Monitor SLA status in Gorgias using SLA Views (limited)

Prerequisites

Why Gorgias SLA Views?

Gorgias SLA Views are the zero-setup starting point for SLA monitoring. Everything runs natively — no external tools, no API keys, no scheduled workflows. SLA policies track first-response and resolution times automatically, and filtered Views show at-risk tickets in a dedicated queue.

The critical limitation is that this approach is passive. Gorgias cannot send proactive Slack alerts when an SLA deadline approaches. Your team lead must manually check the View to spot at-risk tickets. For teams under 50 tickets/day, this manual cadence works. Above that, you need the n8n or Claude Code approaches for automated alerting.

How it works

• SLA policies define first-response and resolution targets per channel and priority level (e.g., 4-hour email, 15-minute chat)
• Filtered Views show tickets approaching breach ("due within 1 hour") and already breached ("overdue") in dedicated queues
• Rules (limited) fire on SLA breach events to tag and reassign, but cannot send HTTP requests to Slack
• Email notifications provide a partial workaround — the breached ticket gets reassigned to the lead, triggering an assignment email

Overview

Gorgias includes built-in SLA policies that track first-response and resolution times against targets you define. Combined with filtered Views, your team can see at a glance which tickets are approaching or have already breached their SLA. However, this approach is passive — Gorgias cannot send proactive Slack alerts when an SLA deadline approaches. Your team lead must manually check the View to spot at-risk tickets.

This guide walks you through setting up SLA policies and Views to get the most out of Gorgias's native capabilities, and explains where those capabilities end.

Step 1: Define your SLA policy

Go to Settings → Automation → SLA Policies → Create SLA policy.

Define your targets based on channel and priority:

Adjust these to match your actual commitments. If you publish response-time guarantees on your website or in contracts, your SLA policy should match or beat those numbers.

Step 2: Create an SLA status View

Go to Tickets → Views → + Create View.

View name: SLA — Approaching Breach

Filters:

• Status: Open
• SLA: First reply due (choose a time window, e.g., "due within 1 hour")

This shows you every open ticket where the first-response deadline is less than an hour away.

Create a second View:

View name: SLA — Breached

Filters:

• Status: Open
• SLA: First reply overdue

This catches any tickets that have already missed their target.

Step 3: Pin the Views for your team

Drag both Views to the top of your sidebar so they're always visible. Brief your team leads to check these Views at the start of their shift and periodically throughout the day.

You can also create per-agent Views by adding an "Assigned to" filter — useful for team leads who want to monitor their direct reports' SLA performance.

Step 4: Set up SLA breach Rules (limited)

Gorgias Rules can trigger on SLA breach events, but the available actions are limited:

Go to Settings → Automation → Rules → Add rule.

When: SLA first reply time breached

Actions available:

• Add a tag (e.g., sla-breached)
• Assign to a specific agent or team
• Set priority to Urgent

Step 5: Configure email notifications (partial workaround)

Gorgias can send email notifications to agents when they're assigned a ticket. By combining the SLA breach Rule (which reassigns the ticket to the team lead) with Gorgias email notifications, the lead gets an email — but not a Slack message.

Go to Settings → Notifications and ensure the team lead has "Ticket assigned to me" email notifications enabled.

This is a workaround, not a real-time Slack alert. The email may be delayed, and it doesn't include SLA-specific context like time remaining.

Step 6: Establish a manual monitoring cadence

Since proactive alerts aren't available natively, create a schedule:

1. Team lead checks the SLA Views every 30-60 minutes during business hours
2. Morning review: Check the "SLA — Breached" View first thing to handle any overnight breaches
3. End-of-shift handoff: Check "SLA — Approaching Breach" and flag anything that will breach during the next shift

What this approach can do

• Track SLA status on every ticket automatically
• Show at-risk and breached tickets in filtered Views
• Auto-tag and reassign breached tickets via Rules
• Send email notifications on reassignment

What this approach cannot do

• Send a Slack alert before or when an SLA is breached
• Proactively notify a team lead in real time
• Alert based on approaching (not yet breached) SLA deadlines
• Batch-summarize SLA risk across the queue

For proactive Slack alerts — the core goal of this recipe — use the n8n or Claude Code approaches. They poll the Gorgias API on a schedule, calculate time remaining against your SLA targets, and post to Slack when tickets cross your warning threshold.

Common questions

Which Gorgias plan includes SLA policies?

SLA policies require the Professional plan or above. Basic and Starter plans do not include SLA tracking. Views are available on all paid plans, but without SLA policies, you can't filter by SLA status.

Can I set different SLA targets for VIP customers?

Yes. Gorgias SLA policies support per-channel targets, and you can create separate policies for different customer segments using tags. Create a "VIP SLA" policy with tighter targets (e.g., 1-hour first response) and apply it to tickets tagged vip.

Why can't Gorgias Rules send Slack alerts on SLA breaches?

This is a known Gorgias limitation. SLA breach triggers in Rules only support tagging, assignment, and priority actions — not the "Send HTTP request" action that's available on ticket-created events. Gorgias has not indicated plans to change this, so proactive Slack alerting requires an external tool like n8n.

Cost

Gorgias SLA policies and Views are included on Professional plans and above. No additional cost beyond your Gorgias subscription.