By Rachael Young · Updated October 14, 2026
Write these six parts of your rule
- Inquiry type: urgent, routine or planned project.
- Staffed hours: when a person is actually available.
- First owner: who checks the incoming queue.
- Fallback: who covers absence or busy periods.
- First action: a human reply, question or callback attempt.
- Next commitment: action, owner and due date.
Illustrative rule:
A routine estimate request after closing gets an automatic receipt, then a human reply during the next staffed period. Use this only if the team can meet it; do not imply emergency coverage you do not offer.
Measure receipt to a human action
Keep automated receipts separate from human replies. If the receipt or response timestamp is missing, mark the interval unknown. Review late, unanswered and after-hours requests as well as the typical response; a median alone can hide an unowned queue.
Choose the relevant help
Follow-Up Setup — $395 once defines one owner, fallback, response standard and tracking view in your existing tools. It does not staff the inbox. Try the free handoff builder first if you want to draft a rule yourself.