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How to Set a WhatsApp Support SLA in Inaiy

Create a WhatsApp support SLA in Inaiy: set first response, next response, and resolution targets, warn agents before a breach, and escalate late chats.

Updated · 5 min read

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A WhatsApp support SLA is a promise about how fast your team replies and resolves customer chats, with timers that warn agents before they miss it. In Inaiy, go to Settings → SLA, click New policy, enter the first response, next response, and resolution times in minutes, choose what happens on a breach, and click Save. Then attach the policy to a queue or start it with the Start SLA workflow step.

Customers on WhatsApp expect fast answers. An SLA turns "reply quickly" into a number everyone can see and track.

Who this is for and what you need first

This guide is for support leads and Admins who set service standards.

You need:

  • Your target times. A common starting point is a first reply within 15 minutes and resolution within one day.
  • Your business hours set under Settings → Business Hours, if timers should pause when you are closed. See WhatsApp after-hours message.
  • A queue or workflow to apply the policy to. See WhatsApp conversation routing.

Steps to create a WhatsApp support SLA

1. Open SLA settings

Click Settings, then SLA under Inbox. A new workspace shows No SLA policies yet, with a note that policies are referenced from the Start SLA workflow step. Click New policy (callout 1).

The SLA page before any policies exist. Click New policy (callout 1).

2. Name the policy and set who it is for

In Create SLA policy, fill in:

  • Name and Description, such as Standard support and "Reply within 15 minutes, resolve within one day".
  • Department, Team ID, and Tags: optional labels for organizing policies.
  • Timezone (optional): in Region/City format, such as Asia/Kolkata. Leave it empty unless this policy covers a team in another timezone.

3. Set the response and resolution targets

Enter each target in minutes:

  • First response (callout 1): time from the customer's first message to your first reply. 15 means 15 minutes.
  • Next response: time to reply after each new customer message.
  • Resolution: time to close the conversation. 1440 minutes is one day.
  • Warning threshold (%) (callout 2): when to warn, as a share of the target used up. The default 80 means a warning at 12 minutes of a 15-minute target.
  • Reminder before breach (minutes): an extra reminder this many minutes before the deadline.
Set the first response target (callout 1) and the warning threshold (callout 2).

4. Choose business hours and escalation

Scroll down:

  • Tick Respect business hours (callout 1) so timers only count while you are open. A message at 11 pm is then not late at 11:15 pm.
  • Keep Enabled ticked.
  • Under Escalation on breach (level 1), choose what happens when a target is missed: Assign supervisor user ID to hand the chat to a lead, Move to queue ID to send it to another queue, and Set priority, such as high.

Click Save (callout 2).

Tick Respect business hours (callout 1), set the escalation, then click Save (callout 2).

5. Apply the policy

A policy does nothing until something starts it. Use one of these:

  • On a queue: edit the queue under Settings → Queues and pick the policy in Default SLA policy. Chats routed to that queue get it.
  • In a workflow: add the Start SLA step after routing, and pick the policy. This lets you use different policies for different customers, such as a faster one for VIP chats.

How to confirm it worked

  1. Check the policy appears on the SLA page with Enabled.
  2. During business hours, send a test WhatsApp message to your number from your own phone, and let it route to the queue or workflow that starts the SLA.
  3. Do not reply. After the warning threshold passes, the conversation's SLA status changes from running to warning. After the target, it changes to breached and the escalation you set runs.

Common mistakes

  1. Entering hours instead of minutes. Every target is in minutes. A resolution target of 24 means 24 minutes, not 24 hours. Use 1440 for one day.
  2. Not ticking Respect business hours. Without it, chats that arrive overnight breach before anyone is at work, and your SLA reports look worse than they are.
  3. Creating a policy but never applying it. A policy needs a queue default or a Start SLA workflow step. Check one of them uses it.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good first response time for WhatsApp support?

Customers on WhatsApp expect a reply within minutes, not hours. Many teams aim for 15 minutes or less during business hours and use an after-hours message for the rest of the day. Start with a target your team can meet every day, then tighten it once you see your real numbers.

What is the difference between first response and next response?

First response measures how long the customer waits for the very first reply in a conversation. Next response measures each wait after that, every time the customer sends a new message. A team can reply fast at the start and then go quiet, so tracking both keeps the whole conversation moving.

Can I use different SLAs for different customers?

Yes. Create one policy per service level, such as Standard and VIP. Set each queue's default policy, or use the Start SLA workflow step with a condition before it, so VIP customers get the faster policy. Each conversation follows the policy that was started for it.

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