n8n + Help Scout Integration: 5 Powerful Workflows You Can Build

Automating your customer support is a game-changer for efficiency and responsiveness. With an n8n and Help Scout integration, you can connect your help desk to all the other tools your team uses. This guide will walk you through five powerful workflows to get you started, so you can spend less time on manual tasks and more time helping customers.

Setup Help Scout in n8n

Before building workflows, you need to connect your Help Scout account to n8n. This is done using the Help Scout node.

1. In your n8n workflow, add the Help Scout node.
2. Click on the node to open its parameters. For 'Authentication', select 'Access Token'.
3. For the 'Access Token' field under 'Credentials', click 'Create New'.
4. Log in to your Help Scout account, go to your profile > My apps, and create a new app. Give it a name like "n8n Integration".
5. Copy the 'Client ID' and 'Client Secret' and paste them into the corresponding fields in n8n, then click 'Connect my account'.
6. Once authenticated, you're ready to start building workflows with your managed n8n instance from n8nautomation.cloud.

Workflow 1: Create Help Scout Conversations from Typeform Submissions

This workflow automatically creates a new customer and conversation in Help Scout whenever someone submits a Typeform. It's a great way to streamline your support or lead capture process.

1. Start with the Typeform Trigger node. Configure it with your Typeform form ID. This will trigger the workflow for every new submission.
2. Add a Help Scout node. Set the 'Resource' to 'Customer' and 'Operation' to 'Create'. Map the name and email from the Typeform submission to the corresponding fields.
3. Add another Help Scout node. Set 'Resource' to 'Conversation' and 'Operation' to 'Create'. Use the Customer ID from the previous step and map the other form fields from the Typeform to the conversation body.

Workflow 2: Add Notes to Help Scout from Google Doc Comments

This workflow is useful for internal collaboration. When a comment is added to a specific Google Doc, a note with the comment's content is added to a related Help Scout conversation.

1. Start with the Google Docs Trigger node. Configure it to watch for new comments in a specific document.
2. Add a Help Scout node. Set the 'Resource' to 'Conversation' and 'Operation' to 'Get'. You'll need a way to identify the correct conversation, for example by using an ID you've stored somewhere.
3. Add a second Help Scout node. Set the 'Resource' to 'Note' and the 'Operation' to 'Create'. Use the Conversation ID from the previous step, and map the comment content from the Google Docs Trigger to the note's text.

Workflow 3: Create Jira Issues from Tagged Help Scout Conversations

Escalate bugs or feature requests directly to your development team. This workflow creates a new Jira issue when a specific tag (e.g., "bug-report") is added to a Help Scout conversation.

1. Start with the Help Scout Trigger node. Set the 'Event' to 'Tag Created'. In the node's parameters, you can filter for a specific tag.
2. Add an IF node to check if the tag is the one you want to trigger the Jira issue creation for.
3. If the condition is met, add a Jira node. Set the 'Operation' to 'Create Issue'. Map the Help Scout conversation subject and body to the Jira issue summary and description. You can also include a link back to the Help Scout conversation for context.

Workflow 4: Notify a Slack Channel When a Help Scout Conversation is Moved

Keep your team in the loop by sending a Slack notification whenever a conversation is moved from one mailbox to another in Help Scout.

1. Use the Help Scout Trigger node and set the 'Event' to 'Conversation Moved'.
2. Add a Slack node. Authenticate with your Slack workspace and choose the 'Post Message' operation.
3. In the 'Text' field of the Slack node, craft a message that includes details from the Help Scout trigger, like the conversation subject and the mailboxes it was moved from and to. For example: "Conversation '{{$json["subject"]}}' was moved from '{{$json["fromMailbox"]["name"]}}' to '{{$json["toMailbox"]["name"]}}'."

Workflow 5: Get a Daily Summary of Help Scout Conversations via Email

Stay on top of your support metrics with a daily email summarizing conversation activity. This workflow is a great example of how n8n can also be used for reporting.

1. Start with the Cron node. Set it to run once a day at your preferred time.
2. Add a Help Scout node. Set the 'Resource' to 'Conversation' and 'Operation' to 'Get Many'. You can use the search query parameter to filter for conversations created in the last 24 hours.
3. Add a Function node to process the data from the previous step. You can count the number of new conversations, closed conversations, and so on.
4. Finish with an Email node (or a service like SendGrid) to send the summary to your email address. Format the data from the Function node into a readable email body. With n8nautomation.cloud, you can run this and other workflows 24/7 without worrying about server uptime.