# Business hours and after-hours calls > Ring your team during business hours and send callers to an after-hours message and voicemail at other times. - URL: https://kb.voipcloud.online/au/call-flows/business-hours/ - Section: Call-flow recipes - Type: guide - Applies to: All countries - Last reviewed: 2026-11-09 Calls to your number ring your team during business hours. Outside those hours, callers hear an after-hours message and can leave a voicemail. ```text Inbound number → Time conditions ├─ Matches → Ring group → No answer → Voicemail (daytime) └─ Doesn't match → Voicemail (after hours) ``` ## Before you start - A phone number in an [Inbound number](https://kb.voipcloud.online/au/pbx/receive-calls/inbound-number/) object. If you haven't set one up yet, follow [Set up your phone system](https://kb.voipcloud.online/au/getting-started/set-up-your-phone-system/) first. - A [User](https://kb.voipcloud.online/au/pbx/accept-make-divert/user/) for each person who answers calls, each with at least one device. - Your opening hours, and your office's time zone. - An after-hours greeting. You can record it in the browser or by phone while you set up, or upload an audio file. For a professional recording, use **Services** › **Voiceover productions**. ## 1. Add the Time conditions 1. On the **PBX** tab, drag [Time conditions](https://kb.voipcloud.online/au/pbx/conditions/time-conditions/) from the **Conditions** group onto the canvas and click the gear icon. 2. Enter a **Name**, such as "Business hours", and check that the **Time zone** is your office's time zone. 3. Click **Add a time conditions group**, then **Add a time condition** and choose **Hours**. Enter your opening hours in 24-hour time, for example 8:30 to 17:30. 4. Click **Add a time condition** again, choose **Days of the week** and select Monday to Friday. 5. Click **Save**. 6. Connect the right side of your **Inbound number** to the left side of **Time conditions**. If you open at different hours on some days, such as Saturday morning, add a second group for those times. All conditions in a group must match; a call matches if it matches any group. See the example on the [Time conditions](https://kb.voipcloud.online/au/pbx/conditions/time-conditions/) page. ## 2. Ring the team during business hours 1. Drag [Ring group](https://kb.voipcloud.online/au/pbx/mass-incoming-calls/ring-group/) from the **Handling mass incoming calls** group onto the canvas and click the gear icon. 2. Enter a **Name**, such as "Office", then click **Add** and choose the users who answer calls. 3. Choose the **Ring mode**: **Ring all** rings everyone at once, **Linear** rings them one after another. 4. Set each user's **Ring time**, then click **Save**. 5. Connect the **Matches** path of **Time conditions** to the **Ring group**. ## 3. Take a message when nobody answers 1. Drag [Voicemail](https://kb.voipcloud.online/au/pbx/accept-make-divert/voicemail/) onto the canvas and click the gear icon. 2. Enter a **Name**, such as "Daytime voicemail", and choose a **Greeting**. 3. Turn on **Voicemail to email** and enter the email address that should receive messages. You can also, or instead, turn on **Local storage**. 4. Click **Save**. 5. Connect the **No answer** path of the **Ring group** to this **Voicemail**. ## 4. Play the after-hours message 1. Drag a second **Voicemail** onto the canvas and click the gear icon. 2. Enter a **Name**, such as "After hours". 3. Set **Greeting** to **Custom** and add your message with **Record your voice** or **Upload file**. Tell callers your opening hours and invite them to leave a message. 4. Turn on **Voicemail to email**, **Local storage**, or both, and click **Save**. 5. Connect the **Doesn't match** path of **Time conditions** to this **Voicemail**. **Important:** If **Local storage** is on and the mailbox fills up (50 messages by default), callers can't leave messages and **Voicemail to email** stops too. If you only want messages by email, leave **Local storage** off. ## 5. Apply configuration Click **Apply configuration** in the top-right corner. Nothing changes for real calls until you do. If the button can't be clicked, look for an object with a red outline: every object must be fully configured first. ## Check it works 1. **During business hours,** call your number from a mobile. The team's devices should ring. Let it ring out: you should reach the daytime voicemail. 2. **Outside business hours,** call again. You should hear the after-hours greeting straight away. 3. Leave a short message and check that it arrives by email. To test the after-hours path without waiting, temporarily change the **Hours** so that now falls outside them, apply, call, then change them back and apply again. If calls take the wrong path, check the **Time zone** in **Time conditions** first. ## Variations - **Closed message only, no voicemail:** connect **Doesn't match** to an [Announcement](https://kb.voipcloud.online/au/pbx/audio/announcement/) instead. The call ends when the message finishes. - **One mailbox for everything:** connect both the **No answer** path and the **Doesn't match** path to the same **Voicemail**, with a greeting that suits both. - **Close early by hand:** put a [Call flow control](https://kb.voipcloud.online/au/pbx/conditions/call-flow-control/) before **Time conditions** so you can switch to the closed message with one dial code. See [Public holidays and closures](https://kb.voipcloud.online/au/call-flows/holiday-closures/). ## Related - [Public holidays and closures](https://kb.voipcloud.online/au/call-flows/holiday-closures/) - [Phone menu (IVR)](https://kb.voipcloud.online/au/call-flows/phone-menu/) - [Small office call flow, end to end](https://kb.voipcloud.online/au/call-flows/small-office/) - [Time conditions](https://kb.voipcloud.online/au/pbx/conditions/time-conditions/)