Switching guide
Switch from Freshdesk to Flatdesk
Paste an API key and Flatdesk copies your Freshdesk history over: tickets with their messages and attachments, customers, tags and macros. Nothing changes in Freshdesk, and every original record is kept. Then forward your support email when you're ready.
The switch in six steps
- 1
Start the free trial
Sign up with no card. You get every feature for 14 days, so you can run Flatdesk next to Freshdesk without paying for both.
- 2
Connect Freshdesk
The import screen asks for an API key. The token is stored encrypted while the import runs and deleted when it ends.
- 3
Let it copy your history
Agents, tags, macros, customers, then tickets with their messages and attachments. Large imports pick up where they left off if they're interrupted.
- 4
Read the report
Anything that didn't fit is listed with its original record, and you can download the report as CSV. Every original record is also kept as a JSONL archive.
- 5
Try the AI on your own tickets
The AI test drive drafts answers to your 50 most recent answered tickets beside the replies your team sent. Nothing is sent to customers and it doesn't use your AI allowance.
- 6
Forward your support email and add the chat widget
Add a forwarding rule from your support address to the Flatdesk address (Gmail, Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 steps are in the setup screen), and add the website chat widget with one script tag. Keeping a copy in the old mailbox is fine; Flatdesk ignores duplicates.
Get your Freshdesk credentials
- 1.In Freshdesk, click your profile picture, then Profile settings.
- 2.Copy the API key shown on the right. Use an admin's key so every ticket, rule and canned response is visible.
- 3.In Flatdesk, enter your Freshdesk domain (the acme in acme.freshdesk.com) and the key.
What comes over
- Agents, tags, canned responses as macros, customers and companies
- Tickets with their messages, notes and attachments
- Custom fields, status, priority, type, due date and assignee
- Ticket creation, ticket update and time-based rules, where their conditions and actions map to Flatdesk triggers. The report lists the rest
- Every original record, kept in a downloadable archive
What you set up again
- Freshdesk's API doesn't list spam or deleted tickets, so those aren't imported
- Freshdesk groups aren't in Flatdesk yet; each ticket keeps its group as a field
- Freshdesk articles aren't imported yet
Check the fit before you move
Flatdesk handles email and website chat. If you answer customers by phone, SMS or social channels in Freshdesk, those stay there. It also has no app marketplace yet. The small teams page lists what it leaves out, and the security page lists what isn't in place yet.
Questions
Will importing change anything in Freshdesk?
No. The import only reads from Freshdesk, so your tickets, settings and users there stay as they are and you can keep using it side by side.
Can I run the import more than once?
Yes. Records are matched by their original ID, so running it again updates them instead of creating duplicates. A common pattern is to import during the trial, then import again just before you switch email over.
What about Freshdesk's AI sessions?
They stay with Freshdesk. Flatdesk's AI works from your macros and help articles, and you can try it on your own history first: the AI test drive drafts answers to your 50 most recent answered tickets next to the replies your team sent, without contacting anyone and without using your AI allowance.
How much does Flatdesk cost after the import?
$49 per agent per month, or $39 billed yearly, with 100 AI answers per agent included and a cap that's on by default. Every seat gets every feature, and viewers who only read tickets aren't billed.
Can I get my data back out of Flatdesk?
Yes. Settings has one .zip download with every ticket, message, customer, macro, help article, the audit log and every attachment as its original file.