By
El Copeland
January 4, 2025
•
20 min read
Professional Development
Fundamental Skills
Tutorials
Refresh your Resume
When is the last time you updated your Resume/CV?
There was a little bit of chatter in the MSPGeek Discord last month about what actually needs to go on a resume. (MSPGeek Website | MSPGeek Discord)
It got me curious: how many of my friends in the MSP space have an up-to-date resume, and one that they’re proud of?
Uh-oh, have you not dusted yours off in a few years?
Let’s talk about why you might want to change that even if you’re happy where you are and some practical advice for updating yours into something you’re proud to showcase.
What is a Resume and how is it different from a CV?
Let’s start with the basics.
A resume is a generally a concise document highlighting your professional experience, skills, and accomplishments. When I’m coaching others, I use the analogy that a good resume is just a firm handshake. It's what gets your foot in the door for hopefully further conversations. You’ll want your resume to be tailored to your current interests and objectives, whittled down to reflect your story and expertise.
On the other hand, a CV, or curriculum vitae, comes from Latin words curriculum, which came from the original word currere which translates to run, as in a race; and vitae, meaning life. Curriculum has since been adapted as an educational term for what you’d be learning in a class or program, but it originally just meant “what race are you running?”
With that in mind, a CV literally translates to course of life, and as such it’s a beefier document than a resume, reflecting a detailed account of one’s professional journey, path, and achievements, showcasing a full history of your education, research, and work. I coach my people to keep both on hand, considering the CV as the “source of truth” for everything you’ve ever done with complete timelines and full descriptions, and creating multiple child resumes depending on your specific job application or use case.
In general, in the MSP (Managed Service Provider) space and in the employment arena, these words are often used interchangeably but I encourage you to default to providing a simpler resume, and as such we’ll be focusing on that term in this article. However, there are places and times that it makes sense to provide a full CV and we’ll address that as we go.
The Value of Keeping a Resume on Hand
Having an up-to-date resume is a good practice to keep even if you’re not actively looking for jobs. Some companies that bid for work include team member resumes and CVs as evidence of that company’s competence and fit to win a particular Request for Proposal (RFP).
It’s also helpful because you never know when the random person you meet at a conference, church, or bar, likes the cut of your jib and wants your resume to see if you’re a good fit for their company!
If you’re in Sales or Marketing, knowing what your technical teams’ Resumes and CVs look like can be a wealth of data for building proposals or providing accomplishments to prospective clients. It’s worth seeing if your team has up-to-date resumes so you know the high points of their skills and accomplishments and can brag about them accordingly.
So enough about the why of a good Resume. Let’s talk about the how.
Building a "Good” Resume
As someone who has applied for many jobs, read a good number of applications for my own businesses, and coached others in cleaning up their own, let’s talk about what makes a resume or CV successful to me and how I applied those ideals in my own resume. As you’ve surely noticed, the word good is in quotation marks – every bit of advice in here is built on years of learning and experience, but is by no means dictatorial or the final word on the resume that will get you the job of your dreams.
My goal is to give you inspiration on revamping and practical advice further editing your own! If you follow these ideas, hopefully, you'll take your resume from "meh" to "good" and as you build your idea of what good looks like, you can make it "great."
Here is my current resume, for reference:
What are your first thoughts? It’s ok if you hate it, it won’t hurt my feelings. The fact that you’re thinking about what could be a resume is the exciting part for me. We’ll use my resume to tear apart some of these rules so you have practical ideas for what to do, or not!
Rules I kept in mind:
- You’re the Hero.
- Lead with action.
- Context, context, context.
- Show your Work
You’re the Hero.
For the uninitiated, Doctor Who is a BBC Family Show about a millennia-old time-traveling alien who consistently finds himself saving the human race while meeting historic people and events from the past, present, and future. In the 2024 Christmas special, Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor finds himself trapped in a crappy hotel room by himself, for a year. “The long way ‘round” rings in the viewers’ ears as we are then escorted through the next year of the Doctor, watching his character development as he performs menial labor and often comical tasks. It’s heartwarming and tearjerking, and....
Don’t do that.
Yeah, you heard me. Your resume is not the place for your growth or development. It’s not the place to give the ins and outs of your day-to-day. Your resume needs to be the high points. This is just the book cover, the summary, the short review enticing someone to pick you up and actually flip through the pages.
Ways that you can do that include:
- Use a “Summary” and/or “Objective”.
What is your overall story? Are you a phenomenal Tier 2 Technician looking for her next role leading a team as a Tier 3? Are you hoping to transition to leadership with your people skills? Are you wanting to contribute to a team with your depth of knowledge of security infrastructures? What should the reader of your Resume see first, and how should they read your story?
- Keep to the point.
A rule of thumb often used is 10 years of work experience to one page of resume. IF you have more experience that requires more words, try to shorten it first. Or, include an appendix fully describing a project or situation.
- Maybe a picture.
Honestly, I hate having a photo on a resume, but I was applying for a job outside of my local area and industry I wanted something that showed my character. I left it on the styling because I’m lazy. Be careful with photos, they can seem unprofessional.
We want to know that you can speak Judoon, have commandeered a TARDIS, and are adept with both psychic paper and a Sonic Screwdriver. We do not need to know that you carjacked said TARDIS, brought someone a cheese toastie and pumpkin latte, or snogged Queen Elizabeth. If the devil is in the details, well, leave the details and the devil out of your resume, dude.
This example is a little silly, but the point remains that YOU are the hero and YOU write your own story. Make sure the readers of your resume know what that is. And regardless of what story you write, your resume should always lead with Action.
