> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.coupler.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.coupler.io/sources/category/other/zendesk-talk/best-practices.md).

# Best Practices

## Recommended setup

<table data-card-size="large" data-view="cards"><thead><tr><th></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Use a dedicated API token</strong></td><td>Create a Zendesk API token specifically for Coupler.io under an admin account. This makes it easy to revoke access without disrupting other integrations.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Pick the right entity for your goal</strong></td><td>Use Calls for historical analysis, Agents activities for performance reviews, and Current queue activities only for real-time dashboards — don't mix these in the same report.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Join Calls to Zendesk Support tickets</strong></td><td>The `ticket_id` field in the Calls entity matches ticket IDs in Zendesk Support. Use Coupler.io's Join transformation to connect call outcomes to ticket resolution data.</td></tr></tbody></table>

## Data refresh and scheduling

<table data-card-size="large" data-view="cards"><thead><tr><th></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Schedule queue snapshots during business hours</strong></td><td>Current queue activities and Agents overviews reflect live state. Scheduling runs during peak hours (e.g., every 15–30 minutes mid-day) gives you meaningful data — overnight runs will mostly show zeros.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Use a rolling start date for Calls</strong></td><td>For ongoing call reporting, set your start date to the beginning of your current reporting period (week or month). Avoid pulling all-time data on every run — it increases processing time and can approach rate limits.</td></tr></tbody></table>

## Performance optimization

<table data-card-size="large" data-view="cards"><thead><tr><th></th><th></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Separate Calls and Call legs into different data flows</strong></td><td>Call legs can contain significantly more rows than Calls. Keeping them in separate data flows prevents large leg exports from slowing down your main call reporting flow.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Use Append for period-over-period analysis</strong></td><td>Export weekly agent activity snapshots and use Coupler.io's Append transformation to stack them into a single dataset. This is more reliable than pulling a long date range in one shot.</td></tr></tbody></table>

## Common pitfalls

{% hint style="danger" %}
Don't rely on Current queue activities for historical reporting — it only captures the state at the moment the data flow runs and will not reflect what happened earlier in the day.
{% endhint %}

{% columns %}
{% column %}
**Do**

* Set a specific start date when exporting Calls or Call legs
* Use an admin-level API token to avoid 403 errors
* Join Call legs to Calls on `call_id` when you need full routing detail
* Account for UTC timestamps when comparing to Zendesk dashboards
  {% endcolumn %}

{% column %}
**Don't**

* Pull open-ended Calls exports without a start date — results may be empty
* Use the same data flow for both real-time queue monitoring and historical call analysis
* Expect IVR entities to have data if IVRs aren't configured in your account
* Assume `recording_url` will be populated — it depends on your plan and line settings
  {% endcolumn %}
  {% endcolumns %}


---

# Agent Instructions
This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com.

## Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.coupler.io/sources/category/other/zendesk-talk/best-practices.md?ask=<question>&goal=<endgoal>
```

`ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
`goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal.

The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.