NextTicket Manager for Autotask – MSPbots.ai

The NextTicket Manager for Autotask app is an automated ticket dispatch system that gives the technicians and dispatchers a portal to identify the next ticket that will be worked on. The dispatching is based on a scoring system defined by the organization considering predefined rules that will help deliver value to the MSP faster.

1. How to access the app

To access the Next Ticket app for Autotask in MSPbots, follow these steps:

Open the MSPbots app.
Click Apps on the left pane.
When the Apps tab opens, click NextTicket for Autotask.

2. Why should you care?

For Owners and Service Managers: The Next Ticket app provides an automated way of dispatching tickets to technicians. It also helps ensure that technicians and dispatchers are more objective in catering tickets based on their priority, importance, and time criticality.
For Dispatchers: This feature gives dispatchers an automated way of dispatching tickets in a few clicks. Dispatchers see the highest ticket priority for each technician considering their skillset.
For Technicians: This feature helps technicians easily identify what ticket they should work on next. If technicians can't work on the ticket, they can reject it as long as they specify the reason. Technicians can also monitor their daily scheduled tickets on the same page.

3. Prerequisites

Autotask Integration

Properly configured priority rules. Only admin users can set and modify priority rules.
Optional: Add Companies to the watch list.

4. Admin Users: Setup Procedures

Only Admin users have permission to adjust the settings for the NextTicket Manager app.

4.1. Set the ticket filter

You can set filters to help narrow down the tickets applicable to each technician.

To set the ticket filter, follow these steps:

On the NextTicket for Autotask screen, select the Tickets filter list, and then click Add New Filter.
In the Filter Settings window, enter the filter name in the Filter Name box.
On the center pane, select the applicable filter type from the Select Fields list.
When two new boxes or lists appear beside the Select Fields list, specify the other specifications of the filter.
- If you want to add more groups or conditions for the filter, click the plus symbol below Filter Name, and then select either Add Group or Add Condition.
- You can also click Preview to check if your new filter settings or conditions are valid before you save the changes.
Click Save.

4.2. Delete filter conditions

Deleting filter conditions individually or in a single batch is done in the Filter Settings window.

To delete filter conditions individually, click the delete icon corresponding to the condition you want to delete.

To delete all filter conditions at once, click the trash bin icon, and click Clear All.

4.3. Accept or Reject the top-priority ticket of a user

Selecting a ticket filter and a user on the NextTicket for ConnectWise screen automatically triggers the Request Next Ticket action and refreshes the user's top-priority ticket and its details. The Accept and Reject buttons on this screen allow you to accept the ticket, or reject it if you think it should not be assigned to the selected user, provided a reason for rejection is given.

To accept or reject the top priority ticket of a user, follow these steps:

On the NextTicket for AutoTask screen, select the applicable filter from the Tickets filter list.
From the User list, select the applicable user to see his or her top priority ticket.
Once the details of the user's top priority ticket appear, review then click Accept or Reject.
- Accepting the next ticket
  Click the Accept button to start working on the next ticket.
  
  The Accept button is available in the NextTicket Manager user interface and MS Teams when the Enable Accept Button option is activated (See Configure Accept ticket actions). Clicking this button will let the user take ownership of the provided top-priority ticket and send the corresponding NT bot messages to the user's MS Teams.
  Clicking the Accept button will:
  1. Assign the selected user or the user with the Autotask User Mapping setting in User Management as the new Ticket Owner.
  2. Apply the In-Progress status configured in the Override In-Progress Status by Board section.
  3. If an error message appears, you can click Request Next Ticket to request the current highest priority ticket in your queue.
    
    You can only accept the next ticket provided to you when the lock has not expired, and you cannot click on the Accept button of another user's next ticket.
- Rejecting the next ticket
  1. Click the Reject button.
  2. In the Reject Reason window, select or type the reason for rejecting the ticket. Providing a valid reason helps improve the NextTicket rules and generate more accurate calculations.
  3. Click Save. NextTicket Manager will skip the rejected ticket for the next 60 minutes and the next ticket with the highest priority will be provided.

4.4. Set up the point system for priority rules

You can define the point system for the priority rules of the Next Ticket app. This point system affects the prioritization of the tickets for the users.

