Getting started · 3 min read · Beginner

Setting your hours, holidays & greeting

Tell Amy when you're open, when you're closed, and how you want the practice to sound. These three settings shape every call — and you can change them any time in Settings.

Updated Jul 9, 2026

Three settings tell Amy how to run your front desk: your hours (when you're open), your holidays and time off (when you're closed), and your greeting (how you want callers welcomed). You set them once during onboarding, and you can change any of them whenever you like. Every update takes effect on Amy's very next call — nothing to redeploy, nothing to wait for.

Tip

Your hours do double duty. They control the greeting a caller hears, and they set the window Amy can book into — so a patient can never land an appointment when nobody's in the office.

Before you start

Have a clear picture of how your practice actually runs, not just the sign on the door:

Your open hours for each day, including any midday closes for lunch.
Any days a specific provider keeps different hours than the practice.
Your holidays and planned closures for the next several months.
How you'd like Amy to greet callers — your practice name is required; a warm line after it is optional.

Step 1: Set your open hours

Open Settings → Hours. You'll see a row for each day of the week.
Set open and close times for every day you see patients. Toggle a day closed if you're never open then.
Add a midday break if you close for lunch, so Amy doesn't book into it.
Save. Amy immediately stops offering appointments outside these windows and greets after-hours callers differently (more on that below).

Note

Provider-specific hours live with each provider. If Dr. Lee only works Tuesdays and Thursdays, set that on the provider so Amy never books them on a Monday. Your overall practice hours still control when the office is "open."

Step 2: Add holidays and time off

Holidays are one-off or recurring closures that override your normal hours.

Open Settings → Holidays & time off.
Add a closure — a single day (a holiday), a date range (you're away for a week), or a recurring date you close every year.
Give it a name so your team knows what it is at a glance.
Save. On those dates Amy treats the practice as closed: she won't book appointments and she answers with your closed-day greeting.

Step 3: Set your greeting

Your greeting is the first thing a caller hears. Keep it short and human.

Open Settings → Amy's greeting.
Enter your practice name exactly how you want it spoken aloud.
Add an optional line after it — for example, "Thanks for calling. How can I help you today?" Keep it natural; you don't need a script.
Save, then place a test call to hear it. Adjust the wording until it sounds like your front desk.

For deeper control — different wording after hours, or rules for what always reaches a person — see Customizing Amy's greeting and escalation rules.

How Amy uses your hours after hours

When someone calls outside your open hours or on a closure day, Amy still answers every time. She greets them with your after-hours message, takes care of anything she safely can, and captures what they need so nothing is lost. A booking request made at 9pm shows up ready for your team, and anything urgent lands in What needs to get done. Patients never hit a dead line or voicemail.

Frequently asked questions

How fast do changes take effect? Right away. Save in Settings and Amy uses the new hours, closure, or greeting on her next call. There's no publish step.

Can each provider have different hours? Yes. Set the practice's overall open hours, then set individual hours on each provider. Amy books each provider only within their own availability.

What does Amy do on a holiday? She treats the day as closed — no bookings into it — and answers callers with your closed-day greeting, still capturing anything they need for your team.

Can Amy still take messages when we're closed? Always. Amy answers around the clock. Outside your hours she greets callers, handles what she can, and drops anything that needs a person into your tasks.

Do I need to write a full phone script? No. Give Amy your practice name and, if you like, one friendly line. She handles the conversation naturally from there.

Still need a hand?

Reach the Valian team any time at help@valiansystems.com, or open a ticket from the Help Center inside your dashboard. During onboarding, your onboarding contact is at onboarding@valiansystems.com.