Service Level Agreements (SLAs) in ConnectWise Manage play a crucial role in ensuring timely service delivery. However, they’re often misunderstood, leading to inefficient workflows and inaccurate reporting. Let’s dive into the top five misconceptions about SLAs and clarify how they actually work.
1. SLAs Reset After a Ticket Changes Boards
Many users believe that when a ticket moves between boards, the SLA timer resets. This is not true. SLAs in ConnectWise Manage are tied to the ticket, not the board. Moving a ticket to another board does not restart the SLA timer; the original SLA timeline continues uninterrupted. This misconception can lead to unnecessary board-switching or false assumptions about SLA compliance.
2. Time to Respond Starts Again If a Ticket Returns to “New” Status
Another common misconception is that if a ticket is moved back to the “New” status after being in “In Progress,” the Time to Respond SLA starts counting again. This is also incorrect. Once a ticket has met its Time to Respond or Time to Plan metrics, they cannot be unmet.
Think of SLA metrics like a timeline rather than buckets of time. Once you’ve passed a milestone, you can’t go backward and “recount” that time. Ensuring your statuses align with the timeline logic is key to accurate SLA tracking.
3. Time to Resolution Stops Once a Ticket Is Resolved
This one is tricky. While it’s true that Time to Resolution pauses when a ticket is resolved, it can start counting again if the ticket is reopened. That’s why it’s best practice to create a “Reopened” status with a waiting escalation condition. This approach places the SLA on hold, giving your team time to assess the situation.
Tickets often reopen due to unrelated customer responses like “thank you” messages or separate issues. Using a Reopened status ensures you have time to evaluate whether the ticket requires further work or can be closed again, preventing unnecessary SLA breaches.
4. Bundled Tickets Are Excluded from SLA Reporting
It’s often assumed that bundled (or child) tickets are automatically excluded from SLA reporting. This is false. Unless you’ve created custom reports that explicitly exclude child tickets, they’ll appear in your SLA metrics by default.
If you’re using the bundle method, be diligent about updating child ticket statuses. Alternatively, exclude them from your reports to ensure SLA metrics remain accurate and reflective of true performance.
5. You Can’t Push Out the SLA Escalation Start Date
Contrary to popular belief, you can adjust the SLA escalation start date in ConnectWise Manage with a simple trick. Here’s how it works:
- Place the ticket in a waiting status, such as “On Hold” or “Waiting on Vendor.”
- While the ticket is in this waiting status, schedule the ticket or set a due date.
- Next, move the ticket out of the waiting status, for example, to a status like “Scheduled.”
When you do this, the SLA escalation date will update to reflect the new timeline. This provides flexibility for scenarios like when a client requests work to be scheduled in the future.
I often share this tip with clients who worry that scheduled future work might cause them to miss their SLAs. It’s a great way to keep your SLA timelines aligned with real-world scheduling needs without sacrificing compliance.
Final Thoughts
Understanding how SLAs work in ConnectWise Manage is essential for optimizing your workflows and maintaining accurate reporting. By clearing up these common misconceptions, you can better leverage SLAs to meet customer expectations and achieve operational efficiency.
Looking for tailored advice on SLA configuration? Contact us to ensure your ConnectWise Manage setup supports your business goals!