Lead with Action
What have you done that you have control over? Your resume should show that you’re an asset to the teams that you’re on and that the work you’ve done has shown your strength.
Instead of framing things as being a part of a project or that something was imposed on you, stretch yourself to consider the decisions you made and how they were impactful.
Check your resume in a grammar checker for “passive voice” and eliminate it from your resume as much as possible. Passive voice makes it seem like you are just that: a passive bystander to things that you created. This isn’t the place for modesty, it’s a place for groundedness and intentionality! Don’t be scared to show them what you’ve got! Here are some good rules of thumb for your resume:
- Start with action verbs: Use strong verbs such as developed, managed, increased, led, implemented, and optimized.
- Ask 'who did what?': When reviewing your bullet points, ask yourself who is performing the action, and make that the subject of the sentence.
- Quantify results: Adding metrics helps make the statement more assertive and shows the impact of your actions.
Here are some practical examples for how you can update passive voice with active voice.
- Ticket System Implementation
- Passive: “A new ticketing system was implemented to streamline support requests.”
- Active: “Implemented a new ticketing system that streamlined support requests, reducing response times by 20%.”
- Customer Care
- Passive: “Client issues were resolved in a timely manner.”
- Active: “Resolved client issues within 24 hours, improving customer satisfaction ratings by 15%.”
- Report Preparation
- Passive: “Quarterly reports were prepared and presented by me for leadership review.”
- Active: “Prepared and presented quarterly reports to leadership, providing data-driven insights that influenced key decisions.”
- Training Employees
- Passive: “Training programs were created for new hires.”
- Active: “Created and led training programs for new hires, resulting in a 30% reduction in onboarding time.”
- Security Updates
- Passive: “System upgrades were performed to improve security.”
- Active: “Performed system upgrades to improve security, reducing vulnerability incidents by 40% compared to previous year.”
Of note, it is highly possible that you don’t feel like you have the numbers or the confidence to do this, today. There is a certain amount of intentionality and care that is required to start gathering these types of Key Performance Metrics or goals. It’s possible that your management is tracking some of these things already and you can talk to your manager about their goals for your department and roll those into your own successes.
Context, Context, Context
Know your audience and keep it relevant in all the ways possible, I’d specifically encourage you to consider context of content and context of delivery.
Content
We allude to this in the section on being the Hero, but keep multiple versions of your resume on hand depending on the role and company you are applying for! Review the business’s website and job listing for key words, phrases, or values to show you are a good fit. Remove work experience that isn’t applicable to the role. Don’t keep things in if they dilute what you are actually seeking to present yourself as. Customize your bullet points: Swap in key accomplishments that fit the job description. If the role focuses on leadership, highlight examples of mentoring or leading a team. If it’s technical, detail relevant certifications, tools, and projects.
Formatting
Use consistent headers, bullet points, and spacing to make your resume easy to scan. Avoid excessive detail that clutters the page. Stick to clean, professional fonts and clear section breaks.
Keep it simple, but don’t be afraid of a little personality: A pop of color, a different font, or slightly unique formatting can be memorable—but don’t overdo it. Use section dividers, subtle lines, or an (one!) accent color to guide the eye. Include icons for contact info if appropriate, but ensure they don’t distract (choose SIMPLE icons with only one color and make sure all icons are from the same family pack).
Keep font choices professional yet modern, such as using sans-serif fonts like Calibri or Lato. In general, I recommend not using more than one typeface, and limit the times you change it. Regular, bold, italic should get you far, and try to keep font sizes to three variations: title (36pt), header (18pt), body (12pt). Keep things consistent like you would be if you were marking up a webpage or application. And please, whatever you do, don’t express yourself through clever or cartoony fonts, this is for business, not your personal art gallery.
Delivery
How are you submitting your application? In person, by email, through a digital system?
Will the person be reading this on a mobile device or printing it out?
If in person, don’t be afraid to print off a color copy on nice, weighted cardstock for an in-person interview, and bring copies for other people who may be in the room as well, for a peer interview.
For digital submissions Check the format based on delivery method: Ensure your resume reads well in multiple formats—digital (PDFs), ATS-scannable text, and print. Run tests to see how it looks in each form. Do screenreaders or convert to plain text to see (or hear) what a computer-read version of your document turns out to say. Does it make sense? If not, rework it.
Show your Work
As mentioned multiple times in this article, your resume is a tool for opening doors, so don’t let it be a dead end for the reader. Where do you keep your portfolio or where should they go to find more information about you if this resume piqued their interest? Don’t keep them guessing, give them access! Some things you may want to include on a modern resume:
- Links
- Github
- LinkedIn Profile
- Blog or Portfolio
- Personal Projects or Achievements section
- Speaking engagements
- Community Volunteerism
- Open Source Projects you contribute to
- References or Testimonials
- While your references should be separate from your resume, don’t be afraid to list quotes from people about your work or link to reviews
Now, it’s your turn!
What do you think? If you look at your resume, does it follow my suggestions of making yourself the Hero. leading with action, considering appropriate context, and showing your Work? Where did I deviate from the rules, do you think it works for me, or not?
On the flip side, what rules do you think I am missing?
I hope I’ve inspired you to update your resume and/or CV this month and to encourage your friends and colleagues to do the same! If you need help cleaning up your resume, you can find me on any of the social channels listed on my resume, or through Rising Tide if you want to pay me to just do it for you.
