Will the original assignees, message authors and created dates be preserved?
Yes. Created-time metadata is carried across, and so are assignees and message authors who have a user account in Helpshift. Where Helpshift cannot store one of them natively, it is kept as embedded metadata on the migrated record.
If the new system can't natively support an old record type, what are my options?
We handle it case by case. While mapping your data, we identify every record type without a direct counterpart in Helpshift, review sample records from it and propose how it can be represented, based on what Helpshift supports: map it to the closest native object, create a custom field or object, fold it into the parent record as text or a note, attach it as a file, or keep it in a read-only archive. You choose the approach, we write the migration scripts to place the data there, so it comes across in the form you choose instead of being left behind, and you see how it looks in a sample migration before we run the full set.
Do you migrate our Front workflows, triggers and automations to Helpshift, or just the tickets?
They can be part of the migration. We recreate your existing Front triggers and automations in Helpshift using its own conditions and actions, and agree the exact list of rules with you during scoping. Designing new workflows beyond the ones you have today is separate, and is best done by your team or your implementation partner.
What happens to Front tickets assigned to agents who have left the team or don't have an account in Helpshift?
They still come across. Before the migration runs, you decide where they go: to a fallback owner you choose, or left unassigned where Helpshift allows it. Either way, each ticket can get a tag with the original agent's name, for example Assigned_to_Jane, so your team can still see and filter who handled it and reassign them later.
Can we merge several Front accounts into one Helpshift account and still tell which account each ticket came from?
Yes. Tickets from several Front accounts can be consolidated into one Helpshift account, and each ticket is tagged with the account it came from so your team can filter by origin. A shared migration tag can also go on every imported ticket, which keeps historical records separate from new work.
Do our Front ticket attachments come across to Helpshift?
Yes. Attachments are migrated along with the ticket conversations they belong to, not just the text. We can also carry over reference fields such as the original ticket number and a link back to Front, so your team can cross-check any record. You can review attachments and dates in the sample migration before the full run.
Our Front setup has custom ticket statuses that Helpshift doesn't have. How do they get mapped?
We map every Front status to a status in Helpshift and send you a proposed mapping for the ones that need a decision. You confirm or correct it before the full migration, and the sample migration shows exactly how your tickets' statuses land.
Which of our Front ticket tags carry over to Helpshift, and can migrated tickets be marked so we can tell them apart?
The tags on the tickets being migrated. Tags come across as part of each migrated ticket, so a tag that isn't on any migrated ticket isn't created in Helpshift, and you can also limit the migration to a list of tags you choose in the migration checklist. Each migration is a custom script, so we can also stamp every imported ticket with a tag such as "migrated", or, where Helpshift has custom ticket fields, a field value you choose, so they are easy to filter, and if you ask for a change after reviewing migrated tickets, we re-sync those tickets with the update. The sample migration shows exactly how your tags appear before the full run.
Will the migration set off automations or send emails or notifications to customers, our team or anyone else?
No. Before the sample or full migration starts, we confirm with you that nothing in Helpshift will send messages about the migrated data: we import with notifications switched off wherever Helpshift allows it, and either pause any automation that could send them for the migration window or give it a condition, such as a suppression tag, that skips migrated records, which lets your live automations keep running for new records. We only proceed once you have confirmed it. If you want anyone told about the move, that message is sent separately, once the migrated data has been checked.
Will you migrate our Front knowledge base articles as well as tickets?
Yes. Knowledge base articles can be part of the same migration as your tickets, and move into your Helpshift knowledge base.
Can we migrate only our Front contacts who have tickets, not our whole contact list?
Yes. We pull your tickets first, collect the distinct requesters from them, and migrate only those contact records. Contacts with no ticket history are not added to Helpshift.
Can you migrate data that Helpshift can't take in through an API?
In many cases, yes. Where something can't be written through an API, we recreate it through Helpshift's user interface where the interface allows it, and where that work is repetitive we script and automate it. We tell you up front which items are handled this way, because recreating them through the interface can add time to the schedule.
If we don't recreate all our Front custom fields in Helpshift, will that data still be kept on our old tickets?
Yes. We can write custom field values onto each migrated ticket as an internal note, laid out as readable field-and-value pairs. Your team can still see that information on every historical ticket, and only the fields you plan to keep using need to be recreated.
Will full Front ticket conversations come across, or only notes on each ticket?
We migrate the full conversation on each ticket, not a summary saved as notes. Where Front's API doesn't expose part of the history, our engineers retrieve it from Front directly and work out a route to load it into Helpshift. You check the result in a sample migration before the full run begins.
What happens if Helpshift requires fields our Front data doesn't have?
We check the destination for required fields your source data cannot fill and bring each one to you before those records are migrated. Together we agree how each one is handled, such as a mapping from an existing field, a default value, or, where Helpshift lets that field be made optional, setting it to not required for the migration so you can make it required again once the migration is complete. The migration then runs with that rule applied, so no records are rejected or left behind.
