MeisterTask is an intuitive task manager that organizes your to-dos in Kanban-style project boards. Using the MeisterTask integration you can connect your Zendesk account with a project board in MeisterTask to create an efficient communication channel between your service agents and back office. The integration allows you to…

• Create tasks from tickets without leaving Zendesk
• See comments from your team members and answer directly
• Get notified automatically when issues have been resolved

But what if your team uses more than one project board to manage tasks?

The MeisterTask integration generally only lets you connect one Zendesk account with one project board. However, there is a simple trick that enables you to forward tasks from this board to an unlimited number of other boards and even assign them to a user of your choice, for instance the team leader. Once configured, all of this is done automatically, ensuring an efficient and consistent workflow.

Here’s the complete step-by-step guide:

Step 1: Create a MeisterTask account

If you don’t yet have a MeisterTask account, now’s the time to create one and invite your team. MeisterTask offers a free plan with unlimited projects, team members and tasks which is enough to install up to two integrations. However, to use the features necessary for our trick, you’ll eventually need to sign up for the Pro plan.

Step 2: Create your project boards

You can set up as many project boards as you need in MeisterTask. For example, a small software company might create one board for their software sprints, one for backlog/planning purposes, one for the marketing department, one for the sales department, and so on. Project boards are completely customizable, so you can arrange sections and tags to fit with the individual needs and workflows of each department.

Step 3: Setup your Support board

Once all other project boards are setup, it’s time to create the Support board. This is where all tasks coming from Zendesk will initially be sent. You’ll want to create exactly one section for each of your other project boards, and name them accordingly. Following our example from before, you’d end up with the following sections:

Step 4: Configure Section Actions to forward tasks

This is where the magic happens. Click into the header of the first section in your Support board to open the section menu. Switch to ‘Actions’ and select ‘Add Action’. From the list, select the option ‘Move the task’ and pick the project board you want to connect to this section. Once the action is configured, all tasks that appear in this section will automatically be forwarded to the connected project board. Configure forwarding actions for all sections in your Support board.

Step 5: Connect Zendesk with MeisterTask

While inside your Support board, open the project settings and go to ‘Features’. Click on the “Add” button next to Zendesk. Follow the instructions to connect your project board with your Zendesk account.

Alternatively, you can visit the Zendesk Marketplace to get the MeisterTask app from there.

Step 6: Turn tickets into tasks

Once MeisterTask is installed in Zendesk, you will be able to quickly create tasks from tickets at the click of a button. You will be presented with a dialog where the ticket information is already included and where you can add additional information to the task. You will also be able to select which section in your Support board you’d like the task to appear in.

Here’s what’s going to happen once you click on the ‘Create Task’ button:

• The task will appear in the section of your choice in your Support board
• MeisterTask will automatically forward the task to the corresponding board
• There, it will appear in the section that you selected while creating the Section Action.

Please note: Since the support board will be the only board actually connected to Zendesk, the service agent will only receive notifications about task completion if the task is moved back into this board! If the task is completed in another board, the service agent will be able to see that the task status has changed in Zendesk, but will not receive a notification. You can simply create an additional section in your boards called "For support" or "Zendesk" with a forwarding action back to the support board to ensure he doesn't overlook it.

Optional: Automatically assign task to user

If you want the task to be assigned to a particular user when it appears in its destination board, all you have to do is create another Section Action there called ‘Assign the task’. This is a great way to automatically assign new tasks to the team leader, who then gets a notification, can look at the task, ask for additional information if necessary, and reassign it to one of the team members.

Please keep in mind that whoever configures this workflow of course needs to be a member of all project boards in question.