What Is an SLA and What Should Your AV Support SLA Actually Include?
- Chris Gore
- Aug 4
- 4 min read
What is an SLA and what should your AV support SLA actually include? The honest guide for IT teams evaluating AV support contracts in the UK.
Chris Gore | Updated 2026
SLA stands for Service Level Agreement. It is the part of an AV support contract that defines exactly what the supplier commits to delivering and the standards they are held to. It is also the part that most organisations sign without reading properly, and the part that matters most when something goes wrong.
An SLA is only as useful as what is actually written in it. A vague SLA that commits to reasonable response times and best efforts provides almost no protection when a room fails the morning of a board meeting. This guide covers what a proper AV support SLA should include and the questions to ask any supplier before signing.
What an SLA Actually Is
A Service Level Agreement is a formal commitment between a service provider and a client that defines the standard of service to be delivered. In the context of AV support, it typically covers response times when a fault is reported, resolution times for different categories of fault, monitoring commitments, escalation procedures and remedies if the agreed standards are not met.
The SLA is not the support contract itself. The support contract is the commercial agreement covering what is included, at what cost and for how long. The SLA sits within that contract and defines the performance standards the supplier commits to meeting. A contract without a meaningful SLA is a contract with no accountability.
What a Proper AV Support SLA Should Include
Response time by fault category
Not a single response time for everything. A properly structured SLA differentiates between fault categories. A room that is completely down with a meeting starting in two hours needs a different response commitment than a camera preset that has drifted slightly. Typical categories are P1 (critical — room completely unusable), P2 (significant — core function impaired), P3 (minor — performance degraded but room still functional).
Resolution time commitments
Response time and resolution time are different. Response time is how quickly the supplier acknowledges the fault. Resolution time is how quickly the fault is fixed. Both need to be defined in the SLA. A supplier who responds in one hour but takes three weeks to resolve a fault has met their response time commitment and failed their client completely.
Monitoring commitment
Whether the supplier actively monitors the room estate for faults or only responds when faults are reported. Proactive monitoring — watching every device in real time and catching faults before they affect meetings — is fundamentally different from reactive support. SPORTrack monitors every device across every SPOR Group deployment in real time. A fault that develops at 2am on a Thursday is caught and addressed before Monday morning, not discovered when the CEO presses start.
Escalation procedures
What happens when a fault is not resolved within the committed time. Who is contacted. What additional resource is committed. What compensation applies. Without a defined escalation path, a missed resolution commitment has no consequence for the supplier.
Reporting and review
How performance against the SLA is reported and how often. Monthly or quarterly reporting showing response times, resolution times, fault categories and uptime figures allows clients to hold suppliers accountable for the commitments they have made rather than relying on the supplier to self-report.
Remedies and credits
What happens when the supplier misses SLA commitments. Service credits, extended contract terms, escalated support commitment. Without defined remedies, an SLA is a statement of intent rather than a contractual obligation.
Questions to Ask Before Signing an AV Support SLA
What are the response time commitments by fault category?
What is the difference between response time and resolution time in this contract?
Do you monitor our rooms proactively or only respond when we report a fault?
What is the escalation procedure if a fault is not resolved within the committed time?
How is SLA performance reported and how frequently?
What remedies apply if you miss a committed response or resolution time?
Are firmware updates and warranty management included or charged separately?
What is excluded from the SLA and what triggers an out-of-scope charge?
What Is Not in Most AV Support SLAs
The gaps are as important as what is included. Most basic AV support SLAs exclude firmware management, warranty administration, configuration drift correction, and anything classified as a new requirement rather than a fault. Understanding what is excluded is as important as understanding what is committed.
SPOR Group provides formal SLAs with every managed support contract. Proactive SPORTrack monitoring, defined response and resolution times by fault category, quarterly business reviews with performance data and clear escalation procedures. Not sure what level of support your estate needs? The AV report quiz takes five minutes and helps identify the right support model for your specific situation.
Want to See What Proactive AV Support Looks Like in Practice? SPORTrack monitors every device in every room. Book a demo to see the platform working across a live estate. |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an SLA in AV support?
A Service Level Agreement (SLA) defines the standard of service a supplier commits to delivering, including response times when faults are reported, resolution times by fault category, monitoring commitments, escalation procedures and remedies when commitments are missed.
What should an AV support SLA include?
Response time commitments by fault category, resolution time commitments separate from response times, clarification of whether monitoring is proactive or reactive, escalation procedures, reporting frequency, defined remedies for missed commitments, and clarity on what is excluded from the SLA scope.
What is the difference between response time and resolution time in an SLA?
Response time is how quickly the supplier acknowledges and begins investigating a fault. Resolution time is how quickly the fault is actually fixed. Both should be defined separately in a proper SLA. A fast response time with a slow resolution time provides little practical protection.
What happens if an AV supplier misses their SLA commitment?
This depends entirely on what the contract specifies. A properly structured SLA includes defined remedies — service credits, escalated support commitment, extended contract terms — that apply automatically when commitments are missed. Without defined remedies, a missed SLA has no contractual consequence.
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