As Partner and Business Consultant at Rising Tide, I help organizations align culture with efficiency, bridging the gap between strategy and the everyday systems that make it work. I’ve spent my career leading diverse, cross-functional teams and building communities where people actually want to learn and collaborate. With roots in technology, education, user experience & design, and project management, I specialize in turning complex ideas into clear, actionable plans that keep both people and projects thriving.
Outside of work, you’ll usually find me weight-training, gardening, or rewatching Doctor Who with a cat in my lap.
See some more of our most recent posts...
By the [run]Book: Episode 23
Episode 23 of By the [run]Book covers HaloPSA v2.216, including AI acknowledgement emails, ticket and project charge rate restrictions, report audit timestamps, Microsoft CSP subscription imports, and Runbook enhancements. The team also discusses recent Halo API changes affecting haloreleases.remmy.dev, Microsoft's upcoming July 1st pricing changes, and Renada's Teams-based Ticket Swarm approach for rapid ticket collaboration.
Read post
In Episode 23 of By the [run]Book, Connor Fagan and Jason Parsons walk through HaloPSA v2.216, covering a mix of quality-of-life improvements, automation enhancements, reporting updates, and billing controls. Highlights include new ticket-level charge rate restrictions, report audit timestamps, Microsoft CSP subscription import improvements, AI-generated acknowledgment emails, and several Runbook enhancements. The discussion also covers important industry updates, including Microsoft’s July 1st pricing changes, limitations introduced to haloreleases.Remmy.dev due to Halo API changes, and Renada’s Teams-based "Ticket Swarm" approach for urgent ticket collaboration.
Watch Now: By the [run]Book: Episode 23
Important Mentions
There are limitations affecting haloreleases.remmy.dev caused by changes to the Halo API
Microsoft’s July 1st pricing Changes
Check out Renada's instructional video - Ticket Swarm into Microsoft Teams
Full Feature List
There is now an option to hide the Task event type when creating an appointment | v2.216 #1004798 | 3:08
This gives administrators the ability to remove the Task event type from appointment creation screens.
The hosts recommended enabling this for most environments because Task event types do not synchronize with Microsoft 365 calendars, while Appointment types do.
Various improvements to maintenance windows and change freeze periods | v2.216 #993209 | 5:01
A collection of enhancements focused on Halo's ITSM change management functionality.
The discussion noted that this will likely be most valuable for organizations using formal maintenance windows and change approval processes rather than traditional MSP service desks.
You can now choose to use Criteria Groups on Ticket Rules | v2.216 #992806 | 6:02
Criteria Groups continue to expand throughout Halo and are now available within Ticket Rules.
This allows administrators to build more advanced AND/OR logic inside a single rule rather than creating multiple rules to achieve the same outcome.
Added a "Restrict field visibility to specific entities" option for CRM note custom fields, enabling admins to control which entities (Client, Site, or User) the field appears on | v2.216 #985216 | 8:11
CRM Note custom fields can now be limited to specific entity types.
This helps keep note forms cleaner by ensuring fields only appear where they are actually relevant.
Added new global Chat setting - "Prevent multiple agents from connecting to a live chat simultaneously" | v2.216 #985181 | 13:10
A new safeguard prevents multiple technicians from accidentally joining the same chat session.
For teams using Halo Chat, this can help reduce duplicate responses and ownership confusion.
Added 'Current Time' and 'Day of Week' as new Chat flow criteria | v2.216 #984329 | 14:32
Chat Flows can now make decisions based on the current time and day of the week.
This opens up more options for business-hours routing and after-hours automation.
Added SLA response/resolution breached criteria for Ticket Lists and Ticket Areas | v2.216 #983753 | 14:39
Administrators can now separately filter against Response SLA breaches and Resolution SLA breaches.
The hosts felt this provides greater reporting flexibility and allows teams to focus on the SLA metrics that matter most to their business.
Fields with an override display field now show the override name in field lists | v2.216 #982790 | 16:03
Field lists now display the override name rather than only the original field name.
A small but useful quality-of-life improvement when working with heavily customized environments.
Tanium user matching improvements | v2.216 #981827 | 16:31
Improves user matching behaviour within the Tanium integration.
The hosts did not spend much time on this feature but noted it should improve synchronization accuracy.
You can now set a custom refresh rate for widgets | v2.216 #979334 | 17:16
Dashboard widgets can now have their own refresh intervals.
Administrators can balance dashboard responsiveness against system performance by selecting refresh periods between 30 seconds and 1 hour.
Added the "include_all_custom_fields" HTTP parameter when listing Assets via the API | v2.216 #972951 | 17:47
A new API parameter allows integrations to retrieve all custom fields when querying assets.
Useful for developers and anyone building integrations around Halo asset data.
Added a setting to give more control over which action fields copy to children when adding actions to parent tickets | v2.216 #967903 | 23:02
Provides additional control over how information flows between parent and child tickets.
The hosts discussed several possible use cases but agreed this will require additional testing to fully understand its impact.
Added in a setting that allows you to define the default Rich Editor Toolbar style | v2.216 #967368 | 27:01
Administrators can now define the default layout used by the rich text editor toolbar.
A simple quality-of-life improvement for organizations that prefer a cleaner editor experience.
You can now use $-APPOINTMENTBOOKING{X} to link an End User to a specific booking type | v2.216 #963310 | 27:50
Appointment booking links can now direct users to specific booking types.
This provides more flexibility when building self-service appointment workflows.
Added AI Acknowledgement Emails at Ticket Type Level | v2.216 #920858 | 29:42
AI-generated acknowledgement emails can now be configured at the Ticket Type level.
