Survey Scheduling

Control when your survey is open for responses

Survey Scheduling

Control when your survey is open for responses. Schedule surveys to start and end at specific times, perfect for time-sensitive research, event-based data collection, and recurring studies.

Quick Start

Schedule your survey in three steps:

  1. Navigate to Limits Settings - Open your survey and go to Limits Settings in the sidebar
  2. Select timezone - Choose the timezone for your schedule (UTC, Europe/Amsterdam, America/New_York, etc.)
  3. Set dates - Enter the start and/or end date and time for when the survey should be available

How It Works

Scheduling controls survey accessibility:

  • Before start date: Visitors see a "Coming Soon" message
  • During active period: Survey accepts responses normally
  • After end date: Survey closes and shows "Survey Closed" message
  • In-progress responses: Optionally allowed to complete after closing

Setting Up a Schedule

Configuring Schedule

  1. Open your survey and navigate to Limits Settings in the sidebar
  2. In the Scheduling section, select your timezone
  3. Enter the Scheduled Start date and time (optional)
  4. Enter the Scheduled End date and time (optional)
  5. If setting a start time, customize the scheduled message for each language using the language tabs
  6. Save changes

Both fields are optional. You can set just a start time, just an end time, or both.

Timezone Selection

All schedule times are timezone-aware:

Setting Behavior
Survey timezone Times are interpreted in this zone
Internal storage Converted to UTC

Available timezones:

  • UTC
  • Europe/Amsterdam (CET/CEST)
  • Europe/London (GMT/BST)
  • America/New_York (Eastern)
  • America/Chicago (Central)
  • America/Denver (Mountain)
  • America/Los_Angeles (Pacific)
  • Asia/Tokyo (JST)
  • Asia/Shanghai (CST)
  • Australia/Sydney (AEST/AEDT)

Before Survey Opens

Configure what visitors see before the start time:

Default message:

This survey is not yet available. Please check back later.

With countdown (optional):

This survey opens on January 25, 2025 at 9:00 AM EST.

Custom message:

The Employee Engagement Survey will be available starting Monday. Thank you for your patience.

After Survey Closes

When the scheduled end time is reached, the survey automatically stops accepting new responses. In-progress responses may be affected depending on timing.

Real-World Examples

Example: Event Feedback Survey

Scenario: Collect feedback after a conference.

Event date: March 15, 2025
Survey opens: March 15, 2025 at 5:00 PM (after event ends)
Survey closes: March 22, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Timezone: America/New_York

Pre-open message: "The feedback survey will be available
after today's conference concludes."

Example: Academic Research Window

Scenario: Collect data during a specific semester period.

Survey opens: September 1, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Survey closes: December 15, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Timezone: America/New_York

Allow in-progress: Yes (students may need extra time)

Example: Weekly Pulse Survey

Scenario: Recurring employee check-in.

Week 1 Survey:
Opens: Monday 9:00 AM
Closes: Friday 5:00 PM

Week 2 Survey: (duplicate and update dates)
Opens: Monday 9:00 AM
Closes: Friday 5:00 PM

Example: Global Campaign

Scenario: Survey for participants across multiple timezones.

Opens: January 20, 2025 at 00:00 UTC
Closes: February 20, 2025 at 23:59 UTC

Using UTC ensures consistent timing globally.
Respondents see their local equivalent.

Plan Availability

Feature Free Pro Enterprise
Manual open/close (status) Yes Yes Yes
Scheduled start - Yes Yes
Scheduled end - Yes Yes
Custom timezone - Yes Yes
Multilingual scheduled message - Yes Yes

Scheduling requires the survey_scheduling feature, available on Pro plans and above.

Troubleshooting

Issue: Survey not opening on schedule

Symptoms: Survey still shows "Coming Soon" after start time.

Solutions:

  • Verify timezone setting is correct
  • Check if your local time differs from survey timezone
  • Clear browser cache and refresh
  • Confirm the start date is in the past

Issue: Survey closed early

Symptoms: Respondents see "Closed" before expected end time.

Solutions:

  • Check timezone conversion
  • Verify AM/PM is correct
  • Confirm date format (MM/DD vs DD/MM)
  • Review any quota limits that may have been hit

Issue: In-progress response lost

Symptoms: Respondent was completing survey when it closed.

Solutions:

  • Enable "Allow in-progress completion" setting
  • Set end time slightly later than needed
  • Communicate deadline clearly to respondents

Best Practices

  • Double-check timezones - The most common scheduling error
  • Send links early - Distribute before the start time
  • Add buffer time - Set end time later than strictly needed
  • Test the schedule - Use preview to verify behavior
  • Communicate deadlines - Tell respondents when the survey closes
  • Consider global audiences - Use UTC for international surveys
  • Document your schedule - Record settings for research documentation