Below you’ll find answers to the most common questions about submitting, managing, and automating support tickets in Atera.
Frequently asked questions
This section will cover the frequently asked questions regarding Atera's ticketing system.
Q: How do end-users submit a ticket?
A: You can submit support tickets via email (forwarded to your support address), through the customer portal, using a Helpdesk Agent on Windows devices, alerts, or by integrated forms/API.
Q: How do I track the status of my tickets?
A: Check the ticketing dashboard to view open, pending, resolved, and closed tickets, and filter by status, priority, technician, or customer for detailed tracking.
Q: How do I automate ticket responses and workflow?
A: Set up ticket automation rules within Admin > Support and Ticketing to automate replies, notifications, and technician assignments.
Q: Can ticketing be integrated with platforms like Slack or Teams?
A: Yes, integration is possible via API or webhooks, allowing you to automate ticket creation, send notifications, or update ticket statuses directly from platforms like Slack or Teams.
Q: How do I customize ticket fields, templates, and workflows?
A: Ticket forms, statuses, and reply templates can be fully customized via Admin > Support and Ticketing, adapting your workflow to different ticket sources or customer needs.
Q: Can I delete or edit an internal note?
A: No, internal notes cannot be deleted or modified.
Q: Technicians are not receiving the right assignments or notifications.
A: Use ticket automation rules to assign tickets based on groups or technicians, and ensure notifications are correctly set up for both individual and group assignments. Use the option Set Field Value > Technician or Group. Assign tickets to groups or technicians based on the conditions setup in your ticket automation rules.
Q: Resolved tickets get accidentally reopened due to thank-you messages.
A: Use automation or ticketing system rules that detect “thank you” or similar phrases and prevent such tickets from reopening or triggering workflow changes.
Q: How can I automate ticket follow-ups when customers don’t respond?
A: Use time-based automation rules to trigger reminder emails after specific intervals (e.g., 24, 48, 72 hours), and set a rule to automatically close the ticket if there’s still no response. Customize reminder and closure templates for clarity and automate the process fully in Admin > Ticket Automation Rules.
Q: Can I customize ticket email notifications for technicians?
A: Yes, create a custom technician email template and attach it to your automation rule.
Q: How do I send updates to technician groups, not just individuals?
A: You can notify entire technician groups by setting up automation rules and referencing groups as recipients in the rule definition; create targeted email templates as needed and use dynamic fields to insert relevant ticket data.
Q: How do I merge duplicate tickets?
A: Go to the Ticket view, select the duplicate, use the Merge function, and pick the primary ticket; this combines all details and avoids clutter or confusion.
Q: What’s the best way to assign tickets to the right technician?
A: Use automation rules to assign tickets based on source, customer, group, or auto-tags, and consider round-robin settings for workload balance.
Q: How do I track time and calculate billable hours on tickets?
A: Technicians can start, pause, or edit time entries directly from the Ticket page; manual edits and time entry reviews are also available for precise billing. Use the Timesheet report to get an overview of time spent on tickets.
Q: What do the different ticket statuses mean?
A: Typical statuses are Open (being worked on), Pending (awaiting customer input, SLA paused), Resolved (awaiting confirmation), and Closed (confirmed resolved and archived); you can add custom statuses for additional workflow needs.
Q: Why do my emails appear to noreply@atera.com?
A: You need to configure DKIM or SMTP settings; this way, your emails will be sent from your desired email address.
Q: Why aren’t tickets being created from emails?
A: Make sure you’ve set up your email forwarding correctly from your main support mailbox to Atera’s auto-generated support address in Admin > Support & Ticketing > Email Settings, and enable “Auto-create new contact on incoming email.” If this setting is off, tickets may not be created for new contacts.
Q: How do I view attached files on a ticket?
A: Once you send a reply containing an attachment that has been saved, open the ticket, locate the reply with the attachment, and you’ll see an option to view or download the file.
Q: How can I ensure ticket replies from customers are linked to the correct ticket, not creating a new one?
A: Always configure your email templates so the subject line contains the ticket number (e.g. [#{[Ticket Number]}] Subject text). This links responses to the right ticket thread in Atera.
Q: Why are closure or update notifications not sent to end users?
A: You need to set up a ticket automation rule: Admin > Support & Ticketing > Ticket Automation Rules > New Rule, trigger “Ticket Closed/Resolved,” action “Send email to contact”, and select an appropriate template. If no action to send an email is set, the user won’t receive notifications.
Q: Can updates and closures be automatically communicated to customers by email?
A: Yes, set automated notification rules with customized templates for different triggers (ticket creation, update, resolution) in Admin > Support & Ticketing > Email Templates and Ticket Automation Rules.
Q: How do I handle issues with forwarding support emails from my current address?
A: Set up a forwarding rule from your external support address to the Atera-provided email address, as explained in Admin > Support & Ticketing > Email Settings. Check mail flow, anti-spam, and forwarding limits in your provider’s admin center as well. Make sure you do not create a double forwarding rule, where the end user's email is forwarded through two email addresses until it reaches your Auto-Generated support address.
Q: How do I troubleshoot tickets not being created from emails—what details do I check?
A: Confirm auto-create new user is enabled, the forwarding address is correct, and that emails (with any attachments) are under 20 MB.
Q: Are there email limits?
A: Trial accounts are limited to 50 emails/day and can be blacklisted if this is exceeded—paid subscriptions increase this to 50 per minute. Rapid creation or reply cycles may temporarily pause email sending for up to 10 minutes.
Q: Does updating MX records affect normal email flow or ticketing?
A: Adding Atera-related MX records for forwarding tickets should not interfere with your regular email flow if done per best practices
Q: Is there a way to mark or filter spam tickets automatically?
