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 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 Receptionist or voicemail. This is ideal for evenings, weekends, and focus time.
Which time zone applies
Every Beside line has its own time zone. Business Hours, closed periods, and the appointment times your Receptionist offers all follow it - not each member's local time. Everyone on a shared line is evaluated against the same zone.
Set the time zone for a line
On Beside on the web, go to Settings → Phone Numbers → [your line] → Business Hours and pick a zone under Time zone. It saves on its own. The setting is there whether Business Hours is on or off, because appointment booking uses the zone either way.
If you haven't set one yet
The line follows the line owner's profile time zone, set under Settings → Profile → Timezone. Choosing a Time zone for the line pins it there instead, so it stays put even if the owner travels or updates their own profile.
💡 Travelling or working across time zones:
The schedule never follows you around, on any platform.
If the line has no zone of its own, changing the line owner's profile time zone moves Business Hours with it. Pin the line's Time zone to stop that.
Invited members are always evaluated against the line's zone, never their own.
📌 On the Beside mobile app:
The Business Hours screen shows which time zone is in effect right under the toggle, including a zone you set on the web.
To change it, use Beside on the web.
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
Under Time zone, pick the zone the schedule should follow
Set up closed periods for holidays and one-off closures
Once Business Hours is on for a line, a Closed periods section appears in the same Business Hours screen. Add a date range - like a holiday or a vacation - and the line stays fully closed for those dates, overriding the weekly schedule above it.
From Beside on the web
Go to Settings → Phone Numbers → [your line] → Business Hours
Under Closed periods, click + Closed period
Set a Starts and Ends date, and optionally name the Occasion (e.g. "Christmas")
Click Add
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
Scroll to Closed periods and tap + Closed period
In the New closed period pop-up, set a Starts and Ends date, and optionally name the Occasion (e.g. "Christmas")
Tap Done
📌 Good to know:
Closed periods use the same time zone as the rest of Business Hours - the line's time zone.
The Closed periods section only appears once Business Hours is turned on for that line.
On the Beside mobile app, Closed periods is available on iPhone and Android.
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 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, in Personal or Direct Messages, and any time you're inside hours.
Give your Receptionist a different greeting when you're closed
Business Hours also powers a separate, optional setting on your Receptionist: a distinct welcome greeting for calls that come in outside your hours.
In Scenarios, toggle Use a different greeting when we're closed to set one message for When we're open and another for When we're closed - in the Welcome Greeting editor on the Beside mobile app, or in the Welcome greeting section on Beside on the web. Open and closed follow the Business Hours schedule set up on this line, including any closed periods you've added - a call landing during a closed period gets the closed greeting even if it falls inside your regular weekly hours.
📌 On Beside on the web: the Use a different greeting when we're closed toggle only appears in Scenarios once Business Hours is turned on for this line.
FAQ
Will my Receptionist still answer calls outside Business Hours?
Will my Receptionist still answer calls outside Business Hours?
Yes. Your 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 - though on the Beside mobile app or on Beside on the web, you can give your Receptionist a different welcome greeting for outside-hours calls if you want it to sound different when you're closed. 📖 Set up Scenarios
Can I close my line for specific dates, like holidays?
Can I close my line for specific dates, like holidays?
Yes. Once Business Hours is on for a line, add a Closed period from the Business Hours screen with a start date, end date, and an optional occasion name - on Beside on the web or the Beside mobile app on iPhone or Android. The line stays closed for that whole range - notifications are silenced and, if you've set a different closed greeting, your Receptionist uses it - regardless of what your weekly schedule says for those days.
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 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's own time zone - the same one for every invited member on it. Set it on Beside on the web under Settings → Phone Numbers → [your line] → Business Hours → Time zone. If you've never set one, the line follows the line owner's profile time zone. Both the web and the Beside mobile app show the zone in effect on the Business Hours screen, so there's no ambiguity if you and the owner are in different regions.
Does the line's time zone affect appointment booking?
Does the line's time zone affect appointment booking?
Yes. Booking hours and the appointment times your Receptionist offers follow the line's time zone, whether or not Business Hours is turned on. Your Receptionist also names the zone when it confirms a time on a call and in the confirmation text, so callers know exactly which time they've booked. 📖 Schedule appointments with your Receptionist
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 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 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.
Can my Receptionist say something different when we're closed?
Can my Receptionist say something different when we're closed?
Yes. In Scenarios, toggle Use a different greeting when we're closed to set a separate message for outside-hours calls - in the Welcome Greeting editor on the Beside mobile app, or in the Welcome greeting section on Beside on the web. It follows this line's Business Hours schedule, including any closed periods you've added. On Beside on the web, you'll only see this toggle in Scenarios once Business Hours is enabled here. 📖 Set up Scenarios