---
title: "Ticket backlog: what it is and how to read it | attendo"
description: "What a support ticket backlog is, how to read it by age brackets, what the real warning sign is and the mistake of cleaning it up by closing tickets in bulk."
url: "https://attendo.me/en/glossary/ticket-backlog"
lang: "en"
---

# Ticket backlog: the tickets that fall behind

Also known as: Support backlog

The ticket backlog is the set of open tickets waiting to be resolved at a given moment.

## Shape matters, not just the number

A backlog of 120 tickets can be healthy or a crisis, depending on how it breaks down by age. A practical way to read it:

- **Under 48 hours**: normal, it is work in progress.
- **2 to 7 days**: acceptable if they are waiting on third parties.
- **Over 15 days**: review them one by one. There are almost always dead cases.
- **Over 30 days**: close or [escalate](https://attendo.me/en/glossary/escalation). They will not resolve themselves.

## The warning sign

It is not the volume: it is the **trend in the long tail**. If the over-15-days bracket grows every week, the team is handling what comes in and abandoning the old tickets, and that ends in serious complaints.

## The usual mistake

Cleaning up the backlog by closing tickets in bulk without telling anyone. The customer whose ticket had been open for three weeks and gets closed with no explanation does not stay quiet: they escalate.

## In attendo

There is a queue age report, and anything past its deadline is flagged as OVERDUE. On the [Kanban](https://attendo.me/en/modules/kanban) board you save views such as “at risk” and group by owner, by customer or by priority.

- [attendo Ticketing](https://attendo.me/en/ticketing)

## Where it is used in attendo

### Modules

- [Kanban](https://attendo.me/en/modules/kanban): Boards by status for any document type
- [Contracts and SLA](https://attendo.me/en/modules/contracts-and-sla): Scope, SLA and hour bank, measured on every ticket
- [Timeline](https://attendo.me/en/modules/timeline): All activity on the document, in order, with its author and channel
- [Compliance · My team](https://attendo.me/en/modules/task-compliance): The list of what could be missed, sorted by urgency

### Industries that use these modules

- [Facility maintenance and services](https://attendo.me/en/industries/facility-maintenance)
- [Elevators and escalators](https://attendo.me/en/industries/elevators)
- [Repair and after-sales service](https://attendo.me/en/industries/after-sales-repair)
- [IT services and MSPs](https://attendo.me/en/industries/it-services)
- [And any other business](https://attendo.me/en/industries)

## Related terms

Support and service

### Resolution time

Time to resolution

Resolution time is how long a case takes from the moment it comes in until it is closed as resolved.

Support and service

### SLA

Service level agreement

An SLA (service level agreement) is the written commitment, usually part of a contract, on how quickly you will respond to and resolve a customer’s tickets.

Support and service

### Escalation

Ticket escalation

Escalation is handing a case over to a higher level, because of its technical complexity or because it is running late.

[See all 53 glossary terms](https://attendo.me/en/glossary)

## Shall we look at it with your data?

We will show you how what you just read works in attendo, with your own assets, tickets and customers. If it is not a fit, we will tell you.

- With your operation, not a generic demo
- A real person from our team replies
- No cold calls afterwards

Would you rather talk first?

- Phone [+34 910 053 530](tel:+34910053530)
- Email [sales@attendo.me](mailto:sales@attendo.me)
- Monday to Thursday 9:30 AM to 6:30 PM and Friday 9:30 AM to 2:30 PM (Spain time)