# Why does a shipment show unexpected day counts when no specific free time rule matches?

**URL:** <https://community.dockflow.com/t/why-does-a-shipment-show-unexpected-day-counts-when-no-specific-free-time-rule-matches/163>\
**Category:** How-to Q&A\
**Tags:** area-automations, flags-and-alerts\
**Created:** [November 6, 2026, 3:18pm UTC](https://community.dockflow.com/t/why-does-a-shipment-show-unexpected-day-counts-when-no-specific-free-time-rule-matches/163 "2026-11-06T15:18:48Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![dockflow](https://community.dockflow.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@dockflow](https://community.dockflow.com/u/dockflow)\
**Post date:** [November 6, 2026, 3:18pm UTC](https://community.dockflow.com/t/why-does-a-shipment-show-unexpected-day-counts-when-no-specific-free-time-rule-matches/163/1 "2026-11-06T15:18:48Z")

</div>

If no specific free time rule matches a shipment and a backup rule is enabled, the backup applies  
rather than nothing. A flag that appears with unexpected day counts may be running on the backup  
rather than on the rule you expect.

If no backup rule is enabled either, Dockflow reports the rule as missing instead. See  
[free time and demurrage](https://community.dockflow.com/tag/free-time-and-demurrage) for how the match works and how to enable  
a backup.

**Example**  
A shipment has no matching specific free time rule. A backup rule is enabled, so Dockflow applies the backup rather than nothing. The flag shows unexpected day counts, which may mean the shipment is running on the backup instead of the rule you expected. If no backup rule were enabled, Dockflow would report the rule as missing.