What are business hours
Business hours define when you’re available to take calls. Outside these hours, calls automatically route to voicemail, your AI Receptionist, or another destination. Benefits:- Professional boundaries
- Automatic after-hours handling
- No missed calls
- Work-life balance
Setup business hours
1
Open settings
Go to Settings in the Allo app
2
Access business hours
Tap “Business Hours” option
3
Activate feature
Toggle “Activate Business Hours” at the top
4
Set your schedule
For each day:
- Toggle day on/off
- Set opening time
- Set closing time
- Repeat for all days
5
Configure outside hours
Choose what happens when you’re unavailable:
- Send to voicemail
- Forward to another number
- Route to AI Receptionist (Business plan)
- Play custom message
6
Save settings
Changes apply immediately
How it works
During business hours
Calls ring normally:- Your phone rings as usual
- You can answer or decline
- Standard call handling applies
Outside business hours
Calls route automatically:- No ringing on your phone
- Caller hears your message
- Call goes to chosen destination
- You receive notification
- Dials your number
- Hears greeting message
- Routed to voicemail or other destination
- Can leave message or follow instructions
Configuration options
- Weekly Schedule
- Voicemail
- Call Forwarding
- AI Receptionist
- Custom Message
Set different hours per day
Configure each day independently.Example schedule:| Day | Status | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Open | 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM |
| Tuesday | Open | 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM |
| Wednesday | Open | 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM |
| Thursday | Open | 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM |
| Friday | Open | 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
| Saturday | Closed | - |
| Sunday | Closed | - |
Special configurations
Holidays and exceptions
Temporary closures: Close for specific dates without changing weekly schedule. How to handle:- Create custom voicemail message
- Temporarily disable business hours
- Re-enable after holiday
Dedicated holiday calendar coming soon.
Multiple time zones
For distributed teams: Each team member sets their own business hours on their own phone numbers based on local time zone. Best practice:- Document team coverage hours
- Use cascade routing across time zones
- Set main number business hours to longest coverage window
Bypass options
Allow favorites through
Let important contacts reach you anytime. Setup:- Business Hours settings
- Scroll to “Who can bypass”
- Choose bypass level:
- All contacts
- Favorites only
- No one
- Open contact
- Tap star icon
- Now they bypass business hours
Emergency access
For critical situations: Provide an emergency bypass number. Use IVR option:“If this is an emergency, press 9 to reach on-call support.” Setup IVR menu
Troubleshooting
Calls still ringing outside hours
Calls still ringing outside hours
Check:
- Business hours are activated (toggle at top)
- Schedule is saved
- Time zone is correct
- Current time falls outside set hours
Favorites not bypassing
Favorites not bypassing
Verify:
- Contact is marked with star
- Bypass setting is “Favorites only” or “All contacts”
- Contact is saved in Allo (not just phone)
Calls going to voicemail during hours
Calls going to voicemail during hours
Check:
- Business hours show as “open” for current day/time
- Phone is not on Do Not Disturb
- You’re not on another call
- Internet connection is active
Forwarding not working
Forwarding not working
Verify:
- Destination number is correct
- Includes country code
- Number can receive forwarded calls
- No typos in number
Wrong time zone
Wrong time zone
Allo uses your device time zone:
- Check phone Settings > General > Date & Time
- Enable “Set Automatically”
- Restart Allo app
