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Overview

Business hours control when outbound campaigns can place calls, ensuring calls only happen during appropriate times. Key benefits:
  • Compliance: Meet legal requirements like TCPA (8am-9pm local time in the U.S.)
  • Customer experience: Avoid calling during inconvenient hours
  • Cost optimization: Focus calling during high-answer-rate windows
  • Timezone management: Respect local time across regions

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How Business Hours Work

Business hours are configured separately and then assigned to campaigns. This allows you to:
  • Reuse the same business hours across multiple campaigns
  • Manage schedules centrally (e.g., “DACH Business Hours”, “24/7 Support”)
  • Configure holiday closures once for all campaigns

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Creating Business Hours

Create Business Hours dialog showing Name field with placeholder text 'Enter schedule name', Cancel and Create buttons for setting up new business hours schedule
Create Business Hours dialog showing Name field with placeholder text 'Enter schedule name', Cancel and Create buttons for setting up new business hours schedule
1

Navigate to Business Hours

Go to Settings → Business Hours and click Create Business Hours.
2

Configure basic settings

  • Name: Descriptive name (e.g., “Standard DACH Hours”, “Weekend Sales”)
  • Timezone: Select timezone (e.g., Europe/Berlin, Europe/Vienna, Europe/Zurich)
  • Set as Default: Optionally mark as default for new campaigns
Business Hours settings showing Name field with 'Test', Timezone dropdown with Europe/Vienna selected, weekly schedule with Monday-Friday 09:00 AM to 05:00 PM with toggle buttons and add time window options, Saturday-Sunday marked as Closed, Date Overrides section with Add Override button, Cancel and Save Changes buttons
Business Hours settings showing Name field with 'Test', Timezone dropdown with Europe/Vienna selected, weekly schedule with Monday-Friday 09:00 AM to 05:00 PM with toggle buttons and add time window options, Saturday-Sunday marked as Closed, Date Overrides section with Add Override button, Cancel and Save Changes buttons
3

Set weekly schedule

For each day of the week:
  • Toggle day active/inactive
  • Set start and end times (default: 09:00-17:00)
  • Add multiple time windows per day if needed
Common configurations:
  • Mon-Fri 9am-5pm: Standard office hours
  • Mon-Fri 9am-6pm, Sat 10am-2pm: Extended availability
  • Mon-Thu 8am-8pm, Fri 8am-6pm: DACH typical business hours
4

Add date overrides (optional)

Configure special dates and holidays:
  • Start Date / End Date: Date range for override
  • Reason: Description (e.g., “Christmas Holiday”, “Company Event”)
  • Is Recurring: Repeat annually
  • Is Closed: No calls on these dates
Add Override dialog showing Single Date and Date Range options, Date field with 2025-11-13, Reason dropdown set to None, Recurring toggle off, Unavailable toggle on, Cancel and Add Override buttons
Add Override dialog showing Single Date and Date Range options, Date field with 2025-11-13, Reason dropdown set to None, Recurring toggle off, Unavailable toggle on, Cancel and Add Override buttons

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Assigning to Campaigns

When creating or editing a campaign:
  1. Find the Business Hours field
  2. Select from your configured business hours
  3. Leave empty for 24/7 operation
The campaign will only place calls during the configured hours in the selected timezone.

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DACH Business Hours Examples

Standard Office Hours (Germany/Austria/Switzerland)
  • Mon-Fri 9:00-17:00: Conservative, compliant with all regulations
  • Mon-Fri 8:00-18:00: Extended for better reach
  • Mon-Thu 8:00-20:00, Fri 8:00-18:00: Maximum legal window in Germany
With Date Overrides (German Public Holidays) Common recurring closures:
  • New Year’s Day (Jan 1)
  • Good Friday, Easter Monday
  • Labor Day (May 1)
  • German Unity Day (Oct 3)
  • Christmas (Dec 25-26)
Configure these as recurring date overrides marked as closed.

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Holiday and Special Schedules

For campaigns that run over weeks or months:
1

Add date overrides

Configure holiday closures in your business hours:
  • Add date override for each holiday
  • Mark as Recurring to repeat annually
  • Set Is Closed to block calls on those dates
2

Pause for unplanned events

For ad-hoc closures, navigate to active campaign → Pause Campaign.
3

Adjust hours mid-campaign

To modify calling hours:
  1. Edit the assigned business hours (affects all campaigns using it)
  2. Or create new business hours and reassign to campaign
  3. Changes apply immediately to queued calls

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Best Practices

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Answer Rate Optimization

The campaign dashboard provides a weekly heatmap showing answer rates for every hour, making it easy to identify the best times to call.
1

Review the heatmap

After your first 50-100 calls, check the campaign dashboard’s answer rate heatmap to see which hours perform best.
2

Adjust business hours

Update your business hours configuration to focus on high-performing time windows shown in the heatmap.
3

Monitor voicemail patterns

If AMD shows high voicemail rates (>60%) during certain hours, avoid those times—it signals people are busy/unavailable.
DACH Compliance: Germany, Austria, and Switzerland have strict regulations on outbound calling. Cold calling to consumers without prior consent can result in fines up to €300,000 (Germany) or €50,000 per violation.

