Understanding and Working with Support Plans
Support plans determine the scope of guaranteed service that can be provided to a client. It outlines the service usage information such as type of plan, credit cycle, credit usage for a specific period (weekly, quarterly, monthly, yearly) to the service provider and client.
A support plan is interlinked with a contract and SLA. While contract defines the timeline until which the plan is valid, an SLA delineates measurable expectations and allows for a level of accountability towards the client. It provides recourse to unmet service obligations often set with an alternate plan of action.
A support plan can be associated with multiple contracts. However, one contract can be associated with only one support plan at any given point.
In the example below, Amber automobiles is associated with two contracts and support plans. The T&C for each contract varies and so does the support plan. The service and support contract is valid for a limited period while the customer support and service doesn't have an end date.
Availability
Permission RequiredUsers who have Manage Autommation permission can create and manage support plans.
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Creating Support Plans
Support plans comprise the following components:
Plan types
This decides the type of service that will be provided to the client and for how long. There are two types of plans:
- Unlimited - Resolve unlimited number of tickets within the contract period. The default plan type for all the existing active contracts will be set as Unlimited.
- Ticket-based - Number of tickets on which the SLA will be applied for the set time, for example 5 tickets/week, 20 tickets/month etc. According to this the SLA will apply on 5 tickets or 20 tickets per week respectively. The remaining tickets will not adhere to the selected SLA.
Service-Level agreement
A commitment that a service provider gives its client on the level of support that will be provided based on the severity of a ticket. The response and resolution time are pre-decided in an SLA.
Credit cycle and limit
A credit cycle can be weekly, monthly, quarterly or yearly. It determines the renewal period of a particular plan. Credit limit allows the service provider to set an upper limit for the service. For example, in a ticket-based plan for a yearly credit cycle the credit limit can be 50 tickets. This means that the service provider will resolve a maximum of 50 tickets in a year.
Note
- Plan type, credit cycle, and SLA cannot be changed once it is associated to a contract.
- A support plan is associated with an account through a contract.
- A support plan must always be linked to an SLA.
- Once a support plan is associated to a contract, it cannot be deleted. However, it can be discontinued. That is, new contracts cannot be associated with the plan.
To create a support plan
- Go to Setup > Automation > Support Plan.
- Click New Support Plan.
- In Plan Information, enter the Plan Name.
- Select the Plan type from the drop-down: Unlimited or Ticket-based.
- If you select Ticket-based, select the Credit Cycle (weekly, monthly etc.) and Credit Limit.
- Choose an SLA from the drop-down.
All active SLAs available in the department will be listed. - Click Save.
To associate a support plan with contract
- From the top bar, select the Contracts module.
It will be displayed on the top bar, only if the module is selected for the department. Go to Setup > Customization > Organize module, and select Contracts module. - From the top bar (Quick action) click the + icon, to add New contract.
- In Contract Information, enter the following details:
- Contract owner - By default the person creating the contract will be the owner.
- Contract name
- Contract number
- Product name
- Account name - Choose an account to which this contract is applicable.
- Contract start date - The support plan will apply from this date.
- Contract end date
- Support plan - Select a plan that should be associated with the contract.
- In Contract Expiration Notification, select Whom to Notify and enter the number of days before it should notify.
- Click Submit.
Associating support plans with accounts
Once a support plan is created it needs to be associated with a contract which is linked to an Account.
Once an account is associated, the support plan and the contract details can be viewed in the following places:
Tickets detail page
When a ticket is raised, in the detail page by clicking the Contract icon on from the left panel, the detailed information about the contract and the support plan that the respective ticket adheres to will be displayed. The agents can view the contract validity period and the credit balance of an account.
The Contract tab and Support Plan information are visible on tickets only if the SLA associated with the support plan has been applied to the ticket.
Accounts detail page
In the Accounts detail page, on clicking the SLA and contracts icon, the list of contracts that the account is associated with will be displayed. For each contract, the support plan, associated SLA, and the validity period will be shown.
Contracts detail page
The Contract detail view will have contract and support plan as separate icons. Complete details of the contract and the support plan associated with it will be displayed here.
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