How to create time-based rules

Overview

Time-based rules so you can stand behind your commitments to your customers. If you guarantee that you will always reply within a certain time frame, Front can give you a warning as that time approaches. 

Time-based rules are Advanced rule conditions part of the Pro plan. 

Creating a time-based rule

Step 1

Go into your Settings, select Rules, and Add a team rule.

Step 2

Add your conditions (more information about the fundamental of rules can be found in the Understanding rules article). Front supports two time-based conditions:

• Unreplied after - will trigger if there is no reply to a message after a given delay. This condition will trigger for both inbound and outbound messages depending on the condition selected. 
• Unassigned after - will trigger if you receive a message and the conversation is still unassigned after a given delay.

When a time-based rule is triggered, i.e. a WHEN condition is matched, the rule is immediately scheduled. When the timer completes, the rule will evaluate the rest of the rule conditions according to the current conversation and determine whether to execute the actions of that rule.

Step 3

Click Save to save your rule.

Ways to leverage a time-based rule

SLA escalations with move / notify / tag

Time-based rules are notably used to manage company SLAs. With Front rules, there are many ways for you to keep on top of these SLAs. Here are our recommendations:

Move conversations to an escalation inbox - By creating an additional inbox with no connected channels, you can create clear escalation paths and educate your team to prioritize conversations as they become more urgent.

Notify the team and manager - With the notify rule action, you can select key members of a team who should always be kept in the loop as SLAs approach.

Tag the conversation for long-term tracking - You should track conversations at your SLA markers to better identify trends and team performance.

Note: Actions from an asynchronous, or time-based rule will not be used to trigger other rules.
 

FAQ

Does time zone matter?

The timezone that you are in when creating the rule is the timezone that the rule will act on. If you modify the rule in a different time zone, we will detect this and the change will automatically be made.

How does the "time is between" condition work?

When using a Time is between condition, if you set your time to be between 9 pm - 9 am for Monday - Friday. Front will take into account Friday 9 pm to Saturday 9 am.

Do automatic replies count as replies for time-based conditions?

If you have a rule that sends out an automatic reply, this reply counts as a normal manual reply. Thus, a subsequent rule that says "When inbound, if unreplied after..." will not fire because the automatic reply has already replied to the inbound.

Do time-based conditions work on archived conversations?

No. If a conversation is archived, a rule with an Unreplied after condition will not apply. For example, if you receive an inbound message and a teammate archives it, a rule with an Unreplied after condition will not apply.