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Schedules

Schedules let you run recurring work automatically, so jobs like processing calls, generating reports, or running alerts happen on a regular cadence without anyone kicking them off by hand. You choose what runs, how often, when it starts, and when it stops, and RedFlare takes care of firing each run at exactly the right moment in the timezone you set.

What you can do​

  • Schedule any of three kinds of work: a call to process (using a playbook), a report to generate, or an alert to run.
  • Repeat on a cadence you choose, from a single Once run to Daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, or Every weekday (Monday to Friday).
  • Pick a familiar preset, or build a fully Custom recurrence that repeats every few hours, days, weeks, months, or years.
  • Drop in a CRON expression when you need precise control, such as "9am and 5pm daily" or "every 30 minutes during work hours."
  • Set the Timezone so every run fires at the right local time, even across daylight-saving changes.
  • Decide when a schedule stops: Never, On a specific date, After running for a set number of times, or After processing a set number of calls.
  • For call schedules, cap how much each run handles with a Call processing limit.
  • Search and filter your schedules to find the one you need, and open any schedule to adjust it later.

How it works​

When you save a schedule, RedFlare translates your choices into a precise recurrence rule and hands it to its automation engine, which is responsible for firing each run on time.

  1. Your recurrence settings (interval, unit, days of the week, trigger time, and start date) are converted into a single recurrence rule. Presets like Daily or Every weekday are just shortcuts that fill in this rule for you, while CRON lets you supply the timing pattern directly.
  2. The Timezone you pick anchors the whole rule, so a run set for 8am always fires at 8am local time. RedFlare normalises your start time to the minute, so runs land on clean boundaries rather than odd seconds.
  3. Monthly and yearly schedules can repeat on either a fixed date (for example, the 11th) or a relative day (for example, "the second Saturday"), worked out from the date your schedule starts on.
  4. Your end rule becomes part of the recurrence. An end date caps the rule with a hard cut-off, and a number of times caps it with an occurrence count, so the engine simply stops producing runs once either limit is reached.
  5. At each scheduled moment, the engine starts a run that does the actual work: processing calls through the chosen playbook (up to your call processing limit), building the report, or evaluating the alert.
  6. Every run is tracked with its own status, so you can see whether it is running, succeeded, or failed, and a schedule that hits its end condition is marked inactive with the reason it stopped.

Create a schedule​

  1. Open your schedules and select New Schedule.
  2. Give it a Schedule name. This name helps identify the schedule in reports and analytics, so make it descriptive.
  3. Add a short description for context about the purpose or content of the scheduled work.
  4. Choose the Schedule Type: a call to process, a report, or an alert.
  5. Fill in the type-specific detail:
    • For a call, pick the Playbook used for processing and set a Call processing limit.
    • For a report, choose which Report to schedule.
    • For an alert, choose which Alert to run.
  6. Configure the timing and recurrence (see below), then save.

If you haven't set anything up yet, you'll see an empty state that reads No schedules yet with the note "Looks like you haven't created any schedules yet." Selecting Create new Schedule gets you going.

tip

A clear, unique name pays off later. Because the schedule name shows up alongside your reports and analytics, something like "Nightly call sync" is far easier to recognise than "Schedule 1".

Set the timing and recurrence​

This is where you tell RedFlare exactly when the schedule runs.

  1. Set the Timezone. This answers "What timezone should the schedule run in?" so runs fire at the right local time.
  2. Choose Schedule starts on to set when the schedule should begin.
  3. Pick a Recurrence to control how often it repeats. Your options include:
    • Once for a single run.
    • Daily.
    • A weekly option such as Weekly on Monday.
    • A monthly option (for example, the second Saturday of the month).
    • An annual option such as Annually on 11th October.
    • Every weekday (Monday to Friday).
    • CRON for a custom expression.
    • Custom to build your own interval.
  4. For most recurring options, set the Trigger time to choose when each run fires.
  5. If you picked Once, set the Trigger date and time for the single run.
info

Choosing Once turns the schedule into a single, one-time run. Every other recurrence keeps repeating until it reaches the end rule you set.

Build a custom recurrence​

When the presets don't fit, choose Custom to shape the cadence yourself.

  1. Under Repeat every, enter a number and pick a unit: hour, day, week, month, or year.
  2. If you repeat by week, use Repeats on to choose which days, then set the time under At.
  3. If you repeat by day or hour, set the time the run should trigger.
  4. If you repeat by month or year, use Repeats on to choose between a fixed date or a relative day (such as "the second Saturday"), based on your start date.
note

Hourly custom schedules support clean intervals like every 2, 3, 6, 8, 12, or 24 hours, so you can spread runs evenly across the day.

Decide when it ends​

Every recurring schedule needs an end rule. Under Schedule recurrence ends ("When the recurring schedule should end?"), choose one:

  • Never keeps the schedule running indefinitely.
  • On stops it on a specific date you pick.
  • After running for a set number of times stops it once it has run that many times.
  • After processing a set number of calls stops it once that volume of calls has been handled.
tip

If you're testing a new schedule, set it to end After running for a small number of times. You'll see how it behaves without committing to a job that runs forever.

Use a CRON expression​

For full control over timing, choose CRON as your recurrence and enter a valid CRON expression. RedFlare uses this expression directly to trigger the schedule, so you can express patterns like:

  • 9am and 5pm daily
  • 8am weekdays
  • Every 30 minutes during work hours
  • 10:15am every day
note

The CRON field expects a standard CRON expression. If you're new to the syntax, start from a simple pattern (such as a fixed time each day) and adjust from there. Your timezone still applies, so the expression is interpreted in the local time you selected.

Manage your schedules​

  • Use Search schedules to filter the list by name.
  • If a search or filter returns nothing, you'll see No schedules found or No schedules found for selected filters. Clear your filters to see everything again.
  • Open any schedule to review or adjust its timing, recurrence, and end rule at any time.
  • A schedule that has reached its end condition becomes inactive and records the reason it stopped, so you can tell at a glance why it is no longer firing.
tip

For call schedules, the Call processing limit controls how many calls a single run handles. Pair it with the After processing end rule to cap both per-run volume and total volume across the whole schedule.