A Freshdesk or Zendesk migration checklist.
Move off your old helpdesk in a safe, reversible order: audit, export a copy of your data, set up brands and mailboxes, configure SLAs and saved replies, test, cut over, then decommission. This guide is honest that the automatic import is coming, so today the move is guided and staged rather than a one-click bulk transfer.
Email-first and UK-first. You keep your support address and switch when it suits you.
The short answer
The seven-step migration, in the order that keeps it safe
Migrate in the order that keeps the move reversible. Audit your current setup, export a copy of your data, set up brands and mailboxes in Solves, configure SLAs and saved replies, test with a small slice of real mail, cut over by switching forwarding, and only then decommission the old tool.
The steps below take each stage in turn, honest about what you can do today and what is still coming. The one rule that matters is order: never cancel the old tool, and never point your live address away, until you have verified that replies send correctly from Solves.
About the automatic import
A guided import that will bring contacts, saved replies and open tickets with their conversations into a brand you choose is coming and is in pilot. There is no self-serve bulk transfer to run today, so this checklist stages the move by hand and keeps the old tool as a read-only archive.
The checklist, step by step
Seven steps from old helpdesk to owned tickets
Audit your current setup
Write down every support mailbox, every brand you answer as, your SLA targets, saved replies, common tags and team. This is the map you migrate against, and most teams answer for more identities than they realised.
Export your data
Take a full data export from your old tool and store it safely. Freshdesk admins request one under Admin, then Account, then Export; Zendesk admins use the account data export.
Set up brands and mailboxes
In Solves, create one brand per customer-facing identity, then add each support mailbox. Run the forwarding-first steps and copyable DNS records; live sending stays blocked until a mailbox is verified or a recorded founder override is in place.
Configure SLAs and saved replies
Rebuild your first-response and resolution targets, with a breaching view that surfaces overdue tickets. Re-enter your saved replies, scoped to a brand or shared across the organisation.
Test with real mail
Forward a small slice of live mail, work it as tickets, and send a few replies from the verified mailbox. Check the from-address, signature, brand badge and SLA timers all behave before you trust the move with everything.
Cut over
Switch your support address to forward fully to Solves, at a quiet time. New mail arrives as owned tickets in your queue views, while the old tool keeps your history read-only. Customers see only your usual replies.
Decommission the old tool
Once every open conversation is handled in Solves and replies send correctly, downgrade or cancel the old account. Keep your export for any archive you still need, and confirm nothing routes to the old address.
Audit and export
Steps one and two: know what you have, and keep your own copy
The two steps people skip are the two that make the rest safe. Auditing tells you what the migration has to reproduce, and exporting means you never depend on a vendor to give your data back. Note your monthly ticket volume too, so you can size your Solves plan sensibly.
How to export from Freshdesk and Zendesk
Freshdesk admins request a data export from Admin, then Account, then Export, which emails a download link. Zendesk admins use the account-level data export. Take the export even if you plan to use the guided import later: it is your own copy of contacts and conversations, and it removes any pressure to cancel before you are ready. Store it securely. The guided Solves import is coming and is in pilot, so today the practical path is to stage the move by hand and lean on your export for history.
Set up and configure
Steps three and four: brands, mailboxes, SLAs and saved replies
With the audit in hand, building your Solves workspace is mostly data entry against a clear list. The rule that matters is that live sending stays blocked until each mailbox is verified, or a recorded founder override is in place during a supervised setup, so nothing goes out half-configured. Brands and per-brand mailboxes are first-class, so several products land in a tidy multi-brand queue.
Rebuilding SLAs and saved replies
Solves has first-response and resolution SLA timers with per-brand or organisation targets, and a breaching view that surfaces overdue tickets. Re-enter your first-response and resolution targets from the audit; this is usually a chance to simplify. Re-enter your saved replies too, scoping each to a single brand or sharing it across the organisation. Saved replies are fixed text without dynamic placeholders today, so prune duplicates as you go.
Before you cut over
What to test before you trust the move
A short test on a small slice of real mail catches almost every problem before it reaches a customer.
From-address and signature
Send a reply from each verified mailbox and confirm it goes out as the right brand, with the correct from-name and signature.
Mail arrives as tickets
Forward a few real emails and check they land as owned tickets in the right brand, with the brand badge and filters working across the unified queue.
SLA timers behave
Confirm first-response and resolution timers start and that the breaching view surfaces overdue tickets.
Saved replies and tags
Check your re-entered saved replies appear for the right brand and your common tags are in place, so agents are not rebuilding shortcuts mid-shift.
