Business Hours lets you choose when Beside should ring and notify you - and when it should stay quiet.
During your working hours, calls and messages come through normally. Outside those hours, Beside silences call and message notifications and sends incoming calls directly to your AI Receptionist or voicemail.
Business Hours is configured per Beside line, and applies to every invited member on that line.
How Business Hours work
During Business Hours
You receive call and message notifications as usual, and incoming calls ring normally.
Outside Business Hours
Call and message notifications are silenced and incoming calls go directly to your AI Receptionist or voicemail. This is ideal for evenings, weekends, and focus time.
Which time zone applies
Business Hours follow the line owner's time zone, not each member's local time. The Business Hours editor shows you which time zone is in effect right under the toggle:
If you own the line: "Uses your time zone (Eastern Time)."
If you were invited to a shared line: "Uses the line owner's time zone (Eastern Time)."
💡 Travelling or working across time zones:
The schedule doesn't follow you automatically. If you're the line owner and you change your account time zone, Business Hours follow the new time zone.
Invited members are always evaluated against the owner's time zone. The editor shows you that time zone so there's no guessing.
Set up Business Hours
From the Beside mobile app
Open the Beside mobile app, go to Settings, tap the line you want to manage under Phone Numbers, then scroll to Notifications and tap Business Hours.
Toggle Set Business Hours on
Pick how your hours apply:
Every day - the same time range applies to all 7 days
Week days - the same time range applies Monday to Friday only
Custom - set each day independently
In Custom mode, tap any day to set it to:
None - the line is outside hours all day (notifications stay silent)
Custom - set a From → To time range
All day - the line is inside hours for the entire day
Tap Save
From Beside on the web
Go to app.beside.com
Click Settings in the sidebar, then Phone Numbers under Workspace
Click the line you want to manage
Open the Business Hours tab and toggle Business Hours on
Pick how your hours apply: Every day, Week days, or Custom (different hours per day)
Set your From → To time range for each active day
Check whether you're currently in or out of hours
When Business Hours is on, Beside surfaces your current status in two places on the Beside mobile app:
The line's settings row
In Settings → Phone Numbers → [your line] → Notifications, the Business Hours row updates live:
Currently in hours - the line is inside its schedule right now
Currently outside hours - the line is outside its schedule, notifications are silenced
Off - Business Hours isn't enabled for this line
The Outside Business Hours banner
When you filter your inbox to a shared line that's currently outside hours, a banner appears above the tab bar:
Outside Business Hours. Notifications are silenced. Edit
Tap Edit to jump straight to the Business Hours editor for that line. The banner only shows when you're focused on a single shared line that's outside hours - it stays hidden in the combined view, on your personal inbox, and any time you're inside hours.
FAQ
Will my AI Receptionist still answer calls outside Business Hours?
Will my AI Receptionist still answer calls outside Business Hours?
Yes. Your AI Receptionist works independently of your Business Hours setting. If it's enabled, it will continue to answer calls outside your working hours. Business Hours only controls whether your phone rings and whether you receive call and message notifications.
Do email notifications still come through outside Business Hours?
Do email notifications still come through outside Business Hours?
Yes. Business Hours only silences your call and message notifications and routes incoming calls to your AI Receptionist or voicemail. Email notifications - like call summaries and AI follow-up drafts - aren't affected by your Business Hours schedule and continue to arrive at any time.
Whose time zone is used for the schedule?
Whose time zone is used for the schedule?
The line owner's time zone. Every invited member on the line is evaluated against the same schedule, in the owner's time zone. The Business Hours editor shows you which time zone is in effect right under the toggle, so there's no ambiguity if you and the owner are in different regions.
What's the difference between "All day", "Custom", and "None"?
What's the difference between "All day", "Custom", and "None"?
In Custom mode, each day can be set to one of three values:
None: the line stays outside hours all day - notifications are silenced and calls go to your AI Receptionist or voicemail.
Custom: the line is inside hours during a specific From → To range you pick.
All day: the line is inside hours for the full 24 hours of that day.
Can I set different hours for each day of the week?
Can I set different hours for each day of the week?
Yes. Choose Custom in the day selector, then set each day to None, a Custom range, or All day.
Does Business Hours apply to all my lines?
Does Business Hours apply to all my lines?
No. Business Hours is configured per line. If you have multiple lines, each line can have its own schedule. If you have 1 line, Business Hours applies to that single line. On shared lines, the schedule applies to all invited members - any member who changes it updates it for everyone on that line.
Why do I see an "Outside Business Hours" banner above my tabs?
Why do I see an "Outside Business Hours" banner above my tabs?
That banner shows when you're filtered to a single shared line that currently has Business Hours on but is outside its schedule.
It's a reminder that notifications (for calls and messages) for that line are silenced. Tap Edit on the banner to open Business Hours and adjust the schedule, or switch your inbox filter back to the combined view to dismiss it.
What's the difference between Business Hours and muting notifications?
What's the difference between Business Hours and muting notifications?
Business Hours is a scheduled, shared setting that automatically silences the entire line during defined hours - for all invited members. Muting notifications (Notification Preferences) is a personal setting that lets you silence calls or messages for yourself at any time, without affecting others.