--- sourceDocument: Australia IT Service Management sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/it-service-management Release : - australia ft:locale : - en-US ft:publication_title : - Australia IT Service Management ft:clusterId : - itsm bundleId : - itsm workflow : - Technology --- # Actual and business elapsed times # Actual and business elapsed times {#ariaid-title1} * Release version: Australia * * Updated July 22, 2026 * * ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 2 minutes to read Summarize ![AI sparkle icon](https://servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ai-sparkle-icon) Summarized using AI This content was generated using new OpenAI-powered functionality. Results are provided on an as is basis and are not guaranteed to be accurate or complete. ## Summary of Actual and Business Elapsed Times Task SLA records in ServiceNow track two types of elapsed times:Actual elapsed timeandBusiness elapsed time. Understanding the difference between these two is crucial for creating accurate SLA definitions and reporting. Show full answer Show less Actual elapsed time measures the total real-world time from SLA start to end on a 24x7 basis. Business elapsed time measures time based on the SLA's defined working schedule, reflecting only active business hours. ## Key Features * **Schedules Affect Business Elapsed Time:** Business elapsed time is calculated according to the schedule set in the SLA definition (e.g., 9 am to 5 pm weekdays). If no schedule is specified, business elapsed time defaults to actual elapsed time unless disabled by a system property. * **Configuration Options:** By default, the task SLA record related list shows only actual elapsed time, but you can configure it to display business elapsed time as well. * **System Property Control:** The property `com.snc.sla.alwayspopulatebusinessfields` controls whether business elapsed fields are populated. Setting it to false disables business elapsed time calculation. ## Practical Examples If an SLA schedule is 9 am to 5 pm weekdays and a task starts at 2 pm Monday, by 9 am Tuesday, business elapsed time will count only the 3 business hours, while actual elapsed time counts all hours (19 hours in this example). For instance, if an incident opens Friday at 9 pm (outside business hours), by Monday 9:30 am: * Business elapsed time equals 1 hour 30 minutes (business timer paused over weekend) * Actual elapsed time equals 60 hours 30 minutes (total calendar time elapsed) ## How SLA Workflows Use Business Elapsed Time SLA workflows use the **SLA Percentage Timer** activity to trigger notifications and escalations at defined percentage thresholds based on business elapsed time (e.g., 50%, 75%). The SLA timer pauses outside the defined schedule (e.g., nights, weekends), ensuring notifications and escalations reflect actual working hours, not elapsed calendar time. For example, on an 8-hour SLA with a 9 am--5 pm schedule: * The 50% timer triggers after 4 business hours, regardless of total elapsed time across calendar hours. * If the SLA starts at 4 pm Monday, the 50% timer fires at 10 am Tuesday, excluding non-business hours overnight. ## Key Outcomes * Accurate SLA measurement aligned with business hours rather than continuous clock time. * More meaningful SLA reporting and escalation that corresponds to actual working time. * Ability to configure elapsed time displays and control business elapsed time calculation through system properties. Task SLA records contain two sets of timing information: Actual elapsed and Business elapsed. The difference between these two sets of timing is vital when you create and report on SLA definitions. * Actual elapsed values are calculated on a 24x7 basis. * Business elapsed values are calculated based on the schedule specified in the task SLA. The schedule is taken from the SLA definition by default. Note: If no schedule is specified, then the Business elapsed time is the same as the Actual elapsed time. This can be disabled by changing the com.snc.sla.always_populate_business_fields property to false in the SLA Engine. When this property is set to false, the Business fields will be 0 or empty. {#r_ElapsedTimeCounting__ul_d4j_1fr_cs}By default, the related list for the task SLA record displays the actual elapsed time only. You can configure the list to also display the business elapsed time. ## Elapsed times and schedules Consider a scenario where an SLA has a defined schedule of 9 am to 5 pm on weekdays. With this schedule, the difference between actual and business elapsed times can be significant. If a task SLA starts at 2 p.m. on a weekday, by 9 a.m. the next weekday it shows 3 business hours and 19 actual hours. Figure 1. Business elapsed time vs actual elapsed time ![Actual elapsed time and business elapsed time within actual]() If a schedule defines an 8-hour working day, 24 hours of business elapsed time equals 3 days of actual elapsed time. ## Example For example, an incident is opened on Friday, December 12 at 9 pm, outside of the SLA schedule of 8 am to 5 pm on weekdays. If the current time is the following Monday at 9:30 am, then: * Business elapsed time is 1 hour and 30 minutes because the SLA business timer stopped at 5 pm on Friday and restarted at 8 am on Monday. * Actual elapsed time is 60 hours and 30 minutes, representing the real-time between the incident being opened and the current time. {#r_ElapsedTimeCounting__ul_krc_4jr_cs}Elapsed percentages are also similarly calculated. The actual elapsed percentage is over 750% while the business elapsed percentage is 19% on an 8 hour SLA. ## How the SLA workflow uses business elapsed percentage {#r_ElapsedTimeCounting__section_x5w_ht4_zjc} The SLA workflow uses the SLA Percentage Timer activity to trigger notifications at defined thresholds --- for example, at 50% and 75% of the SLA duration. These thresholds are calculated using Business elapsed time. When a timer fires, the SLA workflow evaluates how much business elapsed time has been consumed against the total SLA duration (as defined in the SLA definition's schedule). The timer does not advance while the SLA schedule is inactive --- for example, overnight or on weekends. For example, on an 8-hour SLA with a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekday schedule: 50% threshold : The 50% timer fires after 4 hours of business elapsed time --- regardless of how many wall-clock hours have passed. Example timing : If the SLA starts at 4 p.m. on Monday, the 50% timer fires at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, after the overnight gap is excluded. {#r_ElapsedTimeCounting__dl_y5w_ht4_zjc} This confirms that notifications and escalations reflect actual working time, not calendar time. **Related concepts** * [Flows for SLA](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/Onv7S78i04rOMghJS3e4Nw "Use the flow actions to send SLA notifications when the duration specified in the SLA definition is crossed.") **Related topics** * [SLA Percentage Timer workflow activity](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=r_SLAPercentageTimer&version=australia&pubname=australia-build-workflows&ft:locale=en-US)