Inbox Hours - Waveline Support

Inbox Hours define when an inbox is considered open or closed based on its weekly schedule, timezone, holidays, and custom dates. When a call reaches an Inbox Hours step, Waveline uses these settings to send it through either the During Hours or After Hours route.

Closed does not mean the call is rejected. It means the call follows the inbox's After Hours route.

Inbox Hours and teammate availability are different

Inbox Hours control how the call flow routes calls based on the inbox's schedule. A teammate's availability controls whether that person can receive a ringing attempt. An inbox can be open even when a particular teammate is unavailable.

Learn more about Availability.

GUIDED WALKTHROUGH

Configure Inbox Hours

STEP 01 / 08

Open the inbox schedule

Open Inboxes, select the inbox you want to edit, and find Inbox Hours.

For mobile navigation, see Mobile App Overview.

Before you begin

You must be an inbox Manager or have an organization role that lets you manage its schedule. Members can use an inbox without being allowed to edit its hours. See Inbox Participants.
Confirm the timezone the inbox should follow.
Decide which days are open and the opening and closing time for each day.
Identify holidays, closures, or special dates that need different hours.
Decide what callers should experience during and after the inbox's hours.
Review the inbox's published call flow so you understand its current During Hours and After Hours routes.

Where to find Inbox Hours

On the web, open Inboxes, select the inbox, and scroll to Inbox hours.

On mobile, open Settings → Inboxes, select the inbox you want to edit, then tap Schedule. Use Custom Schedule to configure hours and Holidays & dates for exceptions. For more information, see Open inbox settings in Mobile App Overview.

Inbox Hours before configuration, showing Always open and the control to configure a schedule.

Understand Always open

New inboxes begin as Always open, which means the Inbox Hours step chooses During Hours at any time of day. Select Configure hours when the inbox should use an open and closed schedule.

Waveline's starter call flow already begins with an Inbox Hours step. While the inbox is Always open, its After Hours route will not be used.

Inbox hours with multiple daily time ranges, an overnight range, recurring holidays, and a custom date.

Choose the correct timezone

The timezone determines when Waveline considers each day and time to begin. Choose the timezone the inbox's schedule should follow. This may represent a location, department, team, or individual and does not have to match the organization's primary timezone or the timezone of the teammate editing it.

Each inbox can have its own schedule and timezone, so its hours may differ from the organization's overall business hours or from other inboxes. Regional timezones automatically account for daylight-saving changes where applicable.

Configure regular weekly hours

Select Configure hours on the web, or open the inbox’s Schedule on mobile and choose Custom Schedule.
Check the inbox’s timezone.
Turn on each day the inbox should be open and enter its first opening and closing times.
Select Add time range to add another open period to that day. For example, enter 9:00 AM–12:00 PM and 1:00 PM–5:00 PM to close for lunch.
Use a range’s remove control to delete that period. Turn off the day when it should be closed all day.
Review the entire week and allow up to one minute before testing a new call.

Each day can contain multiple open periods. Add an overnight period to the day it begins: Monday 10:00 PM–Tuesday 2:00 AM belongs to Monday, even if Tuesday’s weekly schedule is closed. Matching start and end times keep the inbox open for 24 hours from that start time.

The initial schedule is Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM–5:00 PM, with Saturday and Sunday closed. Change it to match the inbox’s actual hours before relying on it.

Add holidays and custom dates

Choose recurring holidays

Select Add holidays on the web, or Add a holiday under Holidays & dates on mobile.
Choose the country and state or region when available.
Select the holidays your inbox observes and add them to the schedule.
Review the resulting entries and change their hours if the inbox will open for part of the day.

The holiday picker with a country, region, and recurring holiday selection.

Calendar holidays repeat using their holiday rules, including holidays whose dates move each year. Added holidays initially close the day, including the observed weekday when applicable.

Add a custom date

Select Add custom date on the web, or Add a custom date under Holidays & dates on mobile.
Enter a recognizable name and select the date.
Mark the day closed or enter its special open periods.
Enable Repeats annually only when the custom event returns on the same month and day each year.

Use custom dates for a company meeting, one-time closure, or special opening hours. Remove an entry when it is no longer needed.

Which schedule applies?

A matching custom date takes priority over a holiday. A holiday takes priority over the regular weekly schedule. A holiday or custom date also interrupts the previous day’s overnight hours at midnight.

For example, a weekly Monday shift that normally ends at 2:00 AM Tuesday stops at midnight if Tuesday has an all-day closure. A custom Tuesday opening can override a holiday closure for that date.

How personal and shared Inbox Hours work together

Every personal inbox has its own Inbox Hours, so a teammate's customer-facing schedule can differ from a shared team's or location's hours. Changing that schedule requires the personal inbox's Manager role or an organization role that lets you manage it. Being the assigned teammate does not by itself grant permission to edit the schedule. See Personal inbox roles.

