From customer request to delivered work — a helpdesk inside your project manager
Customer requests arrive by email or a client portal form and become tasks in the same workflow as the rest of your work. Your team replies without leaving Vi — and the customer gets a status link, sees progress, and is emailed when the work is done.
Support shouldn't live in a second tool
Most teams run engineering in one system and support in another — a separate inbox or helpdesk that no one on the product side ever opens. Customer requests get copied by hand into tickets, context is lost between tools, and the customer keeps asking for updates because nobody remembers to tell them. Vi closes that gap: a support request becomes a real task on the same board, with the same workflow, owners, and SLA as everything else your team ships — and the customer can follow it to the end.
How a customer request flows through Vi
A customer emails your organization's Vi address (for example yourteam@useviapp.com — forward your own support address to it if you like) or fills in a client portal form.
Every new email waits in the triage inbox — nothing becomes work on its own. An admin converts it into a task, or into an epic when it needs several pieces of work, or rejects it.
The customer is emailed a confirmation with a tracking number and a link to a status page that shows where the request stands.
Converting is a deliberate step: the admin writes the task title and what needs to be done, while the customer's own words stay in the request conversation. For an epic, they list the real tasks — nothing extra is created. Each task enters your workflow, gets assigned to the right role, and starts its SLA clock; the customer sees progress as "2 of 3 done".
The conversation lives on the request itself. An agent replies from the request card on the task or epic; the reply is emailed from the request's own address, and the customer's answer threads back into the same conversation, with earlier quoted history trimmed. Task comments stay internal.
When the work reaches the final step of your workflow — the task, or every task in the request's epic — the customer is emailed that the request is done, and a one-click CSAT survey follows separately. A developer finishing their own step doesn't close the request; only the final step does.
If the customer writes again after the request is closed, the message goes to the triage inbox instead of silently reopening work, and an admin decides whether to reopen the task or start a new one.
Your customer always knows where their request stands
Customers don't need a Vi seat or a password to follow their requests. They see the status — not your team's internal discussion.
Status page
Every confirmation email links to a status page that opens without signing in. It shows the title, tracking number, one of four states — received, in progress, done, closed — a progress percentage, and for an epic, how many parts are done. Internal comments, agent names, and workflow steps are never shown. The link stays valid while the request is open and for 7 days after it closes.
Customer panel
Customers sign in with a one-time link sent to their email, or with a password if they set one. They see all their requests with your organization — from email and from the portal — with the conversation, attachments, and progress, and can reply or attach files on any open request. Customer accounts don't take a seat.
Automatic updates
Customers are emailed when their request is received, when it's done, and — in a separate message — when it's cancelled or rejected. Every reply your team sends from the request card shows up in the customer's panel too.
One helpdesk, built into your workflow
Two-way Email-to-Task
Inbound email lands in the triage inbox, and once converted your team replies to the customer from inside Vi — with automatic threading and quote-trimming that keep the conversation clean.
Unified Triage Inbox
Email requests and client-portal submissions land in one review queue, with a real-time unread badge. Convert each one into a task or an epic — writing the work in your team's words — or reject it, and replies to already-closed requests are flagged so you can reopen the work or start something new.
Client Portal intake
Public per-project intake forms — rate-limited and spam-guarded — that turn into structured tickets ready for triage. The submitter gets a tracking number and a status link right away.
CSAT satisfaction surveys
A one-click survey is emailed once a customer request is fully done, separately from the completion email. Each request card shows the rating and comment, and the CSAT report shows response rate, average score, star distribution, and a per-agent breakdown.
Canned Responses
Reusable reply snippets with {{customer}}, {{agent}}, and {{task}} variables that fill in on insert — so common answers stay fast and consistent. Available from the Pro plan.
A ticket is just a task
Support tickets use the same workflow, approvals, SLA, assignment, labels, and reports as engineering work. A ready-made Support workflow (New → Triage → In Progress → Waiting on Customer → Resolved) comes with a 4-hour first-response SLA on Triage.
Why it matters
One tool for building and support
Stop copying requests between a helpdesk and a tracker. The bug a customer reported and the task a developer fixes are the same record.
Real SLAs and accountability
Tickets carry an SLA clock and an owner from the moment they arrive, so first-response and resolution targets are measured, not hoped for.
Customers stop chasing you
The status page and automatic emails answer "any update?" before it's asked — and CSAT shows how each agent's work actually landed with the customer.
Your team stays in context
Agents reply, triage, and close from the same place they manage projects — no second login, no tab-switching tax.
What's included, and on which plan
Email-to-Task with two-way ticket email, the unified triage inbox, the client portal, customer status pages and the customer panel, and CSAT surveys are part of the Business plan. Customer accounts never take a seat. Canned responses are available from the Pro plan, since polished, consistent replies help well beyond support. Email works out of the box on your organization's Vi address — there's no external helpdesk or mail service to buy and wire up.
Frequently asked
What is Email-to-Task?
Email-to-Task turns an email sent to your organization's Vi address into a customer request in the triage inbox. Your team converts it into real work — a task, or an epic with several tasks — and replies to the customer from inside Vi; replies are emailed back and the whole conversation stays threaded on that request.
Does every email become a task automatically?
No. Every email — even from a member of your own organization — waits in the triage inbox, where an admin converts it into a task or an epic, or rejects it. Nothing lands on your board unreviewed, and the raw email never becomes the task description: your team writes the work, the email stays in the request conversation.
Can my team reply to customers from inside Vi?
Yes. An agent writes the reply in the conversation on the request card — on the task, or on the epic for a multi-task request. Vi emails it from the request's dedicated address, and the customer's answer threads back into the same conversation, with earlier quotes trimmed automatically.
Is a support ticket different from a regular task?
No — that's the point. A ticket is a task. It uses the same workflow, approval steps, SLA, assignment, labels, and reports as the rest of your work, so support and engineering share one source of truth.
What is CSAT and when is it sent?
CSAT is a customer-satisfaction survey. When a customer request is fully done — every part of it has reached the final workflow step — Vi emails the customer a one-click rating with an optional comment, separately from the completion email. The result appears on the request card and rolls up into a CSAT report with response rate, average score, star distribution, and a per-agent breakdown.
Do I need an external helpdesk or email service?
No. Vi receives and sends email on your organization's Vi address through its built-in mail delivery with DKIM signing. There's no separate helpdesk product, shared-inbox tool, or SMTP relay to purchase and configure. If you want customers to write to your own domain, forward that address to your Vi address.
Which plan includes the helpdesk features?
Email-to-Task, two-way ticket email, the unified triage inbox, the client portal, customer status pages, the customer panel, and CSAT are part of the Business plan. Canned responses are available from the Pro plan.
Can customers see the status of their request?
Yes — every customer request gets a tracking number and a status page link that opens without signing in. It shows whether the request is received, in progress, done, or closed, with a progress percentage, but never internal comments, agent names, or workflow steps. Customers can also sign in to a panel that lists all their requests.
Do customers need an account or a paid seat?
No — customers don't take a seat and don't need a password. They sign in to the customer panel with a one-time link sent to their email; the account is created on first sign-in, and they can add a password later if they want one.
What if one email contains several requests?
Convert it into an epic in the triage inbox and list the tasks it needs — up to 20 — or, if you only notice later, split the task into separate tasks right from the request card. Vi groups them under an epic named after the request, and the customer's status page shows progress as parts done out of the total. The request counts as done only when all of its parts are.
Keep exploring: from customer request to delivered code · run a focused pilot · Vi as a Jira alternative · security and data isolation · plans and pricing
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