This setting opens an opportunity to reservations automatically at a future date and time you choose. It is one of the Scheduling controls on an opportunity's settings page, and it applies only to the opportunity where you set it. It is not set by default.

What does "Schedule when reservations open" do?

It sets a future date and time when reservations open automatically. Before that moment, the opportunity is closed to reservations and its shifts are hidden from users. The instant the open time arrives, the opportunity opens on its own, the shifts appear, and users can reserve them, with no further action from you.

This is the tool for a scheduled launch. You publish the opportunity ahead of time, set the open time, and everything goes live at exactly that moment.

What do users experience before the open time?

Before the open time, the opportunity's shifts are hidden from the user's calendar and reserve list, just like with a manual pause. Instead of shifts, the user sees a "Reservations open [date]" banner on the opportunity, so they know when to come back. If a user tries to reserve before then, the attempt is rejected with a "reservations haven't opened yet" message.

What happens at the open time?

When the scheduled time passes, the shifts reveal themselves on the calendar automatically and reservations start working. You do not have to flip anything. The gate lifts itself based on the clock. A user who reloads the page after the open time sees the shifts appear.

Can I set an open time and also pause reservations?

Yes, and it is worth knowing how they interact. The two gates are independent, and the more restrictive one wins.

If you have manually paused reservations, the opportunity stays closed even after the scheduled open time passes, because the manual pause takes priority. You would need to unpause for the opportunity to actually open.

If reservations are not manually paused, the scheduled open time controls everything: closed before it, open after it.

In short, a manual pause always overrides a scheduled open. So if you set an open date but the opportunity still will not open, check that "Pause new reservations" is off.

Does the open time affect the visibility window?

No, they are separate concerns. "Schedule when reservations open" controls whether the opportunity is open at all, based on a single moment in time. The "Reserve shift visibility window" controls how far ahead users can see shifts once the opportunity is open. You can use both. For example, you can open reservations on a launch date and, once open, show users only the next two months of shifts.