Case management can become messy if statuses and sub-statuses are unclear or inconsistent. That’s where case sub-statuses come in. They help us add more detail to case progress, provide teams with clarity, and improve reporting.
In this article, we’ll walk through how to set up, edit, deactivate, and tidy up sub-statuses, with tips on permissions, best practices, and a handy clean-up process for duplicates.
🔹 What Are Case Sub-Statuses For?
Sub-statuses give you more specific insight into what’s happening with a case, without needing to add new top-level statuses. For example, under In Progress, you might want to track Waiting on Manager Approval or Parts Ordered.
🤔 Why it matters: More precise statuses = better visibility, faster resolutions, and clearer communication across teams.
🔹 Where Can I Manage Case Sub-Statuses?
🔹 Settings ➡️ Status Area ➡️ Case Status
To manage case sub-statuses, you’ll need access to the Settings zone.
Go to Settings
Navigate to the Status area
Click Case Status
Expand the desired Status to view existing sub-statuses
Click the + (plus) icon to add a new sub-status
Enter a name for your new sub-status
Tick the Active checkbox to make it selectable
Click the ✓ tick to save
✅ Tip: Keep sub-status names short but descriptive; this makes reports easier to read.
🔹 How Do I Edit or Delete a Sub-Status?
✏️ Editing a Sub-Status
Click the pencil icon beside a sub-status to:
Rename it
Toggle Active on or off
⚠️ Note: Renaming a sub-status won't affect the cases already using it; they’ll update automatically.
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❌ Deleting a Sub-Status
Click the X icon to delete, but only if no cases are using that sub-status.
❗Caution: If a sub-status is still assigned to any case, deletion will be blocked, and a message will appear.
🔹 What Happens When I Deactivate a Sub-Status?
Unticking the Active box means:
It won’t appear in the drop-down list for users anymore
Existing cases keep the sub-status
It can’t be reassigned to new cases
✅ Tip: Use this to gently phase out old or duplicated sub-statuses without breaking anything.
🔹 Can I Create Sub-Statuses from Inside a Case?
Yes, but only if you’ve got the right permission.
Case Window ➡️ Sub Status ➡️ New Status ➡️ Create Sub Status ➡️ Save
⚠️ Note: To create a sub-status from within a case view, admins must enable this permission for the user.
General Access ➡️ Allow Case Sub-Status Creation
🔹 How Can I Clean Up or Rationalise Sub-Statuses?
Over time, it’s easy for sub-statuses to multiply, especially with overlapping or duplicate names. Here's how to clean up.
Step 1: Find Cases Using the Sub-Status
We can’t delete sub-statuses that are in use, so let’s locate affected cases.
Create a new Work Stack
Choose Entity: Case
Filter the Status column using text filters (e.g. “In Progress - gathering more info”)
Filter in the Grid View of an existing Case Workstack
Set View Mode to All Records for visibility across users
Review Matching Records in an existing Workstack
The Status column contains both the top-level and sub-status names, so this filter helps narrow it down.
✅ Tip: Filtering by the top-level status (e.g. “In Progress”) helps narrow things down fast.
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Step 2: Update the Cases
Go into each listed case and assign a new, preferred sub-status.
❗Caution: Bulk updates aren’t available yet; each case must be changed manually.
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Step 3: Identify Sub-Statuses to Remove
Head to Settings ➡️ Case Status, and expand each top-level status to review sub-statuses.
If you spot duplicates (e.g. Waiting on Customer and Customer Response Needed), set them to inactive to prevent future use.
🔗 Not sure how? See How Do I Disable (Make Inactive) a Case Sub-Status below for a step-by-step guide.
✅ Tip: Deactivating first avoids disruption—deletion comes later
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Step 4: Delete the Sub-Status
Now that no cases are using it, return to Settings ➡️ Case Status and delete the unwanted sub-status.
Everyone wins: users get a cleaner list, and reporting gets sharper!
🔹 How Do I Disable (Make Inactive) a Case Sub-Status?
If a sub-status is no longer needed, you can disable it instead of deleting it. Disabling a sub-status will hide it from selection while preserving its history.
Steps to Disable a Sub-Status:
Go to Settings > All Case Categories
Click on the Sub-status you want to disable
On the Sub-status page, tick the ‘Disable’ checkbox
The sub-status is now inactive and will no longer appear in active selection lists
✅ Note: Disabling a sub-status does not affect existing cases that are already using it.
🔹 How Do I View Inactive (Disabled) Sub-Statuses?
To review or re-enable a previously disabled sub-status:
Navigate to All Case Categories
Scroll to the bottom of the page
Tick the ‘Show inactive’ checkbox
This will display all inactive sub-statuses alongside active ones.
🔹 What Are the Default Case Statuses?
Open Case Statuses:
New
Open
In Progress
Waiting on Customer
Waiting on Internal
Waiting on Supplier
Completed Case Statuses:
Completed
Duplicate
Incomplete
Won’t Fix
🤔 Why it matters: Cases marked as completed are considered closed in The Layer and are no longer tracked for SLA purposes.
🔹 Can I Pause SLA Time Using Sub-Statuses?
You can pause SLA tracking by marking a case status as Non-SLA. This can only be done on open case statuses, not sub-statuses directly.
✅ Tip: Use this for statuses like Waiting on Customer—it gives a fairer picture of response times.
🔗 Note: Want to dive deeper into how SLA tracking works in The Layer? Read our guide: Understanding SLA and Non-SLA Case Statuses for everything you need to know.
🔹 Final Thoughts: Keep It Logical, Keep It Flexible
Managing case sub-statuses isn’t just admin work—it’s about making your support process clearer, smarter, and easier for everyone involved.
Stay proactive by:
Reviewing your sub-statuses regularly
Deactivating ones that cause confusion
Only keeping what you really use
With just a little cleanup, your whole team benefits—better data, smoother workflows, and a system that works with you, not against you. 💪
Got feedback or suggestions? We're always listening.