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  1. vcita Help center
  2. vcita Help and FAQs
  3. Calendar and calendar sync
  1. vcita Help center
  2. vcita Help and FAQs
  3. Calendar and calendar sync

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Sync Your Google Calendar to vcita using New 2-Way Sync

You can sync your Google Calendar with your vcita calendar to manage your schedule from one place. All events will be imported from Google to vcita and block time on your vcita calendar. Syncing your calendars will prevent your clients from booking when you are unavailable. When trying to book an appointment from your own calendar, you will be notified if the booking clashes with a google event. 

Connecting to Google two-way sync can be done from the Settings / My Schedule page or directly from the App Market on the left menu.  

When syncing your calendars, you can choose to import your google calendar into vcita, export your vcita calendar to your Google Calendar, or both.

Syncing with your Google Calendar

Important: Please ensure that you are using a laptop or desktop to connect your account to the new 2-way sync. At this time, we do not support mobile devices for the initial sync connection.
  1. On the Calendar View page, click on "Connect external calendar"
  2. Next to Google Calendar, click on "Connect"
  3. Log in to the Google Account to have it impact availability in vcita and grant permissions to sync
  4. Set up your Import preferences - Select which Google Calendars should create "Busy times" in your vcita calendar then click Next
  5. Set up your Export preferences. This will determine how your Google Calendar will be updated with vcita appointments. Then click Sync.
    Note: Please note that creating a "new calendar" can result in double bookings, as the vcita bookings will not sync as busy time on your primary calendar. Please also be aware that you will need to share your new calendar with anyone you want to have visibility to it.
  6. Select "Sync now" or schedule the sync for 1 am, local time
Tip: The initial sync includes calendar items from the last 30 days and the next two years. Please note that if you have a recurring appointment that was first scheduled more than 2 years ago this will not sync. Please cancel and reschedule this appointment so that it will block your availability.
Important: You can only change calendar items on the calendar you used to create them. If you would like to change an appointment or event booked via vcita, please make sure to change it on vcita, and if you would like to change a Google event, please make sure to change it on Google.

Import your vcita calendar to your Google Calendar

When importing your Google calendar into vcita, you'll be able to view all of your Busy times on your vcita calendar, as long as you remember to mark the event as Busy time in Google.

Tip: Google Calendar's default setting for "All Day" events is for them to be "Free" time,  so remember to update this to "Busy" time if you want this time blocked on your vcita calendar.

Adding Google calendar items will help you make sure you prevent double bookings. 

You can choose to keep your Google Calendar appointment details private and visible only to you on your vcita account.

Export your vcita calendar display to Google calendar

When exporting your calendar you'll need to choose how you'd like to export your vcita calendar to Google during the export process. The default option is to export all your calendar items to your Google primary calendar. 

Additionally, you can choose to export your vcita calendar to a brand new calendar that will be added to the "my calendars" section as a new subscribed calendar. (see image below). The new calendar will be named according to your vcita business name as a default when choosing this option. You can choose a unique name.

Note: Please note that creating a "new calendar" can result in double bookings, as the vcita bookings will not sync as busy time on your primary calendar. Please also be aware that you will need to share your new calendar with anyone you want to have visibility to it.
Important: When choosing to add a new calendar, make sure your new vcita calendar is checked to view it on your primary calendar.

Google_gif.gif

If you're viewing your calendar from Mac or iPhone, make sure the exported calendar is selected there as well.  

Initial sync

The initial sync process typically takes 30 mins hours but can take up to 2 hours. During this time, some of your calendar items may not be available. All changes that occur on your vcita calendar will be updated automatically on your Google calendar.

Note: For your convenience, you can choose to schedule the sync to non-working hours (1 am).

Example: Changes made on your Google calendar for vcita calendar items will not be reflected in your vcita calendar. Next time you update the calendar item on your vcita calendar, the changes you made on your Google calendar will be erased.

Migrating from the old version of Google Calendar sync

To migrate to the new version of Google Calendar Sync, go to the relevant Calendar Sync settings page. This would be Setting-> Availability & Calendar for single-staff businesses and Settings->Staff->Advanced settings->My Schedule for multi-staff businesses.

The yellow banner to Update your Google sync has a "Click Here" button that when clicked will take you to your calendar page, and to the new Google Calendar Sync wizard.

Update_Google_Sync.PNG

Your Google calendar will subscribe to your updated vcita calendar during this process, while the old synced calendar items are removed to prevent duplicates. 

In the old version, when a booking request is confirmed, an appointment is rescheduled or canceled, an email confirming the changes is sent to the email address tied to your vcita account. The email contains a .ics file that allows the appointment to be added or updated on your primary calendar (Gmail, Outlook, Hotmail, Yahoo, iCal, etc.). 

Important: If you were previously sharing your vcita Google calendar with others, you will need to re-share your new vcita Google calendar. Follow the steps from Google Calendar for sharing here.

The new 2-way sync app offers improved syncing between calendars by creating a 'mirror' of your vcita calendar on Google and vice versa. This also eliminates the need for emails with .ics files that fill your inbox. 

Note: If you decide to connect two-way sync with a Google account that’s different from your main email account associated with vcita, you will still be able to receive emails with .ics files to your main email account.

Disconnecting your vcita Google Calendar 2-Way sync

When disconnecting the 2-way sync, as a default all events and appointments will be removed from the Google calendar. Before completing the process, you would be able to choose to keep all existing events and appointments.

FAQ

I stopped receiving email notifications for calendar updates 

With the new 2-way sync now activated, we've taken steps to reduce your inbox clutter by turning off redundant email notifications. You can turn them back on at any time in your email template settings.

I can't connect to my google calendar from vcita

If you encounter issues connecting to your Google calendar, try logging out and then back into your Google account. Once you've done that, open the two-way sync app and try again. 

If you still aren’t able to connect your Google account please contact support. 

I can only see parts of my vcita calendar in my Google calendar

The google calendar sync may take up to 24 hours. If you still can't see some or all of your vcita calendar items on your new Google calendar, please contact support. 

Updates I make on my vcita calendar are not visible in my Google calendar

The Google sync connection is immediate; sometimes, it can take a few minutes to get updated due to server issues. Try refreshing your browser after 15 mins. If you still can't see the update reflected on your Google account, please contact support. 

I've added the new calendar to my iCal, but I still can't see my vcita calendar items in it. 

If you've successfully synced your Google calendar and checked the box beside your business name on your iCal, try clearing the cache on your browser. You can access your browser's Help menu to locate step-by-step instructions on how to do this or view those steps.

Basic Troubleshooting 

If you run into any issues syncing your Google calendar with your vcita calendar:

  • Make sure that your browser is up to date. We recommend you use Chrome to sync your calendar the first time.
  • Clear the cache on your browser. You can access your browser's Help menu to locate step-by-step instructions on how to do this.  You can also see instructions on how to do that here.
  • Refresh the page.
  • Switch to a different browser. We recommend Google Chrome.

If the above steps do not resolve your calendar sync issues,  please submit a ticket by using this link. 

 

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