Overview
Delays play a crucial role in journeys, helping you manage the timing of each step to control when contacts continue. In Force24, the component responsible for this is called Set Delay Time. While the name suggests it simply sets a wait period, it also handles scheduling and message delivery rules. We'll often refer to it as the orange delay component in live chats, as this makes it visually clear.
There are three tickboxes within this component that shape how delays and scheduling work: Delay, Not Before, and Send Windows. Each of these options allows you to fine-tune the way contacts progress through your journey.
The Three Delay Tickboxes in the Orange Delay Component
1. Delay For - Fixed Wait Time
This option holds contacts in the journey for a specific number of days after the previous action.
Example: A 7-day delay means each contact waits seven days before continuing to the next step, such as receiving an email.
This is ideal for regular follow-ups like weekly reminders that don't need to land on a specific day or time (e.g. not necessarily a Wednesday at 10am).
These delays are relative to when each contact reaches the step.
2. Not Before - Scheduling
The Not Before option sets an absolute earliest time for the contacts to continue through the journey.
This is not dependent on when contacts arrived at the delay component.
Useful for coordinating fixed campaign timings, such as sending messages after a launch date or ensuring everyone gets an email on a particular day.
This option works well when you want all contacts to start receiving communications on the same date, such as every Monday at 9am.
3. Send Windows (and Throttling)
Send windows define when messages are allowed to send during the day or week (e.g. 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday).
These rules help avoid sending emails at inconvenient times like evenings or weekends, protecting your sender reputation and improving engagement.
Send windows don’t pause the journey, but hold contacts until the next available send time if they fall outside of the allowed window.
You typically only need to set this once early in a journey unless you want to change the timing later.
Throttling
Within the Send Windows area, you can also enable throttling by ticking the option labelled 'Max ___ contacts per hour'. This allows you to further control the flow of emails.
You can set this to a fixed number (e.g. 200 emails per hour) to slow the send rate and protect deliverability.
Throttling is useful for reducing the chance of triggering spam filters or reputation issues when sending to large volumes.
When used correctly, it helps maintain consistent delivery throughout the send window timeframe.
How These Options Work Together
Set Delay Time holds contacts for a number of days.
Not Before sets a fixed earliest time for continuing the journey.
Send Windows define when emails can actually be sent.
Throttling, within the Send Windows area, limits how many contacts proceed per hour.
They work independently but can be combined for full control. For example:
Delay of 3 days
Not Before set to Monday 9am
Send Windows set to Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm
Throttling set to 200 contacts per hour
This would ensure a steady, well-timed send starting at a predictable date and continuing at a manageable rate during business hours.
Scheduling in Other Components
Scheduling is not limited to the orange delay component.
Decision components (learn more here) and email components can also include scheduling features like "Schedule Send" to control when an action or email is triggered.
Practical Tips
If you want to send reminders on specific weekdays (e.g. every Monday), use Not Before with fixed dates and times rather than just a delay in most cases.
You can use maths to predict when the first and last emails will be sent out, but always leave some spare time for processing.
For example, if you’re sending to 4,200 contacts over 3 days and throttle at 200 per hour within an 8am to 6pm send window, you’ll send 600 emails per day, totalling 1,800 per day. That gives you room to send 5,400 emails across the window, leaving some grace period.
Avoid narrowing send windows too much. If emails can’t send during the window, they will queue, and some may fall outside your expected timeline.
A broad window such as Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm provides better flexibility and more reliable delivery.
Summary
Delay components in Force24 journeys give you powerful control over when contacts continue through each step. The orange Set Delay Time component includes three options:
Delay spaces steps by fixed timings
Not Before schedules absolute earliest continuation times
Send Windows manage when sends happen and also allow throttling to pace delivery
Used together, these tools help you time your campaigns accurately, protect deliverability and improve engagement.