Support SLA
An agreed deadline for replying to or resolving a support request, used as an operational target and measured against each conversation's real time.
How to handle this day to day: Shared inbox
Also known as: support sla · sla · service level agreement · service level agreement · agreed response time
Try CRPRO free for 7 daysSLA stands for Service Level Agreement. In support, it is the deadline the business commits to: reply within X minutes, resolve within Y hours.
The two SLAs that cannot be confused
- First-response time — how long the customer waits until someone talks to them. This weighs the most on perceived quality.
- Resolution time — how long until the problem is actually resolved.
A support case can have a 30-second first response and a three-day resolution. These are separate targets, with different causes: the first depends on availability and distribution; the second, on process and authority.
How to set a realistic deadline
An SLA is not picked by guessing or copied from a competitor. The path is to measure your current time, look at the distribution (not the average — the average hides the worst cases), and set the target on the 90th percentile. A target that 40% of cases miss is not a target, it is fiction.
WhatsApp SLAs have one extra rule
Besides the internal deadline, there is a deadline imposed by Meta: the 24-hour window. Once 24 hours have passed since the customer's last message, free-form replies are no longer allowed and only an approved template goes out — which costs money. On WhatsApp, missing your SLA is not just a bad look: it is a bill to pay.
An SLA with no measurement is a promise
The most common mistake is setting an SLA and never instrumenting it. Without a first-response-time report per agent and per period, nobody knows if the target is being met — and the team finds out about the problem from a customer complaint.
Frequently asked questions
What does SLA mean?
Service Level Agreement: the deadline a business commits to for replying to or resolving a support request.
What is a good first-response SLA on WhatsApp?
On WhatsApp the expectation is minutes, not hours — the channel is perceived as a conversation, not email. The right number, though, comes from your current measurement: set the target on the 90th percentile of what you already deliver today.
What is the difference between an SLA and average handling time?
The SLA is the agreed target; average time is the measured result. And the average is deceptive: a good average can coexist with a tail of customers waiting hours.
How do I meet an SLA outside business hours?
With an automatic reply that states the real return deadline, not a vague promise. Saying "we reply within 2 business hours" meets the expectation better than an "we'll get back to you soon" that never delivers.
Related pages
Related glossary terms
24-hour window
The 24-hour window is the period after the customer's last message in which a business can reply on WhatsApp with free-form text, without an approved template.
Multi-agent WhatsApp support
Multi-agent WhatsApp support is when several agents answer from the same number at the same time, each with their own login and each chat with an owner.
SDR (Sales Development Representative)
A pre-sales professional responsible for qualifying contacts and booking meetings for the closer, without running the negotiation.
Lead time
Total time between the customer's order and delivery — includes waiting, production and transport, and should not be confused with a sales lead.
Remote support
A model in which support happens through digital channels, with no physical presence and often with the team spread across different locations.
NPS (Net Promoter Score)
A loyalty metric calculated from the 0-to-10 question about the likelihood of recommending, subtracting the percentage of detractors from promoters.