SLA Response Deadline Calculator
Calculate an SLA response or resolution deadline in business hours, skipping evenings and weekends.
How it works
deadline = received time + SLA hours, counting only hours inside the business window on Mon–Fri (evenings, nights and weekends are skipped)
Service-level agreements are almost always written in business hours, not wall-clock hours, so a "next business day" or "8 business hours" target must skip evenings and weekends. This calculator drops the received time into your working window, then pours the SLA hours forward across successive business days: whatever does not fit before closing time rolls to the next morning, and Saturdays and Sundays are stepped over entirely. That is why an 8-hour SLA on a Friday afternoon lands on Monday.
Worked example
A ticket arriving at 3:00 PM with an 8-business-hour SLA and a 9-to-5 day has 2 hours left that day, so 6 hours carry to the next business morning — the deadline is 3:00 PM the following business day.
Frequently asked questions
Does it account for public holidays?
No — it skips weekends but not holidays, which vary by country and company. On a week with a holiday, subtract that day manually or push the received date accordingly. Weekends (Saturday and Sunday) are always excluded.
What is the difference between response and resolution SLA?
Response time is how long until a human first replies; resolution time is until the issue is fixed. Both are usually stated in business hours — enter whichever target you are measuring in the SLA field.
What if a ticket arrives outside business hours?
The clock only starts at the next business opening. A ticket received at 8 PM, or over the weekend, is treated as if it arrived at the start of the next business day before the SLA hours are counted.
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This calculator is for educational purposes. Double-check important results before acting on them.