Updated:
13 September 2025
See also:
Purpose
This flow delays messages sent outside of working hours until the start of the next business day, enabling delivery only during working hours. Company business hours are set by modifying the recurring appointment "Working Hours" in the "DelayOutOfHoursEmails" shared mailbox. An Exchange Online transport rule (also named "DelayOutOfHoursEmails") controls which messages are processed.
Current version: 1.0.2
Installation
- Create the shared mailbox "DelayOutOfHoursEmails", ensuring that the account used to run the flow has "Full Access" and "Send As" permissions on it.
- Open Outlook, navigate to the "DelayOutOfHoursEmails" shared mailbox, and then create the recurring appointment "Working Hours".
- Create the transport rule:
- Open the Exchange admin center and navigate to "Mail Flow" > "Rules".
- Click the plus sign icon to add a new rule and name it "DelayOutOfHoursEmails". Configure the rule as shown in the image below, then save it. Note that this rule is an example; you can modify the conditions to suit your needs.
- Open Power Automate and import "DelayOutOfHoursEmails1002.zip", following the Power Automate documentation.
- Enter the address of the shared mailbox in the "Original Mailbox Address" field of the "When a new email arrives in a shared mailbox (V2)" trigger. Select "Inbox" in the "Folder" field.
- Set the strTimeZone variable to your local time zone name (see the list of time zones here).
- Save the flow.
- Turn on the flow.
Testing
- During non-business hours, open Outlook and send a message. Navigate to the "DelayOutOfHoursEmails" shared mailbox and confirm that an approval request appears in the Inbox. After a few minutes, navigate to the Drafts folder of the same shared mailbox and verify that an approval response is present. Enable the "Defer Until" column in the Drafts folder to confirm that it is set to the start of the next business day.
If you want to send the delayed message right away, do the following:- Outlook for Windows
- Outlook on the Web (OWA)
- Outlook for Windows
- During business hours, open Outlook and send a message. Verify that the message is delivered immediately.
Limitations
Messages cannot be delayed by more than 48 hours. This is a limitation of Microsoft's message approval process.
Warning
We do not offer a demo version; however, we offer a full money-back guarantee. If you are not satisfied, please contact us to request a refund. You must delete the flow upon receiving a refund.
After Purchase
You will receive a download link for the ZIP file. Import it into Power Automate as described in the Installation section.
Pricing and Licensing
This product is licensed per shared mailbox.
Payments are processed by PayPro Global. For payment-related support, contact PayPro Global Customer Support.
Payments are processed by PayPro Global. For payment-related support, contact PayPro Global Customer Support.
License type
Price per unit