What happens if some Front tickets fail to migrate?
Every ticket that errors is logged. We review it, fix the cause and re-sync it, then validate the result before cutover. When the migration is complete you receive a list of every migrated ticket, so you can check it against Front.
What happens to Front comments written by agents who have since left the company?
Their comments migrate with the rest of the ticket history. If the original author does not have an account in Helpshift, we can add a line at the start of the comment naming who wrote it, so it stays attributable.
Do internal notes and system-generated notes from Front migrate to Helpshift, or only customer-facing replies?
Internal notes can come across, and so can system-generated notes where Front's API makes them available. During scoping you choose which notes to include, so Helpshift holds the history your team will actually use.
Can you map our Front ticket categories or field values to different ones in Helpshift?
Yes. You give us the mapping, including what blank values should become, and we apply it in the migration script so every ticket arrives in Helpshift with the new values. You check the mapping on the sample migration before the full run.
Can we keep spam and sales emails out of Helpshift?
Yes. We agree filtering rules with you up front so spam and sales emails are excluded rather than imported. Afterwards you receive a list of every ticket we pulled from Front, with excluded tickets marked as skipped.
Will emojis and special characters in our Front tickets come through correctly in Helpshift?
Yes, as long as Helpshift can store them. Our scripts carry emojis and special characters across intact, and we can clean out stray encoding characters left behind in older tickets before anything is written to Helpshift. You can check the result in the sample migration before the full run.
Can you migrate hundreds of thousands of Front tickets and contacts to Helpshift?
Yes. Every migration is a custom script built for your project, so volume is something we plan for, not a limit on what can move. At large volumes, run time is set mainly by how fast Front's and Helpshift's APIs accept requests, and we plan the full run around that. Before the full run, we test the mapping and throughput with a sample migration.
We use a lot of custom fields in Front. Can you map them to Helpshift?
Where Helpshift has a place for them, yes. Each migration is a custom script written for your project, so your custom fields and structure are mapped to Helpshift's model rather than forced through an import template. Where field types differ, such as a value stored as text in Front that Helpshift needs as a number, the script converts it. We agree the mapping with you and prove it on a sample migration before the full run.
Can you combine data from Front and other support tools into one Helpshift account?
Yes. Each tool's data is extracted separately and written into the same Helpshift account. How records from the different tools fit together is settled in the data mapping before the build. The sample migration includes data from every source, so you can check the combined result before the full run.
Will our Front ticket formatting, including HTML content, carry over to Helpshift?
Yes. The migration script converts ticket content, including HTML, into the format Helpshift expects, and our verification checks compare migrated tickets with the originals, including how the HTML renders. The sample migration lets you compare migrated tickets side by side with the originals before the full run, and if anything renders differently, such as HTML appearing as raw text, we adjust the script and re-run the samples until you sign off.
Our Front account already holds tickets imported from an earlier migration. Will that cause problems when we migrate to Helpshift?
It can make the number of tickets we pull differ from the count Front shows, so tell us about the earlier import during scoping. We compare those two numbers before the full run, so if earlier-imported history makes them differ, we find out why first. When the migration is complete, the reconciliation report accounts for every ticket.
Are deleted Front tickets included in the migration?
Only if you want them. You decide during scoping whether deleted and spam tickets are included, and we apply that choice to every run, including the final delta sync. Some platforms keep deleted tickets as scrubbed records with no remaining content; we flag any we find and migrate them only if you ask.
Do you migrate Front live chat, SMS and messaging conversations, such as WhatsApp, to Helpshift, and do they keep their original channel?
Yes. Chat conversations and messages from channels such as WhatsApp or Instagram are migrated as tickets alongside your email history, where Front makes them available through its API or an export. Helpshift may not let imported tickets keep every original channel: some platforms take most imported tickets in through a general API channel instead. So we keep the original channel wherever Helpshift allows it, and can tag each ticket with its original one, such as chat, SMS or WhatsApp, so your team can still find and filter them. If an export leaves out the message content for some channels, we tell you and agree another way to retrieve it.
Will Front tickets that have no customer email address, or whose contact can't be found, still be migrated to Helpshift?
Yes, if you want them. We look the contact up again before leaving any ticket behind: when a ticket can't be linked to its contact on the first pass, we run a second lookup, also checking elsewhere in the ticket's data, and attach the requester before the ticket is migrated. Some help desks need an email address or telephone number to create the customer a ticket belongs to, so we flag every ticket whose requester still has neither, including where Front's privacy settings hide the email from its API, and send you the list. You can then give us the right email for each requester, or have the tickets migrated with placeholder email addresses, and we migrate them that way.
If our Front spam tickets are migrated to Helpshift, will they still be marked as spam?
Yes, they can be. If you choose to include spam tickets, we mark them, for example with a spam tag, alongside a migration tag if you use one, so they stay easy to find and filter in Helpshift, and we include some in the sample so you can check them. If you'd rather leave spam behind, we agree a filter during scoping and it isn't imported.
