary by default.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>You can manually change the primary department anytime while editing\u00a0<\/span>the contact on the<\/span>\u00a0contact details page.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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        Departments in the support portal <\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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        1. How contacts use departments in the support portal <\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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        You can control what contacts see when they log in to the\u00a0<\/span>s<\/span>upport\u00a0<\/span>p<\/span>ortal.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

        Configuring department visibility in ticket forms:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

        • Go to Settings > Admin > Ticket Forms > Support Portal<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>
        • Enable Support Portal signed-in users from specified companies<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>
        • Choose the company<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>
        • Select the departments that should have visibility<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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          \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"department-visibility-in-ticket-forms-desk365\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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          When a contact logs into the portal:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

          • Their primary department will\u00a0be\u00a0auto-selected\u00a0in the ticket form. However, they can switch to another department using the dropdown<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>
          • If they are logged out, the department field will not display, and the primary department is used by default<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>
          • If a form is visible to two departments, Desk365 will apply the intersection of:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>
          • Departments selected in the form<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li><\/ul>
            • Departments the contact belongs to<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li><\/ul>

              This ensures contacts only see forms meant for them.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

              The same department-based visibility controls can also be configured for knowledge base articles and announcements.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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              2. Viewing and managing departments in the support portal <\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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              In the support portal, you can display the department field directly in the ticket list and ticket\u00a0details\u00a0view. This helps contacts quickly\u00a0identify\u00a0which department a ticket was\u00a0submitted\u00a0under and keeps communication clear across teams.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

              From Settings > Channels > Support Portal, you can:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

              • Add department as a column in the ticket list view<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>
              • Control which ticket properties (including department) appear in the ticket details page<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>
              • Include department as a selectable field when contacts export tickets from the support portal<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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                \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"managing-departments-in-support-portal-desk365\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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                Once added, the department selected during ticket creation is clearly visible throughout the support portal experience.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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                Departments in the agent portal <\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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                Ticket list view <\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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                You can add\u00a0department\u00a0as a column to see which department was chosen by the contact.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

                To customize:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

                • Click\u00a0edit\u00a0columns<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>
                • Add\u00a0department<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>
                • Rearrange columns as needed<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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                  \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"department-in-ticket-list-page\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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                  Filters & custom views <\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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                  You can filter tickets by department and save the result as a custom view for quick access in the future.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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                  \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"create-new-customer-view-by-adding-department-in-filters\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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                  Using departments in automations <\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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                  Departments can be used i<\/span>n\u00a0<\/span>automation\u00a0<\/span>conditions<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>This lets you route, categorize, or tag tickets automatically.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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                  \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"department-in-automation-rules-desk365\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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                  Departments in exports <\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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                  When you export data from Desk365,<\/span>\u00a0you can\u00a0<\/span>also\u00a0<\/span>include<\/span>\u00a0information related to\u00a0<\/span>departments<\/span>\u00a0so you can analyze how different\u00a0<\/span>departments\u00a0<\/span>within a company are using your helpdesk.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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                  \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"departments-in-exports-desk365\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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                  In ticket exports<\/strong>, the department selected by the contact at the time of ticket creation is included as part of the contact-related fields. This makes it easy to understand which department raised each ticket when\u00a0you’re\u00a0reviewing the exported data in a spreadsheet.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

                  In contact exports<\/strong>, Desk365 includes both the primary department and any secondary departments the contact belongs to. This gives you a complete view of each\u00a0contact\u2019s\u00a0association with various\u00a0departments\u00a0inside their company, which is useful for segmentation or reporting.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

                  In company exports<\/strong>, you will see a list of all the departments that have been created for each company. This helps you quickly verify how many departments exist under each company and how they are structured.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

                  These fields help with reporting and offline analysis.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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                  Departments in announcements, knowledge base & placeholders <\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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                  Departments help you control what content each user sees.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

                  • Announcements:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0You can show an announcement only to users in \u201cFinance.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>
                  • Knowledge Base:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0A KB article like \u201cHow to Request Reimbursement\u201d can be restricted to Finance and HR Support<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>
                  • Placeholders<\/span><\/b>: Email templates and automations can include department details dynamically.\u00a0<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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                    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"departments-in-placeholders-desk365\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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                    Departments in web forms, widgets, and email <\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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                    When a contact\u00a0<\/span>submits<\/span>\u00a0a ticket through<\/span>\u00a0t<\/span>he\u00a0<\/span><\/span>web form, widget, or email,\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Desk365 uses their Primary Department<\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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                    Departments and the Support Bot <\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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                    When using the Support Bot,\u00a0<\/span>the departments the contact is associated with\u00a0<\/span>is<\/span>\u00a0listed during ticket creation.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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                    Departments in reporting & API <\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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                    You can filter reports by department to understand:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

                    • Ticket volume by department<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>
                    • Performance of a specific department<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>
                    • Workload distribution<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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                      \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"departments-in-api\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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                      \u00a0<\/span>Using the API, you can retrieve department data for custom dashboards.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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                      \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"departments-in-reporting\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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                      Even within a single company, departments help bring structure to your support operations by organizing contacts, tickets, and content by team. This ensures requests are routed correctly, visibility is controlled, and each department receives a more relevant and personalized support experience.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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                      Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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                      \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWhat happens when you remove a contact from a department?<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t

                      The department associated with the contact\u2019s support tickets will be unassigned from the contact, but the department itself will continue to exist within the company.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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                      \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWhat happens when a contact\u2019s company changes?<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t

                      When a contact is moved to a new company, all their existing support tickets move to the new company and the department value becomes unassigned.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

                      \n\t\t\t\t\t
                      \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWhat happens when you edit a ticket and change the contact?<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t

                      If the new contact belongs to multiple departments, the agent can choose the appropriate department that the ticket should be assigned to.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

                      \n\t\t\t\t\t
                      \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWhat happens when you delete a department from a company?<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t

                      If the department is associated with:<\/p>

                      • Any contacts<\/li>
                      • Ticket form visibility<\/li>
                      • Knowledge base articles<\/li>
                      • Announcements<\/li>
                      • Assets<\/li>
                      • Automations<\/li><\/ul>

                        Desk365 will not allow the department to be deleted until those associations are removed.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t