Set your business hours and holidays
Set your time zone, opening hours for each day and holidays. SLA clocks count only these hours and the chat widget shows your away message outside them.
Last updated 2 min read
Business hours tell Hushdesk when your team is working. SLA clocks can count only working time, and the chat widget switches to your away message when you are closed.
Before you start
- Who can do this: owners and admins.
- Plan: all plans.
- What you need: your opening times and public holidays.
- Time: a few minutes.
Step by step
- Open Settings and choose Business hours under Workspace.
- Choose your Time zone.
- For each day, from Monday to Sunday, switch it on (Open on …) and set the opening and closing times, or leave it Closed.
- Use Copy Monday to every day or Weekdays only to fill the week quickly.
- Under Holidays, choose a Holiday date and press Add holiday. Repeat for each holiday.
- Press Save changes. A message confirms Business hours saved.
What happens next
"SLA timers only count time inside these hours. Holidays pause them for the whole day." The chat widget shows We're away right now with your message outside these hours. See Set chat away hours and the offline message.
The change is written to the audit log.
What uses business hours
| Feature | Uses business hours? |
|---|---|
| SLA policies with Count business hours only | Yes |
| Chat widget away banner | Yes |
| Time-based rules | No, plain time |
| Reports | No, plain time |
Several teams in different time zones
Business hours belong to the workspace, so there is one set of hours and one time zone. If two teams work very different hours, set the hours to cover when anyone is working, and use SLA policies that run around the clock for the channel the late team handles.
Tips
- Add holidays at the start of the year so you do not forget them.
- Match your chat widget's Reply time to your real hours.
- Check the busiest-hours report before changing your hours. See Busiest times report.
Troubleshooting
"Closing must be after opening"
A day's closing time is before or equal to its opening time. Fix that day.
"MON: closing time must be after opening time"
The same check from the server, naming the day.
"Unknown time zone"
Pick the time zone from the list again.
"Use HH:MM"
Times must be written as hours and minutes, such as 09:00.
"Only admins can change workspace settings"
Ask an owner or admin.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I set my support opening hours?
Open Settings and choose Business hours under Workspace. Pick your time zone, switch on the days you work, set the opening and closing time for each, add any holidays and press Save changes. A message confirms Business hours saved. Only owners and admins can change them.
What do business hours affect in Hushdesk?
Two things. SLA policies with Count business hours only switched on count time inside your hours, and the chat widget shows your away banner outside them. Holidays count as closed all day for both. Reports and rules use ordinary time.
Can I set different hours for different days?
Yes. Each day of the week has its own opening and closing time, and any day can be closed. For example, Monday to Friday nine to six and Saturday ten to two, with Sunday closed. Closing time must be after opening time on each open day.
How do I add a public holiday?
Under Holidays, pick the date with Holiday date and add it. Hushdesk treats it as closed for the whole day, so SLA timers pause for that day and chat shows your away message. Remove a holiday with its remove button. Up to 60 holidays can be listed.
Which time zone should I choose?
The time zone your support team works in, even if customers are elsewhere. Hours and holidays are read in that zone, so a team in London should choose Europe/London. Changing your computer's time zone does not change Hushdesk.
Was this helpful?
Related articles
- Set SLA targets for reply and resolution timesCreate SLA policies for first reply and resolution, by channel, priority, tag or queue, counted in business hours or around the clock, and see breaches.
- Set chat away hours and the offline messageShow an away message in the chat widget outside your business hours. Set the hours under Business hours and write the message on the Behaviour tab.
- Find your busiest timesA heat map of customer messages by weekday and hour, plus your busiest day, hour and slot, to plan shifts, business hours and chat cover.
- Set up your store name, domain and support emailFill in your store name, website domain and support email under Settings, Store. Macros use them, and customers reply to that address.
Still stuck?
Chat with the Hushdesk team. A person answers on every plan.