Set SLA targets for reply and resolution times
Create SLA policies for first reply and resolution, by channel, priority, tag or queue, counted in business hours or around the clock, and see breaches.
Last updated 2 min read
SLA policies set how fast your team should reply and resolve. Hushdesk shows a running clock on each open ticket that a policy covers, and counts tickets that are due soon or already breached.
Before you start
- Who can do this: owners and admins.
- Plan: all plans.
- What you need: your business hours set, if you want clocks to count working time only. See Set your business hours.
Step by step
- Open Workflows > SLAs ("Set how fast the team replies and resolves.").
- Press Create SLA.
- Type a Name, for example "Email: first reply in 4 h".
- Under Applies to, choose the channel (Any, Email, Chat), the priority (Any priority, High and above, Critical only), tags and queue. "Leave a “Applies to” box on “Any” to match everything."
- Set First reply within and Resolve within in minutes, hours or days. Leave one on No target if you only need the other.
- Choose Count business hours only. "Off = the clock runs 24/7 (use for live chat)."
- Press Save SLA. A message confirms SLA created.
What happens next
Open tickets covered by the policy show a clock in the ticket list and header. The SLAs page shows Open tickets on a clock, Due within the hour and Breached.
The first-reply clock runs from creation until the first agent reply. Then the resolution clock runs until the ticket is closed. Clocks are hidden while a ticket waits on the customer or is snoozed, but the target still counts from creation.
Example policies
| Policy | Applies to | First reply | Resolve | Business hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Email standard | 4 hours | 2 days | On | |
| Live chat | Chat | 5 minutes | 1 hour | Off |
| VIP | Tagged "vip" | 1 hour | 1 day | On |
Tips
- Start with one policy per channel, then add specific ones for VIPs or urgent tickets.
- Use the SLAs report to see how often you meet each target. See SLAs report.
- Deleting a policy: "Tickets it covered fall back to the next matching policy, or to none."
Troubleshooting
"Set a first-reply or a resolution target"
Set at least one target.
"Name the policy"
Type a name.
"Invalid policy"
The policy could not be found. Refresh the page.
"Only admins can change workflows"
Ask an owner or admin.
Frequently asked questions
What is an SLA in Hushdesk?
A promise about speed, such as a first reply within 4 hours or a resolution within 2 days. Each policy says which tickets it covers and its targets. Open tickets covered by a policy show a clock in the ticket list and header, and breached tickets are counted on the SLAs page and report.
Does the SLA clock pause while waiting on the customer?
The clock is hidden, not paused. Hushdesk shows a clock only on open tickets, so it disappears while a ticket waits on the customer or is snoozed. The target still counts from when the ticket was created, so when the ticket reopens the clock reflects the real time since then.
Which SLA policy applies when several match?
The most specific one. A policy that names tags wins over one that names a queue, which wins over one that names a channel, which wins over one that only sets a priority. If two are equally specific, the one higher in the list wins. Policies that are off are ignored.
Should SLAs count business hours only?
For email, usually yes, so nights and weekends do not count against your team. For live chat, switch Count business hours only off, because the clock should run around the clock while chat is open. Business hours and holidays come from Settings, Business hours.
What happens when an SLA is breached?
The ticket's clock shows as breached and the SLAs page counts it under Breached. Nothing else happens automatically. To act on breaches, pair the SLA with a time-based rule, for example raising priority 4 hours after the customer's last message.
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Related articles
- Set your business hours and holidaysSet your time zone, opening hours for each day and holidays. SLA clocks count only these hours and the chat widget shows your away message outside them.
- Read the SLAs reportSee how often first replies and resolutions met their SLA targets, overall and for each policy, counted in business hours when the policy says so.
- Run rules after time passesUse the Time passes trigger to act hours or days after a ticket was created, the customer's last message, the agent's last reply or the last message.
- Assign a ticket and set its team and priorityGive a ticket to a teammate, take it yourself, set a team and priority, move it to a queue and tag it, all from the ticket header and sidebar.
Still stuck?
Chat with the Hushdesk team. A person answers on every plan.