How to Connect Help Scout with Shorter Loop

Transform customer support conversations into actionable product insights

Overview

The Shorter Loop Help Scout Integration bridges the gap between your customer support team and product development. By automatically syncing Help Scout conversations into Shorter Loop as Issues, you ensure that every customer pain point, feature request, and bug report becomes part of your product discovery process.

This is a one-way integration that pulls data from Help Scout into Shorter Loop, keeping your support workflow untouched while enriching your product backlog with real customer feedback.

What Makes This Integration Powerful

1. Complete Customer Context

Every issue in Shorter Loop links directly back to the original Help Scout conversation. Product managers can read the actual customer words, understand the emotional tone, and see the full context—not just a sanitized summary.

2. Organizational Intelligence

We import your Help Scout Organizations (companies) and Customers, so you can:

See which companies are requesting specific features

Prioritize based on customer value and segment

Track feedback patterns across different customer types

3. Zero Manual Work

Once connected, everything happens automatically:

New conversations appear as issues in real-time

Status updates sync automatically

No copying, pasting, or manual data entry required

What Data Gets Imported?

Help Scout Entity	Maps to Shorter Loop	What You Get
Organization	Account/Company	Company name, metadata, and customer relationships
Customer	User	Customer name, email, and company association
Conversation	Issue	Email subject, preview, status, and direct link to full thread

Understanding the Data Flow

Organizations First: We import all your Help Scout organizations (companies) first. This creates the foundation for customer relationships.

Customers Second: We then import all customers and automatically link them to their organizations. If a customer doesn't belong to any organization, they're still imported but marked as independent.

Conversations Last: Finally, we import all email conversations. Each becomes an issue in your Feedback Manager with:

Title: The email subject line

Description: A preview of the conversation

Status: Active, Pending, Closed, etc. (synced from Help Scout)

Link: Direct URL to view the full conversation in Help Scout

Setup Guide

Prerequisites

Unlike some integrations that use simple API keys, Help Scout requires creating an OAuth Application. This is more secure and gives you better control over permissions.

You'll need:

Admin access to your Help Scout account

5 minutes to create the app and connect

Step 1: Create a Help Scout App

Log in to Help Scout

Go to your Help Scout dashboard

Click on your profile picture in the top-right corner

Navigate to My Apps

Select Your Profile from the dropdown

In the left sidebar, click My Apps

Create New App

Click the Create My App button

Fill in the following details:

Field	What to Enter
App Name	`Shorter Loop Integration` (or any name you prefer)
Redirection URL	`https://shorterloop.com` (required but not used for this integration)

Save and Copy Credentials

Click Create

You'll see two important values:

App ID (looks like: 123456)

App Secret (looks like: abc123def456...)

⚠️ Important: Copy both values immediately. The App Secret is only shown once!

Step 2: Connect in Shorter Loop

Open Shorter Loop

Navigate to Integrations in your workspace

Find and click Help Scout

Enter Credentials

App ID: Paste the App ID from Step 1

App Secret: Paste the App Secret from Step 1

Click Connect

Shorter Loop will:

Verify your credentials

Import all organizations, customers, and conversations

Set up automatic webhooks for real-time updates

Wait for Import

Initial import time depends on your data volume:

Small account (< 100 conversations): ~30 seconds

Medium account (100-1000 conversations): 1-3 minutes

Large account (1000+ conversations): 5-10 minutes

Step 3: Verify the Connection

Check Your Feedback Manager

Go to Feedback Manager in Shorter Loop

You should see new issues with the tag submitted_via: helpscout_import

Test Real-Time Sync

Create a new conversation in Help Scout (or have a customer email you)

Within 30 seconds, it should appear as a new issue in Shorter Loop

Click Through to Help Scout

Open any imported issue

Look for the Help Scout URL field

Click it to view the full conversation in Help Scout

How Real-Time Sync Works

Automatic Webhooks (No Manual Setup!)

When you connect, Shorter Loop automatically registers webhooks with Help Scout. This means:

What Triggers a Sync:

✅ New conversation created

✅ Conversation status changes (Active → Closed, etc.)

✅ Agent replies to a conversation

✅ Customer replies to a conversation

What Happens:

Event occurs in Help Scout

Help Scout sends notification to Shorter Loop (within seconds)

Shorter Loop fetches the full conversation details

Issue is created or updated in your Feedback Manager

No Action Required: Unlike other tools, you don't need to manually configure webhooks in Help Scout. We handle this programmatically during connection.

Understanding the Data in Shorter Loop

Issue Fields Explained

When you open an issue imported from Help Scout, you'll see:

Field	Description	Example
Title	Email subject line	"Feature Request: Dark Mode"
Short Description	Preview of first message	"We'd love to see a dark mode option..."
Status	Current Help Scout status	Active, Pending, Closed
Help Scout URL	Direct link to conversation	Click to open in Help Scout
Help Scout ID	Unique conversation identifier	`12345678`
Submitted Via	Import source	`helpscout_import`

Finding Help Scout Issues

Filter by Source:

In Feedback Manager, filter by submitted_via = helpscout_import

Search by Customer:

Use the customer email or name to find all their feedback

Group by Organization:

See all feedback from a specific company in one view

Best Practices

1. Tag Conversations in Help Scout

Use Help Scout tags to categorize conversations (e.g., feature-request, bug, question). While these don't automatically sync, you can manually tag issues in Shorter Loop based on the conversation content.