To set up the point system, follow these steps:

On the NextTicket for AutoTask screen, click Settings.
When the NextTicket For AutoTask Settings screen opens, select the appropriate options in the Tickets filter and User lists.
Set up the priority rules. You can view the Priority Rules and Functions table for reference. By default, the rows of priority rules are expanded. Click the Click to Collapse All symbol beside Priority Point rules to collapse all rows of priority rules.
After setting up each priority rule, you can do any of the following:
- Click Load Default to load the default value for the rule.
- Click Save Default to save the new priority rule value as the default value.
- Click Save & Test to save the changes for the specific priority rule and test the values of the rule.
- Click Save to save the changes for the modified rule.
After setting up all your preferred priority rules, do any of the following:
- Click Test All to verify if the resulting prioritization meets expectations.
- Click Load Default All to load the default values for all the priority rules.
- Click Save All to save the changes for all the priority rules.

Priority Rules and Functions

Priority Rule	Function
Assigned to User	Indicate the points to be added to a ticket if it is assigned to the selected user.
Company Classification
Company Type	Select a company type of a company from where the ticket was logged, and then indicate the corresponding points to be added to a ticket if the criterion is met.
Company in "Watch List"	Indicate the points to be added to a ticket if a company is on the watch list.
Company is Matched to User	Select a company from where the ticket was logged, and select the technician requested to handle the ticket. Lastly, indicate the corresponding points to be added to a ticket if the criteria are met.
Contact's Job Title	Select the job title of the person who logged the ticket, and indicate the corresponding points for the criteria.
In Progress Ticket	Indicate the points to be deducted from the ticket if it is in progress for other users or points to be added to the ticket if the user changed the ticket status to In Progress. If somebody else is already working on a ticket, dispatching it to another user might cause an overlap. However, when a ticket has been in progress for too long that the original user assigned to it may have forgotten to continue working on it, 'Time In Certain Status' and 'Time from Last Update' priority rules can be adjusted to ensure these tickets won't be buried in the pool.
Past Due Date	Indicate the points to be added to a ticket for every hour past its due date.
Priority Type	Indicate the points to be added to a ticket based on a specific priority level.
Selected Assigned	Indicate the points to be added to a ticket based on a specific status and requested user.
Ticket Status to User	Indicate the points to be added to a ticket based on a specific status and requested user.
Ticket Title	For this priority rule, specify a keyword, and add corresponding points if the ticket has the keyword in the title.
Time In Status Based On Time Point	Indicate the points to be added to a ticket if it has been in the specified status for more than or less than the specified duration.
Time In Status Per Hour	Indicate the points to be added to a ticket for every hour it has been in the specified status.
Time from Last Update	Indicate the points to be added to a ticket for every minute that it has been in the specified status.

4.5. Add companies to the watch list

Adding companies to the watch list gives additional points to logged tickets and makes follow-ups easier.

To add companies to the watch list, follow these steps:

On the NextTicket for AutoTask screen, click Watch List.
When the Watch List tab opens, click Add Company.
In the Add Company window, select the check box for the applicable companies.
You can also select the Only show companies have agreement check box if you want only the companies with agreements to appear on the list.
Next, enter the reason for adding the companies in the Why add to the watch list? box.
Click Save.

4.6. Lock and Timeout Duration

The Lock and Timeout Duration feature prevents technicians from working on the same ticket and situations where multiple technicians get the same ticket. It locks the requested ticket for the requesting technician's review until the lock expires and another technician can review it.

Below is how the Lock and Timeout Duration feature works once activated in the NextTicket settings.

The technician clicks the Request Next Ticket button and receives the next high-priority ticket for review. This ticket is automatically locked to the requesting technician for five (5) minutes, which is the default timeout duration.
The technician must study the ticket details and accept or reject the requested ticket within the timeout duration.
Clicking Accept within the timeout duration will assign the ticket to the requesting technician.
If the technician fails to click Accept before the lock expires, the next ticket may already be requested by another technician. The original requesting technician cannot accept the ticket anymore.
Clicking Reject before the lock expires will automatically expire the lock and the ticket becomes available for other technicians to request. The next requesting technician will be subject to the same ticket lock process.

Requested tickets are locked to the requesting technician over the duration configured in the Lock and Timeout Duration settings. During this time, the accepted ticket is locked to the accepting technician and inaccessible to other technicians until the lock time expires. The admin cannot reassign the lock ticket during the lock period either. The ticket will be open to other technicians only after the lock expires.

How to activate and configure the duration of the lock and timeout duration settings

Open the NextTicket Manager app.
Click Settings > Options.
Go to the Basic tab in the Options window and set the Lock & Timeout Duration.

The default timeout duration is 5 minutes, but you can set the lock to a maximum of 60 minutes.
Entering the value zero (0) deactivates the lock and timeout feature.
This field does not accept a null or blank input.
Click Save to apply the settings.

