Some common organization-wide settings can be configured using the general settings configuration page. The general settings of the Help Desk can be found under the settings section in Admin Centre.

Date and time settings

Date can be displayed in different formats. You can customize how the date appears by selecting a preferred format, which will be shown on the right side of the date field. Time can be displayed in either 12-hour or 24-hour format, select the preferred start day of the week (Sunday/Monday), and you can choose from multiple UTC time zones. These settings apply to both the agent and customer portals.

Powered by BoldDesk Branding

You have the option to remove the Powered by BoldDesk branding from the customer portal. Learn more on How to remove the “Powered by BoldDesk” branding.

To remove the Powered by Branding, you can enable the checkbox as shown below.

Organization ticket view

When this option is enabled, it allows contacts within the same organization to view and collaborate on tickets submitted by their colleagues directly from the customer portal. If disabled, contacts will only be able to access tickets they have personally submitted.

For tenants with HIPAA compliance enabled, this permission is automatically disabled to prevent the sharing of sensitive health information. In such cases, customers can only view their own tickets to ensure privacy and regulatory compliance. Explore How to Restrict Organization Ticket View in Customer Portal.

Multiple contact groups

A contact can be mapped to a maximum of 100 contact groups when the multiple contact groups checkbox is enabled. After enabling this setting for the “Contact X”, that contact can be a part of “Contact Group 1” and “Contact Group 2” at the same time. Learn How to Restrict Organization Ticket View in Customer Portal.

Phone Identity Matching

Choose how BoldDesk identifies users across phone‑based channels (SMS, WhatsApp, phone calls). This setting controls how inbound conversations are linked to contacts. Learn more on Phone Identity Matching.

• Create a contact for each phone number

  • Behavior: The first time a phone number reaches you via a trusted phone‑based channel, BoldDesk creates a contact for that number.
  • Linking: All future conversations from the same phone number, across any phone‑based channel, are automatically linked to this contact.
  • Use when: You want simple, number‑centric identity (each unique phone number becomes its own contact).

• Identify existing contacts by phone number

  • Behavior: Incoming conversations are matched to an existing contact only when the phone number exactly matches a single contact.
  • No match: If there’s no exact match, BoldDesk creates a new contact and links all future conversations from that number to it.
  • Use when: You prefer to reuse existing contacts whenever possible, reducing duplicates as long as the number uniquely identifies one contact.

This setting applies to phone‑based channels only (e.g., SMS, WhatsApp, calls). It does not change how identities are matched for non‑phone channels.

Enable multi forms for tickets

With this feature, brands can now utilize multiple ticket forms instead of being limited to a single fixed form. This feature is available only in the Enterprise/Business plan.

When multi-form is enabled and multiple forms are mapped to a brand, users will see a new “Form” field that allows them to select the appropriate form when creating a ticket. This field is visible in both the customer and agent portals, enhancing usability and accessibility during the ticket creation process. Learn more on How to Set Up Multiform Feature in BoldDesk Ticket Forms Easily.

Enable CC field

You have the option to enable or disable the CC field for your customers. Learn more on How to Enable and Manage CC Fields in BoldDesk.

• If this option is enabled, agents and customers will be able to add or change CCs from the agent and customer portals, as well as from the support email replies.
• If it is disabled, even agents will be unable to add CCs to tickets and activities. Furthermore, other options in the CC field Settings will be unavailable for configuration.

For accessing the General Settings page, agents should have the Manage settings permission assigned to their role. Refer to this article to know more about Roles and permissions.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1) Where can I find General Settings in BoldDesk, and who can access them?
Go to Admin Centre → Settings → General. To access this page, the agent’s role must include the Manage settings permission.

2) How do Date & Time settings work in BoldDesk, and where do they apply?
In General → Date and time settings, you can set the date format, choose 12‑hour or 24‑hour time, pick the start day of the week (Sunday/Monday), and select a UTC time zone. These settings apply to both the agent and customer portals.

3) Can I remove “Powered by BoldDesk” branding from the BoldDesk customer portal?
Yes. In General Settings, enable the Remove “Powered by BoldDesk” option. This hides the footer branding on the customer portal.

4) What does “Organization ticket view” do in BoldDesk, and how does HIPAA affect it?
When enabled, contacts in the same organization can view and collaborate on each other’s tickets in the customer portal. If HIPAA compliance is enabled for the tenant, this setting is automatically disabled to protect sensitive health information—customers can view only their own tickets.

5) How does Phone Identity Matching work for SMS/WhatsApp/calls in BoldDesk?
Choose how inbound phone‑based conversations link to contacts:

• Create a contact for each phone number: A new contact is created on first inbound message; all future conversations from that number are linked to it.
• Identify existing contacts by phone number: The system links to an existing contact only if the phone number exactly matches a single contact; otherwise, it creates a new contact.
  This setting affects phone‑based channels only (SMS, WhatsApp, calls).