GHL Timezone & Daylight Saving Time (DST) Troubleshooting

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)

1. ALWAYS confirm the client's timezone before booking — ask: "What time zone are you in?"
2. State the time in BOTH timezones when confirming: "That's 5:00 PM your time, which is 7:00 PM Eastern"
3. Add a note in GHL on the contact record with their timezone (e.g., "Client TZ: Pacific")
4. 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)