> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://documents.xobito.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Schedule a Campaign

> Queue a campaign to send at a specific date and time — then pause, resume, or cancel as needed.

Scheduling lets you build a campaign today and have it send itself at exactly the right moment — whether that's tomorrow morning, next Monday at 9am, or during your customer's local business hours.

## How scheduling works

When you schedule a campaign, Xobito:

1. Saves the campaign with status **Scheduled**.
2. Locks in the template content, recipient list, and variable mappings.
3. Waits for the scheduled time in your **workspace timezone**.
4. Starts sending automatically — no further action required.

<Note>
  The scheduled time uses your **workspace timezone**, which you can set under [Settings → General](/settings/general). Always double-check the timezone before scheduling large campaigns.
</Note>

## Schedule a campaign

<Steps>
  <Step title="Build your campaign as normal">
    Follow [Create a Campaign](/campaigns/create-campaign) or [CSV Campaign](/campaigns/csv-campaign) up to the final send step.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Toggle 'Schedule'">
    On the review screen, switch the **Send now / Schedule** toggle to **Schedule**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pick a date and time">
    Use the date-time picker. The timezone is shown next to the picker so you always know what clock you're setting.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click 'Schedule'">
    The campaign is saved with status **Scheduled**. You'll see it in **Campaigns → All Campaigns** with a clock icon.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Snippet file="callout-session-window.mdx" />

## Best times to schedule

There's no single right answer, but these are the patterns most Xobito customers find work well:

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Retail & promotions" icon="tag">
    Tuesday–Thursday, 10am–12pm local time. Avoid Monday morning (inbox overload) and Friday afternoon (attention drops).
  </Card>

  <Card title="Order & shipping updates" icon="box">
    Send as soon as the event happens — don't batch utility messages. Speed matters more than timing for these.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Appointment reminders" icon="calendar">
    24 hours before and 1 hour before the appointment. Schedule both when the booking is created.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Event invites & RSVPs" icon="ticket">
    7 days out (save the date) and 1 day out (final reminder).
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Pause a scheduled campaign

If plans change before the send time, you can pause a scheduled campaign.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the campaign">
    Go to **Campaigns → All Campaigns** and click the scheduled campaign.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click 'Pause'">
    The campaign moves to **Paused** status. No messages will be sent while paused, even if the scheduled time passes.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
  Paused campaigns stay paused indefinitely — they won't auto-resume when the scheduled time arrives. You must resume them manually.
</Tip>

## Resume a paused campaign

When you're ready to send:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the paused campaign">
    Click it in the campaigns list.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click 'Resume'">
    If the original scheduled time is in the future, the campaign goes back to **Scheduled** and fires at that time.
    If the original time has already passed, Xobito starts sending immediately.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  When you resume a campaign whose scheduled time has passed, sending starts **right away**. If that's not what you want, cancel the campaign and create a new one with a fresh schedule.
</Warning>

## Cancel a scheduled campaign

Cancelling a scheduled campaign stops it permanently. No messages are sent, and the campaign moves to **Cancelled** status.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the campaign">
    From the campaigns list.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click 'Cancel'">
    Confirm the prompt. The campaign is archived — you can still open it for reference but cannot reschedule it.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  Cancelled campaigns don't cost anything — you're only billed for messages that Meta actually delivers.
</Note>

## Edit a scheduled campaign

You **cannot** edit the template, recipients, or variable mappings of a scheduled campaign. The workflow is:

1. **Cancel** the scheduled campaign.
2. **Create a new** campaign with the changes.
3. Schedule the new one for the original (or updated) time.

This is intentional — it prevents accidental changes to a campaign that's about to send to thousands of people.

## Common questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="What happens if my server is offline at the scheduled time?">
    Xobito's send queue runs on a managed background service, not your browser. You can close the tab, log out, even shut your laptop — the campaign still fires at the scheduled time.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I schedule recurring campaigns (e.g. every Monday)?">
    Not directly — scheduling is one-off per campaign. For recurring sends, consider a **Template Bot** on a time trigger, or duplicate the campaign each week.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I schedule across multiple timezones?">
    The scheduled time is a single moment in your workspace timezone. If you need to send "9am local time" to recipients in multiple timezones, split them into separate campaigns, each scheduled to the right UTC moment.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How far in advance can I schedule?">
    You can schedule up to 12 months ahead. For anything further out, we recommend creating the campaign closer to the send date — your template content and contact list may have changed.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Next

<Card title="Track performance" icon="chart-line" href="/campaigns/track-performance">
  Once your scheduled campaign sends, monitor delivery and read rates.
</Card>