Lookup relationship fields: pointing at another user, organisation or ticket

A lookup field points at another record rather than storing text. It is how a ticket references a contract, an asset or another ticket.

A lookup field points at another record rather than storing text. It is how a ticket references a contract, an asset or another ticket.

What it can point at

• A user, for example the account manager responsible.
• An organisation, when the ticket concerns a company other than the requester's.
• Another ticket, for linking related work.
• A custom object record, such as a contract, a device or a subscription.

Create one

1. Open Admin Center, then Objects and rules, then Tickets, then Fields.
2. Add a field and choose the lookup relationship type.
3. Choose what it points at.
4. Narrow what the picker offers with Add filter. A filter compares a field on the related record with a field on the ticket, or tests a static value such as a tag.
5. Add it to your forms and save.

Three numbers to design around: five lookup fields per object on Team and Growth, ten from Professional up, and forty as the total you may create on the ticket fields page. Since 27 August 2026 the plan number is what each ticket form may carry rather than what the account may hold, so on a plan with several forms each form can point at a different set. Filters do not work when the related object is an article, so plan around that.

Why the filter matters

Without one, an agent choosing a contract picks from every contract you have. With a filter limiting the list to the requester's organisation, they pick from three. That difference decides whether the field gets used properly or filled in at random.

Why this beats a text field

A text field holding a contract number is a string that can be mistyped and that nothing can follow. A lookup field is a real reference: agents see the record's details, rules can act on it, and renaming the record does not break anything.

Reporting

Explore reports on the reference, not the whole related record. Reporting on attributes of the linked object takes more than pointing a report at them, so worth checking what you will need before you design around it.

See also

• What a custom object is
• When to use a custom object and when a ticket field
• The field types and when to pick which