Customer Service: Triggering a Follow-Up Flow After a Ticket is Closed

A Ticket Closed trigger automatically starts a flow for a contact when an agent closes their ticket, which is useful for follow-ups and “handoff cleanup” actions like removing groups/labels or restoring normal automation—often best handled with a Background Flow to avoid interrupting any active messaging flows.
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6–7 min read
Category
Triggers
Updated on
Updated on: 23/12/2025

Start a flow after a ticket closes in a few steps

If you just need the essentials, follow this:

  1. Create a Background Flow for post-ticket actions (cleanup, group removal, follow-up logic)
  2. In Triggers, click + New Trigger and select Start a flow after a ticket is closed
  3. Select your Background Flow and optionally set include/exclude group rules
  4. Save the trigger and confirm it’s listed as active
  5. Test by closing a ticket and confirming the flow ran as expected

You’re done. When an agent closes a ticket, RapidPro.app will start the selected flow for that contact.

Step-by-Step Process

1
Understand how the Ticket Closed trigger works

  1. An agent closes an open ticket.
  2. RapidPro.app fires the Ticket Closed trigger.
  3. RapidPro.app starts the selected flow for that contact.
💡
Tip: Use this for “handoff cleanup” so you can restore normal routing once human support is finished.

⚙️
Note: If your post-ticket actions shouldn’t interrupt any active flows, run a Background Flow (instead of a Messaging Flow).

2
Create a Background Flow for post-ticket actions

In this example, the flow removes the contact from a group named Human Handled, which is used to prevent keyword/catch-all triggers
from firing while a human agent is handling the case.

  1. Go to Flows and create a new Background Flow.
  2. Add an action: Remove contact from group.
  3. Select the group Human Handled from the dropdown.
  4. Save the flow.

[CAPTURE: Creating a new Background Flow (flow type selection).]
[CAPTURE: Flow editor showing “Remove contact from group” action.]
[CAPTURE: Group dropdown with “Human Handled” selected.]

⚠️
Warning: Don’t use a Messaging Flow unless you intend to interrupt. Messaging flows can interrupt an active flow; background flows are safer for administrative actions.

3
Create the Ticket Closed trigger

  1. Go to the Triggers tab.
  2. Click + New Trigger.
  3. Select Start a flow after a ticket is closed.
  4. Choose the Background Flow you created (for example, “Remove from Human Handled”).
  5. Optional: Set group include/exclude rules.
  6. Save the trigger.

[CAPTURE: Triggers page showing “+ New Trigger”.]
[CAPTURE: New Trigger options list with “Start a flow after a ticket is closed” highlighted.]
[CAPTURE: Trigger configuration showing Flow selection.]
[CAPTURE: Include/Exclude group selectors (optional).]
[CAPTURE: Save / New Trigger button.]

⚙️
Note: Group filters apply at trigger time. If you include/exclude groups, only contacts matching those rules when the ticket closes will enter the flow.

4
Example handoff cleanup workflow

  1. During human support, contacts are placed in Human Handled to prevent automation from triggering.
  2. When the agent closes the ticket, RapidPro.app starts a Background Flow that removes the contact from Human Handled.
  3. After cleanup, the contact’s future messages are handled normally again by other triggers.

[CAPTURE: Active triggers list showing the “Ticket closed → Start flow” trigger.]

5
Use the Open Tickets Smart Group when available

RapidPro.app can provide a Smart Group in Contacts named Open Tickets, which helps you quickly identify contacts who still have unresolved tickets.

💡
Tip: Use “Open Tickets” for trigger filters to prevent automation from interfering while human support is active.

[CAPTURE: Contacts page showing the “Open Tickets” Smart Group.]

Common Issues & Quick Fixes

Problem: The flow doesn’t start when the ticket is closed.

Fix: Confirm the trigger is enabled and listed as active, verify you selected the correct “Start a flow after a ticket is closed” trigger type, and review any include/exclude group filters.

Problem: The action interrupts active flows.

Fix: Make sure the triggered flow is a Background Flow, not a Messaging Flow.

Problem: The contact isn’t removed from the group.

Fix: Confirm the flow action is Remove contact from group (not add), and verify the correct group is selected (for example, Human Handled).

Related Resources
Understanding Triggers: Roles and Types of Flow Initiation
Group Filtering: Restricting Triggering to Specific Group Members
Controlling Exit: Ignoring Keywords to Keep the Contact in a Flow