Last updated: March 2026 Category: Flows
Overview
Flow Settings let you control how and when your flows interact with users. Rate limiting prevents users from receiving too many messages, and quiet hours ensure notifications are not sent during inconvenient times. These settings help you maintain a positive user experience while running multiple automations.
Prerequisites
At least one flow created in BeyondCart
Access to the BeyondCart dashboard settings
Step-by-Step Guide
Accessing Flow Settings
Flow settings are available at two levels:
Global settings apply to all flows by default.
Per-flow overrides let you customize settings for a specific flow.
To access global settings:
Click Settings in the left navigation menu.
Select "Flow Settings" from the settings categories.
To access per-flow settings:
Open a flow in the editor.
Click the gear icon in the top toolbar.
[Screenshot: Global flow settings page with rate limiting and quiet hours sections]
Configuring Rate Limiting
Rate limiting controls how many messages a single user can receive across all flows within a given time window.
In the flow settings, find the "Rate Limiting" section.
Configure the following:
Maximum messages per user — The cap on how many push notifications a user can receive. Example: 3.
Time window — The period over which the cap applies. Options: per hour, per day, per week.
When a user hits the rate limit, any additional messages are skipped (not queued).
Example configuration: 3 messages per day means a user will receive at most 3 push notifications in a 24-hour period, regardless of how many flows they are in.
[Screenshot: Rate limiting configuration with max messages set to 3 and time window set to per day]
Configuring Quiet Hours
Quiet hours define a time window during which no notifications are sent to users. This prevents messages from arriving in the middle of the night or during other inconvenient times.
In the flow settings, find the "Quiet Hours" section.
Enable quiet hours by toggling the switch.
Set the quiet period:
Start time — When quiet hours begin (e.g., 10:00 PM).
End time — When quiet hours end (e.g., 8:00 AM).
Choose the timezone behavior:
Store timezone — Quiet hours are based on your store's timezone.
User timezone — Quiet hours are based on each user's local timezone (when available).
Choose what happens to messages during quiet hours:
Skip — The message is not sent at all.
Queue and send after — The message is held and delivered when quiet hours end.
[Screenshot: Quiet hours enabled with 10 PM to 8 AM window and "Queue and send after" selected]
Per-Flow Overrides
If a specific flow needs different settings from the global defaults:
Open the flow in the editor.
Click the gear icon in the toolbar.
Toggle "Override Global Settings".
Configure rate limiting and quiet hours specifically for this flow.
Use case: Your abandoned cart flow might need to send more messages than the global limit allows, so you override the rate limit to 5 messages per day for that flow only.
Global Flow Settings Summary
The global settings page also shows:
Active flows count — How many flows are currently active.
Total daily messages — An estimate of how many messages are being sent per day across all flows.
Rate limit hits — How many messages were suppressed by rate limiting in the last 7 days.
This summary helps you understand the overall volume and impact of your settings.
Key Concepts
Rate limiting is per-user, not per-flow. The limit counts messages across all active flows. This prevents a user who is in five flows from receiving five times the normal message volume.
Quiet hours affect delivery timing, not flow execution. Users continue progressing through flow nodes during quiet hours — only the message delivery is delayed or skipped.
Per-flow overrides take precedence. If a flow has custom settings, those override the global defaults for users in that flow.
Tips and Best Practices
Set a reasonable global rate limit. For most stores, 2-4 messages per day strikes the right balance between engagement and annoyance.
Always enable quiet hours. Sending a push notification at 3 AM is a fast way to get your app uninstalled. Respect your users' sleep.
Use "Queue and send after" for important messages. Abandoned cart reminders and transactional messages should be queued rather than skipped during quiet hours.
Use "Skip" for time-sensitive promotions. A flash sale notification that arrives 8 hours late has lost its urgency — skip it instead of queuing.
Review rate limit hits regularly. A high number of suppressed messages might mean you have too many overlapping flows targeting the same users.
FAQ
Q: Does rate limiting apply to webhooks? A: No. Rate limiting only applies to push notification actions. Webhooks and user updates are not affected.
Q: Can I set different quiet hours for different days of the week? A: Currently, quiet hours use the same window every day. Weekend-specific quiet hours are not yet supported.
Q: What timezone is used if the user's timezone is unknown? A: If user timezone is selected but the user's timezone is not available, the store timezone is used as a fallback.
Q: Do per-flow overrides affect the global rate limit counter? A: Per-flow overrides set a separate limit for that flow. However, messages sent from overridden flows still count toward other flows' global limits.
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