--- title: "Business hours settings" description: "Learn how to configure your business hours in Interlinked — set available days, define multiple time ranges per day, copy schedules, and control when your AI agent can book appointments." section: "Calendar and scheduling" url: https://interlinked-ai.com/en/resources/docs/business-hours-settings lang: en lastUpdated: 2026-04-20 --- # Business hours settings ## What business hours control Business hours determine when your business is open to receive appointments. These settings directly control two things: 1. **Scheduling availability** — The AI will only offer appointment time slots within your configured business hours. Customers cannot book outside these hours. 2. **Calendar display** — When you use the [Business hours display mode](/en/resources/docs/business-hours-and-full-day), the calendar only shows the time range defined by your business hours. If your business hours are set to 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM on weekdays, the AI will never offer a 7:00 PM appointment, and the calendar's Business hours mode will only display that 9:00 AM–5:00 PM window. ## Where to configure business hours Business hours can be configured from two places in Interlinked: ### From the Calendar screen Click the **gear icon** at the top right of the calendar (next to the refresh button) to open the business hours configuration directly.

Screenshot: Gear icon on the calendar toolbar that opens business hours settings

### From the setup wizard Business hours are initially configured during the **Calendar availability** step of the onboarding wizard. You can return to this configuration any time by going to: 1. Navigate to [AI Config](/en/resources/docs/edit-your-setup-from-ai-config) at `https://panel.interlinked-ai.com/en/ai-config` 2. Click **Launch Wizard** 3. The wizard opens at `https://panel.interlinked-ai.com/en/ai-config/wizard` 4. Navigate to the **Calendar availability** step Both paths lead to the same configuration — changes made from either location affect the same schedule.

Note

Business hours you set here are separate from booking exceptions. Business hours define your regular weekly schedule, while exceptions block specific dates or recurring patterns. Both work together to determine your final availability.

## Default schedule When you first set up a calendar-based workflow, each day starts with a default schedule of: > **9:00 AM to 5:00 PM** All seven days of the week begin with this default, which you can then customize per day. ## Per-day flexibility Each day of the week can be configured independently. For any given day, you can: ### Turn a day on or off If your business is closed on a specific day (such as Sunday), you can **disable that day entirely**. When a day is turned off: - The AI will not offer any appointment slots on that day - The calendar shows that day as unavailable - No exceptions are needed — the day is simply removed from the weekly schedule ### Set a single time range The most common configuration is a single open window per day: > **Monday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM** ### Set multiple time ranges A single day can have **more than one open period**. This is useful for businesses with split schedules, lunch breaks, or evening hours. Example — A business with a midday break and evening availability: | Day | Time ranges | |-----|------------| | Monday | 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM | | Monday | 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM | | Monday | 10:00 PM – 11:00 PM | In this example, Monday has three separate availability windows. The AI will only offer slots within those three ranges, and the gaps between them (3:00 PM – 6:00 PM, 8:00 PM – 10:00 PM) are treated as unavailable.

Tip

Multiple time ranges on the same day are perfect for businesses like restaurants (lunch and dinner service), tutoring centers (morning and evening sessions), or clinics with split schedules.

## Editing options The business hours configuration provides several editing tools: ### Add a time frame Click the add button on any day to create an additional time range for that day. The new range starts with default values that you can customize. ### Delete a time frame Each time range has a delete option. You can remove a specific time range without affecting others on the same day. If you delete all time ranges for a day, that day becomes fully unavailable. ### Edit individual time frames Click on any existing time range to adjust its start or end time. You can fine-tune your schedule down to specific hours. ### Disable a day entirely Toggle a day off to mark it as closed. This is faster than deleting all time ranges individually. ### Copy one day's schedule to all others Each day includes a quick action to **apply that day's configuration to all other days**. This is a major time saver when your schedule is the same most of the week. For example, if Monday through Friday all share the same hours: 1. Configure Monday with your desired time ranges 2. Click the copy option on Monday 3. All other days adopt Monday's schedule 4. Disable Saturday and Sunday individually if needed

Screenshot: Business hours settings showing multiple time ranges on a day and the copy-to-all action

## How business hours interact with other features ### Exceptions [Booking exceptions](/en/resources/docs/exceptions-overview) take priority over business hours. If your business hours say Monday is open 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM, but an exception blocks that Monday entirely, no appointments can be booked. See [Create and manage exceptions](/en/resources/docs/create-and-manage-exceptions) to understand how exceptions override the regular schedule. ### Google Calendar events Even within your business hours, the AI also checks your [connected Google Calendar](/en/resources/docs/google-calendar-connection) for existing events. If you have a personal meeting from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM, that slot will not be offered to customers — even though it falls within your business hours. Business hours define the **maximum availability window**. Actual availability is the intersection of business hours, minus exceptions, minus existing calendar events. ### Display modes On the calendar screen, the [Business hours display mode](/en/resources/docs/business-hours-and-full-day) uses your configured hours to determine what time range to show. If you change your business hours, the display mode adjusts accordingly. ## What to do next - **Understand display modes** — Learn how business hours affect what you see on the calendar. See [Business hours vs Full day](/en/resources/docs/business-hours-and-full-day). - **Block specific dates** — Create exceptions for holidays, vacations, or other closures. See [Booking exceptions overview](/en/resources/docs/exceptions-overview). - **Return to overview** — Go back to [Calendar overview](/en/resources/docs/calendar-and-scheduling-overview) for the full picture.