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.

Checking the schedule from the CLI

asterisk -rx "core show hints"

To test the logic without making real calls, use dialplan test extension from the Asterisk CLI and step through priorities manually.

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)}).