A: Yes, use the spam management system (Admin > Accounts settings > Tickets tab) to automatically or manually mark tickets as spam. Automation rules can also apply custom statuses or assign tickets for review if marked as spam.
Q: Can I CC other users or technicians in ticket communications via email?
A: Yes, use the CC field in the ticket reply window to include additional end users or technicians; they’ll receive updates for that ticket and can reply to participate in the conversation
Q: Why do I get an error “No contacts in customer” when a ticket should be created from an alert or email?
A: This means the system could not locate a matching contact for the ticket within the customer profile. Sometimes due to a mismatch in email domains or missing contact entries. To fix, ensure the sender’s email is listed as a contact in the relevant customer profile, or enable “Auto-create contacts from incoming email” in the configuration.
Q: Why are some contacts unable to create tickets via email?
A: The most common cause is that the sender’s email address is not registered as a contact under the relevant customer profile, or the “Auto-create new contact on incoming email” option is turned off, preventing ticket creation for new email addresses. Another thing that can prevent a contact from creating a ticket via email is the option "Ignore emails from contact/user". To fix this, search for the contact, access their settings, and check if the option is enabled. Disable it if needed.
Q: What is double forwarding and how does it affect ticket creation in Atera?
A: Double forwarding happens when an email is forwarded through more than one step (such as multiple aliases, distribution groups, or automatic rules) before being delivered to your Atera support address. Atera does not support double forwarding, which prevents tickets from being created or causes missed emails, as the system cannot track the original sender or thread properly.
Q: What’s the recommended solution in case of double forwarding?
A: Always set a direct forwarding rule from the main support address or distribution list directly to your Atera auto-generated support address. Avoid using aliases or multiple chained forwarding rules; each support-receiving address must be listed as a “Primary” or “Additional” Customer Support Address in Atera and should forward directly to Atera’s system. If you use Microsoft 365, leverage mailbox forwarding or redirect rules, and ensure external/automatic forwarding is enabled as described in Atera’s setup guide
Q: Can I manually create or assign a ticket from an alert?
A: Yes, from the Alerts, Site, or Customer pages, select the alert and click “Create Ticket” (for a new ticket) or “Assign existing ticket.” The selected ticket will then be linked to the alert for tracking.
Q: What should I do if tickets are not being created from alerts or the settings aren’t behaving as expected?
A: Double-check that a threshold profile is assigned, “Automated ticket creation” is on for the correct customer/site/severity, and no conflicting automation rules exist. If issues persist, contact support for help.
Q: How do I review and track tickets that came from alerts?
A: Use the ticketing dashboard or filter tickets by source “Alerts” to see which were generated from alert events. Analytical and preset reports also show alert-sourced ticket data.
Q: How can I stop tickets from being created for every alert?
A: Disable “Automated ticket creation” in Admin > Monitoring and Automation > Alert settings or limit it to only critical/warning alerts, and ensure that your “Alerts email” is not the same as your ticketing email to prevent duplicate ticket creation from alert emails.
Q: Can tickets from alerts be assigned to specific technicians or groups automatically?
A: Yes, you can use ticket automation rules to assign alert-generated tickets based on source, severity, device, or group, ensuring the right technician or team receives the issue.
Q: How do customers submit and track tickets via the Customer Portal?
A: Customers log in to the portal with their credentials and can create new tickets using the “+ New Ticket” button, filling in required fields like title and category. They also see all their current tickets, filter them, and track status and technician updates for each ticket right from the portal interface
Q: Can customers update, reply, or close tickets in the Customer Portal?
A: Customers can open any ticket, add comments or replies, and upload supporting files. They can request closure by commenting, but actual closure is usually performed by a technician after resolution is confirmed
Q: How do customers know when a technician has responded?
A: The portal provides real-time status updates, and customers receive email notifications for every technician reply, status change, or ticket resolution, keeping them fully informed without needing to log in each time, as long as you have set up ticket automation rules for this purpose.
Q: Are there restrictions on what can be viewed or edited in the portal?
A: Field visibility and editability are controlled by the administrator; customers may only see or edit certain fields (e.g., priority, impact) as configured under Admin > Custom Fields. Some features, like changing ticket assignment or priority, are restricted to technicians
Q: Why are some tickets not appearing in the dashboard after creation?
A: This can happen if the ticket is created with a status or priority that filters it out of the default view. Check your dashboard filters to ensure all relevant statuses and priorities are included, and verify the ticket was created under the correct customer or site.
Q: How do I delete tickets?
A: You can delete tickets either one by one or in bulk. This article provides information on how to delete both individual and bulk tickets.
Q: Can I duplicate tickets?
A: No, Atera does not have a direct feature to duplicate or copy existing tickets; you must manually create a new ticket and copy the notes if needed, or use the Schedule Ticket feature for repeating similar tickets as a workaround.
Q: How do I change the customer on an existing ticket?
A: Tickets are linked to customers through the assigned contact. To change the customer, edit the contact from the Contact info section on the right side of the ticket by clicking the pencil icon and selecting a contact under the desired customer.
Q: Can I export or back up full ticket comments and email history from Atera?
A: Atera does not currently provide a built-in export or direct database copy of full ticket comments and email history. Reports within Atera may provide high-level ticket information, but they do not include complete comment chains or email conversations.
To retrieve full ticket communication history, you must use the Atera API. The API allows access to ticket data, including comments and email history; however, this process requires separate calls per ticket and must operate within the existing API rate limits.
Q: Can audio files on tickets be transcribed?
A: No, Atera does not currently offer a feature to transcribe audio files attached to tickets.
