How to Send Help Scout Ticket Updates to Slack with Power Automate

make.powerautomate.com > My flows > + New flow > Automated cloud flow

Open Power Automate and create a new Automated cloud flow

Go to make.powerautomate.com and sign in with your Microsoft 365 account. In the left sidebar, click 'My flows', then click '+ New flow' at the top. Select 'Automated cloud flow' from the dropdown. A dialog will appear asking you to name the flow and choose a trigger — type a name like 'Help Scout Ticket Status to Slack' and then search for 'Help Scout' in the trigger search box.

1. 1Click 'My flows' in the left sidebar
2. 2Click '+ New flow' at the top right
3. 3Select 'Automated cloud flow'
4. 4Name the flow 'Help Scout Ticket Status to Slack'
5. 5Search 'Help Scout' in the trigger search field

Trigger picker > Recurrence > Interval: 5, Frequency: Minute

Configure the Help Scout polling trigger via HTTP or custom connector

Since Power Automate has no certified Help Scout connector, select 'Recurrence' as your trigger to run the flow on a schedule. Set the interval to 5 minutes and the frequency to 'Minute'. This creates a polling loop that will query Help Scout's API for tickets modified since the last run. You'll store a timestamp in a variable to track the last checked time.

1. 1Search for 'Recurrence' in the trigger picker
2. 2Select the 'Recurrence' trigger (Schedule category)
3. 3Set Interval to '5'
4. 4Set Frequency to 'Minute'
5. 5Click 'Show advanced options' and set Start time to now

New step > Variables > Initialize variable

Initialize a variable to store the last-checked timestamp

Click '+ New step' and search for 'Initialize variable'. Add this action and name the variable 'LastChecked' with a type of 'String'. Set the default value to a UTC timestamp from 5 minutes ago using the expression: addMinutes(utcNow(), -5). This variable tells the Help Scout API query where to start looking for updated tickets on each run.

1. 1Click '+ New step' below the Recurrence trigger
2. 2Search for 'Initialize variable' and select it
3. 3Set Name to 'LastChecked'
4. 4Set Type to 'String'
5. 5Set Value to the expression: addMinutes(utcNow(), -5)

New step > HTTP > Method: GET

Call the Help Scout API to fetch recently modified tickets

Click '+ New step' and search for 'HTTP'. Select the HTTP action. Set the Method to GET and the URI to https://api.helpscout.net/v2/conversations?status=all&modifiedSince=@{variables('LastChecked')}&sortField=modifiedAt&sortOrder=desc. In the Authentication dropdown, select 'Basic' and enter your Help Scout API key as the Username with a blank Password — Help Scout uses API key as Basic auth username.

1. 1Click '+ New step' and search for 'HTTP'
2. 2Select the 'HTTP' action
3. 3Set Method to 'GET'
4. 4Paste the Help Scout API URL with the LastChecked variable inserted
5. 5Expand Authentication, choose 'Basic', enter your API key as Username and leave Password blank

New step > Data Operations > Parse JSON

Parse the JSON response from Help Scout

Add a 'Parse JSON' action after the HTTP step. Set Content to the Body output from the HTTP action using the dynamic content picker. For the Schema, paste a JSON schema matching Help Scout's conversation list response — include fields like id, subject, status, assignee (name, email), mailboxId, and updatedAt. Click 'Generate from sample' and paste a real API response from Help Scout's API explorer to auto-generate the schema.

1. 1Click '+ New step' and search for 'Parse JSON'
2. 2Set Content to the 'Body' output from the HTTP step
3. 3Click 'Generate from sample'
4. 4Paste a sample Help Scout conversation list response
5. 5Click 'Done' to generate the schema automatically

New step > Control > Apply to each

Add an Apply to each loop over the conversations array

Add an 'Apply to each' control action. Set the 'Select an output from previous steps' field to the conversations array from the Parse JSON output — this will be something like body/_embedded/conversations. Every item inside this loop represents one changed Help Scout ticket. All subsequent filtering and Slack actions go inside this loop.

1. 1Click '+ New step' and search for 'Apply to each'
2. 2Select 'Apply to each' under Control
3. 3Click inside 'Select an output from previous steps'
4. 4In the dynamic content panel, find and select the conversations array from Parse JSON
5. 5Confirm the loop block appears on the canvas with an '+ Add an action' area inside it

Apply to each > + Add an action > Control > Condition

Add a Condition to filter by relevant status changes

Inside the Apply to each loop, add a 'Condition' control. Set the left value to the 'status' field from the current conversation item. Set the operator to 'is equal to' and the right value to 'closed'. To catch multiple statuses, click '+ Add row' and add OR conditions for 'active' (reopened) and 'pending' (assigned). This prevents the flow from sending Slack messages for every minor ticket update.

