Business Hours in BoldDesk help you define when your support team is considered online across time zones. Once configured, Business Hours influence how BoldDesk calculates SLA timers, runs time‑based automation, and manages after‑hours behavior in channels like Live Chat. In this guide, you’ll learn how to create Business Hours for both the Help Desk (tickets) and Chat, associate holiday lists, and understand how after‑hours periods (Non‑Business Hours) affect notifications, escalations, and chat widget behavior.

Check out this video for more details.

Steps to Create Business Hours for Help Desk

The configured business hours for Help Desk will also apply for tickets. Follow the given steps to create a business hour,

1. Select the Admin module in the left menu.

2. Choose Business Hours from the Work Schedule menu.

3. Click on Add Business Hours on the top palette.
   
   

   
   
   

4. Enter the Name and Description.

5. Choose the Time Zone and select the Operation Hours.

6. Select Calendar Hours if your support team is working 24*7. Or choose Business Hours and select your working days and hours for each day. Unselected days will be considered non-working days.

7. When selecting business hours under operational hours, you may choose either the Standard or Customize option. If you select the Standard option, you can set a common start and end time for all selected days without specifying times individually. Alternatively, by choosing the Customize option, you can assign distinct start and end times for each selected day.

8. Select the Associated Holiday List. Explore How to Set Up Holiday List for Your Organization for more information on Holiday List.

9. Click Add to save the business hour.
   

   
   
   
   
   
   
   

After the successful creation, the confirmation message will be shown and you will be redirected to the listing page.

Steps to Create Chat Business Hours

1. Navigate to the Admin module then select Chat > Business Hours under Work Schedule.

2. Add New Business Hours
   

   
   
   
   
   
   
   

3. Configure Basic Details

   • Enter a Name and Description.
   • Choose the appropriate Time Zone.

4. Set Operational Hours. Choose from:

   • Calendar Hours: For 24/7 live support.
   • Business Hours: Define specific working days and hours.
   • Closed Hours: For AI-only support (offline 24/7). See article [21612] for setup.

5. Choose Time Format

   • Standard: Set uniform hours across all days.
   • Customize: Set different hours per day.

6. Incorporate intervals within the daily support hours (Optional)

   • Use the plus symbol (+) to insert breaks/intervals within daily support hours. This feature is exclusive to chat business hours.
     

     
     
     

7. Select an associated holiday list.

8. Save Configuration by clicking Add to finalize the setup.

Usage of Business Hours

Business hours impact several automation and SLA features:

• SLA Management: Defines realistic response and resolution timelines.
• Reminders & Escalations: Triggered only during working hours.
• Time Triggers: Rules execute based on business hour schedules.
• Event Triggers: Notifications sent when tickets are created/updated during holidays or outside business hours.

Expected Behavior of Chat Widget Beyond Business Hours

If a conversation continues past configured online hours and the customer sends a message during offline hours:

• If an agent is assigned and available:
  • System waits 3 minutes for a reply.
  • If no reply, offline message appears as configured in the widget.
• If no agent is assigned:
  • System waits 10 minutes before showing the offline message.
  • This is the default behavior when conversations extend beyond online hours.

Troubleshooting (Business Hours + SLA + Chat)

SLA timers are counting during holidays

• Confirm the Business Hours configuration has an Associated Holiday List.
• Confirm the Holiday List contains the relevant holiday dates. Explore How to Set Up Holiday List for Your Organization

Live Chat widget shows Offline when agents are actually online

• Confirm the Brand Business Hours are correct: Admin → Brand → Business Hours.
• The widget Online/Offline state follows Brand Business Hours only, not manual agent presence.

Time-based escalations/reminders are not firing when expected

• Verify the ticket or workflow uses the intended Business Hours schedule.
• Confirm current time falls within configured Business Hours (including time zone).
• Confirm whether the current day is an unselected day (treated as Non‑Business Hours) or a holiday (if a Holiday List is associated).

Chat offline message appears “late”

• If an assigned agent exists, BoldDesk can wait up to 3 minutes before showing an offline message.
• If no agent is assigned, BoldDesk can wait up to 10 minutes before showing an offline message.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can I edit Business Hours after creation?
   Yes. Modify Business Hours from the listing page under Admin → Work Schedule.

2. Do Help Desk Business Hours apply to tickets?
   Yes. The Help Desk Business Hours apply to tickets.

3. Can I run 24/7 support using Business Hours?
   Yes. Use Calendar Hours to represent 24×7 coverage.

4. What happens if I leave some days unselected in Business Hours?
   Unselected days are treated as non-working days, meaning the entire day is Non‑Business Hours.

5. Are Holiday Lists required?
   No. Holiday Lists are optional, but without holidays configured, SLA calculations continue to include those days.

6. Does the Live Chat widget use an agent’s manual availability status?
   No. The Live Chat widget Online/Offline state is determined only by Admin → Brand → Business Hours.

7. How does BoldDesk treat Holidays vs Non‑Business Hours?
   When a Holiday List is associated, holidays are treated as a separate category from regular Non‑Business Hours so workflows can target holidays independently.

8. Can Chat Business Hours include breaks within a day?
   Yes. Chat Business Hours support adding intervals (breaks) within daily support hours using the plus (+) option.

Related Articles

1. How to Create SLA Policies in BoldDesk
2. How to Set Up Holiday List for Your Organization
3. How to Set Up Agent Shifts and Manage Availability for Tickets and Chats