The feature allows custom prompts and automated responses tailored to specific ticket categories. The hosts felt this could be useful for gathering additional information from end users before an engineer begins working the ticket, but recommended careful testing before broad adoption.
Added a runbook setting to log a ticket after X failed attempts in a row | v2.216 #896368 | 34:49
One of the most practical automation improvements discussed during the episode.
When a Runbook repeatedly fails, Halo can now automatically create a ticket.
The hosts strongly recommended enabling this for Runbook deployments to improve visibility into automation failures and reduce troubleshooting time.
Added a setting to Etilize to only show items with a Price | v2.216 #804419 | 36:58
Adds an option to filter out catalog items that do not contain pricing information.
A small but useful improvement for teams relying on Etilize product searches.
Creation date and last edited date is now displayed on reports | v2.216 #801011 | 38:06
One of the hosts' favourite additions in this release.
Reports now display who last modified them and when the modification occurred, making report management significantly easier in larger environments.
Popup notes set as modal will now have to be acknowledged before they are closed | v2.216 #793283 | 39:44
Modal popup notes now require acknowledgement before dismissal.
This helps ensure important information is actually seen by technicians.
Added an individual toggle for KB article links per page when enabled | v2.216 #787515 | 41:33
Provides additional control over Knowledge Base article link behaviour.
The feature was only briefly discussed during the episode.
You can now import Subscription products from Microsoft CSP | v2.216 #779249 | 42:28
Improves Microsoft CSP product import functionality.
The hosts highlighted this alongside Microsoft's upcoming pricing changes and discussed how it may simplify subscription management.
Runbook improvements for uploading and downloading of files | v2.216 #749478 | 44:32
Adds additional file handling capabilities to Runbooks.
Useful for workflows involving document processing, attachments, and API-driven automation.
Charge Rate restrictions have been added to Ticket/Project level | v2.216 #650036 | 45:26
This generated one of the longest discussions of the episode.
The feature allows charge rate controls to be configured directly against tickets and projects. While it provides significant flexibility, the hosts cautioned that excessive customization could make billing troubleshooting considerably more difficult.
Options have been added to Resource Booking Types to override the "Minimum minutes" and "Maximum days" for available timeslots | v2.216 #461773 | 51:01
Resource Booking Types can now define their own scheduling limits rather than relying entirely on global settings.
Bills can now be created independently from Purchase Orders | v2.216 #452557 | 51:10
Allows Bills to be created without requiring an associated Purchase Order.
A useful addition for organizations with more flexible purchasing processes.
The current Item Price/Cost will now show on the hint for the Price/Cost on an Invoice | v2.216 #437921 | 51:30
Invoice pricing fields now display the current item price or cost as a reference.
The hosts questioned some of the terminology used but agreed the additional visibility could be helpful.
Sophos Integration is now available | v2.216 #234500 | 53:16
Halo now includes a Sophos integration.
The discussion focused primarily on alert synchronization and early integration improvements since its initial release.
By the [run]Book: Episode 22
HaloPSA v2.216 delivers several impactful improvements for MSPs, including new SLA-aware database functions, enhanced integrator troubleshooting tools, OAuth token refresh controls, improved sensitive ticket permissions, and expanded invoicing flexibility. Episode 22 continues reviewing features in 2.216 while highlighting the changes that will have the biggest day-to-day operational impact.
Read post
Episode 22 of By the [run]Book dives deep into HaloPSA v2.216, covering a wide range of enhancements across reporting, integrations, invoicing, ticketing, assets, and automation. Connor and Mendy spend extra time unpacking new SLA-aware database functions, improved integrator troubleshooting, OAuth token management, sensitive ticket controls, and several quality-of-life improvements that make Halo easier to administer and automate. This episode is particularly valuable for MSPs looking to improve reporting accuracy, streamline integrations, and gain better visibility into backend processes.
Watch Now: By the [run]Book: Episode 22
For easier tracking, check out haloreleases.remmy.dev to filter and search HaloPSA updates by ID, version, and keyword.
Important Mentions
New database functions have been added to be used to calculate time between dates | v2.216 #1083601 | 2:17
One of the most impactful features discussed in this episode introduces new database functions designed to calculate working time between dates using Halo's own business logic.
- Enables SLA-aware reporting calculations.
- Accounts for working hours, holidays, and SLA calendars.
- Simplifies SQL reporting that previously required complex logic.
- Particularly useful for custom reports and analytics.
Why it matters: MSPs building advanced reporting can now calculate true business time rather than relying on raw SQL date math.
Added two additional options to the tickets setting 'Sensitive Ticket restrictions' | v2.216 #1056127 | 22:45
Sensitive tickets gain more granular visibility controls.
- Additional restrictions for end-user visibility.
- Additional restrictions for agent visibility.
- Better handling of confidential or executive-level requests.
- Improves internal governance and privacy controls.
Why it matters: MSPs supporting executive teams or handling confidential projects gain stronger access controls.
Integrator log columns ID and config ID are now filterable | v2.216 #1039846 | 33:06
Connor and Mendy highlighted this as one of the most valuable operational improvements in the release.
- Makes troubleshooting Halo Integrator jobs significantly easier.
- Allows administrators to filter logs by specific integration configuration.
- Simplifies debugging failed syncs.
- Reduces time spent searching through large log files.
Why it matters: Faster troubleshooting means less downtime and quicker resolution when integrations fail.
