How SLA timers work

Where to see SLA status

• Open a ticket. The SLA section of the Properties panel shows the first-response, next-reply and resolution due times and the SLA's status, such as SLA breached.
• In the ticket list, set the SLA filter to Breached to see every ticket that has missed a target.
• The Home dashboard shows today's SLA-breached count.

How due times are calculated

The clock only runs during the business hours the policy uses. For example, take a policy with a 1-hour first response, a 4-hour resolution, and business hours of Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. An Urgent ticket created at 6:20 PM on a Wednesday is outside business hours. Its clock starts at 9:00 AM on Thursday, so:

• first response is due Thursday at 10:00 AM
• resolution is due Thursday at 1:00 PM

With 24/7 (calendar hours), every hour counts.

Next reply

After your first reply, the next-reply clock starts whenever the customer writes back, from their oldest message you haven't answered yet. Sending them several messages in a row doesn't restart it. The clock stops when an agent sends a reply the customer can see. Internal notes and automatic replies don't stop it. While nobody is waiting on you, the SLA panel shows Not waiting. Solving a ticket stops the clock.

If the customer's message needs no answer, such as a thank-you, click No reply needed under Next reply in the SLA panel. The clock stops until they write again, and the ticket's activity records who dismissed it.

What pauses the clock

• Time outside business hours and on holidays.
• Time a ticket spends Pending (waiting on the customer) or On Hold (waiting on a third party, such as a supplier) doesn't count toward resolution.
• Next reply isn't paused by either status: if the customer has written back, they're waiting on you. A customer message on an On Hold ticket reopens it.

Acting on SLAs automatically

Automation rules can use the SLA Warning and SLA Breached triggers, for example to raise the priority or assign a team lead. See Create an automation rule.