Triggered Policies
Octoo supports four different ways to count the time between a request and a cancellation or short notice event.
Triggered policies in our API measure the time between when a policy is triggered and when a job starts. The system supports four different time type measurements, each serving different business needs. Understanding how these time types work is crucial for setting up appropriate notification and escalation policies.
The "trigger" time for short notice policies is determined by the request's Requested At timestamp. See Requested At Timestamp for details on how this value is set and how it can be backdated by admins.
Assuming the following business hours for all time calculations below:
Monday through Friday: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Weekends: Closed (Saturday & Sunday)
Holidays: Closed (when observed)
Each partner can set their own business hours, but the default is as above.
1. Calendar Hours
Definition: Measures the actual elapsed time in hours/minutes between trigger and job start, regardless of business hours, weekends, or holidays.
How it works:
Counts every minute continuously
Returns the total number of minutes between trigger and start time
Rounds up to the nearest minute
Examples:
Same day
Friday 2:00 PM
Friday 4:00 PM
120 minutes (2 hours)
Over weekend
Friday 2:00 PM
Monday 2:00 PM
4,320 minutes (72 hours)
Over holiday
Thursday 2:00 PM (July 1st)
Monday 2:00 PM (July 5th, holiday)
5,760 minutes (96 hours)
Late night trigger
Thursday 10:00 PM
Friday 2:00 PM
960 minutes (16 hours)
2. Calendar Days
Definition: Counts the number of complete calendar days between trigger and job start.
How it works:
Only counts full days that fall completely between the trigger and start dates
Does not count the trigger day or start day themselves
Returns 0 if triggered and started on the same day
Examples:
Same day
Friday 9:00 AM
Friday 5:00 PM
0 days
Next day
Thursday 2:00 PM
Friday 2:00 PM
0 days
Two days later
Wednesday 2:00 PM
Friday 2:00 PM
1 day (Thursday)
Over weekend
Friday 2:00 PM
Monday 2:00 PM
2 days (Saturday & Sunday)
Week span
Saturday 2:00 PM
Monday 2:00 PM
1 day (Sunday)
3. Business Hours
Definition: Measures working hours between trigger and job start, only counting time during business hours.
How it works:
Only counts minutes during business hours (8 AM - 5 PM, Monday-Friday)
If triggered on the same day as the job starts, returns 0
If triggered outside business hours, calculation starts from the next business hour
If job starts outside business hours, calculation ends at the last business hour
Returns total business minutes (displayed as hours in policies)
Important Business Hour Rules:
Business day starts at 8:00 AM sharp
Business day ends at 5:00 PM sharp
Triggers before 8:00 AM are treated as starting at 8:00 AM
Triggers after 5:00 PM are treated as starting the next business day at 8:00 AM
Examples:
Same business day
Friday 10:00 AM
Friday 2:00 PM
0 minutes
Next business day
Thursday 2:00 PM
Friday 2:00 PM
1,440 minutes (24 hours)
After hours trigger
Thursday 10:00 PM
Friday 2:00 PM
0 minutes
Weekend trigger
Saturday 2:00 PM
Monday 2:00 PM
0 minutes
Early morning trigger
Wednesday 2:00 AM
Friday 2:00 PM
4,320 minutes (72 hours)
Cross weekend
Friday 2:00 PM
Monday 2:00 PM
1,440 minutes (24 hours)
Before business hours
Thursday 2:00 AM
Friday 2:00 PM
2,880 minutes (48 hours)
4. Business Days
Definition: Counts the number of complete business days between trigger and job start.
How it works:
Only counts full business days (8 AM - 5 PM periods)
A trigger before 8:00 AM counts that day as a full business day
A trigger after 8:00 AM does not count that day as a full business day
Does not count weekends or holidays
Returns 0 if triggered and started on the same day
Examples:
Same day
Friday 10:00 AM
Friday 5:00 PM
0 days
Early trigger, same week
Wednesday 2:00 AM
Friday 2:00 PM
2 days (Wed & Thu)
Normal trigger, same week
Wednesday 9:00 AM
Friday 2:00 PM
1 day (Thursday)
Over weekend
Friday 2:00 PM
Monday 2:00 PM
0 days
Early Friday trigger
Friday 7:00 AM
Monday 2:00 PM
1 day (Friday)
Weekend trigger
Saturday 2:00 PM
Monday 2:00 PM
0 days
Holiday Monday
Thursday 2:00 PM
Monday 2:00 PM (holiday)
1 day (Friday)
Multiple days
Monday 9:00 AM
Wednesday 2:00 PM
1 day (Tuesday)
Special Considerations
Holidays
Holidays are treated as non-business days
Calendar time types continue counting through holidays
Business time types skip holidays entirely
Weekend Handling
Calendar Types: Count weekends normally
Business Types: Skip weekends completely
Edge Cases
Same-Day Triggers: Business hours/days always return 0 if the trigger and start are on the same calendar day
After-Hours Adjustments:
Triggers after 5:00 PM are treated as starting the next business day at 8:00 AM
Triggers before 8:00 AM may count that day as a full business day (for business_days type)
Cross-Weekend Policies:
Friday 2:00 PM trigger for Monday 2:00 PM start:
Calendar: 72 hours
Business: 24 hours (only counts Friday 2-5 PM and Monday 8 AM-2 PM)
48-Hour Threshold:
Many business hour calculations use a 48-hour business time threshold
This equals 2 full business days or 6 full 8-hour business periods
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