> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://en.help.firstline.cc/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://en.help.firstline.cc/feature/chatbot/business-hours.md).

# Business hours

Business hours are used to define the service periods for regular days and special dates. The system will determine whether it is business hours, break time, or non-business hours based on the current time, and apply this to live agent routing, reminder messages, and chatbot workflows.

“**Business Hours**" is used to define whether a company provides human service on different dates and time periods. FIRST LINE will determine, based on the current time, whether it is "business hours", "break time", or "non-business hours", and apply this result to the live-agent intake flow for messaging customers, related reminder messages, and the business-hours conditions in conversation scripts.

{% hint style="info" %}
Business hours itself is not an auto-reply, nor does it mean all chatbot functions will stop once non-business hours are reached. It is a**basis for determining service status**; other functions decide, based on this status, whether to allow entry into human service, which reminder message to display, or which chatbot flow to follow.
{% endhint %}

## Enter Business Hours Settings

You can enter "Apps" from the left menu and find "Business Hours" to configure it.

The current Business Hours page is divided into two main tabs:

* **Business Hours**: Set recurring weekly business, break, and non-business hours.
* **Special Hours**: Override the regular weekly settings for holidays, make-up workdays, event days, or other specific dates.

## Three time-period statuses

FIRST LINE divides time into three statuses:

| Status             | Purpose                                                                                                    |
| ------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Business Hours     | Time periods when human service is normally provided.                                                      |
| Break Time         | Suspended service time during business days, such as lunch breaks or shift changes.                        |
| Non-Business Hours | Time when normal human service is not provided that day, such as after work, weekends, or public holidays. |

When determining the current status, the system only uses**the current time period**. If the current time does not fall within any configured time period, it is considered "non-business hours".

### Business Hours

Suitable for setting normal human service hours, for example:

* Monday to Friday 09:00–12:00
* Monday to Friday 13:00–18:00

If human service is not provided at noon, you can create an additional "break time" period.

### Break Time

Break time is suitable for suspended service during business days, such as lunch breaks, shift changes, or fixed rest periods.

When a customer requests human service during break time, the system will use the "break time reminder message" and, depending on whether the company allows after-hours entry, decide whether to still let the service enter the human routing process.

### Non-Business Hours

Time not covered by either business hours or break time will be treated as non-business hours. You usually do not need to create an extra "non-business hours" period for daily after-work time, unless you want to clearly define the status of a certain time period on a special date.

When a customer requests human service during non-business hours, the system will use the "non-business hours reminder message" and, depending on the "after-hours entry" setting, decide whether to still allow entry into the human routing process.

## Set recurring weekly business hours

The "Business Hours" tab is used to create fixed recurring weekly periods. Each week can be set with multiple time blocks, such as morning service, lunch break, and then afternoon service again.

For example, the company’s service hours are:

| Day                 | Setting               |
| ------------------- | --------------------- |
| Monday to Friday    | 09:00–12:00 Business  |
| Monday to Friday    | 12:00–13:00 Break     |
| Monday to Friday    | 13:00–18:00 Business  |
| Saturday and Sunday | No business hours set |

If there are no time periods on Saturday and Sunday, the system will treat those times as non-business hours.

### Time periods cannot overlap

Different time periods on the same day cannot overlap, and the end time must be later than the start time. The system will check the time format, order, and overlaps when saving.

Therefore, if you have already set:

* 09:00–12:00 Business
* 12:00–13:00 Break

you should not create another time period from 11:00–14:00.

## Special Hours

"Special Hours" is used to handle dates that differ from the regular weekly settings, such as:

* A full-day holiday with no service.
* A make-up workday changed to normal business.
* Annual inventory day with only half-day service.
* Special events that extend customer service hours.
* The same rules apply on a fixed date every year.

When creating special hours, you can set a name, description, year, month, and date, and then create that date’s own business, break, and non-business hours.

### The year can be left blank

The "year" for a special date is not required. If a year is specified, the rule only applies that year; if the year is left blank, it is treated as a fixed date that applies every year.

For example:

| Setting              | Purpose                          |
| -------------------- | -------------------------------- |
| 2026 / 10 / 10       | Applies only to October 10, 2026 |
| Every year / 12 / 25 | Applies every December 25        |

If a "specified year" and an "every year fixed" special date both exist for the same date, the system will prioritize the specified-year setting.

## Special hours override weekly settings

This is one of the most important rules for business hours.

