Overview
Calendar and Scheduling is where you define when your practice is open and tell the phone system where to send calls at different times. There are two tabs that work together:
Go to Calendar and Scheduling in the left menu to open the page.
Calendar and Scheduling requires Manager access or above. If you do not see this page in the menu, ask your administrator to check your role permissions.
Time Groups
A Time Group defines when your practice is open on a weekly recurring basis. You can have multiple rules inside a single time group, for example shorter Saturday hours alongside your standard weekday hours.
How to create a Time Group
- Click the Time Groups tab
- Click New
- Enter a Description. This becomes the name shown in the list (for example, Business Hours - Weekdays Only)
- Under Weekly Hours, click Add Rule
- Click the day badges to select which days this rule applies to. Selected days turn green
- Set the Start Time and End Time
- If you need different hours on a different day (for example, shorter Saturday hours), click Add Rule again and set up a second rule
- Click Save
How to edit a Time Group
- Click the time group name in the list on the left
- Update the description, days, or times
- Click Save
How to add or remove a rule
Each time group can have multiple rules. For example, one rule for Monday to Friday and a separate rule for Saturday.- To add a rule, click Add Rule inside the edit form
- To remove a rule, click the red Remove button on that rule
How to delete a Time Group
- Click the time group name in the list
- Click Delete and confirm
Time Conditions
A Time Condition is the routing rule that connects your Time Group to your call flow. It checks whether the current time matches the schedule, then sends calls to one destination if it matches, or a different destination if it does not.
How to create a Time Condition
- Click the Time Conditions tab
- Click New Time Condition
- Enter a Name for this rule (for example, Default Business Hours)
- Select the Time Group to use
- Set the Match Destination, where calls go during your open hours (for example, Reception or a queue)
- Set the No Match Destination, where calls go outside your open hours (for example, an after-hours announcement)
- Click Save
How to edit a Time Condition
Click the pencil icon on the right side of the condition row, make your changes, then click Save.How to delete a Time Condition
Click the bin icon on the right side of the row and confirm. The routing rule is removed immediately.Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a Time Group and a Time Condition? The Time Group defines your schedule (which days and hours you are open). The Time Condition is the rule that routes calls based on that schedule. You need both for automatic call routing to work. Can I have more than one Time Condition? Yes. You might have one for your main business hours and another for a department with different hours. Each condition routes calls independently. My calls are routing at the wrong time. What should I check? Check the Time Condition is pointing to the correct Time Group, then open the Time Group and confirm the days and times are set correctly. If everything looks right, contact the Pear support team via the Support link in the left menu. Can I update my own business hours? Yes. Open the Time Group, update the times, and click Save. The change takes effect immediately.Holiday Mode
Holiday Mode is being rolled out to phone systems now. If the Holiday Mode tab tells you it is not set up on your system yet, contact Pear and we will add it along with the recording callers hear.
Set it up as far ahead as you like. Nothing changes until the closing time arrives, and you do not need to be at a computer for it to happen. It runs on your phone system, so it still works if your internet is down.
What callers hear
During a closure, callers hear your Holiday Mode recording instead of your normal after-hours message. Because the closure covers whole days rather than just evenings, the recording is worth wording so it still makes sense at any hour, for example “we are closed until Monday the 5th at 9am”. Pick the recording under Message callers hear while you are scheduling. The list is your System Recordings, so record the message on the System Recordings page first and it will be waiting here.What it switches off
If someone left Override Mode or Main Number Divert on before they went home, the closure switches those off when it starts. Without that, a divert left running would send holiday calls to somebody’s mobile all day. They stay off when the closure ends. Normal routing resumes, and anyone who still wants a divert can set it again.Closing some lines but not others
If your practice has more than one number on separate call flows, you choose which ones a closure covers. All of them start selected, since a closure normally means the whole practice. A line that has no Holiday Mode set up on the phone system is listed as unavailable and cannot be selected. Contact Pear and we will add it. Some numbers ring an extension or a queue directly instead of going through a call flow. A closure cannot reach those, so the page lists them for you. If one of them needs to close for holidays as well, contact Pear and we will move it onto a call flow.Changing a closure
Click Edit on any closure to change it. Dates, times, name and which lines it covers can all be changed right up until it starts. Once a closure is running, only the reopening time can be changed, so you can extend a shutdown that is going longer than planned. To start it earlier or cover different lines at that point, end it and schedule a new one.Ending a closure early
Open the Holiday Mode tab and click End now on a running closure, or Cancel on one that has not started. Ending early brings the phones straight back to normal.While a closure is running, the Inbound Call Routing page shows a banner saying so. That is deliberate: a closure sits above the modes on that page, so callers hear the closure message whichever mode is selected there.