Atera’s Ticket Automation Rules let you auto-handle routine ticket actions—assignments, notifications, status/priority updates, surveys, and webhooks—based on specific events or time conditions. Use them to route tickets intelligently, escalate on SLA risks, and keep technicians and requesters informed without manual effort.
Overview
Q: What are ticket automation rules in Atera?
A: They are condition-based rules that run when ticket events occur (e.g., creation, assignment, status change) or after set time intervals, to automate field updates, notifications, escalations, surveys, and integrations.
Q: Where do I configure ticket automation rules?
A: Admin > Support and Ticketing >Ticket Automation Rules.
Q: How many ticket automation rules can I create?
A: Unlimited.
Q: Are there preset automation rules?
A: Yes—Atera includes common presets (e.g., reopen on response, ticket created email, auto-assignment, remove disabled technician on reopen). You can enable/disable or customize your own.
Q: Do plan limits restrict automation?
A: Core rule capabilities are available on standard plans. Some AI-based actions/templates may require add-ons.
Triggers, Conditions & Flow
Q: What triggers are available?
A: New Ticket Created, Ticket Status Changed, Ticket Closed/Resolved, Ticket Assignment Changed, Ticket Group Assignment Changed, Requester/Contact Responded, and Low Ticket Rating Submitted. Time-based triggers are also supported for reminders/escalations.
Q: Can one automation rule trigger another?
A: No. Rules react to ticket events or time—they don’t chain off each other’s actions.
A: Automation rules fire on status transitions, not edits. Editing an already-resolved ticket doesn't re-trigger the rule. To run it again, move the ticket back to Open, then mark it Resolved.
This is intentional — it prevents duplicate emails to customers from routine edits.
Q: How do conditions work?
A: Conditions filter when a rule runs (e.g., Priority = Critical, Source = Portal, Tag contains “Password Reset”). Leave conditions blank to apply to all events of that trigger.
Q: Can I combine multiple conditions?
A: Yes. Use Must match to mark mandatory conditions (AND), and mix others for flexible logic (AND/OR behavior).
Q: What does “Ignore Flow” mean?
A: It lets a rule run regardless of hierarchy. Multiple rules with Ignore Flow = Yes can execute in parallel if conditions match.
Q: Are conditions case sensitive?
A: Expected values are not case sensitive.
Actions & Capabilities
Q: What actions can be automated?
A: Set Field Value (status, priority, impact, technician, technician group, spam, custom fields), Send Email (requester, technician, group, custom addresses), Send Survey, and Trigger Webhook to external systems.
Q: Can I use custom fields in rules?
A: Yes—custom ticket fields can be used in conditions and updated via actions (including Copilot-populated fields).
Q: Can rules mark tickets as spam?
A: Yes—set Set Field Value > Spam based on your criteria.
Q: Can rules merge tickets or attach files?
A: No auto-merge; attachments must be added manually. Email templates can link KB articles.
Assignment & Routing
Q: How do I auto-assign tickets?
A: Use New Ticket Created (or Assignment Changed) with Set Field Value > Technician or Technician Group. Round-robin distribution is supported for groups.
Q: Can I route by keywords, tags, site, or customer?
A: Yes—use Auto Ticket Tag, Title, Customer, Site, Product Family, Impact/Priority, or Source in conditions to direct tickets.
Q: Can rules differentiate by ticket source (email, portal, alert)?
A: Yes—use the Source condition.
Q: Action order matters?
A: Yes. Assign group/technician first, then send notifications or change status for reliable execution.
Notifications, Surveys & Templates
Q: How do I notify technicians on ticket creation?
A: Create a rule with New Ticket Created > Send Email to Technician (or to Technician Group if assigned).
Q: Can I notify requesters on creation/closure?
A: Yes—use Send Email to Requester/Contact on the relevant trigger.
Q: Can I send different email templates per rule?
A: Yes—select the template within each action.
Q: Can I automatically send a survey on closure?
A: Yes—on Ticket Closed/Resolved, add Send Survey to Requester.
Q: Do automated replies count for SLA first response?
A: No. Only technician responses count toward first-response metrics.
Q: Prevent “thank you” emails from reopening tickets?
A: Add content-based conditions to ignore/keep closed when certain phrases are detected.
Q: Can I receive an email notification when an internal comment is added to a ticket, including the comment in the email body?
A: Currently, email notifications are not sent when a technician adds an internal (private) comment to a ticket. Email notifications are only triggered for comments submitted by end users on the ticket.
Time-Based Rules, Escalations & Reminders
Q: Can I auto-close or escalate after X hours with no response?
A: Yes, use time-based rules for reminders, escalations, and optional auto-closure.
Q: Can I repeat reminders until resolution?
A: Yes—configure recurring time-based notifications (e.g., every 24/48 hours).
Q: If a ticket changes status while a time-based rule is waiting (e.g., Pending > Open > Pending), does the timer reset?
A: No. Once the rule's conditions are first met, a schedule is created to fire the action after the configured time has elapsed (e.g., 72 hours). The timer is not reset by intermediate status changes. When the configured time is up, the action fires as long as all conditions are still met at that moment. If you don't want the rule to trigger in scenarios where the customer has replied in between, refine the rule's conditions (e.g., add an Activity Status condition, a Status Not Equals Closed condition, or use the Requester/Contact Responded trigger for reminder flows that should restart on each customer reply).
Q: Can rules run only during business hours/holidays?
A: Yes—use calendar/time conditions and separate templates for business hours vs holidays if needed.
Q: Can we automate closing tickets after unsuccessfully trying to contact a user 3 times, and reopen them on a specific date?
A: Yes, you can automate closing tickets by creating a time-based ticket automation rule after multiple contact attempts. However, it is not possible to automatically reopen a ticket on a specified date.
Management, Maintenance & Best Practices
Q: How do I disable or delete rules?
A: Edit a rule and set Active = No to disable; use Delete for permanent removal. You can enable/disable in bulk.
Q: Do changes to a rule affect existing tickets?
A: No—rules apply only to future events after the change.
Q: Are there aggregate reports for rule runs?
A: No rule-level reporting. Use ticket activity logs to see actions taken.
Q: Why aren’t my rules firing?
A: Confirm the trigger and conditions match the event, the rule is Active, ordering/Ignore Flow isn’t blocking, and referenced fields (e.g., assigned technician/group) are present when required.
Q: Can rules send emails to a group or multiple addresses?
A: Yes—group emails fire when a group is assigned; the Send Email action also supports multiple custom addresses.
Q: Can I bulk edit rules?
A: Full bulk edit isn’t available—edit rules individually; bulk enable/disable is supported.
Q: Where can I get examples/best practices?
A: See Commonly-Used Ticket Automation Rules in the Atera KB or open a support ticket for help with complex logic.
Q: How can I use a ticket automation rule to change the requester?
A: Currently, automation rules cannot modify the requester field on a ticket. The requester can only be changed manually.
