A support plan, a contract, and an SLA are three interconnected components that together define the service commitment between a service provider and a client. The support plan defines the scope of service — such as whether the client gets unlimited ticket resolution or a fixed number of tickets within a given period. The SLA (Service-Level Agreement) sets measurable expectations around response and resolution times based on ticket severity, providing accountability and a fallback if service obligations are not met. The contract ties these together by defining the timeline — specifically the start and end dates — during which the support plan and its associated SLA remain valid for a particular account.

A single support plan can be linked to multiple contracts, but each contract can only be associated with one support plan at any given time. Similarly, every support plan must always be linked to an SLA.

Users who have the Manage Automation permission can create and manage support plans. This permission is typically included in administrative profiles. Without it, a user will not be able to access the support plan configuration or create new plans.

When creating a support plan, you choose between two plan types:

The choice of plan type depends on the business agreement with the client. An unlimited plan is suitable for clients who need unrestricted support coverage, while a ticket-based plan works well for clients who have agreed to a capped level of service.

A credit cycle defines the renewal period for a ticket-based support plan. It can be set as weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly. The credit limit sets the maximum number of tickets that will receive SLA coverage during each cycle. Together, they determine how many tickets the service provider is obligated to handle under the SLA within a given period.

For instance, if a plan has a yearly credit cycle with a credit limit of 50, the service provider will resolve a maximum of 50 tickets under the SLA within a year. Once those 50 tickets have been processed, any additional tickets raised by that account during the same cycle will not be governed by the SLA. When the cycle renews, the credit resets and a fresh batch of tickets becomes eligible for SLA coverage.

Credit cycle and credit limit are only relevant for ticket-based plans. Unlimited plans do not use credits since there is no restriction on the number of tickets.

No, Once a support plan is linked to a contract, three of its core attributes become locked and cannot be modified:

This restriction ensures that the terms of service agreed upon at the time of contract creation remain consistent throughout the contract's validity. If you need to change any of these attributes, you would need to create a new support plan with the desired configuration and associate it with a new or revised contract.

No, Once a support plan is linked to a contract, it cannot be deleted. However, it can be discontinued, which means no new contracts can be associated with that plan going forward. Existing contracts that are already linked to the plan will continue to function as configured. This approach preserves historical data and ensures that active service commitments are not disrupted.

The support plan is now created and ready to be associated with a contract.

Yes. An account can be associated with multiple contracts, and each contract can be linked to a different support plan. This is useful when different products or services for the same client have different terms, timelines, or service levels.

For example, a company called Amber Automobiles could have two contracts: one for a service and support plan that is valid for a limited period, and another for a customer support and service plan that has no end date. The terms and conditions for each contract — including the support plan, SLA, and validity period — are managed independently.

When a ticket-based support plan reaches its credit limit for the current cycle, any additional tickets raised by the associated account will not adhere to the SLA defined in the plan. The tickets themselves are still created and visible to agents, but the response and resolution time commitments specified in the SLA will not apply to them. Once the credit cycle renews — whether weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly — the credit count resets and a new set of tickets becomes eligible for SLA coverage.

Yes. When creating a contract, there is a Contract Expiration Notification section where user can specify whom to notify and how many days in advance the notification should be sent. This ensures that the relevant stakeholders — such as the contract owner, account manager, or support manager — are alerted ahead of time so they can renew, renegotiate, or take any necessary action before the contract lapses.

The Contracts module only appears on the top bar if it has been enabled for the current department. If the contract module is not visible, navigate to Setup > Customization > Modules & Tabs > Organize Module, and drag and drop the Contracts module to make it visible. Once enabled, it can be accessed from the top bar and begin creating contracts.