Chat channels: Slack, Teams and Google Chat

Your team may already talk in Slack, Microsoft Teams or Google Chat. A chat channel lets TicketStacker post there when something happens, so the people in that channel see a new repair request or an approval that's waiting without opening TicketStacker. Everyone still gets their own notices and emails as before.

How it works

Your chat app gives each channel an incoming webhook: a private web address that posts into that one channel. You make it in your chat app and paste it into TicketStacker. TicketStacker doesn't install an app in your workspace and never reads your chat; it can only post to the channels you gave it.

Anyone who has a webhook URL can post to that channel, so treat it like a password. TicketStacker keeps it secret: after you save, only the start of the address shows (for example hooks.slack.com …a1B2), and only company Admins see that.

Make the webhook in your chat app

Slack: go to api.slack.com/apps, click Create New App (From scratch) for your workspace, open Incoming Webhooks, turn it on, click Add New Webhook to Workspace, pick the channel and copy the URL. It starts with https://hooks.slack.com/.

Microsoft Teams: in the channel, open the ••• menu → Workflows and choose "Post to a channel when a webhook request is received". Finish the steps and copy the URL it shows at the end. It ends in logic.azure.com/… or powerplatform.com/…. (Older "Incoming Webhook" connector URLs ending in webhook.office.com still work while Microsoft keeps them running.)

Google Chat: in the space, click the space name → Apps & integrations → Webhooks → Add webhook, name it TicketStacker and copy the URL. It starts with https://chat.googleapis.com/v1/spaces/ and includes key= and token=. Webhooks need a Google Workspace account.

Add the channel in TicketStacker

Only company Admins set up chat channels.

1. Open Settings → Chat channels and click Add a channel.
2. Under Chat app, pick Slack, Microsoft Teams or Google Chat.
3. Give it a Channel name your team will recognize, like #front-desk.
4. Paste the Webhook URL. TicketStacker checks that it's a real webhook address for the app you picked.
5. Under Post these events, tick what should post (see below).
6. Leave All stacks ticked, or untick it and pick the stacks that post.
7. Click Save channel, then Send test message and check that it arrived in the channel.

You can add as many channels as you like: for example one for the front desk with every new ticket, and one for managers with only Approval needed.

What can post

• New ticket: from a teammate, a web form, email, the API or a schedule. Tickets brought in by a spreadsheet import, Add several and survey answers don't post.
• Ticket assigned: someone becomes the owner, including people who take a ticket themselves.
• Moved to a step: a ticket moves to another step. Under Steps, pick the steps that matter (like Ready for pickup) or pick none to post every move. When a channel also follows Ticket closed, closing a ticket posts once, as closed.
• Approval needed: a ticket reaches an approval step.
• Ticket closed: a ticket moves into a closed stage.
• Reminders: step reminders and due-date reminders, when they go out.
• Machine alerts: Sales & Inventory alerts like no sales, low stock, sold out or low ATM cash (shown when your company uses Sales & Inventory).
• Announcements: company-wide announcements. One meant only for some Locations or teams doesn't post.

Machine alerts and announcements aren't tied to a stack, so they post whenever they're ticked.

What a message says

Each post is short: what happened and in which stack, the ticket number and title, a line like "Now in Waiting on parts · by Sam Lee", and a link to the ticket. In Teams it's a card with an Open ticket button. The link opens TicketStacker, so only people who can sign in and see that ticket can open it.

Posts never include the requester's name, email or phone, or the ticket's fields and comments. Remember that the ticket title is included, and anyone in the chat channel can read it, so pick channels for your own team only, never one shared with customers or other companies.

When posts fail

Posts are queued and go out within about a minute. If the chat app doesn't answer or says no, TicketStacker tries again (after 1, 4, 9 and 16 minutes) before giving up on that post. Each channel shows its Last post and, when something went wrong more recently, the last error.

• If the chat app says the webhook no longer exists (someone deleted it or removed the channel), the channel pauses right away.
• After 10 failed posts in a row, the channel pauses too.

A paused channel shows why. Posts that happen while it's paused are skipped, not saved for later. Fix the problem (make a new webhook and paste it with Edit, which turns the channel back on), or click Turn back on. Use Pause to stop posts for a while yourself, and Remove to delete the channel.

What isn't included

• Direct messages to one person. Posting to someone's own Slack, Teams or Google Chat messages would need a TicketStacker app installed in your workspace, so chat channels post to channels only. Each person keeps their own bell notices and emails in Settings → Notifications.
• Replying from chat. Posts are one way; open the ticket to reply or move it.

For posting tickets to your own systems with all their fields, use webhooks instead.