Adding a teammate to a shared inbox does not combine the schedules

A call remains under the shared inbox's schedule while it moves through that shared inbox's call flow. Adding a teammate as a member or placing them in the Default Ring Order under Ring Users does not cause Waveline to check their personal Inbox Hours. Their account availability determines whether they can receive that ringing attempt.

If the shared inbox uses a Forward Call step to send the call into the teammate's personal inbox, the call enters the personal inbox's published routing. Its own Inbox Hours can then determine what happens next.

For example, a store's shared inbox may be open from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM, while a teammate's personal inbox is open from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. That teammate can still ring as part of the store's ring order after 5:00 PM if they are available. Their personal hours apply only when the call enters their personal inbox.

Learn more about Shared vs Personal Inboxes, the Default Ring Order, Availability, and Forward Call.

Connect Inbox Hours to the call flow

Set the schedule in the inbox's settings. In the call-flow builder, connect the Inbox Hours step's two destinations:

During Hours: Used while the inbox is open.
After Hours: Used while the inbox is closed.

Waveline's starter routing sends During Hours calls to the inbox's default ring order and After Hours calls to voicemail.

Changing Inbox Hours does not require republishing the call flow. Adding, removing, or reconnecting the Inbox Hours step does require saving and publishing the flow. See Call Flows Overview for more information.

Decide what happens after hours

The After Hours route can provide a different experience instead of simply ending the call. Depending on the inbox, it might:

Play an after-hours message.
Send the caller to voicemail.
Forward urgent calls to another destination.
Provide menu choices for emergency or on-call support.
Send an informational text message.

The During Hours route can continue to the default ring order, a phone menu, or another appropriate destination.

Remove the hours configuration

Removing hours makes the inbox Always open

Selecting Remove hours does not close the inbox or disable the Inbox Hours step. It removes the schedule, causing future Inbox Hours checks to use the During Hours route 24 hours a day.

Test the routing

Review the current timezone and schedule.
Place a test call during an open period and confirm the During Hours route.
Test the After Hours route using a temporary custom date or time range.
Confirm that voicemail, forwarding, announcements, or other destinations work as expected.
Remove any temporary custom date when testing is complete.

Best practices

Review the selected timezone before relying on the schedule.
Keep the weekly schedule focused on normal recurring hours.
Use custom dates instead of changing weekly hours for one-time events.
Review holidays and annually repeating custom dates before each holiday season.
Use calendar holidays for events whose dates move each year; reserve Repeats annually on custom dates for fixed month-and-day events.
Make sure both Inbox Hours routes lead somewhere useful.
Test after changing the schedule or published routing.

Troubleshooting

Calls follow the After Hours route while the inbox is open

Check the inbox timezone, today’s custom dates and holidays, and its weekly ranges. Custom dates take priority over holidays, and holidays take priority over weekly hours. A date exception also interrupts the previous day’s overnight range at midnight.

Calls still ring after closing time

Confirm that the published call flow reaches an Inbox Hours step before the ringing destination and that its After Hours route is connected correctly. Allow up to one minute after changing Inbox Hours before testing a new call.

The After Hours route is never used

Check whether the inbox still shows Always open. If hours are configured, confirm the timezone and verify that the current time falls outside the configured open period.

A holiday override does not apply

Check the holiday’s country/region and observed date, the inbox timezone, and whether a custom date overrides it. Calendar holidays repeat by their rules. A one-time custom date applies only to its selected date; Repeats annually repeats the same month and day.

A holiday repeats on the wrong date

Repeats annually on a custom date uses the same month and day every year. For a holiday whose date changes each year, remove the custom date and add the holiday with Add holidays instead.

My changed hours have not taken effect

Allow up to one minute for the change to reach new calls, then confirm that the call flow uses the Inbox Hours step for this inbox. Changes to node connections must be saved and published.

The inbox is open, but a teammate does not ring

Confirm that the teammate has the inbox's Member or Manager role, appears in the ring order used by this call, has an enabled calling method, and is available. Viewers do not ring. See Default Ring Order and Availability.

I removed the hours and calls now use the During Hours route

This is expected. Remove hours returns the inbox to Always open, so the Inbox Hours step uses During Hours at all times.

I cannot change the Inbox Hours

Changing the schedule requires the inbox's Manager role or an organization role that lets you manage it. On mobile, open the inbox's settings and select Schedule. For more information, see Inbox Participants and Open inbox settings in Mobile App Overview.

The Inbox Hours step does not route anywhere

Open the call-flow editor and connect both the During Hours and After Hours routes to valid destinations. Save and publish the flow before testing again.