> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.getthread.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Business Hours, Holidays, and Custom Closures

> Configure workspace business hours, country holiday calendars, and custom closure dates so Messenger, Voice AI, and Reminder Agents know when you're offline.

## **Business Hours, Holidays & Custom Closures**

Configure when your support team is available so Messenger, Voice AI, and Reminder Agents know when to respond live and when to show an out-of-office message.

### **Workspace Business Hours**

Business hours set the defaults across Messenger, Voice AI, and Reminder Agents. They live in Workspace settings and apply to every client unless overridden.

**To configure:**

* Select your **Time zone** — all hours below are interpreted in this zone.
* Toggle **Open 24 hours, 7 days a week** if your team is always available, or
* Check the days your team is online and set the open/close time for each day.

### **Holidays**

Set the holiday schedule when your team is offline. When a holiday is active, Messenger displays an out-of-office message and can route conversations to a matching Flow.

**How holiday calendars work:**

* Select your **Business country** to load that country's public holiday calendar.
* **National holidays are selected by default.** State, province, and region-specific holidays are displayed but unchecked — turn them on only if they apply to your team.
* Dates shown reflect the current year and **update automatically each year**, so once a holiday is selected it carries forward without manual maintenance.

**Custom dates:**

Use **+ Add date** to create one-off closures that aren't on the public calendar (team offsites, office renovations, regional weather events, etc.). Custom dates support a date range and can be created, updated, or deleted at any time.

### **Messenger Hours (read-only view)**

The **Hours** tab inside Messenger settings shows a read-only summary of the business hours, holidays, and custom closures inherited from Workspace settings. To make changes, use the **Manage hours & holidays** link, which takes you back to the Workspace configuration.

### **Out-of-Office Message**

Toggle on **Use custom out of business hours message** to show clients a custom note when they message outside business hours or during a holiday closure. If left off, the system default is used.

### **Client-Specific Overrides**

If a specific client is supported on a different schedule (for example, a client in another time zone or with different holiday observances), you can override the workspace defaults for just that client.

**To override:**

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the client's settings page">
    Open the client's settings page.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Turn on Override workspace defaults">
    Turn on **Override workspace defaults**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

When the toggle is **off**, the client follows the workspace's business hours, holiday closures, and out-of-office message.

When the toggle is **on**, you'll see the full set of configuration options — time zone, 24/7 availability, business country, holidays, and custom dates — scoped to that client only. Settings here do not affect any other client or the workspace default.

### **Messenger Out-of-Office Banner**

When a client opens Messenger during a holiday or custom closure, a banner appears at the top of the conversation list showing:

* The **name** of the holiday or custom date
* The **time the support team will be back online**

This makes the reason for the delay clear and sets the right expectation for when to expect a reply.

### **Tips**

* Set your workspace defaults first, then add client-specific overrides only where needed — this keeps the bulk of your configuration in one place.
* Review the auto-selected national holidays each time you add a new business country to make sure they match your team's actual observance.
* Use custom dates for anything outside the public calendar — team events, weather closures, or short-notice schedule changes.
* Pair holiday closures with a Flow to route urgent inquiries to a ticket form or alternate channel while your team is offline.

## FAQs

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Do my selected holidays carry over to the next calendar year?">
    Yes. The holidays you've checked stay checked when the calendar year flips — you don't need to re-select them each year.

    The **dates** for each holiday update automatically to reflect the new year (for example, Thanksgiving shifts to its new date), while your selections are preserved.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Do custom dates carry over to the next year?">
    No. Custom dates are one-off closures tied to the specific date range you enter. They do not repeat automatically — add a new custom date for each occurrence.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>


## Related topics

- [XLAs & dispatch](/start-here/roles/service-ops-manager/sla-and-dispatch.md)
- [Set up XLAs: profiles, timers and response deadlines](/inbox/sla-timers-and-response-settings.md)
- [Service & Ops Manager](/start-here/roles/service-ops-manager.md)