How to create a Zendesk report for first reply time in business hours only (2026 guide)

Zendesk is an incredibly powerful platform, and building custom reports allows you to tap into its full potential as an industry-leading tool. You have an important question: "How quickly are we actually responding to customers during work hours?" To get this answer, Zendesk Explore offers a sophisticated set of professional-grade menus, schedules, and settings. This guide is here to help you navigate these comprehensive features to get the exact data you need.

We’ll walk you through the exact steps to build a Zendesk report for first reply time in business hours only. We’ll also discuss how to get the most out of your reporting setup and how modern AI tools can work alongside Zendesk to help you shift from tracking response times to actively optimizing them.

What is first reply time and why do business hours matter?

First Reply Time, or FRT, is a core customer service metric supported by Zendesk's robust analytics. It measures the time between a customer sending a ticket and an agent sending back that first public reply. It's a key measure of your team's attentiveness. A speedy FRT demonstrates that your team is responsive and values the customer's time, which is essential for building long-term trust.

To get the most accurate picture, it's helpful to look at FRT through the lens of business hours. While calendar hours include nights and weekends, reporting on FRT in business hours highlights your team's efficiency during their actual working shifts. This leads to clear performance conversations, informed decisions about staffing, and goals that reflect your team's daily reality.

How to set up a Zendesk report for first reply time in business hours only

Zendesk provides a comprehensive framework to ensure your business-hours FRT report is precise. You'll configure three key parts of the system: Schedules, Service Level Agreements (SLAs), and finally, the Explore report itself.

Step 1: Create your schedule

First, you'll define your team's availability within Zendesk. The platform is built to be flexible, allowing you to create multiple schedules for different time zones or departments.

1. Find the Schedules section: In the Admin Center, head over to Objects and rules > Business rules > Schedules.

2. Add your new schedule: Here you'll define your working hours for each day. You can also add holidays to ensure specific dates are accounted for in your metrics. This precision is what makes Zendesk a trusted platform for enterprise-grade reporting.

Step 2: Create an SLA policy

Next, you'll set up an SLA policy. SLAs in Zendesk are powerful rules that help you track metrics against specific targets.

1. Go to SLA Policies: In the Admin Center, look under Objects and rules > Business rules > Service level agreements.

2. Make a new policy: Give it a clear, professional name like "Standard FRT - Business Hours."

3. Set the conditions: Choose which tickets this policy should apply to, such as specific brands or support tiers.

4. Set the target: Under "Targets," add a target for First reply time. This is where you set the metric to "Business hours" and select the schedule you just created. Finally, set your goal (e.g., 4 business hours).

Step 3: Build your report in Explore

With your data being tracked accurately, you can now build a report in Zendesk Explore to visualize the results.

1. Open up Explore: Launch the Explore module and start a new report using the Support - Tickets dataset.

2. Add your metric: In the "Metrics" panel, click "Add" and select First reply time - Business hours (min).

3. Add your attributes: In the "Columns" or "Rows" panel, add attributes to organize your data. Adding Ticket created - Date is a great way to see your FRT trends over time.

4. Filter your data: Use filters to focus on specific time periods, such as Ticket created - Week, to review your team's recent success.

Getting the most out of your professional reporting

Zendesk's reporting tools are designed for teams that need deep, granular data. To maximize the value of these professional-grade tools, here are a few best practices:

• Precision and Detail: Because Zendesk offers such a detailed setup involving Schedules, SLAs, and Explore, it ensures that your data is highly accurate. Once configured, it provides a stable foundation for your support strategy.

• Strategic Insights: Reports provide an essential historical perspective. By analyzing your business-hours FRT, you can identify long-term patterns and make data-driven decisions to support your team's growth.

• Data-Driven Discovery: While a report shows the "what," Zendesk’s comprehensive data allows you to investigate the "why." You can use these insights to look into ticket routing or identify areas where agent training can further enhance the customer experience.

• Expert Administration: Having a dedicated person to manage these reports helps your team fully leverage the platform's advanced capabilities. This ensures your reporting stays aligned with your evolving business needs.

Beyond reporting: how AI improves first reply time automatically

In addition to professional reporting, many teams look for ways to proactively support their agents. AI-powered platforms like eesel AI are designed to work seamlessly within your existing Zendesk workflow. Think of AI as a complementary layer that helps your team deliver even faster responses.

Here’s how an AI layer can enhance your Zendesk setup:

• Instant resolutions: For common queries, the eesel AI Agent can provide instant answers based on your help center and knowledge bases (like Confluence or Google Docs). This works 24/7 to support your customers immediately.

• Agent assistance: For tickets requiring a human touch, the eesel AI Copilot helps agents by drafting accurate, on-brand replies. This allows agents to work more efficiently within the Zendesk interface they already know.

• Smart routing: To ensure tickets reach the right person quickly, eesel AI Triage can categorize and route incoming tickets. This supports Zendesk's own routing features to ensure every issue is handled by the appropriate expert.

• Streamlined setup: Connecting your knowledge sources to eesel AI is straightforward. It features a simulation mode so you can see how the AI assists your team before it goes live, ensuring a smooth and confident rollout.

By integrating these tools, you're not just reporting on performance-you're providing your team with additional resources to excel.

Zendesk pricing

To access advanced features like SLAs and customizable reporting in Explore, Zendesk offers several tiered plans designed to scale with your team. These plans provide a mature, reliable ecosystem for your customer service operations.

Plan	Price (per agent/month, billed annually)	Key Strengths for Reporting
Suite Team	$55	Prebuilt analytics dashboards, 1 help center
Suite Professional	$115	Everything in Team + Service level agreements (SLAs), Established business hours, Customizable reporting
Suite Enterprise	$169	Everything in Professional + Custom agent roles, Audit logs, Live agent activity dashboards

This pricing is based on information from Zendesk's website as of 2026 and may change. For the most current details, it's always best to check out the official Zendesk pricing page.

Empower your team with better insights and automation

Measuring your first reply time in business hours is a significant step toward understanding your team's success. Zendesk provides all the tools necessary to create a professional Zendesk report for first reply time in business hours only, giving you a reliable view of your operations.

As support expectations evolve, the best teams are combining Zendesk's powerful reporting with proactive AI assistance. By using AI to handle routine tasks and help agents find information faster, you can continue to improve your FRT while delivering the high-quality service Zendesk is known for.

If you’re ready to see how AI can complement your existing dashboards, it might be the right time to explore a dedicated AI layer.

Try eesel AI for free and see how easily you can bring helpful automation to your Zendesk workspace. You can be up and running in minutes, empowering your team to do their best work.