Assignment Rules - Frappe Helpdesk

Assignment Rules automatically distribute tickets to agents based on conditions, ensuring balanced workloads and faster response times.

Overview

Assignment rules eliminate manual ticket routing by:

Automatically assigning tickets when they match conditions
Distributing workload fairly among agents
Routing tickets based on expertise and availability
Reducing response times
Ensuring no tickets slip through the cracks

How Assignment Rules Work

Ticket Created or Updated

A ticket is created or specific fields change

Evaluate Conditions

System checks if ticket matches assignment rule conditions

Select Agent

Based on routing method (Round Robin, Load Balancing, etc.)

Assign Ticket

Ticket is automatically assigned to selected agent

Notify Agent

Agent receives assignment notification

Assignment Rule Components

Each assignment rule consists of:

Basic Information

Name: Unique identifier for the rule
Description: Purpose and scope of the rule
Enabled: Active/inactive status
Priority: Order of evaluation (higher priority rules checked first)

Assignment Conditions

Assign Condition: When to assign tickets
Unassign Condition: When to remove assignments (optional)
Assignment Days: Which days this rule is active

Routing Configuration

Rule Type: How to select agents (Round Robin, Load Balancing, etc.)
Assignees: List of agents eligible for assignment
Last User: Track last assigned agent for Round Robin

Team Integration

Link assignment rule to a team
Team members automatically become assignees
Team-specific routing logic

Creating an Assignment Rule

Navigate to Settings

Go to Settings > Teams > Select Team

Create Assignment Rule

Click to create a new assignment rule for the team

Configure Basic Details

Enter name, description, and set priority

Set Conditions

Define when tickets should be assigned

Choose Routing Method

Select how tickets are distributed

Add Assignees

Select agents who will receive tickets

Set Active Days

Configure which days the rule operates

Enable & Save

Activate the rule to start auto-assignment

Ticket Routing Methods

Choose how tickets are distributed among assignees:

Round Robin

Round Robin Distribution

Tickets are assigned to agents in rotation order:

First ticket → Agent A
Second ticket → Agent B
Third ticket → Agent C
Fourth ticket → Agent A (cycle repeats)

Best for: Evenly distributing volume when all agents have similar capacity

Load Balancing

Assigns to the agent with fewest open tickets:

Agent A: 5 open tickets
Agent B: 3 open tickets
Agent C: 7 open tickets
New ticket → Agent B

Best for: Balancing workload when agents work at different speeds

Based on Field

Field-Based Assignment

Assign based on a ticket field value (e.g., region, product, language):

Ticket field “Product” = “Mobile App” → Mobile Team Agent
Ticket field “Region” = “EMEA” → EMEA Support Agent

Best for: Routing to specialists or regional teams

The actual routing methods available depend on your Frappe Helpdesk configuration and any custom Assignment Rule types.

Assignment Conditions

Define when tickets should be auto-assigned:

Visual Condition Builder

Simple Condition
Multiple Conditions (AND)
Multiple Conditions (OR)
Complex Conditions

Priority equals "High"

Priority equals "High"
AND
Ticket Type equals "Bug"

Priority equals "High"
OR
Priority equals "Critical"

(Priority equals "High" OR Priority equals "Critical")
AND
Ticket Type equals "Bug"
AND
Team equals "Engineering"

Condition Examples

High priority tickets

[
  {
    "field": "priority",
    "operator": "=",
    "value": "High"
  }
]

Specific ticket type for a team

[
  {
    "field": "ticket_type",
    "operator": "=",
    "value": "Technical Question"
  },
  {
    "field": "agent_group",
    "operator": "=",
    "value": "Technical Support"
  }
]

Unassigned tickets only

[
  {
    "field": "_assign",
    "operator": "is",
    "value": "not set"
  }
]

New tickets from specific customers

[
  {
    "field": "customer",
    "operator": "in",
    "value": ["Enterprise Corp", "Premium Inc"]
  },
  {
    "field": "status",
    "operator": "=",
    "value": "Open"
  }
]

