SLA Credits
How to identify SLA violations and claim service credits.
When a SaaS tool fails to meet its uptime SLA (Service Level Agreement), you're typically entitled to service credits. Stack Monitor helps you identify violations and document incidents for your claims.
Understanding SLAs
Most enterprise SaaS tools publish uptime guarantees:
| SLA Target | Monthly Downtime Allowed |
|---|---|
| 99.9% | 43 minutes |
| 99.95% | 22 minutes |
| 99.99% | 4.3 minutes |
When cumulative downtime exceeds these thresholds, you may be entitled to credits.
How Credits Work
SLA credits are typically calculated as a percentage of your monthly bill:
| Uptime | Typical Credit |
|---|---|
| 99.0% - 99.9% | 10% |
| 95.0% - 99.0% | 25% |
| Below 95.0% | 50-100% |
Varies by Provider
Credit amounts and claim processes vary by provider. Always check the specific SLA terms for each tool you use.
Identifying Violations
Stack Monitor automatically tracks:
- 30-day rolling uptime - Compared against published SLA targets
- Incident severity - Critical outages have more impact than degraded performance
- Total downtime - Cumulative minutes of unavailability
When a tool's uptime drops below its SLA target, you'll see a violation indicator on the dashboard.
Claiming Credits
1. Document the Incident
For each incident, gather:
- Start and end timestamps
- Duration in minutes
- Severity level
- Any error messages or symptoms you experienced
Stack Monitor provides this data in the incident history view.
2. Check Claim Requirements
Most providers require:
- Claim submitted within 30 days of incident
- You must have been a paying customer during the outage
- You must have experienced impact (not just the service being down)
3. Submit Your Claim
Contact the provider's support with:
- Your account information
- Incident details and timestamps
- Reference to their SLA documentation
- Credit amount requested
Credit Estimates
Stack Monitor estimates potential credits based on:
| Severity | Estimated Credit Rate |
|---|---|
| Minor (degraded) | $25/hour of downtime |
| Major (partial outage) | $50/hour of downtime |
| Critical (full outage) | $100/hour of downtime |
Estimates Only
These are rough estimates to help you prioritize claims. Actual credits depend on your contract, usage, and the provider's SLA terms.
Common SLA Documentation
Quick links to SLA docs for popular tools:
Best Practices
- Track all incidents - Even minor ones add up
- Claim promptly - Don't miss the 30-day window
- Document impact - Describe how the outage affected your business
- Negotiate - For major outages, you may get more than the standard credit
- Review contracts - Enterprise agreements often have better SLA terms