Not all service desks are created equal. Some are massive, with hundreds of agents and thousands of tickets. Others are … artisanal service desks. Small batch. And while handcrafted is great for jewelry and art, you should not be solving tickets by hand in 2016.
At Capterra, we don’t discriminate based on size. I appreciate small teams. They’re great for teamwork, and for giving tickets individual attention. We want to outfit teams of all size with the software they need to do their jobs as quickly, thoroughly, and accurately as possible.
That’s why I’m comparing four excellent small business service desk software options.
The Features They All Come With
Before you ask, every service desk software package listed offers:
- Alerts / Escalation
- Ticket Management
- Customer Database
- Email Integration
- Inbox / Queue Management
- Incident Management
- Knowledge Base
- Self Service Portal
But here’s a breakdown of the other essential features these four offer with a more detailed look at their reviews and prices:
Freshdesk
Overview
Freshdesk is a web-based software that offers users a ton of features, including everything on our list. Unfortunately, it doesn’t offer billing and invoicing and document management. Freshdesk even offers documentation, webinars, and live online training, to help new users learn how to use it. For support, Freshdesk offers 24/7 live chat.
Reviews
Out of eight reviews, Freshdesk gets an average 4.5/5 stars. On “ease of use” it gets 5/5.
People love the price, saying it’s cheaper than comparable options.
But they especially love the customer service. Justin Haver, Vice President at GoVacuum said “The customer service, technical and sales support was one of, if not the best experience I’ve had while implementing and migrating tech platforms.”
However, not everyone is completely pleased. Gregg Zimmerman, Customer Support Manager at Symbility Solutions, admitted that:
“Freshdesk offers an entire trouble ticket system for a smaller price than the competition.But you need to determine if the frustration is worth the cost. If you have a simple support structure, you should be OK. If you operate in multiple locations with support teams that support your clients separately but collaborate, then this may not be the system for you.”
Price
- Starting Price: $15.00/month/user
- Free Version: Yes
- Free Trial: Yes (Get a free trial here)
HappyFox
Overview
HappyFox is mobile-friendly, and web-based. And you can learn the software live and in person if you want, as well as through documentation, webinars, and live online trainings. Customer support is available 24/7 via chat.
HappyFox has fewer features than Freshdesk, but it’s no slouch. It’s also cheaper. Plus, the features it’s missing, such as support for multiple brands or products and Service Desk (ITIL / ITSM) are the least useful to small teams.
Reviews
Reviews are sparse, but positive. It has an average 4.5/5 stars from three reviews. B Brabander, Founder at BRAAPice, said it was “Easy to use software. Lots of features and customizations. Makes handling support issues a lot easier.” They described the support from HappyFox as “fast and capable.”
Furnishops CEO Malcolm Horne wrote “We are already loving it” after stating his 30-day trial. “We are sure that we would add HappyFox to our existing SaaS apps that helps us manage our business.”
“We’ve been using Happyfox for the past two months and it has greatly helped us,” Instaview Analyst James Morrison wrote. Specifically, it helped them remove clutter from their company mailbox, assign queries to the right categories (support, sales, marketing). “Escalation notification has helped us to be on top of urgent queries that needs attention.”
Price
- Starting Price: $9.00/month/user
- Free Version: No
- Free Trial: Yes
Jitbit HelpDesk
Overview
Jitbit is web-based and provides mobile-access for agents on the go. Software training is available through documentation and live online training. They offer customer support via phone during business hours and 24/7 via chat. JitBit is comparatively scant on features, but is priced between Freshdesk and HappyFox.
Reviews
Once again, we’ve got eight reviews with an average rating of… 4.5/5 stars. It got 5/5 on “ease of use” and “customer service.”
“I find the JitBit helpdesk application to be a very easy to utilize,” J Habel at DCSD wrote. “The web interface is very clean and quick. There is a lot of built-in functionality. If you find there is something that is missing, the support/development team is pretty good about being receptive to new features.”
Besides being easy to use, reviewers like JitBit’s “integrated knowledge base capabilities” and describe it as “Easily modifiable.” One reviewer liked that the source code is available if you have the right license and said the scripting/automation/SLA tools make automating jobs “easy.”
People love JitBit’s customer service. Rob Rickmon, an Analyst at Speedway wrote that when he emails JitBit customer service, “We usually hear back within an hour, and funny enough, I’ve heard from members of their executive office answering questions. Great service, I hope they never change that.” Other reviewers were impressed with the support team’s response time.
There were a few small complaints. But most of them aren’t going to bother small teams much, such as not being able to set group-level permissions.
Price
- Starting Price: $13.00/month/user
- Free Version: No
- Free Trial: Yes
Desk.com
Overview
Desk.com has nearly as many features as Freshdesk, but is the cheapest option on the list. It’s web-based and mobile-friendly. You can learn to use the software via in-person training, webinars, and documentation. Access customer support via phone during business hours and online via live chat 24/7.
Reviews
4.5/5 stars is the average rating of the six user reviews of Desk.com. Once again the highest ratings are for customer service.
It’s probably a good sign that the most recent reviewer is using Desk.com in a SMB setting. Ashley Crosby, Customer Success Manager at Arrowpointe, found the setup process “fast and smooth.” She’s been able to “smoothly” train new team members “how to respond to case, perform triage, and use the macros. It’s a wonderful system that is intuitive to learn and teach.”
Ashley isn’t the only small business user. “We love Desk at GoSquared,” CEO James Gill wrote, “because of its easy-to-use interface, and affordable pricing for a small team. Flex agents enable everyone on the team to contribute to customer service without us paying a fortune. The integrated Knowledge Base and Macros help us be a very productive team and save us tons of time. Highly recommend Desk for small businesses looking to up their game in customer service.”
Ben MacAskill at SmugMug.com likes that “I can easily see previous interactions with the customer, and tie in critical information through integrations with our internal CRM and also with platforms like Salesforce. The integrations are powerful, allowing us to utilize multiple external services all fueling the Desk.com platform. Lastly, the Business Insights keeps you tied into how your support team and customers are doing. Building reports couldn’t be easier, so you have no excuse to be in the dark anymore!”
The one complaint was that embedding pics and graphics “has been a challenge.” However, the reviewer acknowledges that the Desk.com customer support team is “always there to help.”
Price
- Starting Price: $3.00/month/user
- Free Version: No
- Free Trial: Yes
Conclusion
There’s not a bad option here. Which solution is going to work best for you is going to depend on your priorities. If you want the maximum features, you’ll want Freshdesk. If you want lowest price, choose Desk.com. If you need mobile access, you’ll need to choose between HappyFox and Desk.com. For a good combination of intuitive interface, great support, and robust features, check out JitBit.
What are you looking for in small business service desk software? Let me know in the comments!
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