Even with a well-organised team, some cases won’t meet their SLA deadlines. Instead of just seeing a red “breached” tag, Case Breach Reasons help you explain why a case missed its SLA, giving valuable context for reports, insights, and performance reviews.
Why Use Case Breach Reasons?
Without breach reasons, SLA breaches are just numbers. But with them, you can:
Spot trends behind overdue cases (e.g. customer delays, missing information).
Improve workflows by addressing recurring issues.
Give teams a fairer view of performance by explaining unavoidable breaches.
Keep reporting clear and actionable for managers and stakeholders.
How to Set Up Case Breach Reasons
You can create, edit, or remove Case Breach Reasons in your settings:
Go to: Settings ➡️ Case Breach Reasons.
Click Add New
to create a reason.Give it a clear name (e.g. “Customer Delay”, “Third-Party Issue”).
To edit, click the
icon next to a reason.To delete, click the
button. Note that you can only delete reasons that aren’t currently in use.
💡 Tip: Use the All Cases report to check if a breach reason is in use before deleting.
When and Where to Add a Case Breach Reason to a case?
Once a case has breached its SLA, you’ll be prompted to choose a Case Breach Reason when you update its status to any closed status:
Completed
Duplicate
Incomplete
Won’t Fix
You won’t see this prompt if you’re just moving a case through open statuses like New, Open, Waiting on Supplier, Waiting on Internal, or Waiting on Customer.
Open the breached case record, select the appropriate Case Status and Sub-status
Select the most relevant breach reason from your list.
Optionally, fill out the Breach Description, a free-text field to add extra context.
This helps anyone viewing the case understand why it was overdue.
Reporting on Breach Reasons
Case Breach Reasons are not just labels; they’re powerful for reporting.
With them, you can:
Filter and analyse breach reasons in the All Cases report.
Share insights with teams to improve workflows.
Highlight external vs. internal factors that affect SLA performance.
Best Practices
To get the most value out of breach reasons:
Keep your list concise and meaningful; avoid overcomplicating it with too many options.
Regularly review and update reasons to keep them relevant.
Encourage your team to always add breach reasons; context is key.
Use the Breach Description: a free-text field for extra detail when needed.
FAQ
Can I delete a breach reason that’s already in use?
No, you’ll need to reassign or clear it from cases first.
Do I have to add a Breach Description?
No, it’s optional, but adding details helps with reporting and transparency.
Can I see which cases have breached by reason?
Yes, use the All Cases report to filter by breach reason and get a clear overview.
👉 Case Breach Reasons transform SLA breaches into actionable insights. They’re quick to set up, appear automatically when closing breached cases, and are essential for transparent reporting.
🔗 Related:
Understanding SLA and Non-SLA Case Statuses - Learn how to pause SLA timers during “on hold” periods.
Working with Advanced SLA Profiles - Configure SLAs based on customers, sites, and assets.