Business Hours

Business Hours routes calls to different destinations based on the time of day and day of week. Use it to handle open/closed scenarios and holiday schedules.

What Is Business Hours Routing

Business Hours is a routing destination that evaluates the current time against a schedule. It routes calls to one destination during business hours and another destination outside business hours.

Components

A Business Hours configuration consists of:

Weekly Schedule

Per-day enable/disable with time ranges:

Day	Status	Hours
Monday	Open	09:00 - 17:00
Tuesday	Open	09:00 - 17:00
Wednesday	Open	09:00 - 17:00
Thursday	Open	09:00 - 17:00
Friday	Open	09:00 - 17:00
Saturday	Closed	-
Sunday	Closed	-

Timezone

Select from 65+ timezones grouped by region:

• Americas
• Europe
• Asia Pacific
• Africa
• Middle East

warning

Select the timezone where your business operates. Calls are evaluated against this timezone, not the caller's location.

Actions

Action	Purpose
Open Hours	Where to route during business hours
Closed Hours	Where to route outside business hours

Exception Dates

Special dates that override the weekly schedule:

Type	Description
Closed	All-day closure (holiday). Routes to closed hours destination.
Special Hours	Modified hours (e.g., half day). Uses custom time ranges.

Creating a Business Hours Schedule

To create a new schedule:

1. Navigate to Business Hours in the sidebar
2. Click Create Schedule
3. Enter a descriptive name
4. Select the timezone
5. Configure the weekly schedule
6. Set open hours and closed hours destinations
7. Add exception dates if needed
8. Save the schedule

Configuring Weekly Schedule

Use the calendar view to set hours:

1. Click on a day to enable/disable it
2. Drag time handles to set open/close times
3. Copy settings from one day to others

Action Types

Both open and closed hours can route to:

Type	Use Case
Extension	Specific person during/after hours
Ring Group	Department coverage
Conference Room	Scheduled conferences
IVR Menu	After-hours menu or main menu
AI Assistant	Automated handling
AI Load Balancer	Distributed AI routing

Schedule Templates

OPBX provides templates for common schedules:

Template	Description
Mon-Fri Business	Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Mon-Fri All Day	Monday-Friday, 24 hours
Sun-Thu Business	Sunday-Thursday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM (Middle East)
24/7	Always open

Select a template as a starting point, then customize as needed.

Holiday Import

Import public holidays by country and year:

1. Open the Business Hours schedule
2. Click Import Holidays
3. Select country
4. Select year
5. Review imported dates
6. Save

Imported holidays are added as Closed exception dates. You can modify or delete them after import.

note

Holiday data comes from a public API. Verify imported dates against your actual business calendar.

Duplicating Schedules

Copy an existing schedule to create a variation:

1. Find the schedule to copy
2. Click Duplicate
3. A new schedule appears with "(Copy)" in the name
4. Modify the copy as needed
5. Save

This is useful for:

• Seasonal hour changes
• Different departments with similar schedules
• Testing schedule changes

Evaluation Order

When a call arrives, Business Hours evaluates in this order:

1. Check exception dates: Is today a holiday or special hours date?
2. Check weekly schedule: Is today enabled in the weekly schedule?
3. Check time ranges: Is the current time within open hours?
4. Route: Send to open hours or closed hours destination

Business Hours Examples

Standard Office

• Name: Main Office Hours
• Timezone: America/New_York
• Schedule: Mon-Fri, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
• Open Hours: Main Ring Group
• Closed Hours: After-Hours IVR
• Exceptions: New Year's Day, Independence Day, Christmas

Support Hotline

• Name: 24/7 Support
• Timezone: UTC
• Schedule: 24/7 (always open)
• Open Hours: Support Ring Group
• Closed Hours: Emergency Paging

Retail Location

• Name: Downtown Store
• Timezone: America/Los_Angeles
• Schedule: Mon-Sat, 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM; Sun, 12:00 PM - 6:00 PM
• Open Hours: Store Ring Group
• Closed Hours: Store Info IVR

Best Practices

Timezone Selection

• Use the timezone of your physical location
• Consider daylight saving time changes
• Use UTC for global 24/7 operations

Exception Planning

• Import holidays at the start of each year
• Add company-specific closures (training days, events)
• Plan special hours for peak seasons

Fallback Design

• Closed hours destination should provide value (information, voicemail, emergency contact)
• Test closed hours routing after setup
• Consider time zone differences for global callers

Testing

• Test during both open and closed periods
• Verify exception date handling
• Check timezone transitions (DST changes)