---
sourceDocument: Yokohama Customer Service Management
sourceDocumentLink: https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/r/yokohama/customer-service-management

 Release :

    - yokohama

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Yokohama Customer Service Management

ft:clusterId :

    - csm

bundleId :

    - csm

workflow :

    - Customer and Industry


---

# Portal usage calculation

# Portal usage calculation {#ariaid-title1}

Release version: Yokohama  
Updated July 31, 2025  
![](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 Portal Usage Calculation

Portal usage calculation helps track how customers and employees interact with the portal through session counts.
The Customer Portal Usage dashboard provides insights into portal visits, accessible via All \> Customer Service \> Administration \> Portal Usage.
It's important to note that bot session usage is excluded from this tracking, which focuses solely on customer service portals based on user roles.
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## Key Features

* User roles tracked include external roles (e.g., snesmuser, sncustomerservice.requester) and internal roles (e.g., sncustomerservice.selfcontributor).
* Session types include guest sessions (unauthenticated users), bot sessions (from bots and crawlers), and external sessions (authenticated external users).
* Sessions are logged based on activity, where a session times out after 30 minutes of inactivity (modifiable via system property).
* Usage metrics are calculated per session, per day, and per portal, with each login from different browsers or devices counting as separate visits.

## Key Outcomes

Understanding portal usage enables organizations to analyze user engagement and optimize the customer service experience. By monitoring session counts and user activity, businesses can gain valuable insights into how their portals are utilized, which can inform improvements and adjustments in service delivery.  
Portal usage enables you to track how your customers and employees are using the
portal. The Customer Portal Usage dashboard provides information about portal visits resulting
in session counts.
To view the Customer Portal Usage dashboard, navigate to AllCustomer ServiceAdministrationPortal Usage.  
Note:  
You can ignore the bot session usage that is captured as part of this dashboard.  
Note:  
This definition tracks usage for customer service portals based on the user roles and ignores usage for non CSM portals or roles. Sessions are tracked for the following roles:

* External roles: sn_esm_user, sn_customerservice.requester, sn_communities.community_user
* Internal roles: sn_customerservice.self_contributor
{#csm-portal-user-sessions-timeouts__ul_w5y_hwv_t2c}  
A user session is a period of activity on the Customer or Consumer Service Portal by any of the following session types:

* Guest session: Session where the user isn't logged in
* Bot session: Separate count of sessions generated due to bots and crawlers
* External session: Session where the user is an external user, typically a customer, or consumer who is logged in

{#csm-portal-user-sessions-timeouts__ul_zfl_vjb_3fb}The aggregate session count is based on the following calculations:.

A user session times out after a specific period of inactivity.

User access to the self-service portals is tracked as follows: per session, per day, and per portal. If the same user logs in from multiple browsers or devices, each login is counted as a separate visit. Each first call of a
portal page starts a session and, the usage metrics are calculated for the 24 hours window.

The default session timeout is 30 minutes. This setting can be adjusted using a system
property. For more information about modifying the session timeout setting, see [Manage user sessions](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=c_ManageUserSessions&version=yokohama&pubname=yokohama-platform-administration&ft:locale=en-US).

## Site visit calculation examples {#csm-portal-user-sessions-timeouts__section_uf3_2kb_3fb}

A user logs in, logs out, and then logs in again.{#csm-portal-user-sessions-timeouts__table_dkt_fkb_3fb__entry__3}

| Step | User activity | Billable count incremented |
|:-|:-|:-|
| 1 | User visits the portal as an anonymous or guest user | Yes |
| 2 | User logs in | No |
| 3 | User logs out | No |
| 4 | User logs in immediately after logging out | Yes |
[Table 1. Example of a site visit calculation for a user who logs in, logs out, and then logs in again]

{#csm-portal-user-sessions-timeouts__table_dkt_fkb_3fb}  
A user logs in and continues the session past midnight:{#csm-portal-user-sessions-timeouts__table_izt_tkb_3fx__entry__3}

| Step | User activity | Billable count incremented |
|:-|:-|:-|
| 1 | User visits the portal as an anonymous or guest user | Yes |
| 2 | User logs in | No |
| 3 | User session continues past midnight | Yes |
| 4 | User logs out | No |
[Table 2. Example of a site visit calculation for a user who logs in and continues the session past midnight]

{#csm-portal-user-sessions-timeouts__table_izt_tkb_3fx}

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