While Productive isn’t a traditional support ticketing tool, you can still use it to collect and manage client requests effectively.
By combining tasks, forms, custom fields, and automations, you can build a flexible ticketing process tailored to your team’s needs, whether you're managing tickets internally or collaborating directly with clients.
This guide walks through how to set up the workflow, collect requests, and track progress, from submission to resolution.
Step 1: Create a "Tickets" Project for the Client
Open a new project in Productive, either from scratch or using a pre-built project template (great if you already have a set process and ticket resolution flow).
If you need to track time spent resolving tickets, add a budget to the project.
Internal project + budget
📌 Use this if you just need to track internal time and costs.
📌 Best when clients don’t need access, since internal projects cannot be shared with them.
Client project + budget
📌 Ideal when you want the client to see and collaborate on their tickets.
📌 Use this if hours logged should be tied to a client.
📌 You can make services billable or non-billable—choose based on whether you’ll invoice for time spent on tickets.
Even if you don’t plan to log time (you can create projects without budgets), we recommend creating a project.
Each ticket will be represented as a task within it, keeping all feedback organized in one place.
Step 2: Organize the Project with Task Lists and Folders
Set up task lists to represent each stage of your ticket lifecycle. For example:
Triage: New tickets awaiting review
In Progress: Currently being worked on
Backlog: Delayed or deprioritized tickets
Testing: Ready for QA or internal testing
Resolved: Completed tickets
For more granularity, use folders to split work by team, component, or feature area. This makes it easier to assign tickets to the right team, and helps everyone focus on the issues most relevant to them.
📌 Each folder can have a different task list setup, giving each team control over how they track their work.
Step 3: Create a Custom Ticket Workflow
Define a custom set of task statuses to reflect the stages in your ticket resolution process. Examples:
To Do
In Progress
More Info Needed
Waiting For Client
Released For Testing
Resolved
Ready For Follow Up
Closed
This gives your team a more detailed overview of each ticket’s status, and makes it easier to report on progress.
Step 4: Create Task Custom Fields
Add custom fields like "Request Type," "Urgency," or "Component" to your tasks to categorize incoming tickets.
This improves filtering, assignment, and reporting—so the right people can take action faster.
👉 Read more about adding and using task custom fields here.
Step 5: Ways Clients Can Submit Tickets
There are three main ways to collect tickets from clients.
📌 Before Moving Forward: Clients can only access projects that are not marked as internal. If you want clients to submit tickets directly (via tasks or forms), you’ll need to create a client-type project and add them to it.
Option 1: Client Project > Use a Form
Create a form and share the responder link with the client (added to the project).
Let them fill in your form and pick request types, mark urgency, attach files.
Use automations to create and assign tasks based on form responses.
📌 Tip: Use custom fields in the form. These are auto-filled in the newly created task—triggering further automations for priority, team assignment, or alerts.
📌 Remember: Clients must be added to the project to access the form submission link. Public forms are not supported yet! 🚀
Option 2: Client Project > Client Creates Tasks
Invite the client to a client-type project (not internal).
Ask them to open a new task for each request.
They can comment, upload files, and track progress directly.
Automations can route tasks based on field values.
Use task custom fields and automations to simplify triage. For example:
📌 If the client selects “Urgent,” assign the task to the lead dev, e.g., Sam West.
📌 If the request type is "Bug," notify the QA team in Slack or via email.
Option 3: Internal Project > Team Logs Tickets
A team member opens a task in an internal project when a client emails or calls.
A project manager reviews the task and assigns it appropriately (reviews the assignee, task list, folder, status).
As work progresses, the task moves through statuses and task lists.
When resolved, the team notifies the client manually.
Use task custom fields and automations to speed up triage and communication between teams. For example:
📌 Example: If the task urgency has been set to "High," then assign the task to Sam West.
Using Tasks as Tickets
Each ticket is a task—here’s how to manage them:
Update task status as work progresses
Move tasks between lists (e.g., from Triage to In Progress)
Comment to ask questions, share updates, or loop in teammates
Mention teammates with @ to collaborate (they'll get notified about the mention) or mention clients (if they’re on the task/project) when you need their input
Attach files, images, or links to the task description or comments or upload images or tables directly in the task description or comment by typing
/imageor/table.
📌 Best practice: Use tasks as your single source of truth for the ticket lifecycle. Add context, notes, and links directly in the task.
Automating Your Workflow
Use automations to reduce manual steps and ensure tickets keep moving.
📌 Examples:
Send a confirmation message when a form is submitted or a task is created (e.g., send a Slack message or email a specific person)
Assign tasks based on a custom field (e.g., if "Bug," assign to Jim)
Send a Slack notification or an email to the team when the task is updated or resolved
Change task status automatically after a condition is met
Email the client directly when the issue is resolved, notifying them about the task details and resolution (in this case the client needs to be added to the project)
You can chain multiple actions into one automation or create separate rules for more flexibility.
Using Views to Track Tickets
To monitor ticket status at a glance, save and customize views:
Filter for open or urgent tickets
Group by status or assignee
Sort by due date or priority
Pin or favorite views to access them quickly
Views are great for team standups, prioritization, and PM check-ins.
Notifying Clients When the Ticket Is Resolved
When a ticket is marked as resolved, someone should follow up with the client. There are a few ways to do this, depending on your process:
Let the task assignee resolve the task in Productive.
Then, notify the Project Manager (via a comment or automation) to check the resolution and respond to the client.
This adds a layer of review before client communication and avoids accidentally sending internal messages to the client.
📌 Automation example:
1) Trigger: When the task status changes to Resolved
2) Action: Assign the task to the Project Manager
3) Action: Add to-dos for the Project Manager to review and follow up with the client
4) Optional: When the PM updates the status to Ready for Follow Up, send an automated email to the client—CCing the PM to keep the message client-facing while keeping key internal team members in the loop.
Notifications and Task Subscriptions
When a task is created:
Clients added to the project and subscribed to the task will be notified about comments and status changes.
They can choose how they get notifications: via Productive’s Inbox, email, or mobile app. This can be adjusted under Settings > Notifications > Tasks.
📌 Tip: To subscribe to all tasks in a project, click the 👁️🗨️ "Watch" icon in the project navigation tray.