Unassign Conditions

Optionally remove assignments when conditions are met:

When to Use Unassign

Ticket priority is lowered
Ticket is reassigned to different team
Ticket status changes to “On Hold”
Custom business logic requires reassignment

Example Scenarios

Priority Downgrade

Unassign when priority changes from “High” to “Low”

Team Change

Unassign when ticket moves to different team

Status Change

Unassign when status becomes “On Hold”

Reassignment

Unassign before applying different assignment rule

Assignment Days

Control when assignment rules are active:

Active Days:
  Monday: Yes
  Tuesday: Yes
  Wednesday: Yes
  Thursday: Yes
  Friday: Yes
  Saturday: No
  Sunday: No

Tickets created on inactive days remain unassigned until the next active day, or can be manually assigned.

Managing Assignees

Adding Assignees

Open Assignment Rule

Navigate to the assignment rule settings

Click Add Assignee

Use the assignee search/selector

Select Agent

Choose from available agents

Save

Agent is added to rotation

Removing Assignees

Click the X next to agent name
Agent is removed from future assignments
Existing assignments to that agent remain unchanged

Last Assigned Indicator

For Round Robin routing:

A badge shows which agent received the last assignment
Helps visualize rotation state
Resets when assignee list changes

Team-Based Assignment

Integrate assignment rules with teams:

Team Assignment Flow

Ticket Assigned to Team

Ticket’s “Team” field is set (manually or by automation)

Check for Assignment Rule

System looks for active assignment rule linked to that team

Evaluate Conditions

If rule conditions match, proceed with assignment

Assign to Team Member

Select agent from team based on routing method

Team Member Restrictions

When a ticket’s team changes:

If assigned agent is NOT in new team
AND team has assignment rule with assignees
Agent is automatically unassigned
New assignment rule can then apply

This prevents agents from other teams from staying assigned when tickets are routed elsewhere.

Priority & Ordering

When multiple assignment rules could match:

Rules are evaluated in priority order (highest first)
First matching rule wins
Lower priority rules are skipped
If no rules match, ticket remains unassigned

Setting Priorities

Rule Priority Examples:
VIP Customer Assignment (Priority: 100)
High Priority Bugs (Priority: 75)
Technical Questions (Priority: 50)
General Support (Priority: 25)

Notifications

Agents receive notifications when assigned:

In-app notification: Bell icon notification
Email notification: Optional email alert
Real-time update: Instant notification if logged in

Notification Content

Who assigned (“System” for auto-assignment)
Ticket ID and subject
Ticket priority and type
Link to open ticket

Manual Override

Assignment rules don’t prevent manual assignment:

Agents can reassign tickets at any time
Manual assignments override auto-assignment
Unassign conditions may still trigger

Manual assignments are tracked in ticket history, showing both auto and manual assignments.

Best Practices

Start simple

Begin with basic Round Robin for your main team. Add complexity as you learn what works.

Use priority correctly

Set priorities to ensure VIP or urgent tickets are handled by the right rules first.

Balance assignee lists

Don’t put all agents in all rules. Specialize based on expertise or capacity.

Monitor workload

Regularly check if assignments are actually balanced. Adjust routing method if needed.

Set assignment days appropriately

Match rule active days to agent schedules. Don’t assign to offline agents.

Test before enabling

Create test tickets to verify assignment logic before enabling rules in production.

Document your rules

Use clear descriptions explaining why each rule exists and what it does.

