Do More with SLA Policies
Learning Objectives
After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:
- Explain how a record moves through the SLA policy.
- Set up the milestone tracker on the case page.
- Explore how SLA policies can be used beyond just cases.
See Your SLA Policy in Action
A few days after Maria finishes setting up Ursa Major Solar’s new SLA process, the support team gets a call from Dreamhouse Realty, one of its long-standing commercial customers. Ursa Major Solar’s site supervisor reports that a rooftop solar panel was damaged during a storm, and someone needs to take a look as soon as possible.
Ada, Ursa Major Solar’s product support specialist, answers the call. She listens to the details and creates a new case. Here’s how she does this:
- In the App Launcher, search for and select Cases.
- Click New.
- Enter basic case details like Account Name, Type, and Reason, when needed. Note that it’s not required for this exercise.
- Select the Priority as High.
- Select Case Origin as Phone.
- Enter the Subject:
Solar Panel damaged during a storm.
- Click Save.
When she saves the case, Salesforce steps in and does the matching work automatically. Since the auto-allotment rules Maria set up apply the Happy Customer entitlement to all phone cases, Salesforce quickly applies it to this case too. And since the entitlement is already linked to the Happy Customer SLA policy, the First Response milestone begins tracking right away.
If you don't see the Entitlement Name field on your Case record, you may need to add it to the Case Page Layout. Go to Setup, find the Case object, and edit the page layout to include this field.
But when Ada reviews the case, she realizes that she cannot actually see the milestones. Even though the SLA process is live in the background and actively tracking time, there is no clear visual indicator on the case record itself. Ada cannot see timers, upcoming deadlines, or alerts from the case layout.
This makes it difficult for reps to know how much time is left before a milestone is due, and it limits the value of the SLA policy during daily work. To fix this, Maria needs to add the milestone tracker component to the case page so reps can see real-time SLA progress.
Add the Milestone Tracker to a Case Page
To give reps real-time visibility into milestone timers and SLA progress, Salesforce provides the Milestone Tracker component. This tracker sits right on the case record page and shows:
- The time remaining until an active milestone reaches its target date
- The time passed since an overdue milestone’s target date
- A list of upcoming milestones
- A list of completed milestones
This is perfect for reps like Ada as they can instantly see where things stand without digging through several records. Let’s follow along with Maria as she sets the tracker up.
- In the App Launcher, search for and select Cases.
- Select the newly created Case.
- Click Setup
, then click Edit Page.
- Find the Milestones Lightning Component from the list on the left-hand side and drop it under Case Details.
- Click Save.
- Click Activation, then click Assign as Org Default.
- Select Desktop, then click Next.
- Click Save.
- To see your changes, click
to go back.
Ta-da! The Milestone Tracker now appears on your Case detail page.
With the Milestone Tracker now visible on every case, Ada and the rest of the support team finally have a clear window into SLA progress. They can see exactly how much time is left, what’s already been completed, and where attention is needed next. This makes case handling smoother, faster, and far more predictable for Ursa Major Solar.
In addition to SLA policies for cases, the same level of tracking and time-based automation can also be applied to work orders, giving field service teams the same clarity and control.
Use SLA Policies with Work Orders
Ursa Major Solar doesn’t just track customer issues through cases. It also relies on work orders to manage field service jobs like maintenance visits and on-site repairs. These work orders are powered by Field Service, and they can use SLA policies too.
To keep things consistent, Ursa Major Solar assigns entitlements to work orders the same way it does for cases. The rules remain simple, but it's important to remember that work orders need their own entitlement processes. A process built for cases won’t run on work orders.
With this in mind, Maria starts creating a new Happy Customer SLA policy following the same steps as before. But this time, she selects work orders as the SLA Policy Type. Then, she creates a resolution time milestone of 48 hours for work orders with critical and high priority. Finally, she activates the policy and watches how Salesforce creates a linked entitlement in the backend.
Now, every time a support rep creates a work order for urgent repairs like the ones Dreamhouse Realty needed, they will have the milestones ready to guide their support journey with ease.
Wrap Up!
By now, Maria has set up SLA policies, milestones, actions, and automated entitlement assignment. Each piece works together to help Ursa Major Solar deliver fast and reliable support. Service reps know exactly what they need to do. Managers can track performance with confidence. Customers get clear expectations and timely help.
These improvements have made Ursa Major Solar’s service process stronger and easier to manage. High-priority cases get attention right away. Medium- and low-priority cases stay on track without extra effort. Field Service teams also benefit because work orders now follow the same standards.
All of this helps Ursa Major Solar keep its promises to customers. It also protects the company’s reputation for trustworthy support. Its service operation feels more organized, more predictable, and much more efficient.
Ursa Major Solar now has a system that works as hard as they do. And with new SLAs in place, every customer interaction is guaranteed to shine.