--- title: "SLA/SLM Guide" slug: "sla-slm-guide" description: "Service Level Agreement is a contract that specifies the quality and speed of service that the IT team is expected to provide." tags: ["SysAid Spaces"] status: "update" updated: 2026-09-08T14:26:25Z published: 2026-09-08T14:26:33Z canonical: "documentation.sysaid.com/sla-slm-guide" --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://documentation.sysaid.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # SLA/SLM Guide A service agreement controls how SysAid handles a service record, based on who submitted it. Routing, priority, due dates, escalations, and operating hours are all set per agreement. This category covers the settings that define agreements and their rules, and the measurements that report on conformance to them. ## How it works Agreements and their rules are configured under **Settings** > **SLA/SLM**. Performance against them is reported under **Analytics** > **Service Management**. A service agreement is a title. Creating one gives you a name that other objects reference. The behavior comes from separate rules that name the agreement as a condition: routing rules, priority rules, due date rules, escalation rules, and operating times. There is no single screen where you configure an agreement from start to finish. Create the agreement first, then build each rule and point it at that agreement. The tabs on an agreement's form show what currently points at it. An agreement takes effect through the **Agreement** field on a user or company profile. An agreement on a user's profile takes precedence over their company's. If neither carries one, the default agreement applies. The agreement follows the Request User, so changing the Request User on a service record changes the agreement applied to it. A measurement runs a calculation on a data set of service record values, compares the result against the targets you set, and returns a grade. Assigning a parent measurement groups measurements into the tree on the Service Management dashboard. A service level agreement is the commitment. Service level management is the measurement of conformance to it. **Settings** covers the first, **Analytics** the second. > [!TIP] > Tip! > > For more information on service level management as a practice, see [What is ITSM?](https://www.sysaid.com/resources/articles/what-is-itsm). ### Access and permissions Configuring SLA/SLM requires the **SysAid Administrator** permission. Selecting it selects every other permission at the same time, so this access cannot be granted on its own. To learn more about permissions, see [Managing Agent and Admin Permissions](https://documentation.sysaid.com/docs/managing-agent-permissions). ### Limitations An agreement is applied when a service record is created. Records that already exist when you create or change an agreement are not reprocessed, so measurements cover only the records created from that point on. Two things bring an existing service record into scope. Updating a field the agreement depends on, such as the Request User, applies the current agreement to that record. An automation that checks service records on a schedule can apply agreements to records created earlier. ## Next steps Each stage depends on the one before it. 1. Create the agreement and attach its routing, priority, due date, and escalation rules. To learn more about creating an agreement, see [Setting Up a Service Agreement (SLA/SLM)](https://documentation.sysaid.com/docs/modify-agreement). 2. Set the operating times that due dates and escalations are calculated against. To learn more about operating times, see [Modify Operating Times](https://documentation.sysaid.com/docs/modify-operating-times). 3. Assign the agreement to your users and companies. To learn more about assigning agreements, see [Managing Admins and End Users](https://documentation.sysaid.com/docs/managing-admins-and-end-users) and [Managing Companies](https://documentation.sysaid.com/docs/managing-companies). 4. Define what to measure and enter your performance targets. To learn more about measurements, see [Measurements](https://documentation.sysaid.com/docs/measurements). 5. Review your performance. To learn more about the dashboard, see [Service Management](https://documentation.sysaid.com/docs/service-management).