Available on Premium and Enterprise plans.
What
Service Level Agreements (SLAs) define target response and resolution times for support tickets. They help teams deliver consistent service, reduce escalations, and track performance.
Why
  • Improve customer satisfaction with predictable response times.
  • Prioritize high-impact tickets and improve team efficiency.
  • Ensure accountability and consistent service quality while reducing escalations.
Who
  • Site admins can create and manage SLAs at the site level.
When
  • Support teams managing high ticket volumes with defined response expectations.
  • Managers tracking response KPIs and optimizing workflow and visibility.
  • Businesses offering tiered or VIP support (ex. standard vs. premium) or operating under SLA-bound agreements.

On this page

Before you start

Service level agreements (SLAs) in Teamwork Desk help you set response and resolution time targets for customer support requests.
Limitation
Tickets created using the v1 Desk API are not included in SLA policy enforcement.

How SLAs work

  • SLAs apply to all tickets by default unless filtered by inbox, company, or both.
  • Targets can be set for first response time and total resolution time.
  • Response and resolution targets are based on ticket priority.
  • If a ticket meets SLA conditions only after the first response has been sent (for example, by being assigned a priority or moved to another inbox), the SLA will not be applied retroactively to first response time.

How SLAs work with Business Hours

SLAs can run within or outside business hours. If you want SLAs to respect your business hours, make sure they’re configured first. A site admin can set this up — learn how to configure Business Hours.

When selecting non-default business hours during SLA setup, you must have an active trigger that applies those hours to the relevant tickets. Without a trigger, the default business hours will still apply to the SLA.

If a conflict exists between business hours settings before an SLA is set up, the existing business hours rules take priority. For example:
  • If the default business hours already apply to a ticket, the selection made in the SLA will not override this. A separate trigger must be created to apply non-default hours to that ticket.
  • If a trigger already applies a business hours policy to certain tickets, that policy will always apply — regardless of the business hours policy selected when creating the SLA.

Create an SLA policy

  1. Click your profile icon in Teamwork Desk’s main navigation menu.
  2. Select Settings.
  3. Select SLA Policies from the left navigation menu.
  4. Click Add SLA Policy.
  5. Enter a name for the policy (ex. “Priority Support”).
  6. (Optional) Add a description to provide additional context.
  7. Set SLA targets for each priority:

    • First response time — how quickly an agent should respond to a ticket for the first time.
    • Total resolution time — how quickly the ticket should be fully resolved.
    Note
    • SLA indicators won’t appear until a priority with targets is assigned (the default None priority has no targets).
    • Time targets must be entered in 15-minute increments (ex. 15m, 30m, 45m).
  8. (Optional) Configure the first reply time target override.

    • By default, the first reply time target is considered breached if a ticket is closed or solved without a reply.
    • Enable the override to change how the SLA policy evaluates tickets closed without a reply.
  9. (Optional) Apply Business Hours to the policy.

    • If not enabled, SLA timers run 24/7.
  10. (Optional) Add SLA notifications: Use SLA notifications to proactively warn agents as SLA targets approach or are breached.
    • In either Warn agents when ticket is close to SLA breach or Warn agents when ticket breached SLA policy, click Add notification.
    • Configure the notification:
      • When: Choose First time reply or Resolution time.
      • Approaches in: Select how far in advance to notify agents (ex. 15 minutes).
      • Notify: Select the agent(s) who should receive the alert (required).
    • Repeat to add notifications for different targets, timings, or recipients.
  11. Click Save to activate the SLA policy.

Edit or delete an SLA policy

  1. Navigate to Settings → SLA Policies.
  2. Click the ellipsis (three dots) beside the policy.
  3. Choose an action:
    1. Edit: Modify targets, business hours selection, overrides, notifications, or other settings.
    2. Delete: Remove the policy permanently.
  4. If deleting:
    1. Review the policy’s affected inboxes and companies.
    2. Click Delete policy to proceed once you understand the impact.
      Warning
      Deleting an SLA policy removes its targets from all unanswered tickets. Historical SLA results on tickets that already met or breached targets remain. This action is permanent and cannot be undone.

Monitor SLA performance

SLAs are currently visible and trackable at the ticket level only. This is v1 of the SLA feature.
Coming soon
Additional SLA visibility and reporting will be added in future releases, including SLA-based filtering and reporting insights.
  • Custom view conditions: Filter tickets by SLA status (ex. on track, breached).
  • Reporting: Track team performance and SLA policies.

Best practices

  • Make informed decisions: Set realistic targets based on historical response times.
  • Tell your team: Communicate SLAs clearly to ensure alignment and accountability.
  • Review & analyze: Regularly review SLA performance to optimize response times.
  • Use notifications wisely: Alert the right people early for high-impact priorities so you can intervene before a breach.

Elevate

  • Automation: Use automations to route or escalate at-risk tickets so they’re handled before they breach.
If you have questions about SLAs or need help configuring them,reach out to our support team.