When determining a day’s service status, the system will first look for "special hours"; only if there is no matching special hours entry for that date will it use the regular weekly settings.

For example:

* Normally, Monday is set to 09:00–18:00 business.
* Create a "Teachers' Day holiday" special date for 2026/09/28.
* Set the special date to non-business hours from 00:00 to 23:59.

Even though 9/28 is a Monday, that day will still follow the special date setting and will not use the regular Monday 09:00–18:00 business setting.

{% hint style="warning" %}
Once a day matches a special date, that day will follow the special date’s own time periods.**Any time not configured in the special date will be treated as non-business hours, and the system will not automatically fall back to the regular weekly settings.**

Therefore, if you only want to extend business hours on a certain day, do not just add the extra extended period; make sure the business, break, and non-business status needed for the whole day is properly planned.
{% endhint %}

## What business hours affect

Business hours are not just for display; at present they directly participate in the following service logic.

### Human service intake

When a messaging customer requests transfer to a human agent, the system handles it differently depending on the current time period:

* **Business Hours**: Enter human service and routing according to the normal flow.
* **Break Time**: Use the break-time reminder message, then decide whether to enter routing based on the "after-hours entry" setting.
* **Non-Business Hours**: Use the non-business-hours reminder message, then decide whether to enter routing based on the "after-hours entry" setting.

### After-hours entry

"After-hours entry" is another independent setting.

If enabled, customers can still enter the human service routing process even during break time or non-business hours; the system will mark the service record as an after-hours entry. If disabled, customers using the auto-reply mechanism will usually only receive the corresponding reminder during non-service hours and will not enter the human queue.

{% hint style="info" %}
"Business Hours" determines which time period it is now; "After-hours entry" determines whether customers are still allowed to enter human service during break or non-business hours. The two need to be planned together.
{% endhint %}

### Conversation scripts

Conversation scripts can use "whether it is business hours" as a condition. The system will directly use the result currently determined by the business-hours service to decide whether the "business hours" condition is met.

So you can design, for example:

* Business hours → Ask the customer whether they want to be transferred to a human agent.
* Non-business hours → First provide AI/self-service, then inform them of the next service period.
* Business hours → Directly enter the manual service process.

### AI assistant queries

The FIRST LINE AI assistant can also query whether it is currently business hours, the business and break hours for a specified date, and the next business hours. If the administrator does not maintain business hours correctly, the AI assistant’s query results will also be affected.

## Common configuration examples

### General office customer service

The company serves Monday to Friday from 09:00–18:00, with a lunch break from 12:00–13:00:

1. Create a 09:00–12:00 "Business Hours" period from Monday to Friday.
2. Create a 12:00–13:00 "Break Time" period.
3. Create a 13:00–18:00 "Business Hours" period.
4. Do not create any periods on Saturday and Sunday; the system will naturally treat them as non-business hours.

### Full-day holiday with no service

Suppose 2026/10/10 is originally a Saturday, or even if that week normally has a business setting, you can add a special date for 2026/10/10 and set the entire day to non-business hours.

### Make-up workday

If a Saturday that originally had no business needs to be a make-up workday, you can create special hours for that date and add the actual business and break times for that day. Special hours take priority over the original Saturday setting.

### Temporarily shorten service hours

If a certain day only serves until 15:00, you can create special hours for that date and fully define the business and break periods actually used that day. Do not just add a non-business-hours period after 15:00, otherwise uncovered time may also be treated as non-business hours.

## Planning recommendations

1. **Set the fixed weekly schedule first, then add special dates**: Use business hours regularly on normal days, and use special hours for holidays and exceptions.
2. **Plan special dates from a full-day perspective**: Do not think of it as only overriding a small time block.
3. **Confirm after-hours entry at the same time**: Decide whether customers can still queue for a human agent during breaks and after work.
4. **Set matching reminder messages**: Break-time and non-business-hours messages should clearly tell customers the current service status and the next step.
5. **Test conversation scripts together**: If the flow uses business-hours conditions, retest the related paths after changing the time periods.
6. **Check special hours before holidays**: Especially for long holidays, make-up workdays, or temporary service adjustments whose dates differ each year.
7. **Avoid overlapping time periods**: Before creating one on the same day, confirm existing periods to avoid save failures or confusing rules.

The more complete the business-hours settings are, the more consistently human routing, after-hours reminders, and chatbot flows can operate according to the company’s actual service rhythm.