Setting up call routing in Smartflows: opening hours, IVR menus, and holiday configuration

Tip: If you are setting up call routing for the first time, use a Smartflows template to get started quickly. The Business Hours template creates a Time Rule, Ring to, and Voicemail in one step. The IVR Call routing template generates a multi-branch routing flow. Go to Aircall Dashboard → Numbers → Call distribution → Edit → Use a template. See Using Smartflows templates for details.

This article explains how the Time Rule, IVR, and Date Rule widgets work together to build a complete call routing flow, and how to resolve the most common routing errors. For step-by-step setup of each individual widget, follow the links in the related articles section.

How the three widgets work together

Most call routing flows are built around three widgets used in a specific order. Understanding how they connect is the key to avoiding the most common configuration mistakes.

Date Rule → Time Rule → IVR

The most common setup places the Date Rule before the Time Rule in your flow. This ensures that calls arriving on a public holiday or special date are routed immediately to the holiday path, without first passing through your standard opening hours logic. You can always adjust this order if your use case requires more specific behaviour, such as applying different routing on a particular date only during business hours.

On a normal day, calls pass through the Date Rule's Business As Usual branch and continue to the Time Rule. During open hours, the Time Rule routes calls into the IVR. Outside open hours, the Time Rule routes calls to an after-hours voicemail.

Configuring opening hours: the most important settings

The Time Rule widget has two settings that may cause routing errors when misconfigured.

Timezone

Set the timezone to match the physical location of the team handling the number, not the area code of the number itself. A Spanish number (+34) set to UTC instead of CET will route calls outside of real business hours, causing callers to reach voicemail when agents are available, and vice versa. This is the single most common cause of calls routing incorrectly.

The "At any other time" branch

Every Time Rule has an "At any other time" branch that handles calls arriving outside your configured hours. This branch must always contain a widget, typically a Voicemail widget with an after-hours message. Leaving it empty does not block calls: it causes them to drop.

For full Time Rule configuration steps, please see Smartflows widgets: The Time Rule widget.

Adding holiday and special-date routing

Before adding a Date Rule widget to your flow, you must create the special date in the Aircall Dashboard.

Steps:

1. Go to Call Settings → Special dates and click Create special date.

   

2. Enter a name, select the calendar date or date range, and click Create. Uncheck All day if you need a specific time range rather than a full day.
3. Go to Aircall Dashboard > Numbers and select the number you want to add the date rule.
4. Click on Edit to access the Smartflow Editor.

5. Click the + button to add a Date Rule widget at the start of your flow, before the Time Rule.

   

6. Select the special date you created and set the correct timezone.

7. On the special-date branch, click on the + button to add the routing for that date: a Voicemail widget with a holiday greeting is the most common setup.

Note: A single special date can be reused across multiple numbers. Any update to the special date automatically applies to all flows using it, so you only need to update one place when dates change each year.

For multiple closure scenarios (public holidays, team meetings, seasonal events), add multiple Date Rule widgets in sequence, each linked to a different special date. Calls pass through each Business As Usual branch until they reach a matching special date or arrive at your standard Time Rule.

Troubleshooting routing errors

Calls are routing outside opening hours when they should not be

This is almost always a timezone misconfiguration on the Time Rule widget.

Steps:

1. Go to Aircall Dashboard → Numbers and select the number you need to edit
2. Go to the Call Distribution tab and click on Edit to open the Smartflow editor.
3. Open the Time Rule widget and check the timezone.
4. Confirm it reflects the physical location of the team, not the number's area code.
5. Check that your business hours branches contain no gaps: a branch that ends at 17:00 and another that starts at 17:30 will leave a 30-minute window where calls fall into "At any other time."
6. Save and Publish.

Holiday routing is not triggering on special dates

Check the following in order:

1. The Date Rule widget is placed before the Time Rule in the flow, not after it.
2. The special date in Call Settings → Special dates has the correct calendar date and has not expired. A past special date may continue to display as upcoming for up to 12 hours due to timezone processing.
3. The Date Rule widget has the correct timezone set.
4. The flow has been published after the Date Rule was added or last edited. Unpublished changes are not active.

Calls are not reaching agents during open hours

Check the following in order:

1. The Time Rule is routing to the business hours branch at the time the call is placed. Test by placing a call during the hours you have configured.
2. Agents are assigned to the number in the Teams & Users section of the number settings. You can access them in Aircall Dashboard → Numbers and selecting the number you need to edit.
3. Agents are set to Available in the Aircall Workspace app.
4. The Ring to widget in the relevant branch is assigned to the correct team or user.
5. All branches in the flow end in a widget. An open branch causes calls to drop silently.

The flow shows errors or warnings in the editor

The Smartflows editor displays a yellow exclamation mark for warnings and a red cross for errors next to the Publish button. Errors must be resolved before the flow can be published. Warnings can be published but will affect the caller experience.

The most common warning is "Branch without steps": a branch (typically "At any other time" in a Time Rule, or "No or wrong input" in an IVR) has no widget assigned. Add a Voicemail or Audio widget to the branch to resolve it.

For a full list of errors and warnings and how to resolve them, please see Smartflows: Errors & Warnings.