In plain English
This phrase marks the day's final working cutoff, not some time in the middle of operations. It usually refers to the hour when a business or office is normally done for that day.
In context
In this reminder, it sets the deadline at the normal end of that business day.
- Situation
- Tracking obligations, deliverables, milestones, notices, and deadlines
- What it communicates
- sets the end-of-business-day cutoff in the reminder.
Meaning limits
By itself, the phrase does not state one universal clock time, because the exact end time can vary by business.
Examples
“The clerk locked the front door at close of business.”
“All revisions are due by close of business on Thursday.”