Parent & Child Tickets

Jarod Stanton

Updated 04 December 2025 19:48

Q: What is a Parent/Child Ticket?

A: Parent/Child tickets are a way to link multiple related tickets in Zendesk, where one ticket acts as the “parent” (main ticket) and other tickets act as its “children” (sub-tickets). This structure helps organise complex issues that have multiple parts or affect multiple customers or teams.

Q: How does a Parent/Child Ticket work?

A: Parent/Child tickets can be implemented by using triggers and automations. You can also create Side Conversations as Child Tickets. This gives you the benefit of both linked ticket tracking and collaborative side discussions.

Best Practices: At UMG, side conversations are used as child tickets.

Benefits of Parent/Child Tickets

Clear organisation of related work.
Easier tracking of progress on complex issues.
Better collaboration across teams.
Improved reporting and visibility.
Avoids clutter and duplication by grouping related tickets.

Steps to Create a Child Ticket via Side Conversation

Open the main (parent) ticket.
Click Side Conversations (from the ticket sidebar).
Select +.
Select Ticket or Email
- Selecting Ticket adds an internal note to the ticket.
- Selecting Email adds an internal note to the ticket and also sends an email to the assignee or follower.
Fill in:
- Assignee in "To" field
- Subject
- Message
Add followers or CCs if needed in the "To" field.
Click Send.

This creates a child ticket that is:

Linked to the parent ticket
Tracked in the Side Conversations panel
Maintains its own status and assignee

Note: Before creating/sending the side conversation, you can also

Insert ticket comments into the side conversation/child ticket

Set child ticket fields for the side conversation/child ticket

Best Practices

Use Side Conversation → Ticket when the task requires independent tracking or assignment (e.g., escalation to another team).
Use Email side conversations for quick questions or approvals without needing a separate ticket.
Always include enough context in the child ticket so the assignee understands the task.
You can automate tagging (e.g., side_child_ticket) for easier filtering and reporting.

Example Scenario

Customer reports a discrepancy in an artist's latest royalty statement.

Parent Ticket: Agent logs a ticket for the discrepancy in the artist's latest royalty statement.
Side Conversation: Agent creates a new side conversation within the parent ticket, assigning it to the internal Royalties team.
Child Ticket Creation: Creating the side conversation within the parent ticket automatically creates a separate child ticket specifically for the Royalties team to address the discrepancy. Note: The Royalties team will be able to see the child ticket in their view.
Royalties Team Investigation: The Royalties team now has a dedicated ticket to investigate the issue. They can collaborate internally within their child ticket without cluttering the main communication with the artist. Any internal notes or conversations they have on the child ticket remain private.
Updating the Parent Ticket: When the Royalties team discovers the reason for the discrepancy and has a resolution, they can add a public comment on their child ticket. This comment will be sent back to the side conversation on the original parent ticket, allowing the initial support agent to see the resolution and communicate it to the artist.
Resolution: Agent can then reply to the customer on the parent ticket, explaining the situation and the corrective actions taken by the Royalties team.