Notes stay private
Add a private note and a public reply on a test ticket and confirm the hard separation holds, so internal discussion can never reach the customer.
Queue views and reports
Open the New, Unassigned, Waiting and Breaching views and the backlog and ageing reports, so the team can find work.
Cut over and decommission
Steps five to seven: test, switch, then retire the old tool
The last three steps are where many migrations go wrong, almost always by rushing. Forward a small, real slice of mail first, watch the test list above, and fix anything off while the old tool still carries the load. Only when that slice behaves do you widen forwarding to your full support address.
Cutting over without surprising customers
Cutting over means pointing your live support address at Solves in full, ideally at a quiet hour. Because the setup is forwarding-first, your address does not change and the move itself sends nobody an email. New mail now arrives as owned tickets with states such as New, Open, Waiting for Customer, Snoozed, Resolved and Closed, while your old tool holds the existing history.
When it is safe to decommission
Hold off on cancelling. Keep Freshdesk or Zendesk live, ideally on its cheapest plan, until every open conversation is handled in Solves, replies send correctly, and nothing still routes to the old address. With your export saved and history available for lookup, you can then downgrade or cancel. Since the guided import for open work, and later for closed-ticket history, is still coming, many teams keep the old account read-only as an archive for a while.
At a glance
A safe migration order vs a rushed one
The same move, done carefully or in a hurry. This compares two ways of switching, not two specific products.
| Safe, staged order | Rushed switch | |
|---|---|---|
| Your own data copy | Export taken and stored before anything else | Trusts the new tool to have everything |
| When the old tool is cancelled | After testing, with replies verified | On day one, before checking |
| Risk to customers | Tested on a small slice first | Everyone routed across at once |
| Your support address | Unchanged, forwarding-first | Often changed, breaking links |
| Historical tickets | Kept read-only until the guided import lands | Assumed to transfer automatically |
| If something is wrong | Reversible until the final cancellation | Hard to undo once the old tool is gone |
Competitor facts last verified 13 June 2026. Re-check the vendor's current plans before deciding.
Solves does not run a one-click bulk import today; the guided import is coming. The safe order above is what makes a staged, by-hand move dependable.
Email-first, on purpose
Migrating to Solves moves your support email into owned tickets, with states, SLAs, saved replies and multi-brand. It does not add live chat, phone or social inboxes. If your old tool ran those channels, plan for them separately: Solves stays email-first so a small UK team is not buying a contact centre to fix its inbox.
FAQ
Migration checklist questions
What is the right order to migrate off Freshdesk or Zendesk?
Audit your current setup, export a copy of your data, set up brands and mailboxes in Solves, configure SLAs and saved replies, test with a small slice of real mail, cut over by switching forwarding, and only then decommission the old tool. That order keeps the move reversible: nothing irreversible happens until you have tested and replies are sending correctly.
Can I import my tickets from Freshdesk or Zendesk into Solves today?
Not as a self-serve bulk transfer yet. A guided import that will bring across contacts, saved replies and open tickets with their conversations is coming and is in pilot, so today we help you plan and stage the move by hand. You can go live straight away by forwarding new mail and working it as tickets, and keep your old tool read-only for history meanwhile.
Will my customers notice the migration?
They should not. With forwarding-first setup you keep your existing support address, so customers carry on emailing the same place. The move itself emails nobody: the first message anyone receives is a normal reply you send from Solves. Cut over at a quiet time and customers see only your usual replies.
Do I have to move my closed-ticket history to switch?
No. You can go live with new mail and leave closed tickets in your old tool as a read-only archive. Most teams keep the old account on its cheapest plan for a while purely for lookup. Bringing closed-ticket history across is coming after the guided import for open work, because old records carry more data-protection weight and need proven retention controls first.
How long does a Freshdesk or Zendesk migration take?
The technical setup is short: create your brands, add your mailboxes, run the forwarding and DNS checks, and rebuild your SLAs and saved replies. For a small team that is often an afternoon. The longer part is agreeing ticket states and who covers what, which most teams settle in the first week of real use.
Should I cancel Freshdesk or Zendesk straight away?
No. Keep the old tool live, ideally on its cheapest plan, until every open conversation is handled in Solves and replies send correctly from your verified mailbox. Decommission only once you have an export saved, history is accessible, and nothing still routes to the old address.
Plan your move off Freshdesk or Zendesk
Book a guided migration and we will help you audit, set up and test your move, then cut over safely. The automatic import is coming; meanwhile you can start at £29 and turn new mail into tickets today.