Urgency & SLA
Show handling time per case as a traffic light, inherit the deadline from default/group/customer/case, pause the clock automatically or manually and warn assignees on a breach.
→ Open cases in SimpliServ · Open the urgency default
Urgency shows you per case, as a traffic light, how much of the agreed handling time (SLA) is left. The clock runs from when the case comes in and can be paused automatically or manually while you wait on the customer, on parts or on an email reply — so the waiting time doesn't burn your time budget. In the case list the traffic light appears in the Urgency column.
Urgency is optional. If no duration is set globally or at the group, customer or case, the column stays empty (—) and nothing happens.
Understanding the traffic light
The colour depends on the share of remaining time against the total budget:
| Display | Meaning | Remaining budget |
|---|---|---|
| 🟢 On track | plenty of time | over 50% |
| 🟡 Due soon | getting tight | 20–50% |
| 🔴 Urgent | very tight | 0–20% |
| 🔥 Overdue | deadline passed | below 0% |
| ⏸ Paused | clock stopped (e.g. waiting on customer) | frozen |
| — | no urgency configured | – |
The remaining time counts down live between updates. Hover over the traffic light to see the exact due date.
Where the duration comes from (inheritance)
The effective duration is resolved top to bottom — the first level that sets a value wins:
Case — a duration override directly on the case (highest priority).
Customer — the urgency duration stored on the contact.
Customer group — the default value of the customer's group.
Global default — the tenant-wide default value.
Each level inherits the value above it as long as it stays empty. A value of 0 means explicitly no SLA (disables urgency at this level), empty means inherit.
Units
The duration is measured in a selectable unit:
- Hours — calendar hours, continuously (including nights and weekends).
- Calendar days — continuous 24-hour days.
- Working days — Monday–Friday only, excluding holidays of the responsible office. Nights, weekends and holidays don't count; the deadline "jumps" over them.
Each level can set its own unit; without its own unit the tenant-wide default unit applies.
Setting it up
Set the global default
Under Administration → Contacts → Customer types you'll find the Urgency – default card. Here you set the default duration and unit, switch on the pause rules and configure the warnings. Leaving it empty disables urgency by default.
Provide per group (optional)
In the customer group you set a default value under Urgency duration (with its own unit). Empty = the global default is inherited.
Override per customer (optional)
In the contact form the Urgency duration field overrides the group/default time for exactly this customer. Empty = inherit.
Override per case (optional)
In the case detail view, click Set urgency in the Urgency info cell and enter a duration override. The inherited value is shown as a placeholder (inherits …). Leaving it empty inherits from customer, group or default.
Pausing the clock
When pausing, the remaining time is frozen — the waiting time doesn't count against your budget. When resuming, the clock continues exactly where it stopped.
Automatic pauses
You switch these triggers on tenant-wide in the Urgency – default card:
- Pause while awaiting a proposal response — once a proposal is sent the clock pauses; when the customer accepts or declines, it continues.
- Pause while waiting on parts — allows pausing cases that are waiting on parts.
- Pause while awaiting an email reply — an outgoing customer email pauses, the incoming reply resumes.
Overlapping pauses from different reasons are merged — the waiting time is never credited twice.
Pause manually
In a case's urgency dialog (detail view → Urgency) you'll find Pause clock and Resume clock. This works independently of the automatic triggers — e.g. when you're waiting on something for another reason.
Warnings on a breach
If you enable Notify assignee on breach, the person assigned to the case receives an email and an in-app notification as soon as the case reaches the critical threshold. With Warn from you decide whether warnings start at Critical (red) or only at Overdue only.
The check runs automatically in the background (roughly every 15 minutes); per case only one warning is sent per level. This requires that the case has an assignee (customer-flows.assign).
When the clock stops
When a case reaches a completed stage, the urgency clock stops and the traffic light disappears. This applies once the case is closed or its last stage reaches an end state (order of precedence: invoice > order > proposal > service request):
- Invoice paid or cancelled,
- Order completed or cancelled,
- Proposal declined,
- Service request completed, converted or rejected.
The live traffic light reacts immediately. The sort/filter column in the list catches up on the next background run (max. ~15 minutes).
Related topics
- Customer Flow — how cases arise and move through their stages, in which the urgency clock ticks.
- Contact groups & types — here you set the global urgency default and the per-group defaults.
- Handle service requests — incoming requests start the case whose deadline is monitored here.
- Proposals — a sent proposal can pause the clock automatically until the customer responds.
How is this guide?
Contact groups & types
Create, maintain and use customer types (contact types) and customer groups (contact groups) as a navigation source – including the default contact type and the global urgency setting.
Leads & pipeline
Capture sales opportunities as leads, move them through the pipeline and win them