Custom integrations that use OAuth 2.0 now have a button to clear the access/refresh tokens, allowing permissions to be refreshed | v2.216 #1029548 | 45:49
This feature received strong praise from both hosts.
- Allows OAuth tokens to be cleared without recreating integrations.
- Makes permission testing much easier.
- Eliminates the need to duplicate integrations during troubleshooting.
- Simplifies development and integration configuration work.
Why it matters: Anyone building custom integrations or working with APIs will immediately appreciate the time savings.
Full Feature List
New database functions have been added to be used to calculate time between dates | v2.216 #1083601 | 2:17
This feature introduces new database functions that calculate time between dates while respecting Halo's working hours, holidays, and SLA schedules. The hosts highlighted this as one of the most impactful additions in the release for reporting and analytics.
For MSPs building custom reports, this removes much of the complexity previously required to calculate true SLA working time instead of relying on standard SQL date calculations.
When using the new storage data method, Text custom fields will now be extended up to 1000 characters | v2.216 #1083130 | 4:36
Text custom fields created using the newer storage method can now support up to 1000 characters instead of the previous 255-character limitation.
The team discussed real-world examples where long URLs, call recording links, and integration data would previously be truncated. This change reduces the need to switch fields to Memo types simply to accommodate longer values.
Action Group configuration has been added to the menu options at Configuration > Tickets, as well as being added to the Action configuration | v2.216 #1082462 | 6:08
Action Group configuration is now surfaced more prominently throughout the Halo interface.
This doesn't introduce new functionality but makes Action Groups easier to discover and manage by exposing configuration options in more logical locations.
Quotes will no longer be automatically expired if they have a Status that is either used as "Closed" or "Accepted" | v2.216 #1080343 | 7:32
Previously, accepted or closed quotes could still transition to an expired status once their expiry date was reached.
This fix prevents completed quote statuses from being overwritten later, resulting in cleaner sales reporting and a more accurate quote lifecycle.
Added a new Mail Campaign Type: Nurture Campaign - Scheduled | v2.216 #1080219 | 8:29
Scheduled nurture campaigns can now periodically re-evaluate recipient lists rather than only processing the list when the campaign initially launches.
This makes nurture campaigns much more practical for dynamic marketing lists where recipients may qualify after the campaign has already started.
You can now use $ChatTranscript on a Ticket at any time when there is a linked Chat with a User | v2.216 #1079619 | 10:21
The Chat Transcript variable can now be referenced whenever a linked chat exists for a ticket.
This provides more flexibility when building templates, notifications, automations, and workflows that need access to chat history.
Added $_INVOICELONGDESC to the available variables that can be used during pro-rata creation | v2.216 #1079617 | 10:57
A new variable has been added to support invoice long descriptions during pro-rata calculations.
The hosts spent time discussing how this improves consistency between invoice line descriptions and prorated billing entries, helping produce clearer invoices for customers.
Added a setting to only apply date validation upon creation of entities | v2.216 #1075315 | 14:40
Date validation can now be restricted to the creation process only.
This allows administrators to make changes to records later without triggering the same validation requirements that applied when the entity was originally created.
Added the permission "Can Override Device Change Who" | v2.216 #1072389 | 15:23
A new permission allows the recorded user associated with device change tracking records to be overridden.
The hosts noted this introduces additional flexibility but also raises questions around auditing and accountability, so it should be used carefully.
Added the option "Visible - Read Only" to asset type system field settings | v2.216 #1069805 | 17:05
Asset system fields can now be configured as visible while remaining read-only.
This helps expose important information to users without allowing accidental edits.
Added a setting to enable customer specific agreement reference generation | v2.216 #1068707 | 17:22
Agreement reference numbers can now be generated on a customer-specific basis.
Organizations with structured naming conventions may find this useful when managing multiple agreements across different customers.
It is now possible to enforce uniqueness for asset fields per asset type | v2.216 #1067257 | 18:28
Asset custom fields can now be configured to require unique values.
This is particularly useful for:
- Serial numbers
- Asset tags
- External identifiers
- Device reference numbers
It helps improve data quality and prevents duplicate asset records.
Sage Intacct Entity mapping defaults and manual settings are now available across more entities | v2.216 #1062134 | 19:10
Sage Intacct mapping capabilities have been expanded to additional entities.
This improves flexibility for organizations integrating HaloPSA with Sage Intacct accounting workflows.
You can now map Halo Custom Fields to Sage Intacct fields where mappings are available | v2.216 #1062129 | 20:34
Custom field mapping support has been extended within the Sage Intacct integration.
This allows more business-specific data to flow between HaloPSA and Sage Intacct.
Added a setting to Users Settings > Defaults to determine if a new Users' username should be set to their Email or not if there is already a User at the Site with the same Username | v2.216 #1060115 | 20:46
This setting helps determine how duplicate usernames are handled when new users are created.
The hosts generally felt most organizations would likely continue using traditional username formats rather than switching to email addresses automatically.
Added two additional options to the tickets setting "Sensitive Ticket restrictions" | v2.216 #1056127 | 22:45
This was one of the more significant ticketing enhancements discussed during the episode.
Sensitive tickets now support additional visibility controls for both end users and agents.
This helps organizations handle:
- Executive requests
- HR-related tickets
- Confidential projects
- Restricted internal discussions
Added settings to group by Agent Status in the Treeview, and to show a grouping of Agents by Status to Ticket Areas | v2.216 #1056112 | 25:43
Treeviews can now group agents by their availability status.
Dispatchers and service coordinators may find this particularly useful when reviewing ticket assignments and resource availability.
