Free tool
Response-time target calculator
Enter your business hours, the days you are open and a target, and see exactly when a reply is due. The clock stops when you close and starts again when you open.
The calculator
This tool works out its answer in your browser: what you type or open stays on your computer, and the page sets no cookie.
This tool needs JavaScript, which is off in your browser. Everything else on the page reads without it.
How the due time is worked out
The calculator starts at the moment the message arrives. If you are closed then, it waits for the next open day’s opening time. It counts the open minutes until the target is used up, carrying what is left over into the next open day. A target in business days is that many open days of time: with a 9 to 5 day, two business days is sixteen business hours.
Every open day here is the same length, and holidays are not counted. A real queue also has to know your team’s time zone; this page uses your computer’s clock.
Targets in ContactRoll
In ContactRoll, a response-time target is set for the whole organization, for a product, or for one support address, in business hours or business days, against your team’s own hours. Each case a target applies to shows how long is left, and a target that is missed is written on the case. See Support and the guide How fast should a small team reply to email?
Questions
What is a business-hours response time?
A target that counts only the time your team is open. A four-hour target on an email that arrives at 4:30 PM, with a day that ends at 5 PM, has half an hour left that day and three and a half hours the next morning.
Should a target be in business hours or business days?
Hours suit a first reply, which a team can usually give the same day. Days suit work that takes longer, such as a refund or a fix. One business day here is one open day, so with a 9 to 5 day, one business day is eight business hours.
What is a good first-reply target for a small team?
One a small team can meet every day, including its busiest. Many start with four business hours for a first reply and adjust once they see how long replies really take.