Zendesk + ReturnMate
Zendesk teams get the same treatment as Gorgias users — OAuth connect, ticket linking, bidirectional message sync, and a sidebar app that surfaces RMA context where the agent is already working.
What the integration does.
- OAuth 2.0 via Zendesk Connected Apps
- API-token fallback for environments without OAuth
- Sidebar app showing linked RMAs with status badges
- Ticket linking with soft-match on customer email
- Inbound + outbound message sync with direction controls
- Internal-note visibility gating (admin_only vs all staff)
- Webhook-driven event stream on the RMA timeline
How merchants use it.
Install the sidebar app
The ReturnMate Zendesk Sidebar app installs from the Zendesk Marketplace. Authenticates via a signed sidebar API key generated on our side, so no credentials live inside Zendesk.
Link existing tickets
From the RMA detail page, link any Zendesk ticket by ID. Customer-email soft match suggests likely tickets for faster linking.
OR, fall back to API token
If your Zendesk plan doesn't allow OAuth connected-app creation, use the API-token path: subdomain, admin email, API token. Same two-way sync, same sidebar app, just a different auth handshake.
Connect Zendesk in minutes.
- 1
Choose OAuth or API token
Settings → Integrations → Zendesk → enter your Zendesk subdomain. Click Connect for OAuth, or expand "API token fallback" to paste admin email + token.
- 2
Install the sidebar app
From the Zendesk Marketplace, install the ReturnMate Sidebar app. Paste the sidebar API key shown in the ReturnMate integration settings.
- 3
Configure sync
Set message sync direction, internal-note sync, and retention window. Defaults are conservative (inbound-only, 365-day retention) to avoid surprises.
Questions about Zendesk.
Do I need Zendesk Professional or higher?
OAuth connected apps require Professional+. The API-token fallback works on any tier; functionality is identical once connected.
Can I sync internal notes?
Optionally. Internal-note sync is off by default. When enabled, you control whether notes synced into ReturnMate are visible to everyone or admin-only, so sensitive agent-internal context isn't surfaced to ops staff.
Does the integration trigger Zendesk automations?
Ticket creation and message posting go through the standard Zendesk APIs, so your existing triggers, automations, and SLAs all fire as they would for a human-created ticket.
Ready to connect Zendesk?
14-day free trial. No credit card required. Billed through Shopify.