Check whether the provider's service promises can be measured.
Use this worksheet before signing, renewal, or a scope change. Put each promise into the same fields so both sides know what gets counted, where the evidence lives, who reviews it, and what happens after a miss.
This is a planning worksheet, not contract or legal advice. The signed agreement and qualified reviewers control. Do not add response times, credits, or other terms the provider has not confirmed in writing.
Use one row for each work lane and measure.
Review it again at renewal or when the scope changes.
Both sides should be able to inspect the same source record.
Write the measurement rule beside the target.
These rows show the questions to settle, not standard targets. Replace each example with the provider's written terms. Scroll the table horizontally to see every field.
| Service | Measure | Target | Evidence source | Exception | Owner | Escalation | Review date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tier-one order-status tickets | Time from a ticket entering the named queue to the first qualifying human reply | Use the provider's written target, coverage hours, timezone, and holiday calendar | Helpdesk timestamps and the monthly queue export | Waiting for buyer approval, carrier review, or missing order data, when the agreement names the pause | Provider support lead reports; buyer support manager checks | List affected ticket IDs, check the exclusions, then use the named escalation route | Check after week one and on the agreed monthly review date |
| Invoice intake and match preparation | Share of the agreed invoice batch prepared with all required source records | Use the written completion rule and review sample; do not insert a universal accuracy target | Invoice log, source file links, exception list, and buyer review sample | Missing purchase order, receipt, approval, vendor record, or readable source file | Provider finance lead reports; buyer finance owner reviews | Hold payment and bank-detail actions, record the missing evidence, and ask the finance owner | Check the first safe batch, then use the contract review date |
| CRM record cleanup | Records completed under the written field, source, and duplicate rules | Use the approved batch size, field rules, and completion definition | CRM audit log, source list, exception queue, and sampled records | Conflicting sources, unclear ownership, merge decisions, or missing permission | Provider delivery lead reports; buyer CRM owner checks | Stop the affected record, preserve both sources, and send the record ID to the CRM owner | Review the paid sample, week one, and each approved rule change |
| Help-center article updates | Approved pages updated with the requested text, links, screenshots, and change record | Use the written batch deadline and approval rule for the named page list | Task record, preview URL, link check, approval note, and publish log | Missing product answer, policy approval, source image, or system access | Provider content lead reports; buyer product owner approves | Keep the page in draft and send the disputed claim or missing source to the product owner | Check one sample before the batch and review again after publishing |
Copy the provider's wording before adding your notes.
If the measure, source record, exception, owner, or escalation route is blank, mark the row "clarify." Do not fill the gap from a sales call or memory.
OFFSHORE SLA REVIEW WORKSHEET Provider: [Provider name] Scope or team: [Work covered] Agreement or proposal version: [Document and date] Buyer reviewer: [Name and role] Review date: [Date] SERVICE: [Exact work lane] MEASURE: [What will be counted or timed, including clock start and stop] TARGET: [Provider wording, coverage hours, timezone, and calendar] EVIDENCE SOURCE: [Ticket report, task log, file, sample, or timestamp] EXCEPTION: [Written exclusions and buyer dependencies] OWNER: [Provider reporting owner and buyer reviewer] ESCALATION: [Miss trigger, contact route, and written next step] REVIEW DATE: [Next check and person who may approve a change] STATUS: [Keep, clarify, remove, or qualified review] Repeat the service block for each written promise.
The worksheet stays visible and selectable if clipboard access is blocked.
Pause when the number looks clear but the rule does not.
A short response target can still be hard to use when the clock, coverage, exclusions, or source report are vague.
- The target has no named work lane, queue, file set, or finished result.
- "Business hours" has no timezone, working days, or holiday calendar.
- The clock starts or stops from an informal message that neither side can inspect later.
- Quality has no sample rule, error definition, or buyer reviewer.
- Exclusions can be added after a miss, or buyer delays are mentioned but never recorded.
- The provider reports the result, but the buyer cannot inspect the source record.
- A call described the next step after a miss, but the proposal or agreement does not.
- A single average hides urgent, old, or high-risk misses.
Review the promise from records, not sales language.
Do not average the rows into one score. One unusable service rule can matter more than several clear ones.
- Pull the proposal, draft agreement, scope, coverage plan, quality rules, and escalation matrix.
- Copy each service promise into its own worksheet row without fixing the provider's wording.
- Check the measure, target, source record, exceptions, owners, and review date.
- Send one written question for every blank or disputed field.
- Mark each row keep, clarify, remove, or qualified review.
- Carry confirmed rows into onboarding, first-week checks, and the monthly review.
Tie supplier expectations to records and named owners.
These sources support the plain definition and supplier-management checks. They do not approve this worksheet or set the terms in your agreement.
- NIST Computer Security Resource Center, Service Level Agreement defines an SLA as an agreement about measurable services between a provider and customer.
- NIST SP 800-161 Rev. 1 covers supplier requirements, responsibilities, monitoring, records, and response planning across the supply chain.
Carry confirmed rules into onboarding and review.
The proposal, SLA rows, onboarding packet, escalation matrix, work samples, and monthly review should use the same scope and owners.
Provider proposal comparison matrix
Put written scope, fees, access, QA, and provider assumptions side by side before reviewing service levels.
Open resourceProvider question bank
Ask about measurement, exceptions, reporting, replacement, and escalation before signing.
Open resourceProvider onboarding packet
Carry confirmed service rules into scope, access, SOP, and first-week handoff notes.
Open resourceOffshore escalation matrix
Give every service miss a named contact, held action, approver, and backup owner.
Open resourceOffshore work sample review sheet
Review real finished work when the service level includes a quality measure.
Open resourceOffshore monthly review scorecard
Compare the written service rules with the month's samples, blockers, rework, and scope decisions.
Open resourceDo not let a clear-looking target hide a missing clock, owner, or exception rule.
Bring the proposal, draft service levels, and open worksheet rows. Review the unclear parts before work or access expands.
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