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Welcome to Time to SLA, the ultimate solution for tracking and managing service level agreements (SLAs) in Jira Cloud.

What is Time to SLA?

Time to SLA helps teams track SLA compliance, monitor performance, improve response times, and automate SLA notifications.

Admins can configure SLAs, set up notifications, and generate reports.
Users can view SLAs on work items, track deadlines, and receive alerts.

For admins

As you explore the app, look for the graduation cap icon. Click it to watch SLA University videos tailored to the screen you're on.

The graduation cap icon on the Time to SLA for Jira Cloud SLA Recalculation page.

Step 1: Set up permissions

Before you start defining SLAs, set user permissions to ensure team members have the right access. In the Permissions screen, you can configure user and group-based permissions for each Time to SLA menu.

Learn more about permissions

Step 2: Configure calendars (Optional)

SLAs need working hours to calculate deadlines accurately. Time to SLA includes a 24/7 calendar by default, but you can create custom calendars for different teams.

Using standard business hours? → Create a new calendar.
Using round-the-clock support? → Stick with the default 24/7 calendar.

Learn how to configure calendars

Before proceeding, set your time zone under Settings > General to ensure accurate calculations.

Step 3: Define your first SLA

After installation, you'll be prompted to create your first SLA. To help you get started quickly, we offer pre-configured SLA templates with ready-made conditions and goals.

The SLA templates on the Time to SLA for Jira Cloud New SLA page.

You can pick an SLA template to get started:

The SLA template options on the Time to SLA for Jira Cloud New SLA page.

Time to resolution – Track how long work items take to resolve.
Time to first response – Measure response time for new work items.
Time in “In Progress” – Monitor how long a work item stays in a particular status.

Click Create from template, configure project details, and you're done!

If you’d rather create it yourself, select Create from scratch. The video below walks you through the steps.

Hi there! In this video, we’ll show you how to create your first SLA in the Time to SLA app for Jira Cloud. Let’s get started.

First, open the SLAs screen, then click on SLA or Create your first SLA.

Give your SLA a clear name so your team knows what it’s for. Optionally, add a description for more details. After that, select the project this SLA will apply to. You can further refine the issues by specifying additional details like issue type, request type, assignee, and JQL in the next step. When you're ready, hit Next to move forward.

Now, let’s set the goals for your SLA. Think of SLA goals as the timeframes or deadlines for tasks. You can set these as specific durations—like days or hours—or tie them to a custom field, such as a due date.

Want to add multiple goals? Just click the Add Goal button. For example, you might create an SLA goal for issues tagged as High Priority or based on certain issue types or request types. These goals will be prioritized from top to bottom.

The SLA will be applied to issues that match the filters or queries you set up.

Now, let's set when the SLA should start, pause, and stop. For example, you can start the SLA when an issue is assigned, pause it while you’re waiting for customer feedback, and stop it once the issue is resolved.

You can add multiple conditions and, if needed, group them using AND or OR operators for more complex scenarios.

For those who want to dive deeper, Time to SLA has advanced options like the Calculation Method, Critical Zone Percentage, and more. For example, these tools can help you track when an SLA is approaching its deadline and customize notifications to stay ahead of the curve.

And that’s it! Once you’re done, just hit Save, and your SLA is ready to go. Now you can track, manage, and meet your deadlines more efficiently in Jira.

To see your SLA in action, create a new issue and open it. This is the SLA panel, where you’ll see a live countdown tracking the time, along with key metrics to help you monitor progress. When the start condition is met, the SLA panel will start ticking. If you want your SLA to apply to existing issues, just run a recalculation within the SLA's scope. There’s more info on that in the documentation.

Once the SLA starts, you’ll automatically receive notifications when it reaches 50% and 75% of its duration to help you stay on top of deadlines.

Thanks for watching! Now that you know the basics, dive into the app and start creating SLAs that help your team deliver results on time, every time. Happy tracking!

Learn more about defining SLAs

Step 4: View and customize the SLA panel

Once you’ve set up your first SLA:

Create a work item in the project you’ve selected to see the SLA panel in action. Learn more about how the SLA panel works and how you can customize it.

Once you've created your SLA, you can easily test it by creating a new work item by clicking the Create a test issue button.

The screen that appears after you've created your first SLA in the Time to SLA for Jira Cloud app.

The SLA panel is your real-time view of how well your team is meeting your service level agreements. Watch as the panel changes color to reflect the status: blue for on track, yellow for at risk, and red for overdue.

An SLA panel created by Time to SLA for Jira Cloud on the Jira work item view.

A quick note about viewing the SLA panel

Previously, the SLA panel appeared automatically when you opened a work item. After our move to Forge, the panel is hidden by default due to platform limitations.

Admins can make the SLA panel visible by default. For instructions, refer to the documentation.
Users can open the SLA panel manually by clicking the Time to SLA button on the work item view.

To see the SLA panel on your existing work items, recalculate your SLA data.
Two notifications are set up by default upon SLA creation: one is sent at 50% of the SLA time, and another at 75%. You can also set up custom SLA notifications.

Having problems? Here are quick solutions:

Step 5. Monitor performance with reports and dashboards

Time to SLA offers multiple tracking options. You can monitor time durations, compare SLAs, and gain valuable insights to ensure you’re always on track.

All your actions related to an SLA are automatically recorded in the SLA History tab on the work item view. This provides a detailed log of every change, so you can easily track progress over time.

The SLA History tab of Time to SLA for Jira Cloud on the Activity section in Jira work item view.

Want to dive deeper? Use the reports to monitor service performance over time. These insights help you identify trends and make data-driven improvements.

An example Summary report created by Time to SLA for Jira Cloud.

Learn how to create SLA reports

Want a quick overview of SLA performance? Add the SLA gadgets to your Jira dashboard.

The TTS - Periodic Met vs Exceeded SLA gadget on the Jira dashboard.

Learn more about SLA gadgets

For users

Once your Jira administrator has set up SLAs, here’s how you can use Time to SLA in your daily workflow:

Step 1: View SLAs on work items

The SLA panel appears inside Jira work items, providing real-time tracking of deadlines. To find the SLA panel:

Open a work item in Jira.
Scroll down to the SLA panel.
View the SLAs applied to the work item. There can be several.

Step 2: Track SLA deadlines and statuses

Watch the countdown timer in the SLA panel.
Look for status changes (Ongoing → Warning → Breached).
Check for color-coded indicators to quickly assess urgency.

If an SLA is close to breaching, escalate the work item or take action to meet the deadline.

Step 3: Stay vigilant with notifications

Time to SLA keeps you updated with alerts at 50% and 75% of SLA duration. Check your inbox regularly to avoid missing important SLA notifications.

Where will you receive notifications?

By default: Email.
Other options (if enabled by your admin): Slack or Microsoft Teams.

Not receiving SLA notifications?

Check your Jira notification preferences.
Ask your administrator to confirm whether notifications are enabled for your team.

You’re all set! Start tracking SLAs and optimizing your team's performance today.

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