Your Ringing Schedule decides when phones on a Beside line ring. During your hours, incoming calls ring as usual. Outside them, calls skip ringing and go straight to your Receptionist, or to voicemail if your Receptionist is off.
It only affects ringing. Your message notifications, your email notifications and your Receptionist all keep working outside your hours.
The schedule is set per Beside line, and applies to every invited member on that line.
📌 What it's called where:
On Beside on the web and on Android, it's the Ringing Schedule.
On iPhone, it's still called Business Hours. The name changes in the next iPhone update, and the setting itself is identical.
How your Ringing Schedule works
During your hours
Incoming calls ring your phone normally, and you get call notifications as usual.
Outside your hours
Incoming calls skip ringing and go directly to your Receptionist, or to your voicemail if your Receptionist is off. This is ideal for evenings, weekends, and focus time.
Your texts still arrive and still notify you. If you want messages to go quiet too, mute them for yourself instead. 📖 Manage your notifications
What it does not control
Ringing is the whole job. In particular, your schedule does not decide what your Receptionist says.
Your Receptionist answers outside your hours exactly as it does inside them.
Whether it greets callers as open or closed follows your Receptionist's Operating hours, a separate setting. See Give your Receptionist a different greeting when you're closed below.
Your texts, your email notifications and your appointment booking are all unaffected.
On a Direct line
A line set to Direct never rings anyone, so a Ringing Schedule has nothing to gate there. On Android, the Ringing Schedule row is hidden on Direct lines for that reason. On Beside on the web and on iPhone the setting is still shown, and simply has no effect.
A Direct line can still greet callers as closed, because that follows your Operating hours rather than this schedule. 📖 Choose how your line rings
Which time zone applies
Every Beside line has its own time zone. Your Ringing Schedule, 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] → Ringing Schedule and pick a zone under Time zone. It saves on its own. The setting is there whether the schedule 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 your 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 schedule 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 your Ringing Schedule
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 Ringing Schedule tab and turn the schedule 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
From the Beside mobile app
Open Settings, tap the line you want to manage under Phone Numbers, then open Call Flow and tap the schedule row:
On Android, it's Ringing Schedule
On iPhone, it's Business Hours
From there, the steps are the same on both:
Turn the schedule 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 - phones don't ring on this line all day
Custom - set a From → To time range
All day - phones can ring for the entire day
Tap Save
Set up closed periods for holidays and one-off closures
Once the schedule is on for a line, a Closed periods section appears in the same screen. Add a date range - like a holiday or a vacation - and phones on that line stay silent for those dates, overriding the weekly schedule above it.
From Beside on the web
Go to Settings → Phone Numbers → [your line] → Ringing Schedule
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 schedule screen for your line (Settings → Phone Numbers → [your line] → Call Flow, then Ringing Schedule on Android or Business Hours on iPhone)
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
🟡 Closing for a holiday? Set it in two places:
Closed periods here stop phones ringing on those dates.
Closed dates in your Receptionist's Operating hours are what make it tell callers you're closed, and play your closed greeting.
They're separate lists. Setting only one leaves the other behaving as a normal day. 📖 Train your Receptionist
📌 Good to know:
Closed periods use the line's time zone, like the rest of your schedule.
The Closed periods section only appears once the schedule 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 the schedule is on, Beside surfaces your current status in two places on the Beside mobile app:
The Call Flow row
In Settings → Phone Numbers → [your line] → Call Flow, the schedule row updates live:
Ringing on Android, Currently in hours on iPhone - the line is inside its schedule right now
Not ringing on Android, Currently outside hours on iPhone - the line is outside its schedule, so calls skip ringing
Off - no schedule is set for this line, so calls can ring at any time
The outside-hours banner
When you filter to a shared line that's currently outside hours, a banner appears above the tab bar:
On Android: Outside Ringing Schedule. Calls skip ringing. Edit
On iPhone: Outside Business Hours. Notifications are silenced. Edit
Tap Edit to jump straight to the schedule 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.
🟡 The iPhone banner wording is out of date:
It says notifications are silenced, but only ringing stops. Your texts still arrive and still notify you.
The wording is corrected in the next iPhone update.
Give your Receptionist a different greeting when you're closed
Your Receptionist can play a different welcome greeting to callers who reach you when you're closed.
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 come from your Operating hours, not from this schedule:
Your Receptionist uses the Operating hours set in its Knowledge - including their Closed dates. A day marked Closed or By appointment counts as closed.
