How to add public holidays to a Zendesk schedule
By Jake Marsh · Updated
To add public holidays to a Zendesk schedule in one pass, install Holitide, open it from the left navigation bar and choose Set up next to the schedule. Add the country and, if needed, the state or province, choose public, bank or optional holidays, check the preview, then choose Save and update Zendesk. Holitide adds each missing holiday up to two years ahead and never adds one twice.
Before you start
You need a business schedule (Admin Center > Objects and rules > Business rules > Schedules) and a Zendesk admin role. Zendesk only lets admins change schedules, so agents who open Holitide see the upcoming closures but can't apply them. Zendesk's own form takes holidays one at a time, as whole days, up to two years in advance, as its schedules article explains.
Steps
- Open Holitide from the left navigation bar (the calendar with a star). The page "Holidays for your schedules" lists every schedule.
- Choose Set up next to the schedule.
- Add countries and regions. Pick a country and, if your team follows one, its state, province, nation or canton, then Add. Repeat for every region the schedule covers.
- Choose which days. Public holidays are on. Tick Bank holidays (such as Christmas Eve in Germany) or Optional holidays (days many but not all employers close) if you close on them.
- Set the options in the table below.
- Add company days if you have your own closures.
- Check the preview. Each year's holidays appear with a status. Untick any holiday you stay open on; Holitide remembers that for every year.
- Choose Save and update Zendesk. The button shows how many holidays it will add. The progress line shows each one as it's added. Save settings only keeps the setup without changing the schedule yet.
The options
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Observed days | Also closes on the day a region moves a weekend holiday to. July 4 on a Sunday is observed on Monday July 5. |
| Leave out holidays on days this schedule is closed anyway | Skips a Sunday holiday on a Monday to Friday schedule, so the list stays short. |
| Add the region to each name | Writes "Labour Day (AU-NSW)" instead of "Labour Day". Useful when several regions share a schedule. |
| Names in English or in the country's language | Shown when a region has local names. |
| Keep the schedule filled | As far ahead as Zendesk allows (two years), or through the end of next year. |
What the preview statuses mean
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Will be added | Not on the schedule yet; added when you apply. |
| In Zendesk | Already on the schedule with the same dates and name. |
| Covered | A holiday you added yourself already covers these dates. Nothing is added. |
| Same day | Another selected holiday closes the same day. One closure is enough. |
| Closed anyway | Falls only on days the schedule is closed. |
| Not closing | You unticked it. |
| Later | Inside Zendesk's window but past the horizon you chose. |
| Not yet open | More than two years ahead. Zendesk accepts it from the date shown. |
| Past | Already happened. Never changed. |
Two regions on one schedule
When the regions you add share a holiday, Holitide makes it one closure named with both, such as "Christmas Day (US, CA-QC)". A day only one region observes is added once for that region.
What it costs
Holitide Standard is $29 per Zendesk account per month for up to 3 schedules. Unlimited is $59 per Zendesk account per month for every schedule. Both have every feature after a 14-day trial (card required), billed monthly by Zendesk. The Holitide documentation has the full reference.
Holitide
Public holidays for your schedules: 200+ countries and their states, added with no duplicates. From $29 a month per Zendesk account.
Questions
Can I add the US federal holidays to every schedule without typing them each time?
Yes. Set up each schedule once with United States (plus any state that adds days). Holitide adds every federal holiday up to two years ahead, including observed days if you tick that option.
Can a holiday be half a day?
No. Zendesk holidays are whole days, so Holitide adds whole-day closures. Company days can last up to 14 days.
What if I already added some holidays by hand?
Holitide reads the schedule first. A holiday with the same dates and name shows as In Zendesk, and one you added that covers the dates shows as Covered, so nothing is doubled.
Can I see which holidays will be added before anything changes?
Yes. The preview lists every holiday for each year with its status, and nothing is written until you choose Save and update Zendesk.
What if a date is wrong?
Untick it in the preview and add the right day as a company day. Then email hello@greatwork.company so the data gets fixed for everyone.