Help Desk software is essential when trying to find a balance between managing your company and dealing with customer concerns. When a client experiences trouble, you want to deal with their issue or question in a timely, professional manner. Working quickly will prevent you from negative customer complaints or damage to your reputation.

The help desk is your first line of defense in offering a satisfied customer experience. It could mean the difference in your company’s reputation, especially with how social media is now being used. No matter what size your organization is, there are help desk software applications that are going to work for you. Some of them feature social tie-ins so you can address concerns that were posted on social media. This would be important for anyone with a large customer following. You’ll also find options such as identity management and security features that might not be needed in every industry.

To help you navigate the right helpdesk software applications for your needs, we’ve put together a list of the top five currently available. Within this list, you should be able to find a company that is going to suit your individual and company needs.

Zendesk

Zendesk Support is one of the more popular options currently available. It starts at just $5 per user each month with advanced functionality raising the cost substantially. Because they use this particular pricing structure, it is important to determine what your needs are before you make a decision.

Overall Zendesk Support offers an easy-to-use SMB-oriented helpdesk platform that most people can learn quickly. It does seem to lack some of the bigger business features like change and asset management. Most people seem to enjoy the social media integration and well as support for ITIL.

The software also allows for multiple ways to have tickets opened, making this one of their biggest assets. When a ticket is opened, the app alerts your agents and even offers the flexibility to have notes added to the case. This is a plus when issues are going to be dealt with by multiple users.

Pros:

  • Superior ticket management
  • Integration with social media
  • Automatic workflows
  • Easy to use

Cons:

  • Costs can be high based on the features needed
  • Needs more enterprise features

HappyFox

With prices starting at just $29 per user each month, this ticket management system features optimal helpdesk functionality without all the normal management. It is easy to set up for day to day operations by someone with little tech experience. Ideally, this would be good for a smaller company who is planning to grow into a bigger company. This software allows you to prepare now for the growth that is to come.

HappyFox is one of the most feature-rich programs on the market. Some of these features give you the flexibility to pin tickets, quick ticket previews, and real-time notifications. Most users feel that it offers superior ability to integrate with other services being performed.

Pros:

  • Integrates with other services
  • Automation tools
  • Offers fast solutions to common problems
  • Feature-rich

Cons:

  • Staff can only have one role assignment
  • Features add to the overall cost

Fresh Desk

For smaller clients, Fresh Desk offers a free plan that might be helpful. There are also five paid plans ranging from $19 per agent monthly to $89 per agent monthly. Each of these levels offers a varying number of features, so you’ll have to carefully decide what is important to you.

The newer reporting feature gives you intelligent insight into your team’s progress. You can easily track things, like how many tickets were resolved or how many tickets were received per agent. This helps you to manage your team more efficiently. Overall, this easy to use program comes in at a decent price with many useful features. The interface is simple to understand and third-party integration is competitive.

Pros:

  • Easy to use
  • Many integration options
  • Social media plug-ins
  • Superior reporting abilities

Cons:

  • Doesn’t offer change management ability
  • Tickets aren’t tracked to assets

Jira Service

Jira Service Desk starts at $10 per user monthly. It is from the company Atlassian who also made the popular messaging system HipChat. Jira Service features a number of open-source projects as the primary software development tool. That helps them to deal with software bugs easily. If you want to try the software out, you’ll find that the trial is completely functional. The software also offers a comprehensive list of reports and supported widgets.

The downfall of Jira Service could be the lack of an integrated knowledge base for the user. There is a way for the agent to search for issues, which is helpful.

Pros:

  • Fully functional trial period
  • Customizable dashboard
  • Comprehensive list of reports
  • Long list of widgets that are supported

Cons:

  • Doesn’t support separate domains, sub-domains, or domain aliases
  • No integrated knowledge base for users

Zoho Desk

This software costs $25 a user monthly to use the Enterprise version and is geared mainly toward the small or mid-size business. Zoho offers solutions for project management and email marketing as well, so they are a respected name in the business community. These different programs all integrate together as well as with third-party software such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google Analytics. The company offers a basic free setup and you can easily upgrade your features later as you continue to grow. Everything is based on the cloud, so you won’t get an on-site version.

Pros:

  • Easy to get started
  • Basic free setup with simple upgrades as needed
  • Integrates with other Zoho products as well as third-party software
  • Geared toward small and mid-size businesses

Cons:

  • No on-site software is available; everything is based on the cloud
  • There are no dedicated asset management features

Each of these help desk software applications offers varying features and unique qualities. There are also different price points and packages available, so it should be easy to find something that fits every business’ needs. Evaluate what is important to you in help desk software and you will be on your way to maximizing efficiency within your company.