High Licensing Costs of Traditional Platforms

The district’s ticketing system operated on a licensing-based model, causing costs to rise as more faculty and administrative staff required access. Traditional platforms charged per-user license fees, and as the department staff grew, costs surged, making it increasingly difficult to manage expenses.

Fragmented and Rigid Workflows

The district’s existing system simply wasn’t designed to keep up with growing administrative demands. Over time, workflows became disconnected and increasingly challenging to manage, making it hard for teams across IT, HR, and Finance departments to collaborate effectively.

Slow Response Times and Paper-Based Processes

Without the ability to scale or automate routine tasks, staff were forced to work around a system that couldn’t support their expanding administrative workload, resulting in delayed ticket resolutions. 

Additionally, the system’s limitations can unintentionally create extra paperwork, adding inefficiencies that could have been minimized with a more flexible solution.

Leveraging Google Workspace Environment

Since AppSheet is included at no extra cost for Google Workspace customers, Richland’s district employees can submit and track tickets effortlessly using familiar tools, including Gmail, Google Forms, and Google Drive, without incurring additional fees.

Centralized Dashboard with User-Friendly Workflows

AppSheet brings everything together in one centralized app, making it simple for staff to manage tickets from a single dashboard. Because AppSheet has an intuitive interface, faculty members don’t need to undergo extensive training sessions, allowing them to quickly adapt to the system.

In addition to its user-friendly design, AppSheet can combine multiple functionalities into a single app. As a result, users can manage workflows, access data, and automate tasks, all within one unified platform. This leads to less confusion, a shorter learning curve, and a faster adoption rate.

Automated Routing and Notifications

To maximize efficiency, AppSheet automatically sorts and routes tickets to the right teams, ensuring that submitted requests are handled promptly by the appropriate personnel. Each department can configure its own categories, workflows, and notification preferences, eliminating the need to manually forward issues or chase down tickets. 

This reduces delays, improves response times, and removes the hassle of misdirected requests. With automated alerts, staff receive timely email notifications, keeping them informed of updates and progress without needing to follow up manually.

Streamlined Ticket Requests

With the new ticketing system built on AppSheet and Google Workspace, Richland staff can handle ticket requests more efficiently. Teachers and administrators can quickly report issues, request assistance, or ask for services using simple, user-friendly Google Forms. 

These customized forms are embedded directly within the district’s intranet, ensuring seamless access. Everything is streamlined, making ticket submission faster and more straightforward.

Cross-Department Collaboration

Richland took advantage of AppSheet’s powerful features to build an efficient ticketing system that completely changed how departments work together and handle ticket requests. With real-time visibility into ticket status, conversation history, and view attached documents, departmental teams can now stay on the same page and easily track progress, all from one central dashboard. 

This more connected approach cuts down on miscommunication, speeds up response times, and helps ensure every request is handled clearly and efficiently.

Phased Rollout and Training

To ensure a smooth transition to the new app platform, Richland School District Two implemented a phased rollout of the AppSheet ticketing system. Since AppSheet apps can be fully tested before being published, a prototype version of the ticketing app was first tested with a small user group.

Their feedback played a crucial role in refining the system and identifying key areas to automate to help streamline tasks. Based on their input, a newer version was released, introducing smarter ticket routing and timely email notifications. These enhancements significantly improved turnaround time for Richland. 

After successfully completing the testing phase, the app was deployed, making it fully accessible while ensuring user roles and permissions are appropriately assigned, allowing staff to interact with the system based on their specific responsibilities.

Cost Savings and Accessibility

AppSheet is free for schools already using Google Workspace, eliminating the ongoing licensing fees associated with traditional ticketing systems. This is a significant benefit for school districts like Richland, allowing them to eliminate costly subscription-based platforms and redirect funds toward other educational priorities.

Customizable, No-Code Solutions

Educators and administrators without coding experience can build or modify custom AppSheet templates. This flexibility enables schools to develop their own systems, reducing reliance on external vendors while allowing their IT teams to focus on setup and optimization rather than extensive development.

Integration with Existing Tools

Since AppSheet is fully integrated with Google Workspace, it works seamlessly with tools including Google Sheets, Drive, and Gmail, allowing staff to submit and track tickets using familiar platforms. This reduces training time and increases adoption. 

Extended Functionality with APIs and Third-Party Tools

Beyond its core features, AppSheet integrates with external tools, among them Google Apps Script for automation, PDF generation for documentation, Google Calendar for scheduling, and various APIs. These features enable schools to streamline workflows by connecting data across multiple systems for a more unified and efficient operation.