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DACH Region Regulations

Germany’s Gesetz gegen den unlauteren Wettbewerb (UWG) governs telemarketing alongside GDPR (DSGVO).B2C (Consumers):
  • Prior explicit consent required - Cold calling to consumers is prohibited without consent
  • No presumed consent exists
  • Business Hours: 8 AM to 9 PM local time (weekdays recommended)
  • Providing a phone number in public directories does NOT constitute consent
B2B (Businesses):
  • Allowed under presumed consent if:
    • Prospect has documented interest in your product/service
    • Interest must be concrete, not abstract
    • You can demonstrate presumed agreement to be called
  • Documentation is critical - Keep records of demonstrated interest
Enforcement:
  • BNetzA (Federal Network Agency) enforces violations
  • Fines up to €300,000 per violation
  • Automated dialing systems (robocalls) prohibited without consent
Implementation:
  1. Verify you have documented consent or legitimate business interest
  2. Set business hours to 8 AM - 9 PM (Europe/Berlin timezone)
  3. Keep detailed records of consent source and date
  4. Never call numbers on opt-out lists
Austria’s Telecommunications Act (TKG 2021) implements strict cold calling rules.B2C (Consumers):
  • Cold calling is prohibited - No presumed consent framework exists
  • Stricter than Germany - explicit opt-in required
  • ECG opt-out list - National do-not-call registry
B2B (Businesses):
  • More lenient than B2C but still requires justifiable business relationship
  • Document business connection before calling
Business Hours:
  • While not explicitly mandated, follow German standards: 8 AM - 9 PM local time
  • Avoid weekends for cold outreach
Recommended Setup:
  • Use Europe/Vienna timezone for Austrian campaigns
  • Configure Mon-Fri 9 AM - 6 PM for conservative compliance
  • Verify contacts are not on ECG opt-out list
Switzerland’s Unfair Competition Act (UCA) governs telemarketing.Key Requirements:
  • Asterisk opt-out: Anyone can register their number with an asterisk (*) in the phone directory to opt out
  • Calling opted-out numbers is unfair unless pre-existing business relationship exists
  • Caller ID display required: Must show registered, authorized phone number
Business Hours:
  • No specific legal hours, but best practice: 8 AM - 8 PM weekdays
  • Respect business relationship context for timing
GDPR Note:
  • Switzerland is not EU, but Swiss law heavily influenced by GDPR
  • Apply similar data protection standards
Recommended Setup:
  • Use Europe/Zurich timezone
  • Configure Mon-Fri 9 AM - 6 PM
  • Ensure your caller ID is properly registered
  • Keep records of business relationships

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Other European Regulations

For campaigns targeting other EU countries, comply with the ePrivacy Directive (2002/58/EC) and GDPR (2016/679):
  • Prior opt-in required for marketing calls in most EU countries
  • Business Hours: No EU-wide standard, but respect cultural norms
  • Recommended: Mon-Fri 9 AM - 6 PM local time
  • Avoid lunch hours (12-2 PM in many countries, especially France, Spain, Italy)

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International Regulations

For campaigns targeting U.S. consumers, comply with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (47 USC § 227):
  • Time Restrictions: 8 AM - 9 PM recipient’s local time
  • Applies to B2C marketing/sales calls
  • Exemptions: Transactional calls, B2B, prior consent
  • Fines: Up to $43,792 per violation
  • FCC TCPA Rules
Setup: Use 8 AM - 9 PM with contact’s timezone (America/New_York, America/Chicago, etc.)
Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) governs commercial electronic messages:
  • Prior consent required for commercial calls
  • Provincial regulations vary
  • Best practice: 8 AM - 9 PM local time
  • Quebec has additional consumer protection rules
  • Enforced by CRTC
Australia’s Do Not Call Register Act 2006 establishes strict telemarketing rules:
  • Time Restrictions: Mon-Fri 9 AM - 8 PM, Sat 9 AM - 5 PM (no Sunday calls)
  • Based on recipient’s local time
  • Heavy fines for violations
  • Must check against Do Not Call Register
  • Managed by ACMA (Australian Media and Communications Authority)

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Next Steps

Campaign Launch

Create your first outbound campaign

Voicemail Handling

Configure voicemail for after-hours calls