# Operating hours, time slots and visiting hours

*Agentforce Field Service and Operations Consultant Study Guide · Managing Resources · Last updated October 29, 2026 · https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/agentforce-field-service-consultant/managing-resources/operating-hours-time-slots-and-visiting-hours*

Where an operating hours record is attached decides what it means: worker availability on territories and members, customer visiting hours on accounts and work orders, or arrival windows for appointment booking, with the time zone rules and work rule each one depends on.

- Certification: Salesforce Agentforce Field Service and Operations Consultant
- Exam section: Managing Resources
- Study guide: https://www.certifyforce.com/study-guide/agentforce-field-service-consultant

**Official exam objective:**

> Show how to use operating hours for service resources, accounts, Work Orders, and booking appointments.

## What the exam expects

- Read an operating hours requirement and attach the record to the right place: service territory, service territory member, account, Field Service Settings or an entitlement.
- Build operating hours from time slots, and know the Normal and Extended slot types and when shifts fit better.
- Enforce customer availability with account operating hours, the work order's Visiting Hours and the Service Appointment Visiting Hours work rule.
- Offer different appointment booking arrival windows per service level with entitlements.
- Predict which time zone booking slots and visiting hours use, by scheduling engine.

Key terms:
- **Operating hours:** a named record with a time zone whose time slots say when work can happen.
- **Time slot:** a period on one day of the week inside an operating hours record, typed Normal or Extended.
- **Visiting hours:** the customer's availability on a work order, copied from the account's operating hours.
- **Appointment booking operating hours:** the arrival windows offered to customers when booking.
- **Service Appointment Visiting Hours:** the managed package work rule that enforces visiting hours.

## Key facts

| Fact | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Territory operating hours | Default working hours for members without their own | [Operating Hours Guidelines](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=fs_oh_considerations.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Member hours matching territory | Best practice: don't define them | [Operating Hours Guidelines](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=fs_oh_considerations.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Time slot Type values | Normal and Extended (Extended for overtime) | [Operating Hours Fields](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=fs_oh_fields.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Time slot timing | Day of Week, Start Time, End Time | [Operating Hours Fields](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=fs_oh_fields.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Account operating hours | Copied to the new work order's Visiting Hours | [Operating Hours Guidelines](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=fs_oh_considerations.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Visiting hours enforcement | Service Appointment Visiting Hours work rule | [Visiting Hours Rule](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.pfs_optimization_theory_work_rules_visiting_hours.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Manual move outside visiting hours | Allowed; rule violation shown | [Visiting Hours Rule](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.pfs_optimization_theory_work_rules_visiting_hours.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Multiday work | Doesn't support visiting hours | [Visiting Hours Rule](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.pfs_optimization_theory_work_rules_visiting_hours.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Booking slot time zone | Service territory's; record Timezone ignored | [Operating Hours Guidelines](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=fs_oh_considerations.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Per-service-level windows | Operating Hours field on the entitlement | [Operating Hours Guidelines](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=fs_oh_considerations.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |
| Date-specific availability | Shifts, not time slots | [Territories, Operating Hours, and Shifts](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.fs_set_up_territories_oh.htm&language=en_US&type=5) |

## Check yourself

- Which kind of work isn't supported on operating hours that represent a customer's visiting hours?
- Where is the default appointment booking operating hours set outside Guided Setup?
- Why might an appointment for a customer with visiting hours still be booked on their closure day?
- When should availability use shifts rather than time slots?

## Sources

- [Guidelines for Creating Operating Hours for Field Service](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=fs_oh_considerations.htm&language=en_US&type=5)
- [Operating Hours Fields for Field Service](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=fs_oh_fields.htm&language=en_US&type=5)
- [Work Rule Type: Service Appointment Visiting Hours](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.pfs_optimization_theory_work_rules_visiting_hours.htm&language=en_US&type=5)
- [Set Up Service Territories, Operating Hours, and Shifts for Field Service](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sf.fs_set_up_territories_oh.htm&language=en_US&type=5)
- [Agentforce Field Service and Operations](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=service.fs_overview.htm&type=5)

## About the full unit

The "Core concepts", "Exam traps" and "Worked scenario" sections of this unit, its 7 linked practice questions, and unlimited timed mock exams are included with the Agentforce Field Service and Operations Consultant pack (USD $19): https://www.certifyforce.com/practice-exams