Added a setting for Asset Custom Buttons to disable the runbook queued confirmation popup | v2.216 #1054838 | 26:19
Asset custom buttons can now suppress the runbook queue confirmation message.
A small but useful quality-of-life improvement for heavily automated workflows.
Added a Chat flow action which can retrieve data from the User's browser local storage and map to Ticket or Chat Custom Fields | v2.216 #1054416 | 26:40
Chat flows can now retrieve information stored within the user's browser and map that data into Halo records.
The hosts discussed potential use cases while also noting the broader security considerations associated with browser-side data access.
Allowed non-integer IDs for multi-select custom fields | v2.216 #1054352 | 28:54
Multi-select custom fields are no longer restricted to integer-based identifiers.
This improves compatibility with external systems that use GUIDs and other non-numeric identifiers.
Added new $ variables for Client Mention notifications | v2.216 #1045900 | 30:07
Additional variables have been added for Client Mention notifications.
This supports richer notification templates and more contextual messaging.
Added "Mailbox" field to Ticket Types to allow Agents to set the default mailbox when creating new Tickets | v2.216 #1044902 | 32:28
Ticket types can now define a default mailbox during ticket creation.
This provides additional control over ticket routing and mailbox selection.
Integrator log columns ID and config ID are now filterable | v2.216 #1039846 | 33:06
One of the standout features from the episode, this enhancement makes Halo Integrator troubleshooting significantly easier.
Administrators can now filter logs by configuration ID, making it much simpler to locate and investigate integration runs.
For MSPs managing multiple integrations, this can dramatically reduce troubleshooting time.
Variables used in Runbooks can now be JSON escaped using the following format - ##jsonstringify##<<ticket^example_field>>##/jsonstringify## | v2.216 #1037026 | 38:42
Runbook variables can now be JSON-escaped before being passed to external systems.
This helps avoid formatting issues when sending structured data through APIs and automation workflows.
In the config commit list view, agent names will now display the stored name for consistency across instances | v2.216 #1032902 | 39:54
Configuration commit history will now display stored agent names consistently across linked instances.
A small but welcome improvement for organizations managing multiple Halo environments.
Added the v2 invoice merging method to allow more customisable merging options | v2.216 #1032275 | 40:15
A new invoice merging method introduces additional customization options for invoice generation.
The hosts noted that this feature introduces significant complexity and should be thoroughly tested before being adopted in production billing processes.
Service status improvements to the Self Service Portal | v2.216 #1031911 | 42:27
The Self Service Portal now includes improvements for displaying service status information.
Organizations maintaining customer-facing status pages may benefit from improved visibility during outages and service disruptions.
Custom integrations that use OAuth 2.0 now have a button to clear the access/refresh tokens, allowing permissions to be refreshed | v2.216 #1029548 | 45:49
Another major highlight from the episode.
Administrators can now clear stored OAuth tokens without recreating integrations.
Benefits include:
- Easier permission testing
- Faster troubleshooting
- Reduced integration rebuilds
- Simpler development workflows
For anyone building custom integrations, this feature alone can save a significant amount of time.
You can now use End Users and Site level Custom Fields on Ticket Column Profiles | v2.216 #1029518 | 47:36
Ticket column profiles can now display End User and Site-level custom fields.
This allows additional business data to be surfaced directly within ticket lists and views.
Added runbook ID as a filterable column on the integration runbook list view | v2.216 #1029237 | 48:32
Runbook IDs can now be used as a filterable column within integration runbook views.
A small administrative improvement that makes locating specific runbooks easier.
Add new Ticket Notification triggers for when there have been no Actions on a ticket for X hrs/days | v2.216 #1021268 | 48:48
New notification triggers can alert teams when tickets have been inactive for a specified period.
This may help identify tickets that have fallen through the cracks and improve follow-up processes.
A database table has been added named "InvoiceCreationTrace" that will be used to record what happened during Invoice creation from the Ready For Invoicing lists | v2.216 #1013403 | 49:49
Invoice creation now generates trace records that can be used for troubleshooting and diagnostics.
The hosts highlighted the importance of additional visibility into billing processes and invoice generation logic.
Added an end date column for software licences | v2.216 #1013163 | 51:38
Software licence records can now display an end date column.
A straightforward improvement that provides better visibility into licence lifecycle information.
Added ticket type groups to change tracking | v2.216 #1009333 | 51:47
Ticket type groups can now be leveraged within change tracking functionality.
This complements broader improvements around ticket grouping and permissions management.
You can now set automatic invoice reminders | v2.216 #1008361 | 54:10
Automatic invoice reminders can now be configured directly within Halo.
This helps reduce manual collections work and provides a more consistent accounts receivable process.
Added a setting 'approval delegation when out of office' to user settings | v2.216 #1005500 | 55:47
Approval requests can now be automatically delegated when a user is marked out of office.
While relatively simple today, the hosts discussed how this may become increasingly valuable as Halo continues expanding its out-of-office functionality and approval workflows.
By the [run]Book: Episode 21
Episode 21 of By the [run]Book covers the final features from HaloPSA v2.214 and the start of v2.216, including major improvements to forecasting, category restrictions, auditing, integrations, email handling, and technician workflows. Mendy and Connor break down practical MSP use cases, hidden configuration risks, and operational tips for getting the most out of the latest Halo updates.
