Office hours with a lunch break
A practice opens 9:00 to 13:00 and 14:30 to 18:00, Monday to Friday: two ranges a day, with Saturday and Sunday closed.
Phone system
Opening hours and holidays, set once
With time conditions you write your business hours and closures once: numbers, menus and queues use them to decide where each call goes.
Office hours
Mon9–13, 14:30–18
Tue9–13, 14:30–18
Wed9–13, 14:30–18
Thu9–13, 14:30–18
Fri9–13, 14:30–17
SatClosed
SunClosed
What it is for
A time condition is a named set of opening hours, such as “Office hours”. For each weekday you set one or more time ranges; a day with no ranges is closed.
Exceptions cover special days: holidays that come back every year, summer closures, a bridge day or a day with shorter hours. An exception replaces that weekday’s hours.
The same condition can be linked to numbers, GNR extensions, IVR menus, queues, callbacks and feedback surveys: within the hours a call follows its normal destination, outside them it hears a message and goes to the out-of-hours destination. Campaigns and follow-ups use it to work only in those hours. Change the hours once and they change everywhere.
Use cases
Holidays that come back every year
Christmas, New Year’s Day and other public holidays are added once as exceptions with Every year: the phone system stays closed on those days without anyone thinking about it.
Summer closure
For the two weeks of the summer break you add the dates as closed exceptions: callers hear the out-of-hours message with the reopening date.
Evening and night shifts
An on-call service uses a 22:00 to 02:00 range: ranges ending after midnight apply to the same day, from 00:00 to 02:00 and from 22:00 to 24:00.
Different hours for different teams
Support also answers on Saturdays, sales does not: two time conditions, one on the support queue and one on the sales queue.
How it works
Create the condition
In Time conditions press New condition, give it a name and switch on the open days; each day starts with 09:00–18:00, which you can change or split.
Add the exceptions
With Add exception choose the date, whether it applies Every year, and whether you are open that day with its own hours or closed all day.
Link it
Choose the condition in the hours tab of a number, an IVR menu or a queue, with the out-of-hours message and destination. You can also create a new one right from there.
Check the status
The list shows each condition’s hours, whether it is open or closed right now and how many numbers use it. Hours follow the time zone set in your profile.
What you can set
Weekly hours
- Name
- The name you pick the condition by in the modules, such as “Office hours” or “Weekend support”.
- Day open or closed
- A switch for every weekday: when off, the day is closed.
- Time ranges (From, To)
- The day’s opening hours; with Add range you set more than one, such as morning and afternoon.
- Ranges past midnight
- A range that ends before it starts, like 22:00–02:00, applies to the same day from 22:00 to 24:00 and from 00:00 to 02:00.
Exceptions
- Date
- The special day: a holiday, a closure, shorter hours.
- Every year
- When on, the exception comes back every year on the same date; when off, it applies to that date only.
- Open that day
- When on, you set that day’s time ranges; when off, the day is closed.
Where it is used
- Numbers and GNR extensions
- Outside the hours the call hears the out-of-hours message and goes to the out-of-hours destination.
- IVR menus and queues
- The menu or queue answers only within the hours; outside them the call goes elsewhere.
- Callbacks, feedback, campaigns and follow-ups
- They keep call-backs, surveys, campaign calls and follow-up sends within the condition’s hours.
- Apply to several items
- From the lists of numbers, IVR menus, queues and feedback surveys you can give the same condition to all selected items.
List
- Now
- Shows whether the condition is open or closed right now.
- Linked numbers
- How many numbers and extensions use the condition; a linked condition cannot be deleted until you unlink it.
- Open now and Not linked
- The counters at the top: how many conditions are open now and how many are not linked to anything.
Frequently asked questions
How do I set business hours on my phone system?
Create a time condition with the time ranges for each day and link it to the number, IVR menu or queue. Within the hours calls follow the normal destination, outside them the one you chose for closed hours.
How do I handle public holidays?
Add an exception for each holiday. With Every year the date repeats annually, like Christmas Day; without it, it applies to that day only, which suits bridge days and holidays.
Can I have shorter hours on a particular day?
Yes. In the exception turn on Open that day and enter the ranges, for example 09:00–13:00 on Christmas Eve. The exception replaces that day’s normal hours.
Which time zone do time conditions use?
The time zone set in your account profile, the same one used by every date, time and report in the portal.
If I change a condition, do I need to update my numbers?
No. Numbers, menus and queues point to the condition: when you change the hours or add an exception, the change applies at once everywhere it is linked.
Related features
Try it on your own phone lines
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