Summary
Setting working hours in Wati helps you manage customer expectations by defining when your team is available to respond. You can configure business hours, set up automatic responses for off-hours, and enable Holiday Mode when your team is unavailable for an extended period.
This guide explains how to configure working hours and availability settings in Wati.
Instructions
Before configuring working hours, make sure your account time zone is set correctly. All working hour schedules and automated responses follow the selected time zone.
Access and configure the working hours settings
Follow these steps to open the working hours configuration page:
Log in to your Wati account.
Go to your profile picture in the top right corner.
Click on Settings and go to General settings.
You should see Working hours setting.
Click on Manage working hours to set the working hours.
Example
If your business operates during the following hours:
Monday to Friday: 09:00–18:00
Saturday and Sunday: Closed
Configure the appropriate working hours and mark weekends as closed.
Understand the time format
Wati uses a 24-hour time format (00:00 to 23:59).
Valid example
09:00to18:00
Invalid example
09:00to09:00
Working periods must have a valid start and end time and should not overlap.
Configure working hours that span midnight
If your business operates past midnight, split the schedule into separate time ranges.
Example
Instead of:
09:00to08:59
Use:
09:00to23:5900:00to08:59
This ensures that Wati correctly recognizes your operating hours.
Configure Holiday Mode
Holiday Mode allows you to automatically respond to incoming messages when your business is unavailable for an extended period.
To enable Holiday Mode:
Open the working hours settings.
Click on Manage working hours.
Turn on Holiday Mode.
When Holiday Mode is enabled, Wati automatically sends an out-of-office reply to all incoming messages.
Tip: To configure your out-of-office message, refer to our guide for detailed instructions.
To resume normal operations, disable Holiday Mode.
Benefits of setting working hours
Setting working hours helps you:
Automatically manage customer expectations.
Send responses during non-working hours.
Maintain accurate business availability.
Support a better work-life balance for your team.
Ensure automation follows your business schedule.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Working hours configuration
1. Why should I configure working hours in Wati?
Configuring working hours helps manage customer expectations by defining when your team is available to respond. It also supports automated responses during non-working hours and helps ensure automation follows your business schedule.
2. Which time zone is used for working hours and automated responses?
All working hour schedules and automated responses follow the time zone configured for your Wati account.
3. What time format does Wati use for working hours?
Wati uses a 24-hour time format, ranging from 00:00 to 23:59.
4. Can I configure working hours that span past midnight?
Yes. If your business operates past midnight, you should split the schedule into separate time ranges. For example, use 09:00–23:59 and 00:00–08:59 instead of a single time range that crosses midnight.
5. Are overlapping working hours allowed?
No. Working periods must have valid start and end times and should not overlap.
Holiday Mode
6. What is Holiday Mode in Wati?
Holiday Mode allows you to automatically respond to incoming messages when your business is unavailable for an extended period.
7. What happens when Holiday Mode is enabled?
When Holiday Mode is enabled, Wati automatically sends an out-of-office reply to all incoming messages.
8. How do I resume normal operations after using Holiday Mode?
To resume normal operations, disable Holiday Mode in the working hours settings.
Benefits
9. What are the benefits of setting working hours?
Setting working hours helps you:
Automatically manage customer expectations.
Send responses during non-working hours.
Maintain accurate business availability.
Support a better work-life balance for your team.
Ensure automation follows your business schedule.