Read post
Episode 21 of By the [run]Book dives into the tail end of HaloPSA v2.214 and the first round of v2.216 updates, with Mendy and Connor unpacking practical MSP use cases, hidden configuration gotchas, and workflow improvements. Highlights include forecasting enhancements, category group restrictions, Datto RMM multi-tenancy, auditing improvements, ticket timer widgets, and advanced email handling settings that can dramatically impact service desk operations. This episode is especially useful for Halo administrators refining automation, billing accuracy, integrations, and technician workflows.
Watch Now: By the [run]Book: Episode 21
For easier tracking, check out haloreleases.remmy.dev to filter and search HaloPSA updates by ID, version, and keyword.
Important Mentions
Improvements to forecasting | v2.214 #701659 | 31:48
Forecasting in HaloPSA received a major usability improvement by automatically calculating forecasted hours from estimated project task time.
- Forecasting no longer requires manual hour entry
- Project workload visibility becomes much more accurate
- Helps service managers better plan technician capacity
- Forecast data now updates directly from project task estimates
- Significant quality-of-life improvement for project management workflows
- Connor and Mendy discussed how this reduces one of the biggest pain points in Halo forecasting
Added the option to restrict categories by Category Group | v2.214 #775657 | 25:12
Category restrictions can now be controlled using Category Groups instead of manually configuring every category individually.
- Simplifies ticket category management
- Reduces administrative overhead for large environments
- Makes workflow restrictions easier to maintain
- Particularly valuable for MSPs with heavily customized workflows
- Eliminates the need for repetitive category-by-category exclusions
- Called out as a “massive” operational improvement during the episode
Added cost field to Agent Roles | v2.214 #831614 | 19:55
Agent Roles now support assigning cost values directly at the role level.
- Enables profitability reporting without exposing exact technician salaries
- Supports role-based costing models (Tier 1, Tier 2, etc.)
- Improves margin reporting and service profitability calculations
- Useful for MSPs standardizing labor costing across teams
- Creates cleaner operational reporting structures
An option has been added to the Auvik Network import to ignore Networks with a Scan Status of “Unknown” | v2.216 #1093288 | 38:56
HaloPSA can now ignore “Unknown” scan status networks during Auvik imports.
- Prevents unnecessary or incomplete network objects from syncing into Halo
- Keeps asset inventories cleaner and easier to manage
- Reduces noise from partially discovered or transient network devices
- Particularly useful in large or segmented network environments
- Helps improve data quality inside configuration management
The global setting for “Add X-Auto-Response-Suppress header to emails” can now be overridden using Action level configuration to enforce the headers when the global setting is not enabled | v2.216 #1085470 | 49:41
Halo now allows email suppression headers to be configured at the Action level rather than only globally.
- Provides granular control over automatic reply suppression
- Useful for limiting noisy out-of-office or acknowledgment emails
- Allows specific actions to suppress responses without affecting all outbound email
- Helps balance automation control with email reliability
- Connor and Mendy strongly cautioned MSPs to test carefully, as improper configuration can unintentionally suppress legitimate responses or acknowledgements
Full Feature List
Added a Ticket setting that allows users to retain their selected tickets after completing a bulk edit | v2.214 #965079 | 1:38
This setting keeps tickets selected after completing a bulk edit, allowing technicians to chain multiple bulk updates together without re-selecting tickets.
- Helpful during ticket cleanup or spam management workflows
- Reduces repetitive selection actions during mass updates
- Mendy and Connor discussed using closure categories plus automation rules to handle spam/noise tickets more effectively
You can now create Mail Campaign Groups | v2.214 #963652 | 4:44
Mail Campaigns can now be grouped for organizational purposes.
- Primarily improves filtering and categorization
- Useful for separating marketing, advisories, announcements, and service notifications
- Current functionality is mostly organizational rather than operational
Asset software imported from Intune will now match to existing records based on the software's name instead of the ID | v2.214 #951596 | 8:01
Halo will now match imported Intune software records using software names instead of IDs.
- Reduces duplicate software entries
- Improves consistency during synchronization
- Important for MSPs maintaining clean software inventories
The Datto RMM integration is now multi-tenanted | v2.214 #950768 | 8:38
Multiple Datto RMM integrations can now coexist within HaloPSA.
- Particularly useful during mergers and acquisitions
- Supports phased RMM migrations
- Allows separate Datto environments to operate simultaneously
A setting has been added so that when sending an email from a Ticket that does not have a default mailbox set, the mailbox used will become the default | v2.214 #948587 | 10:16
Halo can now automatically assign the mailbox used during outbound communication as the ticket’s default mailbox.
- Helps avoid orphaned mailbox references
- Useful when old mailboxes are retired or renamed
- Connor recommended caution to avoid unexpected mailbox switching behavior
Added the ability to determine the asset type for assets imported from Snow in via rules or from a field value | v2.214 #898813 | 13:01
Snow imports now support dynamic asset type assignment.
- Asset types can be determined through rules or imported values
- Aligns Snow behavior with more mature integrations
- Improves asset categorization accuracy
Added a portal display name to services | v2.214 #897912 | 13:57
Services can now have a separate portal-facing display name.
- Allows internal naming conventions to differ from customer-facing labels
- Useful for client-specific service structures
- Keeps portal terminology cleaner and more user friendly
Asset resource booking improvements | v2.214 #859017 | 15:35
Asset booking functionality received multiple improvements.
- Added support for custom booking date ranges
- Improves scheduling flexibility for shared assets
- More relevant for internal IT and education environments managing loaner equipment
Added the option to have the ticket timer be a ticket details widget | v2.214 #832771 | 16:33
The ticket timer can now be displayed as a dedicated widget on the ticket screen.
