Introduction

Every Zendesk admin knows how critical ticket statuses are. They keep the entire support operation flowing, helping agents and customers understand exactly where a query stands.

That said, the default statuses sometimes fall short. Maybe you’ve wished for a “Waiting on Vendor” status or struggled with tickets stuck in vague categories. This is where custom ticket statuses come in—a relatively new feature designed to give you the flexibility we’ve all  been craving.

With such a powerful tool that impacts every single ticket in your Zendesk instance, setting it up correctly is essential. Let’s dive in and explore how to make custom ticket statuses work for you and your team.

Why Custom Ticket Statuses Are a Game-Changer

Custom statuses let you tailor your ticketing system to reflect the real-world workflows of your team. They provide clarity for both agents and customers. For example, instead of relying on generic statuses like “Pending” or “On Hold,” (which often confuse agents and mean little to your customers),  you can add more descriptive ones that fit your process, such as “Waiting on Customer Approval” or “Escalated to Engineering.”

The result? Improved efficiency, fewer misunderstandings, and better reporting. Agents can work more easily, and customers have a clearer sense of what’s happening with their queries. But remember: these statuses aren’t just labels. They’re tied to Zendesk’s status categories (what we used to simply call statuses), and those categories affect triggers, automations, and reporting. So, getting the setup right is crucial. This is both the biggest benefit of custom statuses and its trickiest aspect to get right.

Let’s explore how to get it set up, and also take the time to understand the options we have to play with.

Setting Up Custom Ticket Statuses

1. Access the Admin Center

Start by navigating to Admin Center > Objects and Rules > Tickets > Statuses or https:/YOURDOMAIN.zendesk.com/admin/objects-rules/tickets/ticket_statuses. This is where you’ll configure your custom statuses.

Tip: Before you jump into creating statuses, take time to review your current workflows. Where do bottlenecks occur? What kind of clarity do agents and customers need? This preparation will guide your setup. Don’t just rush in and make a whole heap of new status as that will not provide the clarity your team and customers need! Try to follow the mutually exclusive, collectively exhaustive principle I so often mention in my guides! Get your team involved to ensure you have a clear understanding of their needs. They’re the people who are going to be using this feature hundreds of times a day, after all.

2. Create a New Status

Click Add Status to create a new custom status. You’ll need to provide the following details:

• Name: Choose a clear, descriptive name. For instance, “Under Review” or “Pending External Approval.” I also like to add a description to help users understand their choices (see image).
• Category: Assign your status to one of Zendesk’s default categories (“Open,” “Pending,” “On Hold,” or “Solved”). This is crucial, as it determines how triggers and automations treat the status.

‍

‍

Best Practice: Be strategic with categories. For example, if you create a custom status like “Awaiting Vendor Reply” and assign it to “Pending,” it will pause SLA timers, just like other pending statuses. We’ll talk about this more later.

3. Adjust Visibility and Behavior

Decide whether the status will be visible to customers or internal-only. For instance, a status like “Internal Review” might not make sense for customers to see, so make use of the option to show the same status with a different name when viewed by your end-users.

You can also configure whether the status pauses SLA timers or triggers specific actions in your workflows by creating unique triggers and automations for each of your custom statuses, just like your classic Pending status probably has its own automation to chase up the customer and ultimately solve the ticket after a set period has passed.

The final step of set-up requires you to decide whether you want the custom statuses to be available on all forms or only certain forms. This is a bit of a game-changer in the Zendesk world. Being able to have different statuses for different forms was previously unimaginable!

‍

4. Preview and Test

Before rolling out your new statuses, test them thoroughly. Create test tickets and move them through different statuses to ensure everything behaves as expected. Are your triggers firing correctly? Do SLA timers pause when they’re supposed to? This step is vital to avoid confusion or workflow interruptions.

Finally, ask one of your agents to play with the statuses before rolling out to the wider team. You might think it’s all looking sweet and dandy but your agents aren’t inside your head so can’t possibly know everything you know!

Best Practices for Custom Ticket Statuses

Here are some tips to help you make the most of custom statuses:

• Keep It Simple: Too many custom statuses can overwhelm agents and complicate workflows. Stick to the essentials.
• Collaborate with Your Team: Involve agents and team leads in coming up with new custom statuses. They’re the ones using the statuses day-to-day and can provide valuable insights.
• Standardize Naming Conventions: Use consistent prefixes or naming patterns to make statuses easy to understand. For example, all customer-facing statuses could start with “Customer - ” and internal ones with “Internal - ”.
• Review Periodically: As your workflows evolve, some statuses may no longer be relevant. Regularly review your setup to keep it streamlined.

Why Categories Matter

Selecting the right category for your custom status is perhaps the most important decision you’ll make. Here’s why:

• Triggers and Automations: Zendesk workflows are built around status categories. For example, a trigger might send a notification when a ticket is marked as “Pending.” If your custom status is categorised under “Pending,” it will behave the same way. If you have a custom status under the Pending category that you don’t want to be picked up by your default Pending automation, add an exclusion to your automation for your new custom status.
• SLA Timers: Categories like “Pending” and “On Hold” can automatically pause SLA timers, while “Open” doesn’t. Bear this in mind when selecting which categories to use.
• Reporting: Zendesk’s reporting tools group statuses by their categories. Miscategorizing a status can skew your metrics.

Take the time to align your custom statuses with the appropriate categories. It’s worth the effort to ensure your workflows function seamlessly.

Wrapping Up

With your custom ticket statuses configured, you’ve unlocked a new level of flexibility in Zendesk. Your agents can work more efficiently, your workflows will be more aligned, and your customers will enjoy greater clarity and communication.

Remember, the key to success is planning and testing. Start small, gather feedback from your team, and iterate as needed. With the right setup, your custom statuses will become a powerful tool for improving both internal processes and customer satisfaction.

So, go ahead and give it a try. Your Zendesk instance will thank you!