Outsourcing and insourcing tickets in Autotask

About outsourcing and insourcing

Outsourcing means that a ticket created in your Autotask instance is copied into the subcontractor portal or another Autotask instance to be worked on. Insourcing is receiving a ticket that was created in another Autotask instance into your Autotask instance, so you can work on it.

Outsourcing allows you to expand your range of services by partnering with other service providers. Outsourcing is a practical solution for a variety of business challenges, for example:  

  • You don't have enough resources for a job
  • No one on your staff has the skill set needed to complete a job for one of your best customers
  • Your subcontractor can do the work more quickly or efficiently
  • The work site is in a customer location where you don't have resources

Who can you outsource to?

Autotask partners and subcontractors

From Autotask, you can outsource to Autotask partners and subcontractors.

Autotask Outsourcing and the Autotask Subcontractor Portal both have features that keep your original and the service partner's insourced ticket synchronized with the ticket in their system so you can share information and view each others' time and charge entries, notes, and attachments. The outsource/insource status is also synched.

Refer to Outsourcing tickets to a partner.

Autotask partners are other service providers that use Autotask. You outsource a ticket from your Autotask instance, and they insource it into theirs.

You can outsource to all Autotask customers that use an Autotask instance with the same language as yours.

IMPORTANT  That means that all English-language customers can outsource to any other English-language customer, regardless of where they are located in the world, all German-language customers can outsource to any other German customer, etc.

You simply add the service provider to your Autotask instance like any other partner, and send them an invitation.

Subcontractors are service providers who do not use Autotask. They must accept and manage outsourced tickets through the external Autotask Subcontractor Portal. From the outsourcing partner's point of view, outsourcing to a subcontractor is pretty much the same as outsourcing to an Autotask Partner.

However, each time a subcontractor accepts your ticket through the Subcontractor Portal, you are charged a small fee, which is detailed in your Autotask contract.

To learn about the Subcontractor Portal your partners will be using, refer to Viewing the Subcontractor Portal Help system.

Service networks and vendors

When you outsource to a network or vendor, there is no synchronization between your ticket and the outsource network. You do not need to invite networks or vendors to become outsource partners. You only need to add them to your Outsource Network list.

There, you can specify options for forwarding tickets to the network. Once you outsource the ticket, there is no automatic process to track the ticket or notify you when the ticket is complete.

Refer to Outsourcing tickets to a network or vendor.

Insourcing tickets

You can also accept an invitation from another Autotask user to receive and work tickets outsourced to you.

Your company can receive tickets from other Autotask users without signing the Outsource Agreement.

Refer to Insourcing (receiving) tickets.

Configuring outsourcing

To get ready for outsourcing, you must complete a few simple setup tasks. refer to ADMIN: Configuring the outsourcing feature.