# Schedule

Run a workflow every few minutes, hours or days, in the workflow's time zone, with no event behind it.

Updated Oct 28, 2026. Source: https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/docs/workflows/triggers/schedule

## What this does

In Small Business Chatbot, the schedule trigger starts a run on a timer. The app calls it **Cron**. Nothing has to happen first, and the run carries no contact.

- **Label in the app:** Cron
- **Fires:** Every N minutes, hours or days, while the workflow is published
- **Carries:** Nothing. `{{trigger.…}}` values are empty.
- **Settings:** **Run every**

## Run every

A number and a unit: **Minutes**, **Hours** or **Days**. The default is every 5 minutes. "Choose how often the workflow should run."

![The Cron trigger set to run every 1 day](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/static/images/docs/workflows/schedule-run-every-2026-10-28.webp)
*Workflows › Editor, October 2026*

| Unit | Runs |
|---|---|
| **Minutes** | On the clock, every N minutes. Every 15 runs at :00, :15, :30 and :45. |
| **Hours** | On the hour, every N hours, counting from midnight |
| **Days** | At midnight, on every Nth day of the month, counting from the 1st. Every 1 runs daily. |

Times are in the **Workflow timezone** set in the workflow's left column.

## When it fires

- The schedule starts when you save the workflow as **Published**.
- It stops when you switch the workflow to **Draft** and save, or delete it.
- Changing **Run every** or **Workflow timezone** takes effect when you save.

## What it carries

Nothing. The run starts with an empty `trigger`, so steps that read `{{trigger.phone}}` or `{{trigger.contact.email}}` get empty values.

Use it for steps that work without a contact:

- An **HTTP Request** that fetches or sends data on a timer.
- A **Send Email** to an address you type in, such as your own.

To message contacts you pick, such as past customers, select them in **CRM › Contacts** and click **Add tag**, with a [Contact tag added](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/docs/workflows/triggers/contact-events) workflow.

## Used in

- [Triggers](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/docs/user-guides/workflows/triggers): how to pick a trigger.
- [HTTP request](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/docs/workflows/steps/http-request): call another tool on a timer.
- [Outbound switches and limits](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/docs/user-guides/workflows/outbound-switches-and-limits): the workflow timezone and daily limits.