Set SLA goals in help desk

Super admins in your account can set service level agreements (SLAs) for tickets in help desk.

You can set SLA goals for time to first reply, time to next reply, and time to close. These goals can apply to all tickets created in help desk, or they can be based on specific ticket properties, such as priority, team, source, or pipeline. You can also customize whether your SLA goals apply at all times or only during working hours.

Manage when SLAs apply 

• In your HubSpot account, navigate to Workspaces > Help Desk.
• Navigate to Inbox & Help Desk > Help Desk. 
• Under the Help desk automation section, select SLAs.
• Click the Manage when SLAs apply dropdown menu and select an option:
  
  • Operation hours: your SLAs will only apply during your team's regular schedule (e.g., 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM). You can customize your team's working hours by clicking Edit your team's operation hours:
    • In the dialog box, use the dropdown menus to edit your availability. You can select days of the week and time blocks.
    • You can also click Add hours to configure additional periods during which your team will be expected to be available. 
    • Click Save. 
  • 24/7: your SLAs will apply all the time, even outside of working hours.

Turn on SLA goals

You can customize your SLA goals and settings before turning them on.

• In your HubSpot account, click the settings settings icon in the top navigation bar.
• Navigate to Inbox & Help Desk > Help Desk. 
• Under the Help desk automation section, select SLAs. 
• In the Set SLA goals section, Toggle the switch ON. 
  
  
  
• At the bottom of the page, click Save.

Set up SLA goals in help desk 

You can apply SLA goals to all tickets created in help desk, or apply them based on specific ticket properties or a combination of properties.

Set SLA goals for all tickets

To apply SLA goals to all tickets in help desk:

• In your HubSpot account, click the settings settings icon in the top navigation bar.
• Navigate to Inbox & Help Desk > Help Desk. 
• Under the Help desk automation section, select SLAs. 
• In the Choose how to set SLA goals section, select the Apply to all tickets. 
  • Use the dropdown menus to set the SLA goals for Time to first reply, Time to next reply, Time to close.
  • To set when a ticket's SLA status will change to Due soon, use the dropdown menus under Mark as due soon to remind your team and stay within your SLAs.
• Click Save.

Set SLA goals based on one ticket property 

To apply different SLA goals based on a ticket property:

• In your HubSpot account, click the settings settings icon in the top navigation bar.
• Navigate to Inbox & Help Desk > Help Desk. 
• Under the Help desk automation section, select SLAs. 
• In the Choose how to set SLA goals section, select the Apply base.
  • Click the dropdown menu and select a ticket property.
  • Click Edit SLA goals.
  • In the right panel, use the dropdown menus to set the SLA goals for each property, including Time to first reply, Time to next reply, and Time to close.
  • If you don't want to set SLA goals for a specific property, clear the On/Off checkbox next to the associated property value.
  • To set when a ticket's SLA status will change to Due soon, use the dropdown menus under Mark as due soon.
  • Click Done.

Set SLA goals based on a combination of ticket properties (Service Hub Enterprise only) 

You can apply SLA goals based on a multiple ticket properties. 

When you create a new SLA rule, it'll apply to all new incoming tickets. New rules will only apply to existing tickets if a relevant ticket property, included as a condition in an SLA rule, is updated. For example, if you have an SLA rule with the condition Pipeline is any of Support Pipeline, the new SLA rule will apply if the property Pipeline is updated.

• In your HubSpot account, click the settings settings icon in the top navigation bar.
• Navigate to Inbox & Help Desk > Help Desk. 
• Under the Help desk automation section, select SLAs. 
• To apply SLA goals based on a combination of properties, select Apply based on a combination of ticket properties. 
• Click Create rule. 

• In the right panel, enter a rule name. 
• To add conditions to the rule:
  • Click + Add condition.
  • Click + Add filter.
  • Scroll or type to search, then select a filter type.
  • Select an option for the ticket property or activity, then set your criteria.
  • To add additional filters within the same group, click + Add filter. A ticket must meet the all criteria within the group in order to be included in the list.
  • To add another filter group, click + Add filter group. A ticket must meet the criteria of at least one of the filter groups in order to be included in the list.
  • Click Save 
• Use the dropdown menus to set the SLA goals for each property, including time to first reply, time to next reply, and time to close.
  
  
  
• Set timezone (BETA): If you're a user in a Service Hub Enterprise account, you can define specific time zones and scheduled hours for each SLA rule.
  • In the The SLA timers should count down under the following conditions section, click the dropdown menu and select During specific time.
  • Click the Time Zone dropdown menu and select a time zone.
• Click Save.
• You’ll see each rule's order listed in the left column. If a ticket meets the conditions for more than one rule, its SLA goals will be based on the rule which is first on the list. To reorder the rules, click and drag a rule to move it to another location on the list.
  
  
  

• If a ticket doesn’t match any of the rules applied, you can set up a fallback SLA: 

• • Toggle the Use fallback SLA rule switch ON. 
  • Use the dropdown menus to set the SLA goals for each property, including time to first reply, time to next reply, time to close and due soon. 
    • Click Done.

Add and edit SLA rules 

When you add or edit an SLA rule, it'll apply to all new incoming tickets. Changes to SLA rules or goals will only apply to existing tickets if a relevant ticket property, included as a condition in an SLA rule, is updated. This includes changes to conditions, order, or SLA times, such as the time to first reply.

For example, if you have an SLA rule with the condition Pipeline is any of Support Pipeline, the new SLA rule will apply if the property Pipeline is updated.

• In your HubSpot account, click the settings settings icon in the top navigation bar.
• Navigate to Inbox & Help Desk > Help Desk. 
• Under the Help desk automation section, select SLAs. 
• In the Set SLA goals section, you can add and manage rules. 
• To add a rule, click Create rule on the right. 
• To edit the rule, hover over the rule and click Edit. 
• To clone the rule, hover over the rule and click Clone. 
• To delete the rule, hover over the rule and click Delete. 

View SLA goals in help desk

When SLA settings are turned on, the SLA rules will apply to all new tickets moving forward. Any time you make changes to the SLA rules, the updated rules will only apply to new tickets that are opened. Learn more about what happens when you merge two tickets with SLAs. 

When a ticket in help desk is in either state, a label will appear next to the associated ticket number in the reply editor.

An alarm clock icon will also appear in the message preview in the list of conversations.

Please note: the warning labels will only appear to users with assigned Service Hub Professional or Enterprise seats.

Analyze SLA performance 

Use the custom report builder to generate reports that provide valuable insights into SLA performance, improving efficiency and customer satisfaction.

You can use ticket properties such as Time to first response in SLA hours and Time to close in SLA hours to build reports based on the SLA goals you've set. These properties only apply to help desk tickets and include data starting from January 2025. Learn more about HubSpot's defaults tickets properties. 

You can also use the ready-made service SLA reports that are included in the report collections.

• In your HubSpot account, navigate to Reporting > Reports.
• In the search bar in the top right, enter sla. 
• Use the arrows at the side of the report to view ready-made SLA reports. Click the report name to review its details, save it, or customize it. Learn more about adding reports from the report library to your dashboard.