Time-Based Routing for Business Hours

Route inbound calls to the live queue during business hours and to voicemail (or an after-hours message) outside of them. Uses GotoIfTime() to evaluate the schedule without any external scripting.

Dialplan

[from-trunk]
exten => s,1,Answer()
 ; GotoIfTime(times|weekdays|mdays|months?label)
 ; Match Mon-Fri, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
 same => n,GotoIfTime(09:00-17:00|mon-fri|*|*?open,s,1)
 same => n,Goto(after-hours,s,1)

[open]
exten => s,1,Background(custom/thank-you-for-calling)
 same => n,WaitExten(5)

exten => 1,1,Dial(PJSIP/sales&PJSIP/support,30)
 same => n,Voicemail(sales@default,u)
 same => n,Hangup()

exten => 0,1,Dial(PJSIP/reception,30)
 same => n,Voicemail(reception@default,u)
 same => n,Hangup()

exten => i,1,Goto(s,1)
exten => t,1,Goto(s,1)

[after-hours]
exten => s,1,Playback(custom/after-hours)
 same => n,Voicemail(general@default,u)
 same => n,Hangup()

GotoIfTime syntax

GotoIfTime(times|weekdays|mdays|months?dest_if_true:dest_if_false)

Use * for fields you do not care about. All four fields must be present.

Multiple schedules

Chain GotoIfTime() calls to handle lunch breaks, holidays, or split shifts:

[from-trunk]
exten => s,1,Answer()
 ; Morning shift
 same => n,GotoIfTime(08:00-12:00|mon-fri|*|*?open,s,1)
 ; Afternoon shift (skips 12:00-13:00 lunch)
 same => n,GotoIfTime(13:00-17:00|mon-fri|*|*?open,s,1)
 ; Saturday morning
 same => n,GotoIfTime(09:00-13:00|sat|*|*?open,s,1)
 ; Everything else
 same => n,Goto(after-hours,s,1)

Each GotoIfTime() jumps to open immediately on a match, so the chains work like an if/else-if ladder -- first match wins, remainder is not evaluated.

Testing the schedule

The schedule depends entirely on the server's local time. Verify it before going live:

# Check the server clock and timezone
timedatectl

# Trace the dialplan live -- connect with high verbosity and originate a test call
asterisk -rvvvv

From within the CLI session:

*CLI> channel originate Local/s@from-trunk application Wait 10

Watch the output. Each GotoIfTime() priority prints whether it matched or fell through, so you can confirm the correct branch is taken at any given time of day.

Tips

• Asterisk uses the server's local time. Verify your server timezone with timedatectl and make sure it matches your business location.
• For holiday handling, set a global variable in [globals] (e.g., HOLIDAY=1) and check it with GotoIf($[${HOLIDAY}=1]?after-hours,s,1) before the GotoIfTime() calls. Flip it in the CLI with asterisk -rx "dialplan set global HOLIDAY 1" when you close for the day.
• The IFTIME() dialplan function is an alternative that returns a value instead of branching; useful when you want to store the result and branch later: Set(OPEN=${IFTIME(09:00-17:00|mon-fri|*|*?1:0)}).