Overview
PandaPay has achieved significant improvements in their customer support operations since implementing Zoho Desk. This helped the company improve key performance metrics, including a reduction in cancellation rates and increased productivity within the support team.
The company
PandaPay is a Canadian payment solutions provider founded in 2014 and based in Montreal. It serves thousands of businesses across Canada and handling a significant annual transaction volume. The company positions itself as a partner for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that focuses on transparent and straightforward payment processing.
PandaPay offers a variety of services to help businesses accept payments. These include physical terminals for in-person transactions, virtual terminals that allow businesses to process payments on any computer with internet access, and e-commerce integrations with popular platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento. They also provide developer tools and APIs for custom online store projects.
The challenge
Initially, PandaPay relied on a shared email inbox to handle inbound requests. As with many companies, this method quickly became chaotic. Individual team members would respond independently, often without full context or visibility into the full history of a client or issue.
Tracking response times, accountability, and ticket reopen rates was impossible. It was clear to the leadership team that managing client and internal requests purely by email was inefficient and unsustainable.
The solution
Multiple departments use Zoho Desk
Several departments across PandaPay now actively use Zoho Desk. These include the Client Experience team, Client Care, Human Resources, Marketing, Operations, Relationship Management, and Technology. The Relationship Management team, for example, functions as internal sales support, assisting salespeople in the field using Zoho Desk.
Zoho Desk features that drive day-to-day efficiency
PandaPay primarily uses Zoho Desk for ticket management and has developed several workflows and custom functions to streamline operations across teams. The core of their operations revolves around the ticketing system, supported by a knowledge base that helps agents with suggested articles and internal documentation.
Customer insights and timeline features provide context on ticket history and customer behavior, while the CRM info panel allows visibility into client data from within Desk. They have integrated Zoho Desk with Telus Business Connect for call analytics, and SalesIQ along with Facebook Messenger and live chat for real-time support.
Workflows include ticket classification-based automations where manuals are shared externally and tickets are auto-closed upon classification changes. Partner-assigned tickets are routed and closed after validation, while junk or unnecessary system tickets are automatically closed to reduce clutter. Custom notifications alert relevant users based on ticket updates or statuses.
Departmental workflows include the client experience team handling tickets that have been routed to them, the relationship management team using assignment rules based on onboarding and deal stages, and finance and compliance teams managing PCI compliance and commission-related tickets. A data entry department processes tickets requiring manual updates, and operations management handles Google review tickets for validation. Custom functions are relatively simple—they're mostly focused on notifications and ticket handling triggers.
Desk-to-CRM workflow and case creation
To better manage requests that required action, PandaPay's team classified tickets based on the request type. If a ticket was identified as a Question, it typically meant the issue was straightforward and the ticket could probably be answered directly in Desk and then closed.
However, for Requests or Issues—tickets that required follow-up work—the team built a workflow rule, where they used a custom function to create a case inside Zoho CRM. Zoho Desk primarily handles education and triaging, while CRM manages resolution workflows.
Each case was created with a specific checklist of steps that needed to be completed based on the case type. Additionally, the case included a link to a Zoho Connect manual that provided instructions on how to complete each step. This was especially useful for training new employees, who could open the case, follow the checklist, and access the step-by-step manual if they needed help completing a particular case.
Blueprint to simplify the complex processes
The company uses a simple blueprint in Zoho Desk called the Client Care Blueprint. This blueprint manages ticket validation and ensures that requests submitted by advisors on behalf of merchants are properly linked to the correct merchant’s history rather than the advisor’s. It also verifies the authorization of individuals contacting them on behalf of a company and requires approval before granting further access. The blueprint guides the team through necessary field updates, ticket classification, and tasks before tickets are either canceled or closed.
Internal use of Desk across departments
Zoho Desk is not used solely for external client support; it has also been rolled out internally across departments. For instance, the finance team uses Desk to manage commission inquiries and other internal finance-related questions. Each internal team operates through its own ticketing system, which supports streamlined communication, clear accountability, and efficient response tracking.
As an example, emails sent to a specific operations email address are routed through Zoho Desk, where the system is used to manage approvals and internal requests. The platform has been configured so that service level agreements (SLAs) apply to internal tickets to help ensure timely responses and accountability. Additionally, whenever the COO receives a ticket that highlights a recurring or important issue, he documents the solution in the knowledge base to make the information accessible to all employees.
Internal ticket classification system
PandaPay established a standardized method for creating tickets for internal communication. Internally generated tickets were classified into three major categories using custom fields: Issue, Request, and Question. Each type was clearly marked by writing the category name in all caps in the subject line. For example, when an advisor in the field sends a ticket labeled, ISSUE, it automatically stands out in the system, making it easier for the team to identify and prioritize it.
Help center development
To further streamline support, the company is investing heavily in developing its Zoho Desk Help Center. The goal is to triage as many clients as possible to this portal. A growing number of knowledge base articles are being added, and the team is now incorporating video content to make instructions clearer and more accessible. The help center will offer both written and video instructions to provide a comprehensive self-service tool.