If we collect customer satisfaction (CSAT) ratings in Front, can you migrate them to Helpshift?
Yes, where Helpshift can store them. Where it accepts satisfaction ratings, we migrate them with their tickets, which can need an extra permission on the new account's connection. Where it has no native place for historical ratings, we bring the scores across another way, such as a custom field or a tag on each ticket, agreed with you during scoping.
Can the activity history on each Front ticket, such as status changes and assignments, be migrated to Helpshift?
Usually not as a native timeline. Event history such as status changes and assignment timestamps stays with your Front account and generally isn't something a help desk accepts on import, so it is left out of the migration. Each ticket still arrives with its full conversation, status and assignee, and with its original timestamps where Helpshift accepts them, and parts of the history that matter to you can be kept another way, such as a tag with the ticket's original status or an internal note.
Can you migrate Front tickets that belong to private or restricted categories?
Yes, once the migration's connection can reach them. If a category or group is private or restricted in Front or Helpshift, the account we connect with may not be able to read or create tickets in it, so we flag every ticket this affects. You can then lift the restriction or give the connection the access it needs, such as an admin-level account, and we migrate the remaining tickets, or tell us to leave them out.
If we have Facebook and Instagram comments in Front, will they keep the right author and show where they came from in Helpshift?
Yes, as far as Front records it. Each message is attributed to the author Front's API reports, and messages from your team show under the right agent as long as that agent's account exists in Helpshift before the tickets are migrated; otherwise they fall back to the default agent. We also carry over the message source in as much detail as the API provides, for example telling comments on Instagram posts apart from comments on Instagram ads.
Can you also migrate email threads from our email account, such as Gmail, that never became tickets in Front?
Yes. Once your email account, such as Gmail, is connected, we can pull selected email threads directly from it, for example for a date range you choose, and migrate them into Helpshift as tickets. We share the list of threads with you to confirm before anything moves. Because they were never tickets, some details can look different from tickets migrated from Front.
Will Front tickets that have no messages or comments still be migrated to Helpshift?
Yes, if you want them. Some help desks can't create a ticket without at least one message, so we flag every ticket that has none and send you the list rather than skipping them silently. We first check whether the content is stored elsewhere in Front, such as a ticket description we can use as the first message. Otherwise we can migrate the ticket with a placeholder message, or leave it out if you prefer.
Do you download attachments for every Front ticket, or only for the tickets being migrated?
It depends on the source platform. For some sources, our scripts fetch attachments at the time each ticket is migrated rather than during the initial data pull, so files are downloaded only for the tickets in scope. For others, attachments are pulled along with the initial data. Either way, only the tickets you choose are migrated.
What happens to a conversation in Front that mixes email and chat messages if Helpshift keeps those channels separate?
We agree the approach with you during scoping. One option is to split the conversation into a ticket for each channel, each carrying the same subject, tags and other details, so the two are easy to find together on the same customer. If you'd rather have a single thread, we confirm during scoping whether Helpshift can hold it that way, and you check the result in the sample migration.
Will a customer in Front with several email addresses or telephone numbers end up as duplicate contacts in Helpshift?
Not if we agree the merges with you first. We identify records that share an email address or telephone number and propose merges in the migration checklist, where you confirm each one and choose which address stays primary. Each merged set becomes one contact holding all of that customer's tickets and, where Helpshift allows it, all of their email addresses. We don't merge on a guess, so records you don't confirm stay as they are.
If we use a chatbot in Front, do you migrate it and its conversation flows to Helpshift, or only the conversations it handled?
We migrate the conversations it handled, not the chatbot itself. Every chat conversation the bot took part in comes across with your ticket history, while the chatbot's own setup isn't migrated as data and is set up again in Helpshift where it offers one. Workflows and automation rules are a separate item, and the ones you have today can be recreated in Helpshift as agreed during scoping.
Will our customers be able to see their migrated conversations in Helpshift, for example in a customer portal?
It depends on Helpshift. Migrated tickets are attached to each customer's contact record like any other ticket, so where Helpshift has a portal that shows customers their own tickets, the migrated ones can appear there, while internal notes stay private to your agents. Some portals only show tickets or replies set up in a particular way, so we confirm during scoping how imported tickets show to customers in Helpshift and check it in the sample migration.
Can our agents reply to customers from migrated Front tickets in Helpshift?
Yes, where Helpshift treats migrated tickets as regular tickets and your support email is connected to it. An agent's reply from a migrated ticket then goes out to the customer, and the customer's next reply continues on that same ticket. Some help desks keep imported tickets read-only, so we confirm this for Helpshift and test it on your account before your team relies on it.
Will the information that integrations show in our Front tickets be migrated to Helpshift?
Not if that information lives in the integration rather than in Front. Widgets and similar panels are often drawn live by the integration, and where Front doesn't store that data or return it through its API, it can't be migrated with the tickets. The tickets and their conversations migrate as normal, and your team reconnects each integration to Helpshift after cutover.