4.7. Customize Ticket URL

Open the NextTicket for Autotask app.
Click Settings > Options.
When the Options tab appears, enable the Customize Ticket URL toggle switch and enter your custom ticket URL, replacing the actual ticket number with the {{TicketNumber}} token.
- For example, if the original ticket URL is https://manage.mspbotssample.com/v4_6_release/ConnectWise.aspx?locale=en_US&routeTo=ServiceFV&recid=5027470
  and you want to customize the ticket URL to
  https://mtx.link/5027470,
  you need to enter https://mtx.link/{{TicketNumber}} in the Customize Ticket URL option. So, when you click on the ticket number, the link will point to https://mtx.link/5027470.
  The Customize Ticket URL feature is universal in the Attendance Manager and all NextTicket apps.
  - Enabling the Customize Ticket URL switch in the Attendance Manager or any of the NextTicket apps will activate this function in all the other apps with this feature. If you turn off the switch in any of these apps, the feature will be disabled in the remaining apps.
  - Any configurations made on the Customize Ticket URL settings will be applied to all apps with this feature.
  - If the Customize Ticket URL switch is off, the ticket links will remain as the originally generated links.
Click Save to keep your settings.

4.8. Configure Accept Ticket Actions

Go to NextTicket for Autotask app.
Click Settings > Options.
When the Options tab appears, click Accept Ticket Actions.
1. Enable the Accept Button - Turning this switch ON will enable you to accept Autotask tickets in the NextTicket for Autotask app. This switch is closed by default.
2. In-Progress Status - Set the status to which the ticket will be updated after clicking Accept. For example, if you set the In-Progress Status to Complete, clicking Accept will update the ticket to the Complete status.
Click Save to keep your settings.
Follow the steps below to set user default role associations, enabling the user who accepts tickets to become the ticket owner.
1. Log in to Autotask as an admin of Autotask.
2. Hover over the menu icon, go to Admin > Resources (Users).
3. On the Resources page, click the name of any company member in the Resource Name column.
4. Click Associations.
5. In the Service Desk Roles section, click the New button.
6. Select a role for the member.
7. Select the checkbox for Default and ensure that Active is also selected.
  
  * While a member can be associated with and activate multiple roles, the member's default role can only be set to one.
  * Ensure that the member is associated with a default role.
8. Click OK.
9. Click Save to keep the settings.
10. Repeat steps 5.7.5.c - 5.7.5.i to associate the default role with all members in your company who need to handle tickets.

5. Users or Technicians: Feature Overview and Tasks

This section guides users on how to navigate the NextTicket app.

5.1. View your top-priority ticket

On the NextTicket for Autotask screen, you can see the top priority ticket.
To view your top priority ticket, go to the NextTicket for Autotask screen, and select the appropriate filter from the Tickets filter list.
After you select a filter, the Request Next Ticket option automatically refreshes, and the details of your next top-priority ticket appear on the screen.
Select either Dashboard View or List View to view the ticket details.
- In List View, you can view details about the tickets in the your queue, including:
  - Pts - The score of the ticket calculated based on Priority Rules.
  - Timer - Time until the ticket is released after being locked.
  - Reserve Status - Status of reserved tickets.
    - Accept | Reject - You can Accept or Reject the highest priority ticket at the top of the list.
    - Open
    - Locked - The ticket has been locked by another technician. Hover over the icon at the top right of Locked to view the name of the technician who has locked it.

5.2. Accept the next ticket

Click the Accept button to start working on the next ticket.

5.3. Reject your top-priority ticket

If you think the ticket should not be your top-priority ticket, you can reject the ticket and provide a reason for rejection.

To reject your top-priority ticket, follow these steps:

On the NextTicket for Autotask screen, select the applicable filter from the Tickets filter list.
Once the details of the user's top priority ticket appear on the screen, click Reject Next Ticket.
When the Reject Reason window opens, select or type the reason for rejection and click Save.

6. Viewing the dashboards

The NextTicket Manager for Autotask has dashboards that display NextTicket usage data like the count of NextTicket users and the number of tickets dispatched, updated, and rejected. It also has a rule report that shows the enabled rules. For more information on the NextTicket AutoTask dashboards and how to access them, read the article NextTicket Manager for Autotask Dashboards.

7. Known Issues

Error: Does not exist for source

When clicking the Accept button to accept a ticket, an error message containing "does not exist for source" is received.

To resolve this issue, refer to How to Resolve “does not exist for source” Error when Accepting an Autotask Ticket.

Error: The logged in Resource does not have the adequate permissions to update this entity type

When clicking the Accept button to accept a ticket, the error message "The logged in Resource does not have the adequate permissions to update this entity type" is received.

To resolve this issue, refer to How to Resolve the "Resource does not have the adequate permissions" Error when Accepting an Autotask Ticket.