Setting up holiday hours on a business phone system is one of those tasks that is easy to do correctly, but genuinely damaging if it is left until the last minute or skipped entirely. Callers who reach a phone that rings with no answer during a holiday closure, or who are routed as if it is a normal business day, come away with a poor impression that is entirely avoidable. A properly configured holiday schedule ensures every caller is handled professionally regardless of when they call, with no manual intervention required from your team on the day itself.
Before configuring holiday hours, it helps to understand how most hosted VoIP platforms manage time-based call routing. The system uses time frames to define specific periods, such as business hours, after hours, and holidays. Answering rules and auto-attendant configurations are then attached to these time frames, so the system automatically applies the right routing behavior when the current time falls within a defined period.
A holiday time frame is a specific period defined in your phone system that overrides the standard business hours schedule. When a call arrives during a configured holiday time frame, the system follows the holiday routing rules rather than the normal business hours rules. Once the holiday period ends, the system automatically reverts to the standard schedule without any manual action from your team.
Log into the management portal with administrator credentials and navigate to the Time Frames section. If a holiday time frame already exists, click the edit icon next to it to add the upcoming holiday dates. If no holiday time frame exists, create a new one and give it a clear name such as Holiday Hours or Closed Holiday.
When configuring the time frame, enter the start date and time and the end date and time for each holiday period. For a single-day closure on December 25th, you would enter December 25 at 12:00 AM as the start and December 26 at 12:00 AM as the end, capturing the full day. For a multi-day holiday closure spanning December 24th through January 1st, enter the full date range. Multiple separate date ranges can be added within the same time frame for different holidays throughout the year.
The holiday auto-attendant greeting is what callers hear when they call during the holiday period. It should clearly acknowledge the closure, confirm when the business will reopen, and offer any relevant options such as leaving a voicemail or checking a website for urgent matters. A sample script might be: “Thank you for calling [Business Name]. We are currently closed for the holidays and will reopen on [date]. Please leave a message after the tone and we will return your call on the next business day.”
Record the greeting from any phone on the system using the recording code for the holiday auto-attendant. Your phone reference guide will list this code, or your VoIP provider can confirm it. Record clearly, listen back to confirm the quality, and save before moving on. If you prefer a professional recording, most hosted VoIP providers accept uploaded audio files in standard formats such as WAV or MP3.
In the Answering Rules section of the portal, create a new rule and assign it to the holiday time frame you configured in step one. Set the ring behavior to Do Not Disturb or Forward All Calls to voicemail, depending on how you want holiday calls handled. Assign the holiday auto-attendant as the destination if you want callers to hear the holiday greeting before being offered a voicemail option.
Ensure the holiday rule is positioned above the standard business hours rule in the priority order. Rules are applied from top to bottom, and the first rule whose time frame matches the current time takes effect. If the holiday rule is below the business hours rule, the business hours rule may take priority even during the holiday period.
Set a test time frame covering the next few minutes and verify that calls are routed to the holiday greeting and voicemail as expected. Listen to the greeting from an external phone to confirm it plays clearly and the message is correct. After confirming the test works, delete or disable the test time frame and confirm the actual holiday time frame is active and correctly configured.
Testing at least a day before the holiday rather than on the morning of gives you time to correct any issues without the pressure of an already-closed office. A quick test call is one of the most easily skipped steps in holiday preparation and one of the most valuable ones to actually complete.
Beyond the phone system configuration, updating your business voicemail greeting and outgoing calls to mention the upcoming closure a day or two before the holiday helps callers who contact you in the days leading up to the closure plan accordingly. Some businesses also update their main auto-attendant greeting for the week before a major holiday to note the upcoming closure dates, giving callers advance notice without requiring any outreach on the business’s part.
