GHL Timezone & Daylight Saving Time (DST) Troubleshooting

Problem

Automated messages, appointment confirmations, or reminders show the wrong time — usually off by 1 hour during DST transitions, or showing Eastern time when the client is in a different timezone.

Common Scenarios

1. Automated Appointment Confirmations Show Wrong Time

Example: Client in Mountain Time (MDT) books for 5:00 PM their time (7:00 PM EDT). The automated confirmation says 5:00 PM EDT instead of 5:00 PM MDT or 7:00 PM EDT.

Why: GHL automations may default to the sub-account's timezone (Eastern) instead of the client's local timezone when sending confirmations.

2. Reminders Sent at Wrong Hours

Example: A "morning reminder" sends at 6:00 AM Eastern, which is 3:00 AM Pacific — waking up West Coast clients.

Why: Workflow time-based triggers use the account timezone unless specifically configured otherwise.

3. DST Transition Confusion

Example: After clocks spring forward or fall back, appointment times are off by 1 hour for a few days.

Why: Some cached calendar data or third-party integrations may not immediately adjust for DST.

How to Handle It

For Appointment Booking (Setters & Closers)

ALWAYS confirm the client's timezone before booking — ask: "What time zone are you in?"
State the time in BOTH timezones when confirming: "That's 5:00 PM your time, which is 7:00 PM Eastern"
Add a note in GHL on the contact record with their timezone (e.g., "Client TZ: Pacific")
If using the AI bot or Peter for booking: make sure the timezone is explicitly stated in the booking request

For Automation/Workflow Issues

Report to #improvement-requests and tag Sam with:
- Client name
- What time was shown in the automated message
- What time it should have been
- Client's timezone
Sam can adjust the workflow to use the contact's timezone field instead of the account default

GHL Timezone Settings (Admin Reference)

Account timezone: Settings → Business Info → Timezone (set to America/New_York)
Contact timezone: Each contact can have a timezone field — automations can reference this with custom values
Calendar timezone: Settings → Calendars → each calendar has its own timezone setting
Workflow time triggers: Can be set to "Contact's timezone" instead of "Account timezone" in the trigger settings

Best Practice

When in doubt, state times in Eastern AND the client's timezone
During DST transitions (March & November), be extra careful with appointments booked the week before the change
If a client complains about a wrong-time message, apologize and rebook — don't argue about timezones

Page created by Peter (Wiki Builder) — April 17, 2026 Source: Team Discord #improvement-requests (Heinz, April 6 & March 31, 2026)