How to calculate SLA compliance
SLA compliance is the share of tickets that met their agreed target in a period. The formula is simple. The hard part is deciding which tickets and which minutes count.
The formula
SLA compliance (%) = tickets that met the target ÷ tickets handled × 100
Calculate it separately for response time and for resolution time, because a ticket can answer fast and still resolve late. Contracts usually set the target per priority, so a P1 ticket may need a response in 30 minutes and a P4 in one working day.
A worked example
In September a client had 40 tickets resolved. The contract promises resolution within 8 business hours for P3.
| Priority | Handled | Met | Compliance |
|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | 2 | 1 | 50% |
| P2 | 8 | 7 | 87.5% |
| P3 | 30 | 29 | 96.7% |
| Total | 40 | 37 | 92.5% |
Against a 95% target, the month is missed, and the single P1 ticket explains most of it. A report that shows only the total hides that. Showing it by priority tells the client what happened.
Count business hours, not wall-clock time
A ticket opened at 17:30 on Friday does not have its 8-hour target running over the weekend. Deadlines should count only inside the client’s working hours, skipping weekends and holidays. If each client has different hours, each needs its own calendar.
Pause the clock while you wait on the client
When a ticket waits for the client to reply, the time is not yours. Most helpdesks have a “waiting on client” status for this. Time spent in it should be removed from the elapsed time, otherwise slow clients make your numbers look worse.
Common mistakes
- Counting only closed tickets and ignoring open ones that are already past their deadline.
- Mixing priorities into one average, which lets easy tickets hide the urgent ones.
- Using one calendar for every client.
- Recalculating by hand each month, so the rules drift.
Let the software do the counting
Metproof applies exactly these rules: per-client targets by priority, business hours, holidays and paused time. It shows the result on a live board and in client SLA reports.