2. Close the Loop with Customers

When you ship a feature requested via Help Scout:

Find all related issues in Shorter Loop

Use the Help Scout URL to identify the original customers

Reply to those conversations in Help Scout to let them know!

3. Regular Review Cadence

Set up a weekly review of Help Scout-sourced issues:

Identify trending topics

Spot feature requests from high-value customers

Prioritize based on conversation volume and customer segment

4. Combine with Other Integrations

Help Scout shows you what customers say. Combine with:

Analytics tools to see what customers do

CRM data to understand customer value

Other feedback tools for a complete picture

Troubleshooting

"Authentication Failed" Error

Cause: Incorrect App ID or App Secret

Solution:

Go back to Help Scout → Your Profile → My Apps

Verify you copied the correct App ID

If you lost the App Secret, delete the app and create a new one

Try connecting again with fresh credentials

"No Data Imported" After Connection

Cause: Empty Help Scout account or API permissions issue

Solution:

Verify you have conversations in Help Scout

Check that the App has proper permissions (it should by default)

Try disconnecting and reconnecting

Contact Shorter Loop support if issue persists

Conversations Not Syncing in Real-Time

Cause: Webhook creation failed (rare, usually due to Help Scout plan limitations)

Solution:

Check if autoWebhookCreated was true when you connected

If false, webhooks couldn't be created automatically

Contact Shorter Loop support for manual webhook setup instructions

Customers Not Linked to Organizations

Cause: Customers in Help Scout aren't assigned to organizations

Solution:

In Help Scout, edit customer profiles to assign them to organizations

Disconnect and reconnect the integration to re-import

Or manually assign users to companies in Shorter Loop

Security & Privacy

What Permissions Does Shorter Loop Need?

The Help Scout app requires:

Read access to organizations, customers, and conversations

Webhook management to create/delete webhooks

We never:

Modify or delete your Help Scout data

Reply to conversations on your behalf

Access sensitive customer payment information

Data Storage

Conversation previews are stored in Shorter Loop

Full conversation content remains in Help Scout

Links point back to Help Scout for complete context

Disconnecting

When you disconnect:

All webhooks are automatically deleted from Help Scout

Imported data remains in Shorter Loop (for historical reference)

No new data will sync

You can reconnect anytime without losing data

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Will this slow down my Help Scout?
A: No. We only read data; we never modify Help Scout. The integration has zero impact on Help Scout performance.

Q: Can I choose which conversations to import?
A: Currently, we import all conversations. You can filter them in Shorter Loop's Feedback Manager after import.

Q: What happens to conversations created before I connected?
A: All historical conversations are imported during the initial connection. You get your complete conversation history.

Q: Can I sync data back to Help Scout?
A: No, this is a one-way integration. Changes in Shorter Loop don't affect Help Scout. This keeps your support workflow clean.

Q: How much does this cost?
A: The integration is included with your Shorter Loop plan. No additional fees from Help Scout or Shorter Loop.

Q: Can I connect multiple Help Scout accounts?
A: Yes, if you have multiple Help Scout accounts (e.g., different brands), you can connect each one separately to different Shorter Loop workspaces.

Getting Help

Need assistance?

📧 Email: support@shorterloop.com

💬 In-app chat: Click the help icon in Shorter Loop

📚 Documentation: docs.shorterloop.com

Found a bug?
Please report it through Shorter Loop's Feedback Manager (how meta!) or email us directly.

How to Connect Help Scout with Shorter Loop

Overview#

What Makes This Integration Powerful#

1. Complete Customer Context#

2. Organizational Intelligence#

3. Zero Manual Work#

What Data Gets Imported?#

Understanding the Data Flow#

Setup Guide#

Prerequisites#

Step 1: Create a Help Scout App#

Step 2: Connect in Shorter Loop#

Step 3: Verify the Connection#

How Real-Time Sync Works#

Automatic Webhooks (No Manual Setup!)#

Understanding the Data in Shorter Loop#

Issue Fields Explained#

Finding Help Scout Issues#

Best Practices#

1. Tag Conversations in Help Scout#

2. Close the Loop with Customers#

3. Regular Review Cadence#

4. Combine with Other Integrations#

Troubleshooting#

"Authentication Failed" Error#

"No Data Imported" After Connection#

Conversations Not Syncing in Real-Time#

Customers Not Linked to Organizations#

Security & Privacy#

What Permissions Does Shorter Loop Need?#

Data Storage#

Disconnecting#

Frequently Asked Questions#

Getting Help#

Overview

What Makes This Integration Powerful

1. Complete Customer Context

2. Organizational Intelligence

3. Zero Manual Work

What Data Gets Imported?

Understanding the Data Flow

Setup Guide

Prerequisites

Step 1: Create a Help Scout App

Step 2: Connect in Shorter Loop

Step 3: Verify the Connection

How Real-Time Sync Works

Automatic Webhooks (No Manual Setup!)

Understanding the Data in Shorter Loop

Issue Fields Explained

Finding Help Scout Issues

Best Practices

1. Tag Conversations in Help Scout

2. Close the Loop with Customers

3. Regular Review Cadence

4. Combine with Other Integrations

Troubleshooting

"Authentication Failed" Error

"No Data Imported" After Connection

Conversations Not Syncing in Real-Time

Customers Not Linked to Organizations

Security & Privacy

What Permissions Does Shorter Loop Need?

Data Storage

Disconnecting

Frequently Asked Questions

Getting Help