If no Operating hours are set for the line, callers always hear your regular greeting, even outside your Ringing Schedule.
The two are independent: your team's phones can be ringing while your Receptionist greets callers as closed, and the other way round.
📌 On Beside on the web: the Use a different greeting when we're closed toggle only appears in Scenarios once the Ringing Schedule is turned on for this line. On a Direct line it's shown even with the schedule off.
FAQ
Why does my iPhone say Business Hours and the web say Ringing Schedule?
Why does my iPhone say Business Hours and the web say Ringing Schedule?
Because the name changed and iPhone hasn't caught up yet. Business Hours was renamed to Ringing Schedule to make clear that it only decides when phones ring. Beside on the web and Android already use the new name, and iPhone follows in the next update. It's the same setting with the same hours either way.
Does my Ringing Schedule silence my text notifications?
Does my Ringing Schedule silence my text notifications?
No. It only stops phones ringing for incoming calls. Texts arrive and notify you at any hour. To silence messages for yourself, mute them from My Notifications (called Your Alerts on iPhone). 📖 Manage your notifications
Will my Receptionist still answer calls outside my hours?
Will my Receptionist still answer calls outside my hours?
Yes. Your Receptionist works independently of your Ringing Schedule. If it's enabled, it will continue to answer calls outside your working hours - in fact that's exactly where those calls go.
What's the difference between the Ringing Schedule and Operating hours?
What's the difference between the Ringing Schedule and Operating hours?
They control two different things, and they're set in two different places:
Ringing Schedule (line settings) - when your phone rings. Nothing else.
Operating hours (Receptionist → Knowledge) - when your business is open. Your Receptionist uses them to tell callers whether you're open, to pick its open or closed greeting, and to offer appointment times.
They can hold different hours, and often should: a tradesperson might stop their phone ringing at 6pm while the business is still open until 8pm. 📖 Train your Receptionist
Can I close my line for specific dates, like holidays?
Can I close my line for specific dates, like holidays?
Yes, and for a full closure you set it twice:
A Closed period on your Ringing Schedule stops phones ringing for that date range.
A Closed date in your Receptionist's Operating hours is what makes it tell callers you're closed and use your closed greeting.
Closed periods are available on Beside on the web and on the Beside mobile app on iPhone or Android.
Do email notifications still come through outside my hours?
Do email notifications still come through outside my hours?
Yes. Your schedule only stops calls ringing. Email notifications - like call summaries and AI follow-up drafts - aren't affected 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] → Ringing Schedule → 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 schedule 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 a Ringing Schedule 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: phones don't ring on this line all day - calls go to your Receptionist or voicemail.
Custom: phones ring during a specific From → To range you pick.
All day: phones can ring 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 my Ringing Schedule apply to all my lines?
Does my Ringing Schedule apply to all my lines?
No. It's configured per line. If you have multiple lines, each line can have its own schedule. On shared lines, the schedule applies to all invited members - any member who changes it updates it for everyone on that line.
Why can't I find the Ringing Schedule on my line?
Why can't I find the Ringing Schedule on my line?
On Android, the row is hidden when the line's Ringing Mode is set to Direct, because a Direct line never rings anyone. Switch the line to Ring first if you want phones to ring on a schedule.
A Direct line can still greet callers as closed - that comes from your Receptionist's Operating hours, not from this schedule. 📖 Choose how your line rings
Why do I see an outside-hours banner above my tabs?
Why do I see an outside-hours banner above my tabs?
That banner shows when you're filtered to a single shared line that currently has a schedule on but is outside it.
It's a reminder that calls on that line skip ringing right now. Tap Edit on the banner to open the schedule and adjust it, or switch back to the combined view to dismiss it.
What's the difference between the Ringing Schedule and muting notifications?
What's the difference between the Ringing Schedule and muting notifications?
The Ringing Schedule is a scheduled, shared setting that stops calls ringing on the whole line during defined hours, for all invited members. Muting is a personal setting under My Notifications (Your Alerts on iPhone) that lets you silence calls or messages for yourself at any time, without affecting others.
My Receptionist greets callers as open when we're closed. Why?
My Receptionist greets callers as open when we're closed. Why?
Check your Receptionist's Operating hours, not your Ringing Schedule. The closed greeting plays when Operating hours say the line is Closed or By appointment at that moment, so a line with no Operating hours set always gets the regular greeting.
Also make sure Use a different greeting when we're closed is toggled on in Scenarios, and that you've written a closed message. 📖 Train your Receptionist