Hello Zoho Community,

I am seeking advice on the best approach to create a ticket management system tailored for our external installers. We are a manufacturing company specializing in kitchen and bathroom cabinets, and our external installers use a Zoho Forms-based form to report issues such as missing or damaged parts.

Current Workflow:

• The form includes a lookup field to select the project related to the request.
• A subform is used to specify the issue, including additional details.
• Installers can upload photos of the issue directly via the form.

Challenges with Zoho Forms:

While Forms is straightforward for submissions, it lacks key features we need:

1. Ticket Dashboard: We need a dashboard to track tickets, monitor processing times, and gain insights.
2. Ticket Updates: Installers need the ability to update ticket statuses, and we require an audit trail of who made each change.

Exploring Zoho Desk:

I considered using Zoho Desk, but we already have a department for customer support. If I create a new department for installers, users would be prompted to choose between departments when submitting a ticket.

• Question 1: Is it possible to restrict a department to specific users (e.g., installers only) so that customers don't see it in the portal? Ideally, I want the displayed department to depend on the user role or type without allowing the user to choose.

Exploring Zoho Creator:

Zoho Creator seemed promising, but the file upload field only allows uploading one photo per entry. This is a limitation compared to Zoho Forms and Desk, where multiple photos can be uploaded.

Key Requirements:

• A ticket submission form that supports multiple photo uploads.
• A dashboard for tracking ticket status, processing times, and other key metrics.
• Ability for installers to update ticket statuses with a traceable audit log.
• User-based visibility for specific functionalities (e.g., department selection or access).

I am at a crossroads and would appreciate your guidance on which Zoho application (or combination of applications) would best suit these requirements.

Thank you in advance for your insights and suggestions!