- Makes timers more visible to technicians
- Allows SLA countdowns and timers to coexist in the widget area
- Improves UI flexibility in the newer ticket layout
Added cost field to Agent Roles | v2.214 #831614 | 19:55
Agent Roles now support a cost field.
- Helps MSPs model technician profitability at the role level
- Useful when organizations avoid exposing exact technician salaries
- Supports broader margin reporting strategies
Added the ticket setting “Only allow admins to clone tickets” | v2.214 #798650 | 22:22
Ticket cloning can now be restricted to administrators.
- Prevents accidental ticket duplication
- Reduces operational mistakes from inexperienced agents
- Adds additional governance controls to ticket workflows
Further improvements to the new single sign-on functionality | v2.214 #795061 | 22:59
Halo’s newer SSO framework continues to evolve.
- Supports multiple identity providers
- Includes generic OIDC support
- Useful for organizations centralizing authentication across systems
Added the option to restrict categories by Category Group | v2.214 #775657 | 25:12
Category restrictions can now be managed through Category Groups.
- Simplifies ticket categorization controls
- Reduces manual maintenance effort
- Particularly useful in complex workflow environments
Improvements to forecasting | v2.214 #701659 | 31:48
Forecasting received major usability improvements.
- Forecast values can now calculate automatically from estimated time
- Removes previous manual forecasting workflows
- Better visibility into future technician workload planning
Quotes & Purchase Orders are now audited | v2.214 #656127 | 36:34
Audit tracking now includes Quotes and Purchase Orders.
- Improves accountability and historical visibility
- Helps track changes made to financial records
- Valuable for operational compliance and approvals
Reporting Datasources now show dependent reports | v2.214 #579888 | 36:53
Reporting Datasources can now display which reports rely on them.
- Makes reporting maintenance significantly easier
- Helps prevent accidental datasource changes
- Useful for MSPs with large reporting libraries
Kaseya VSA X integration is now available | v2.214 #485469 | 37:02
HaloPSA now supports integration with Kaseya VSA X.
- Expands RMM integration options
- Useful for MSPs transitioning platforms
- Adds support for newer Kaseya environments
SailPoint IIQ integration is now available | v2.216 #977581 | 38:09
HaloPSA now integrates with SailPoint IdentityIQ.
- Supports identity and access management workflows
- Useful for security-focused organizations
- Extends enterprise authentication integrations
An option has been added to the Auvik Network import to ignore Networks with a Scan Status of “Unknown” | v2.216 #1093288 | 38:56
Auvik imports can now exclude unknown scan results.
- Reduces clutter from incomplete discoveries
- Keeps asset inventories cleaner
- Helpful for noisy or segmented networks
Customer Trading Name (Third Party Name) is now audited | v2.216 #1091545 | 39:58
Changes to Customer Trading Names are now tracked in audit history.
- Improves visibility into customer record changes
- Supports accountability and compliance
- Helpful during mergers, acquisitions, or rebranding
The setting to control how updating Cost affects Price or Margin has been updated to also work for Markup | v2.216 #1091171 | 40:11
Cost update logic now also supports markup calculations.
- Improves pricing consistency
- Helps maintain profitability models
- Useful for organizations standardizing markup workflows
An option (button) has been added to the Quote approval fields to allow a custom message to be shown before the signature input | v2.216 #1088692 | 41:47
Quote approvals now support customizable messaging before signatures.
- Adds additional instructions or disclaimers
- Improves customer communication during approvals
- Supports branded or compliance-focused messaging
A setting has been added that, when enabled, will balance the Contract and Billed hours when editing time entries | v2.216 #1087347 | 43:01
Time entry edits can now automatically rebalance contract and billed hours.
- Helps maintain billing consistency
- Reduces manual recalculation work
- Connor and Mendy recommended caution until behavior is fully validated
A setting has been added to Advanced Configuration to allow the Device table IDs to be generated using a new method to avoid errors when adding devices in multiple threads | v2.216 #1086633 | 45:22
Halo introduced a safer device ID generation method.
- Prevents ID reuse issues
- Helps avoid asset mismatches after reimports
- Important for large-scale asset synchronization workflows
The parameter bulkresponse=true can now be used when POSTs are made to the /fieldinfo endpoint to return a separate response for each object | v2.216 #1085574 | 47:46
The /fieldinfo endpoint now supports bulk response handling.
- Simplifies API integrations
- Improves parsing of large object sets
- Helpful for developers building advanced Halo integrations
JWT assertion can now be required as an extra security measure for Halo API applications using client credentials flow | v2.216 #1085535 | 48:04
Additional JWT validation can now be enforced for API authentication.
- Improves API security posture
- Aligns with stricter enterprise security requirements
- Supports more secure client credential flows
The status to be used for Alert closures from ConnectWise Automate can now be chosen on the Alert configuration of the Integration | v2.216 #1085481 | 49:32
ConnectWise Automate alert closures can now map to configurable statuses.
- Improves alert workflow handling
- Adds flexibility for automation-driven ticket closures
- Helps standardize service desk processes
The global setting for “Add X-Auto-Response-Suppress header to emails” can now be overridden using Action level configuration to enforce the headers when the global setting is not enabled | v2.216 #1085470 | 49:41
Halo now supports overriding email suppression headers at the Action level.
- Gives more granular control over automatic reply handling
- Useful for preventing noisy auto-responses
- Mendy and Connor strongly cautioned MSPs to test thoroughly before enabling globally