Special cases in job schedules

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated March 12, 2026
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Special cases in job schedules

    This content addresses specific considerations for scheduling jobs within ServiceNow, particularly focused on end-of-month schedules, weekday execution, and the execution of scheduled jobs from scripts. Understanding these nuances helps ensure that jobs run as intended, avoiding unforeseen issues related to timing and execution conditions.

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    Key Features

    • End of Month Schedules: Avoid scheduling jobs for the 29th or 30th of a month due to varying month lengths. Jobs scheduled for the 31st will run on the last day of the month, adapting to shorter months like February.
    • Weekday Schedules: A script is provided to ensure jobs run only on weekdays, while caution is advised for conditional scripts in scheduled report emails, as they are executed in a sandbox environment with limitations on function definitions and API calls.
    • Executing Scheduled Jobs from Scripts: A script is available to trigger scheduled jobs based on specific event conditions. Various tables can be used for job execution via scripts.
    • Data Record Management: Scheduled Scripts and Jobs are treated as data records within the ServiceNow platform and are excluded from update sets. Users can export and import these records via XML, but certain precautions are necessary to avoid unexpected data changes.

    Key Outcomes

    By following these guidelines, ServiceNow customers can effectively manage job scheduling, ensuring that jobs execute in line with operational requirements while avoiding common pitfalls associated with date-related scheduling challenges and limitations of the system. Customers should also be aware of the implications of importing and exporting job records to maintain system integrity.

    Some special cases require care in job scheduling.

    End of the month schedules

    Because months have different lengths, take care when scheduling jobs for the end of the month.

    • Scheduling an event for the 29th or 30th is not recommended, because the scheduled job is executed in months (like February) which are shorter than those dates.
    • If an event is scheduled for the 31st, it executes on the last day of the month, even if the month is shorter.

    For example, something scheduled to run on the 31st of the month runs on February 28 or February 29 in a leap year.

    Weekday schedules

    For scheduled scripts, use the following script to run only on weekdays:

    Warning:
    Conditional scripts for scheduled report emails are executed in the sandbox. Therefore, function definitions are not allowed. Some API calls and keywords are also not allowed.
    
var isWeekday;
var today = new Date();
var dayOfWeek = today.getDay(); // Get day of the week(0 = Sunday, 1 = Monday, ... , 6 = Saturday)
switch (dayOfWeek) {
case 0: // Sunday
case 6: // Saturday
isWeekday = false;
break;
default:
isWeekday = true;
}
answer=isWeekday;

    If the conditional script on a Scheduled Report is more complex and you need to make use of our Glide classes, then please use the following steps as a workaround:

    1. Create a Scheduled Job and complete all the conditional logic of the Scheduled Report inside the Scheduled Job.
    2. If all the conditional logic is satisfied, you can trigger the Scheduled Report with the following script inside the Scheduled Job.
      var schRpGr = new GlideRecord("sysauto_report");
schRpGr.get("<sys_id of the scheduled report>");
gs.executeNow(schRpGr);

    Scheduled jobs from scripts

    To execute a scheduled job triggered by an event, use the following script:

    //Execute a scheduled script job
var rec = new GlideRecord('sysauto_script');
rec.get('name', 'YOUR_JOB_NAME_HERE');
SncTriggerSynchronizer.executeNow(rec);
    You can run the script using one of several tables:
    • scheduled_import_set (Scheduled Import Sets)
    • sysauto_script (Scheduled Script Execution)
    • sysauto_template (Scheduled Template Generation)
    • sysauto_report (Scheduled Report)
    Note:
    SncTriggerSynchronizer does not provide methods to execute scheduled jobs in the future.

    Running scheduled scripts and jobs imported from another instance

    Scheduled Script Execution and Scheduled Jobs are categorized as data records in the ServiceNow AI Platform, which means they are excluded from update sets. To determine if a table is included, navigate to All > System Definition > Dictionary and view the Attribute value for the table in question. Only tables with the attribute update_sync=true are included in update sets.

    You can optionally export and import data records via XML. However, to prevent unexpected data changes, Schedule Item [sys_trigger] records are not created for data records imported from an XML file such as an update set. To run scheduled jobs or scripts imported from another instance, update the corresponding job or script record in the target instance.