> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.samita.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.samita.io/samita-countdown-timer-bar/estimated-delivery-date/cutoff-time.md).
# Cut-off time
Set the daily deadline that decides whether an order counts today or tomorrow — including a different one per weekday.
The cut-off time is the daily deadline for an order to be treated as today's. Order before it and the delivery window starts counting from today; order after it and the count starts tomorrow.
It's also the thing the `{cutoff_time}` variable counts down to, which is what turns a flat delivery estimate into something urgent: *"Order within the next 4h 12m for delivery between Mar 14 – Mar 16"*.
## Where to find it
Open a delivery date countdown, go to the **Settings** tab, and open the **Date range setting** section. The cut-off controls sit with the dispatch and delivery day ranges.
The cut-off sits alongside the dispatch and delivery ranges.
## The default: 23:59
A new delivery date uses **23:59** — effectively "any time today still counts as today".
That's a safe starting point, but it makes the `{cutoff_time}` countdown much less persuasive: at 10 in the morning it reads about fourteen hours, which is no kind of deadline. If you use the cut-off variable in your message, set a real time.
## Setting one cut-off for every day
Enter the hours and minutes of your daily deadline. If you pack and hand over to your carrier at 2pm, set 14:00.
Shoppers arriving before 14:00 see today counted as day zero; shoppers arriving at 14:01 see the window shifted a day later, with the countdown now pointing at tomorrow's deadline.
## Setting a different cut-off per weekday
Most stores don't run the same hours seven days a week. The cut-off can be set per day, with a row for each of **Sunday** through **Saturday**.
Each row gives you:
* An **All day** option, for days with no meaningful deadline.
* A **Start time (hh:mm)** and **End time (hh:mm)**, for days with a real one.
Dispatch and delivery keep their own per-day cut-offs, so you can say "we pack until 3pm on weekdays, noon on Saturday, and not at all on Sunday" and have the calculation reflect it.
{% hint style="info" %}
Days you've unticked as working days in the [date ranges](/samita-countdown-timer-bar/estimated-delivery-date/date-range.md) don't need a cut-off — they're skipped when counting either way.
{% endhint %}
## A worked example
Your store dispatches Monday to Friday, cut-off 14:00. Dispatch takes 1–3 days, delivery 3–5 days, and deliveries don't happen on Sunday.
| Shopper arrives | Counting starts | What they see |
| --------------- | --------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- |
| Tuesday 09:00 | Tuesday | A countdown of about 5 hours to the cut-off |
| Tuesday 15:00 | Wednesday | A countdown of about 23 hours, window one day later |
| Saturday 11:00 | Monday | The next working day, since Saturday isn't a dispatch day |
## Checking it
The most useful test is the one either side of your own deadline: load a product page shortly before your cut-off, note the window, then load it again afterwards. The dates should move on by a day and the countdown should reset to the next deadline.
{% hint style="warning" %}
Like the rest of the app, the cut-off countdown is evaluated against the shopper's own device clock. A shopper in a different timezone reaches your cut-off at a different local moment than you do.
{% endhint %}
## Next steps
* [Delivery variables](/samita-countdown-timer-bar/estimated-delivery-date/variables.md)
* [Date range settings](/samita-countdown-timer-bar/estimated-delivery-date/date-range.md)
* [Create an estimated delivery date](/samita-countdown-timer-bar/estimated-delivery-date/create.md)
* [Estimated delivery date overview](/samita-countdown-timer-bar/estimated-delivery-date/overview.md)
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