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Schedule Overview

Schedule Form

Schedules provide time-of-day routing. You can customize a schedule to, for example, receive calls at a certain time of day. You can also customize a schedule to have the caller hear a specific announcement depending on time of day (e.g. a menu that plays during business hours) or where the caller is directed (e.g. a voicemail that plays an announcement that states that the caller has called after business hours and to leave a message). Based on the time of day and the conditions provided in the schedule, callers will be routed to different destinations.

Schedules are used "in-between" other objects, like between a phone number and a menu. You could set a schedule to ring your desk and home ring group during the day and your cell phone at night. You can also cascade a schedule into another schedule, for example different hours Monday to Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Schedules only affect routing logic, they do not have a direct influence on the objects they route to or are routed from.

How to Create a New Schedule

Create a Name for the Schedule

In the add new schedule form, enter a Name for the Schedule. For example, if this is the primary schedule used for the headquarters office location, consider entering a unique name such as 'Headquarters - Main Schedule.'

Select the Start and End information for the New Schedule

Let's say your headquarters office location opens on Monday and business hours begin at 8:00AM. In the Start section, the Start weekday dropdown lists the days of the week from Monday to Sunday. Select 'Monday' from the Start weekday dropdown. In the Start hour section, enter 08 and in the Start minute section, enter 00 (since the headquarters office location opens at 8:00AM). It is mandatory to enter two digits in each section. This means that if you want your opening business hours be 7:01 AM, then you would enter 07 for the Start hour and 01 for the Start minute.

Let's say your headquarters office closes on Friday and business hours end at 5:00PM between Monday to Friday. In the End section, the End weekday dropdown lists the days of the week from Monday to Sunday (just like the Start weekday). Select 'Friday from the End weekday dropdown. In the End hour section, enter '17' and in the End minute section, enter 00 (since the headquarters office location closes at 5:00PM). You must enter the time according to the 24-hour clock convention. This is why you do not enter '05' in the End hour section.

Select a Timezone

Select the Timezone that fits with your business schedule needs. For example, if your headquarters office is located in Texas, then you would select US/Central from the Timezone dropdown.

Positive and Negative

Positive and Negative dropdown refers to the conditions of the schedule.

Let's say the headquarters office is open from 8:00AM - 5:00PM Monday to Friday. What would you like the caller to hear when they first call in to your office? Let's say you would like the caller to listen to a menu (listed as 'Headquarters - Main Menu' in the 'Menus' table) that lists various options (e.g. 'press 1 for reception, press 2 to talk to Sales, and press 3 to Customer Support'). You would select Headquarters - Main Menu from the Positive dropdown.

What if someone calls after headquarters business hours (e.g. someone calls at 6:00PM on Monday or anytime on Saturday or Sunday). What would you like the caller to hear when the headquarters office is closed? Let's say you would like the caller to listen to a Voicemail box (e.g. a voicemail box titled 'Headquarters Office VM - Closed') that has a customized announcement that states the office is closed and to leave a message. Select Headquarters Office VM - Closed from the Negative dropdown.

Exceptions

Are there any days the schedule should not route the call according to what is selected in the Positive dropdown? For example, on holidays such as Thanksgiving or Christmas when businesses are generally closed, you can choose to have your schedule result in routing the call to what is selected in the Negative drop down menu (e.g. 'Headquarters Office VM - Closed'). Exceptions should be entered in a MM/DD (Month/Day) format (e.g. 12/25). If there is more than one exception date that needs to be entered, separate the dates with a space (e.g. 12/24 12/25).

Summary of What is Required to Create a Schedule

Schedules require the following:

  • Name: A name to identify the schedule (e.g. 'Business Hours Schedule')
  • Timezone: The correct timezone to match the schedule hours

  • Start section:

    • Start weekday dropdown menu: Select the day of the week (e.g. 'Monday') for the schedule
    • Start hour: Select the hour portion of the time you would like the schedule to begin (e.g. '8')
    • Start minute: Select the minute portion of the time you would like the schedule to begin (e.g. '00' or '30')

  • End Section:

    • End weekday: Select the day of the week (e.g. 'Friday') for the schedule
    • End hour: Select the hour portion of the time you would like the schedule to end (e.g. '17')
    • End minute: Select the minute portion of the time you would like the schedule to end (e.g. '00' or '30'). Note that you must enter the time according to the 24-hour clock convention.

  • Exceptions: This should be in the form of MM/DD, where the schedule will return a negative result. Useful for holidays or other off-days.

  • Positive dropdown menu: A destination for positive results (when the schedule is "open")
  • Negative dropdown menu: A destination for negative results (when the schedule is "closed" or on exception days)

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