To drive adoption, the help center is being actively promoted through email signatures and other communications. As the team continues to strengthen the available content, they are encouraging help center usage among their customers more actively.
Tracking and dashboards
Before implementing Zoho Desk, the company had no tracking or visibility into customer service operations. There were no metrics in place—teams had no idea how many support requests were coming in or being resolved.
For example, prior to changing the phone system, less than 20% of inbound calls were being answered. After switching to Zoho Desk and integrating telephony, that number dramatically improved. 90% of inbound calls are answered within 10 seconds. For missed calls with a voicemail, they are responded to as they generate a ticket in Zoho Desk.
The team uses both Zoho Desk’s built-in dashboards and Zoho Analytics for broader reporting. Key metrics include:
- Inbound call volume and answered call rates
- Open tickets
- Ticket volume by agent
- Response times
- Ticket classification and trends
- Retention rates (viewed via higher-level dashboards)
The dashboards provide just enough insight for regular monitoring. If the team detects an anomaly, like a sudden spike in missed calls, they can investigate further, and are often already aware of the effects of internal factors such as an absence on the team or the overall workload in the system.
Benefits & ROI
A better experience for customers using Zoho Desk and Zoho CRM
The integration between Zoho Desk and Zoho CRMreally helps our team. When a merchant calls in with a question or follows up on a request—say, for an add-on or an upgrade—our team can quickly access their record in the CRM. In the Cases section, each case is automatically named by type, so we instantly know whether it's an upgrade, add-on, etc. Even if there are 500 requests, it’s easy to filter and identify the most recent upgrade, for example. This has significantly streamlined our ability to provide faster, more accurate support.
What's key for us is the connection between Zoho Desk and CRM. Desk tickets sync as a related list inside the CRM, so we can also view the full ticket history alongside the structured case data. That combined visibility really improves our service delivery.
Visibility into each agent's performance
From a managerial perspective, implementing Zoho Desk offered clear benefits in terms of increased visibility. It allowed for insight into what was happening with individual team members, such as how many tickets they were responding to and how many of their tickets were being reopened.
While ticket reopening can sometimes occur due to a client replying with a “thank you,” there were other, more significant cases where tickets were consistently reopened because the assigned team members had not been able to bring the issue to a proper conclusion. Desk made it easier to identify these gaps in performance and provided the structure to address the issues.
Enhanced customer support experience
The customer reported a significant improvement in customer retention since adopting Zoho Desk. While customer support used to be a leading cause of cancelations, it has now dropped to the ninth position out of eleven, making it an almost negligible factor. The company’s overall cancellation rate is consistently below 10%, well under the industry standard, and Zoho Desk is seen as a major contributor to that success.
Improved efficiency among new hires
PandaPay also confirmed a significant boost in team productivity after implementing Zoho Desk. For example, new hires now become fully effective in 6–8 weeks, compared to over a year previously, which is attributed to the use of Desk’s knowledge base, manuals, and streamlined workflows.
Overall experience with Zoho Desk
My experience with Zoho Desk has been overwhelmingly positive. What stood out the most for me was how easy it was to set up. I didn’t need any onboarding help from Zoho. I just went in and did it. It was that simple. Features like live chat, social media integration, and even the basic workflow automations have added a lot of value to how we support our customers.
Shaping the road ahead
We’re transitioning from traditional customer support to a more proactive client experience model. Instead of waiting for issues to arise, we want our client experience team to identify and address potential concerns before they escalate.
For example, we receive regular reports from our partner that flag clients who may be dissatisfied or at risk of canceling services. Based on these insights, we plan to proactively assign follow-up cases to our team, who will reach out to these merchants and offer assistance. Unlike the reactive models typical in our industry, we're focused on intercepting issues early and building stronger client relationships through proactive engagement.
How Zoho Desk and the help center enable a proactive approach
Zoho Desk is about to play a vital role in John's future plan of achieving a proactive customer support process at PandaPay. While the CRM identifies the at-risk clients, he wants Zoho Desk to support outreach and streamlines communication management. PandaPay is currently moving toward the vision by creating more knowledge base articles to empower its customers.
- Ticket creation for outreach: When a team member follows up with a merchant proactively, they log the communication in Zoho Desk. This helps track all outreach activity and ensures transparency.
- Help center and knowledge base: Desk’s help center is used as a proactive resource hub that encourages self-service. For instance, if a merchant needs guidance, the team sends them curated articles or videos directly from the knowledge base, which often empowers clients to resolve their issues independently. The team works to stay ahead of the curve by creating a comprehensive knowledge base with well-organized and easily navigable articles.
- Industry typeFinancial Services
- Employees21-500
- Type of businessB2B
Looking forward
PandaPay is collaborating with Zoho Desk's technical support experts to explore recently released features such as Zia's generative AI and Answer Bot, with the goal of supporting their customers more efficiently. Their future plans include leveraging AI to handle basic customer queries and allow their support team to focus on more complex and high-priority tasks.
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