You can set specific time limits for each stage added to the proof.  To configure your workflow, see Add reviewers and configure workflows for a proof. 
 

Available on: Business Legacy, Standard Pro Enterprise

Set a specific date and time

For stages set to start immediately, you can assign a specific date and hour for the deadline. Use Specific date when you know the exact day and time a review must be completed.

The deadline time is set using the time zone of the person who creates it. For example, if someone in North America Central Time sets a deadline for 5am Monday, that deadline will be 12pm Monday in Central European Time.

Example:

Set the stage to end by July 11, 2025 at 5 AM.

Set based on stage start time

The stage start day option allows you to set a deadline that happens at a time or a configurable amount of hours after the stage begins. 

You can choose:

• A set number of hours
• A deadline based on business days (available in Pro and Enterprise)

Examples:

• Set the Marketing stage to end 48 hours after it starts.
• Set the Compliance stage to end 2 days after the previous stage is approved.

Set based on business days after the stage starts

Use business days when you want the deadline to fall a certain number of business days (excluding weekends) after a stage begins, at a specific time of day.
Examples:

• Set the Design Review stage to end 3 business days after it starts, at 2:00 PM local time.
• Set the Executive Approval stage to end 1 business day after the previous stage is approved, at 1 PM.

Known limitation: business days deadline timing

When using business-day-based deadlines, your final deadline time may shift unexpectedly, especially near weekends, because Ziflow calculates time in UTC (Coordinated Universal Time), not your local time.

When this can happen

This issue can occur when:

• Your selected deadline falls on a Friday or Monday
• Your local time converts to a different calendar day in UTC.

For example:

• In New York (UTC–5), selecting 8:00 PM Friday converts to 1:00 AM Saturday UTC.
• In Paris (UTC+1), selecting 12:30 AM Monday converts to 11:30 PM Sunday UTC.

Because weekends are skipped during deadline calculations based on UTC time, a Friday night deadline might push to the next Monday, or a Monday deadline might unexpectedly start on a Sunday.

This does not affect deadlines when you choose a specific date and time.

Recommendation
When using business-day-based deadlines, avoid selecting local times on Fridays after work hours and Mondays early in the morning, especially if they convert to a different calendar day in UTC.