Taking time control further: Zendesk SLAs vs SweetHawk Timers
Staying on top of response and resolution times is critical in customer support. Zendesk’s native SLA feature makes this easy by letting you define policies that measure metrics like first reply, next reply, and resolution time. SLA badges show up right inside tickets, and Explore reports make it possible to track how well your team is meeting commitments.
For many teams, this is all they need—straightforward rules that keep service levels visible and measurable.
But what if you need to measure multiple timers on a single ticket? Or set up reminders before an SLA breach occurs? Or track OLAs and internal handoffs with the same precision as customer-facing SLAs?
That’s where the SweetHawk Timers app comes in.
🎯 Feature Comparison
Here’s how Zendesk SLAs compare with SweetHawk Timers:
| Feature | SweetHawk Timers | Zendesk SLAs |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple timers on a ticket | ✅ | 🟡 One SLA policy active; Group SLA (Enterprise only) |
| Custom start / pause / resume / stop rules | ✅ | 🟡 Pause rules fixed by metric |
| Pre-breach reminders (minute-level) | ✅ | 🟡 Pre-breach via hourly automations |
| Post-breach workflows | ✅ | 🟡 Triggers on breached events |
| Independent schedules per timer | ✅ | ✅ Business or calendar hours per policy |
| Holiday/calendar imports | ✅ | ✅ |
| Visual display in ticket | ✅ Progress bar panel | ✅ SLA badge |
| Queue management (sort by due time) | ✅ Write timer end to field | ✅ SLA status columns |
| Reporting in Explore | ✅ Data written to fields/tags | ✅ Native SLA dataset |
| Workflow automation on timer events | ✅ Macros, tasks, notifications, fields | 🟡 Limited to breach/no breach |
| Works in messaging & chat | 🟡 Limited (first acceptance) | ✅ Supported across channels |
| Granularity of checks | ✅ Minute-by-minute | 🟡 Hourly (automations) |
| OLAs / internal ownership tracking | ✅ Timers per group/queue | 🟡 Group SLAs (Enterprise only) |
| Easy setup | 🟡 Define timers + triggers | ✅ SLA policy UI |
| Native to Zendesk | ➖ App | ✅ Native |
✅ = Fully supported | 🟡 = Partial / constraints | ➖ = Not available
📦 Ideal use cases: When to use what
Zendesk SLAs – Simple, native time tracking
Core SLA metrics: First reply, next reply, requester wait, agent work, and resolution times.
Ticket visibility: SLA badges show countdowns directly in the ticket and views.
Reporting: Pre-built SLA metrics available in Explore dashboards.
Ease of setup: Policies are configured directly in Zendesk with business/calendar hours.
Why it shines: It’s built-in, requires no extra apps, and provides a reliable way to track and report on customer-facing service commitments.
SweetHawk Timers – Advanced, flexible time management
Multiple timers per ticket: Track any number of SLAs, OLAs, or deadlines simultaneously.
Full lifecycle control: Start, pause, resume, and stop timers with triggers.
Pre-breach actions: Fire reminders minutes before a timer runs out.
Workflow automation: Trigger macros, add task lists, or update fields when timers change state.
Granular precision: Timers check minute-by-minute instead of hourly.
Reporting flexibility: Write timer values into ticket fields for custom Explore reports.
Visual timeline: Dedicated app panel shows timer progress and status history.
Why it shines: It transforms time tracking from a passive reporting tool into an active workflow driver, helping you prevent breaches, not just report on them after the fact.
🤝 Choosing the right tool for the job
Zendesk SLAs are perfect if you want simple, native SLA tracking with easy setup and visibility. They cover the basics well and integrate tightly with Zendesk’s views and Explore reports.
SweetHawk Timers come into play when you need greater control and flexibility: multiple timers, OLAs, internal workflows, and proactive reminders.
Together, they offer a complete toolkit:
Zendesk SLAs for core, native service-level tracking.
SweetHawk Timers for advanced workflows and deeper automation.