1. 1Inside the Apply to each loop, click '+ Add an action'
2. 2Search for 'Condition' and select it
3. 3Set left value to the 'status' field from Parse JSON dynamic content
4. 4Set operator to 'is equal to', right value to 'closed'
5. 5Click '+ Add row', change connector to 'Or', add status equals 'active', repeat for 'pending'

Condition (Yes branch) > + Add an action > Slack > Post message > Sign in

Connect your Slack account as a Power Automate Connection

Inside the 'Yes' branch of the Condition, click '+ Add an action' and search for 'Slack'. Select the 'Post message' action. A sign-in prompt will appear — click 'Sign in' to authenticate with Slack using OAuth. Power Automate will open a Slack authorization window in a new tab. Approve the permissions for the Power Automate app to post to channels. After authorizing, the connection appears in the Connections section of Power Automate.

1. 1Inside the Yes branch, click '+ Add an action'
2. 2Search for 'Slack' and select the Slack connector
3. 3Choose 'Post message' action
4. 4Click 'Sign in' in the connection prompt
5. 5Authorize Power Automate in the Slack OAuth window that opens

Slack > Post message > Channel + Message Text

Configure the Slack message with ticket details

Set the Channel field to the Slack channel where updates should post — type the channel name directly (e.g., #support-ops) or select from the dropdown. In the Message Text field, build a message using dynamic content from the Parse JSON step. Include ticket subject, current status, assignee name, and a direct link to the ticket. Use the format: Ticket Update: [subject] is now [status]. Assigned to: [assignee firstName] [assignee lastName]. View: https://secure.helpscout.net/conversation/[id].

1. 1Click the Channel field and type or select your target channel (e.g., #support-ops)
2. 2Click into the Message Text field
3. 3Type 'Ticket Update: ' then insert the 'subject' dynamic value
4. 4Continue building: ' is now ' + status + '. Assigned to: ' + assignee firstName + ' ' + assignee lastName
5. 5Append the Help Scout conversation URL using the conversation id field

Canvas top right > Save > Test > Manually > Run flow

Test the flow with a real Help Scout ticket change

Click 'Save' in the top right of the canvas, then click 'Test' (also top right). Choose 'Manually' to trigger a test run immediately. While the flow is waiting, go to Help Scout and close or reassign an existing ticket. Return to Power Automate and click 'Run flow'. Watch the run history — each action block shows green (success) or red (failure) with input/output data you can inspect.

1. 1Click 'Save' in the top right
2. 2Click 'Test' next to the Save button
3. 3Select 'Manually' in the test panel
4. 4In Help Scout, close or reassign a ticket to trigger the change
5. 5Back in Power Automate, click 'Run flow' and watch the live run log

make.powerautomate.com > My flows > [Flow name] > ... > Turn on

Turn on the flow for production

Once the test passes, go back to 'My flows' in the left sidebar. Find your flow in the list — it will show as 'Off' if you created it in test mode. Click the three-dot menu next to the flow name and select 'Turn on'. The flow will now run every 5 minutes automatically. Monitor the run history for the first hour to confirm it's catching real ticket changes without errors.

1. 1Go to My flows in the left sidebar
2. 2Find 'Help Scout Ticket Status to Slack' in the list
3. 3Click the three-dot '...' menu on the right
4. 4Select 'Turn on'
5. 5Refresh the page and confirm the flow shows 'On' status

Paste this expression into a Compose action between your Parse JSON step and the Apply to each loop. It formats the raw UTC timestamp from Help Scout into a readable local time and uppercases the status string — both changes make the Slack message more readable without adding extra actions.

// Power Automate expression — use in a Compose action
// Reference output as: outputs('Format_Ticket_Message')
// Place between Parse JSON and Apply to each

// Power Automate expression — use in a Compose action
// Reference output as: outputs('Format_Ticket_Message')
// Place between Parse JSON and Apply to each

concat(
  'Ticket Update: ''',
  items('Apply_to_each')?['subject'],
  ''' is now ',
  toUpper(items('Apply_to_each')?['status']),
  '. Assigned to: ',
  if(
    empty(items('Apply_to_each')?['assignee']),
    'Unassigned',
    concat(
      items('Apply_to_each')?['assignee']?['firstName'],
      ' ',
      items('Apply_to_each')?['assignee']?['lastName']
    )
  ),
  '. Updated: ',
  formatDateTime(items('Apply_to_each')?['updatedAt'], 'MMM d h:mm tt'),
  '. View: https://secure.helpscout.net/conversation/',
  string(items('Apply_to_each')?['id'])
)