Take calls when you’re open. Handle the rest automatically.
Set the days and times your business answers the phone, with as many time slots as you need. After hours, callers hear your closed message and go to voicemail, a menu, or AI Receptionist. Need to close early or stay open late? Override your hours in a click.
Why switch
Your phones should keep business hours too.
A phone with no hours
- At 9 PMYour phone rings during dinner, or callers hear endless ringing
- Callers after hoursNo idea whether you’re closed or just busy
- Lunch breakCalls go unanswered with no explanation
- Closing earlyChange your voicemail by hand, then remember to change it back
- Urgent callersStuck in the same voicemail as everyone else
Talkroute hours of operation
- At 9 PMYour phones stay quiet. Callers go where you choose
- Callers after hoursHear your closed message with your hours
- Lunch breakSplit your day into as many time slots as you need
- Closing earlyOverride your hours in a click, without changing your schedule
- Urgent callersAn after-hours menu or AI Receptionist takes care of them
Hours of Operation is included with Plus plans and higher.
At a glance
Open when you are. Covered when you’re not.
∞time slots
Split shifts welcome
Add as many open times per day as your business needs
4after-hours options
Your choice
Voicemail, a menu, AI Receptionist, or end the call
1click override
Open or close any time
Close early or stay open late without touching your schedule
Anytime zone
Your local time
Set your hours in your business’s own time zone
How it works
Set it once. Your phones follow the clock.
Time slots
Build your week, slot by slot.
Add a time slot for each stretch of the week you’re open. Use presets like Monday to Friday or Saturday and Sunday, or pick single days, and set start and end times down to the minute. Closed for lunch? Add two slots for the same day.
- Presets for weekdays, weekends, or every day
- As many time slots per day as you need
- Start and end times down to the minute
- 12-hour or 24-hour time, in your time zone
After hours
Decide what callers hear and where they go.
Choose an after-hours message that tells callers you’re closed and when you’ll be back. Then pick where they go next: a voicemail box, a menu with options like an emergency line, AI Receptionist to answer their questions, or simply end the call.
- Your own after-hours message
- Send callers to a voicemail box
- Or to a menu, like an after-hours emergency option
- Or to AI Receptionist, answering around the clock
Override
Close early. Stay late. Change nothing else.
Override your normal hours whenever plans change. Set your business to open to take calls outside your usual hours, or closed for a holiday, an early close, or a team event, with its own message and destination. Your regular schedule stays exactly as it is, ready when you turn the override off.
- Force your business open or closed
- A closed message and destination just for the override
- See whether you’re open right now, plus today’s hours
- Turn it off in one click to go back to normal
Schedules & history
See every call that came in after hours.
Calls that arrive outside your hours show up in each call’s flow in call history, and Reporting counts them as after-hours calls. Need individual team members to have their own hours? Scheduled forwarding gives each phone or user a schedule, and anyone without one simply follows your business hours.
- “Hours of operation” step in the call flow timeline
- After-hours calls counted in Reporting
- Per-person schedules with scheduled forwarding (Pro and higher)
Learn more about call forwarding & routing.
Use cases
Hours that fit your business.
Closed for lunch
Split each weekday into a morning and afternoon slot so lunch-hour calls go to voicemail.
Weekend hours
Open Saturday mornings, closed Sundays, with weekday hours that stay the same.
After-hours emergencies
Send after-hours callers to a menu where urgent issues reach your on-call phone.
Answer around the clock
Let AI Receptionist answer after-hours callers, so nobody hits a dead end overnight.
Holidays and closures
Switch to closed with a holiday message, then switch back when you reopen.
Staying open late
Big sale or end-of-quarter push? Override to open and take calls past your usual close.
Works with your phone system
After hours, everything still works
Your hours connect to the rest of your Talkroute phone system.
AI Receptionist
Answer after-hours callers, answer questions, and book appointments overnight.
AI Receptionist →Custom greetings
Record an after-hours message and holiday closed messages in your own voice.
Custom greetings →Call forwarding & routing
Give individual phones and users their own schedules with scheduled forwarding (Pro and higher).
Call forwarding & routing →Reporting
See how many calls come in after hours, and decide whether to extend your hours.
Reporting →Callers waiting during busy hours? See call stacking →
Get started with Talkroute in minutes.
Set your hours from the Talkroute web or desktop app and change them any time.
Hours of Operation is included with Plus plans and higher. 100% free to try. No contracts.
FAQ
Hours of Operation FAQ
What is hours of operation?
Hours of operation are the days and times your business takes phone calls. With Talkroute, calls ring your team during those hours, and outside them callers hear your after-hours message and go where you choose.
Can I set more than one open time on the same day?
Yes. Add as many time slots as you need, for example 8 AM to noon and 1 PM to 6 PM, so you can close for lunch or work split shifts.
What time zone are my hours in?
You choose. Set your business’s time zone in Hours of Operation Settings, and your time slots follow it.
What happens to calls after hours?
Callers hear your after-hours message, then go to the destination you choose: a voicemail box, a call menu, AI Receptionist, or the call ends.
Can AI Receptionist answer after hours?
Yes. Set AI Receptionist as your after-hours destination so callers can get answers or book an appointment when your team is offline. Learn more about AI Receptionist.
Can I close early or stay open late?
Yes. Use the override to set your business to open or closed outside your normal hours, without changing your regular schedule. When you’re closed, choose a message and where callers should go. Turn the override off to go back to normal.
How do I handle holidays?
Set the override to closed with a holiday message, like “We’re closed for Thanksgiving and back Monday,” then turn it off when you reopen.
Can team members have their own hours?
Yes. Scheduled forwarding lets you give each forwarding phone or user their own schedule. Anyone without a schedule follows your business hours. Scheduled forwarding is included with Pro plans and higher.
Can I see calls that came in after hours?
Yes. After-hours calls show an “Hours of operation” step in their call flow in call history, and Reporting counts them as after-hours calls.
Which plans include hours of operation?
Hours of Operation is included with Plus plans and higher. See pricing for details.
Answer during business hours. Relax after them.
Flexible time slots, after-hours messages, AI Receptionist or voicemail after hours, and one-click overrides. Try Talkroute free for 7 days.
Questions? Give us a call at 800.747.2140.