The problem this solves
Lots of people keep their own calendar alongside Stippa: a dentist visit, a supplier meeting, an afternoon off. Stippa knows nothing about it, so that time stays bookable online. The result is a customer who books exactly then, and an appointment you have to move.
With calendar sync, Stippa reads a staff member's calendar. If something is in it, that time disappears from the available times in the booking widget.
What is and isn't shared
This is the most important thing to understand before you connect:
- By default Stippa only reads whether a time slot is busy, not what you're doing then. In the schedule such a block shows as From calendar. Locations, notes and attendees never come across.
- If you do want to see what's there, turn on Show appointment titles on the connection. Then the schedule shows "Dentist", for example. Everyone in your team can see the schedule. If you turn it off again, Stippa erases the titles.
- Stippa writes nothing into your own calendar. If you want to see your Stippa appointments there, use the calendar link (see the bottom of this page).
- The connection is per staff member, not per business. Everyone connects their own calendar.
How to connect a calendar
- First check that the module is on. Go to Administration > Modules and look at Calendar sync. If it has a plan label next to it, the feature is in a higher plan.
- Go to Staff, open the staff member and choose the Calendar sync tab.
- Choose Connect Google Calendar, sign in to your Google account and grant access. If you use Apple Calendar or Outlook, choose Add iCal feed and paste the iCal URL your calendar app gives you.
After connecting, Stippa fetches the existing appointments. Stippa looks 180 days ahead. Anything further out comes across by itself once it falls within that period.
Appointments marked as free in your calendar, and appointments that have been cancelled, block nothing.
How many calendars per staff member?
Calendar sync is in Starter and up. On Starter and Groei you connect one calendar per staff member, on Pro three, and on Zakelijk as many as you like. Several calendars are handy when someone keeps a work calendar and a private calendar separately and both need to block their availability.
The number that applies to you is shown above your connections, for example "1 of 3 connected".
When is it updated?
A Google Calendar usually lets Stippa know within a few minutes that something has changed. Stippa fetches an iCal feed every hour, so a change there can take up to an hour. If you don't want to wait with an iCal feed, click Refresh on the connection.
For a block you want to be sure of, such as a day off you already know about, an exception on the roster is the better choice. It works immediately. See Adding one-off closures and exceptions.
Common situations
Suddenly far fewer times are available
Most likely the connected calendar has recurring appointments that fill the whole day or week, such as an all-day "working from home" item. All-day appointments block the whole day. Give them a time slot, mark them as free or remove them from the connected calendar.
The connection has expired
If your password changes or you withdraw permission at your calendar provider, syncing stops. The connection then shows Re-authentication needed. Choose Disconnect and then connect the calendar again with Connect Google Calendar.
I don't see my Stippa appointments in my own calendar
A connection only works one way: from your calendar to Stippa. The other direction goes through the calendar link below.
Appointments in your own calendar
The same tab has Appointments in your own calendar. Subscribe with that Calendar link in Apple Calendar, Google Calendar or Outlook, and the staff member's appointments appear there automatically. You don't need to connect an account for this.
The link works one way: what you add in your own calendar doesn't come into Stippa and so doesn't block any time. Your calendar app fetches changes itself, which can take a while. If the link has got into the wrong hands, make a new one with Create new link. The old one stops working after that.