> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.brilo.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Choose when calls go out

> Set the hours a Brilo campaign is allowed to call, in each contact local time, so you are never dialling somebody at dinner time or breaking calling hour rules.

Two settings in the campaign's **Settings** tab decide when your calls are allowed to go out: **Skip
Silent Hours** and **Calling window**. Both work in each contact's local time, not yours, which is what
makes them useful when your list crosses time zones.

## Before you start

* A campaign. See [Start a calling campaign](/campaigns/start-a-calling-campaign).
* Two minutes.
* A sense of where your contacts are. Local time is worked out from their area code.
* You will be working in the **Call Scheduling** section of the campaign's **Settings** tab.

## Steps

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Call Scheduling">
    Open the campaign, go to **Settings**, and expand **Call Scheduling**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Leave Skip Silent Hours off">
    With it **off**, Brilo only calls between 9 AM and 8 PM in the contact's local time, worked out from
    their area code. That is the protection you want, and off is the setting that gives it to you.

    Turning it **on** lets calls go out at any hour. There are few good reasons to do that and several bad
    ones.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set a calling window">
    **Calling window** narrows things further to a schedule you choose, still in each contact's local
    time. Leave it on None to use the default 9 AM to 8 PM.

    Whatever you set here, calls are never placed before 9 AM or after 8 PM local time. The window can
    only tighten that, never widen it.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add one contact and watch the clock">
    Add a test contact and confirm the call goes out when you expect. If you are outside the window, the
    contact sits as **Pending** until it opens, which is correct rather than broken.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## You will know it worked when

Calls go out only inside your window, and a contact added outside it waits as **Pending** rather than
being called immediately.

## How local time is worked out

From the contact's phone number area code. That has two consequences worth knowing:

* **A mobile that moved with its owner follows the number, not the person.** Somebody with a New York
  mobile living in London is treated as New York time.
* **A number with no usable area code** falls back to the default protection rather than being called at
  random hours.

If your list is all in one place, none of this matters. If it crosses time zones, it is the whole reason
these settings exist.

## Choosing a window

| Who you are calling           | A window that works                       |
| ----------------------------- | ----------------------------------------- |
| Consumers at home             | 10 AM to 12 PM, and 5 PM to 8 PM          |
| Businesses                    | 9 AM to 5 PM, weekdays                    |
| Trades and site work          | 7 AM to 9 AM, and 4 PM to 6 PM            |
| Appointment reminders         | 10 AM to 6 PM                             |
| Anything you are unsure about | Leave it on None and let the default hold |

The best window is the one where somebody actually picks up, and you will find that from your own
**answered today** numbers faster than from any table. See
[Add contacts to a campaign](/campaigns/add-contacts).

## Hours are not the same as pace

These settings say **when** calls may go out. They do not say **how many**. A campaign with a wide window
and no pacing will make every call it can as fast as it can, which empties a monthly minute allowance in
an afternoon.

Set both. See [Control how fast a campaign dials](/campaigns/control-how-fast-it-dials).

## What else you can do here

* Set the delay between steps, which stacks with these hours. A step due at 2 AM waits for the window to
  open. See [Choose when each step runs](/campaigns/choose-when-each-step-runs).
* Set your agent's time zone, which is what it uses when talking about times on the call. See
  [Set your agent's time zone](/agents/set-the-time-zone).
* Check what the rules require where you are calling, which may be tighter than 9 AM to 8 PM. See
  [Calling rules you should know](/compliance/calling-rules-you-should-know).

## If it did not work

**No calls at all, and contacts sit Pending.** You are outside the window. Check what time it is where
your contacts are, not where you are.

**Calls went out earlier or later than you wanted.** The contact's area code puts them in a different zone
from the one you had in mind. That is the setting working as designed.

**You set a window but calls still stop at 8 PM.** Correct. The 9 AM to 8 PM protection is a floor and a
ceiling, and a window cannot extend past it.

**Calls are going out at all hours.** **Skip Silent Hours** is on. Turn it off.

**Calls only go out in a short burst each day.** That is pacing, not scheduling. Check your daily cap. See
[Control how fast a campaign dials](/campaigns/control-how-fast-it-dials).

## FAQ

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="What hours will Brilo make outbound calls?">
    Between 9 AM and 8 PM in the contact's local time, worked out from their area code, unless you turn on
    **Skip Silent Hours**. You can narrow that further with a **Calling window**, but you cannot widen it.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How do I stop my campaign calling people in the evening?">
    Leave **Skip Silent Hours** off, which already stops calls after 8 PM local time, and set a
    **Calling window** that ends earlier if you want to be stricter.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does the calling window use my time zone or the contact's?">
    The contact's, based on their phone number's area code. That is what makes one campaign safe to run
    across several time zones.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What does Skip Silent Hours actually do?">
    Turning it on removes the 9 AM to 8 PM restriction so calls can go out at any time. Leaving it off
    keeps the restriction. Off is the safe setting and the one you almost always want.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What happens to a contact added outside the calling window?">
    They wait as **Pending** and are called when the window next opens. Nothing is lost and nothing is
    skipped.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I set different hours for different contacts?">
    Not within one campaign, but because the window follows each contact's local time you rarely need to.
    For genuinely different schedules, run a second campaign.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does the calling window apply to texts and emails too?">
    The scheduling settings are about placing calls. Sending a message at an odd hour is less intrusive
    than ringing somebody, but a text at 2 AM still reads badly, so set step delays with that in mind.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Related

* [Control how fast a campaign dials](/campaigns/control-how-fast-it-dials) for pace rather than hours
* [Choose when each step runs](/campaigns/choose-when-each-step-runs) for delays between steps
* [Calling rules you should know](/compliance/calling-rules-you-should-know) for what the law requires
* [Set your agent's time zone](/agents/set-the-time-zone) for times spoken on the call
* [My campaign did not call](/campaigns/my-campaign-didnt-call) if nothing goes out at all