Common Scenarios

Scenario 1: Basic Support Team

Rule: General Support Assignment
Condition: Status = "Open" AND Team = "Support"
Routing: Round Robin
Assignees: [Agent A, Agent B, Agent C]
Days: Monday-Friday

Scenario 2: Priority-Based Routing

Rule 1: Critical Issues (Priority: 100)
Condition: Priority = "Critical"
Routing: Load Balancing
Assignees: [Senior Agent A, Senior Agent B]
Days: All days

Rule 2: Normal Issues (Priority: 50)
Condition: Priority in ["Low", "Medium"]
Routing: Round Robin
Assignees: [Agent A, Agent B, Agent C, Agent D]
Days: Monday-Friday

Scenario 3: Specialist Assignment

Rule: API Questions
Condition: Ticket Type = "API Question"
Routing: Round Robin
Assignees: [Technical Specialist A, Technical Specialist B]
Days: Monday-Friday

Rule: Billing Questions
Condition: Ticket Type = "Billing"
Routing: Round Robin
Assignees: [Billing Specialist A]
Days: Monday-Friday

Troubleshooting

Tickets not being auto-assigned

Check if assignment rule is enabled
Verify conditions match ticket properties
Ensure current day is in assignment days
Confirm assignees are added to rule
Check if higher priority rule is catching tickets first

Wrong agent receiving tickets

Review routing method (Round Robin vs Load Balancing)
Check assignee list for unexpected agents
Verify conditions aren’t too broad
Look for manual assignments overriding auto-assignment

Assignments being removed

Check unassign conditions
Verify ticket team matches assignee’s teams
Review team member restrictions
Check for conflicting automation

Unbalanced workload

Switch from Round Robin to Load Balancing
Review agent capacity and current assignments
Consider splitting into multiple rules by priority
Check if some agents have days off

API & Automation

Assignment rules can be managed programmatically:

# Create assignment rule via API
rule = frappe.get_doc({
    "doctype": "Assignment Rule",
    "name": "High Priority Assignment",
    "document_type": "HD Ticket",
    "disabled": 0,
    "priority": 75,
    "rule": "Round Robin",
    "users": [
        {"user": "[email protected]"},
        {"user": "[email protected]"}
    ]
})
rule.insert()

Assignment Rules use the Frappe Framework’s built-in Assignment Rule doctype, extended for helpdesk-specific features.

Performance Considerations

Assignment rules run automatically on ticket save
Conditions are evaluated in priority order
Multiple tickets can be assigned in batch
Assignee selection is fast (simple rotation or count query)

For high-volume environments, use targeted conditions rather than evaluating every ticket against every rule.

Get Started

Core Features

Guides

Configuration

​Overview

​How Assignment Rules Work

​Assignment Rule Components

​Basic Information

​Assignment Conditions

​Routing Configuration

​Team Integration

​Creating an Assignment Rule

​Ticket Routing Methods

​Round Robin

Round Robin Distribution

​Load Balancing

Load Balancing

​Based on Field

Field-Based Assignment

​Assignment Conditions

​Visual Condition Builder

​Condition Examples

​Unassign Conditions

​When to Use Unassign

​Example Scenarios

Priority Downgrade

Team Change

Status Change

Reassignment

​Assignment Days

​Managing Assignees

​Adding Assignees

​Removing Assignees

​Last Assigned Indicator

​Team-Based Assignment

​Team Assignment Flow

​Team Member Restrictions

​Priority & Ordering

​Setting Priorities

​Notifications

​Notification Content

​Manual Override

​Best Practices

​Common Scenarios

​Scenario 1: Basic Support Team

​Scenario 2: Priority-Based Routing

​Scenario 3: Specialist Assignment

​Troubleshooting

​API & Automation

​Performance Considerations

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

How Assignment Rules Work

Assignment Rule Components

Basic Information

Assignment Conditions

Routing Configuration

Team Integration

Creating an Assignment Rule

Ticket Routing Methods

Round Robin

Load Balancing

Based on Field

Assignment Conditions

Visual Condition Builder

Condition Examples

Unassign Conditions

When to Use Unassign

Example Scenarios

Assignment Days

Managing Assignees

Adding Assignees

Removing Assignees

Last Assigned Indicator

Team-Based Assignment

Team Assignment Flow

Team Member Restrictions

Priority & Ordering

Setting Priorities

Notifications

Notification Content

Manual Override

Best Practices

Common Scenarios

Scenario 1: Basic Support Team

Scenario 2: Priority-Based Routing

Scenario 3: Specialist Assignment

Troubleshooting

API & Automation

Performance Considerations