Subscribing to your calendar on your phone

If you'd rather see your bookings in the calendar app you already use (Apple Calendar, Google Calendar or Outlook), TimeToBook can publish a read-only feed of a staff member's bookings. Subscribe once and new bookings and changes flow in automatically.

This is a one-way, read-only feed. Bookings are still created and changed in TimeToBook. Anything you edit in your calendar app stays in that app and never comes back to TimeToBook.

Subscribing your own calendar

If you have a TimeToBook login that's linked to your staff profile, you'll see a green notice near the top of the Calendar page: "See your bookings in Apple Calendar, Google Calendar, or Outlook".

1. Open the Calendar page.
2. Tap Add to my calendar in the green notice.
3. Confirm the prompt in your calendar app.

Add to my calendar opens a webcal:// link. That works with Apple Calendar on an iPhone, iPad or Mac. It does not work for Google Calendar on a computer or an Android phone. If you use Google Calendar, see Adding the feed to Google Calendar below.

The notice only appears if your login is linked to a staff member (for example, you accepted a staff invitation, or you're the owner who was set up as the first staff member). If you tap Dismiss, the notice is hidden for good and can't be brought back. You can still subscribe: ask the owner to send you your link from the Calendar Sync tab (below).

Sharing a staff member's calendar (owners)

Owners, and anyone whose role lets them manage staff, can get the subscription link for any staff member and send it to them.

1. Open Staff & Services and click Edit on the staff member.
2. Switch to the Calendar Sync tab.
3. Click Show calendar subscription link.
4. Click Copy to copy the Subscription URL, or use Add to Apple Calendar or Add to Google Calendar.

Send the link to the staff member by text or email, and they add it to their calendar app once.

Adding the feed to Google Calendar

The Add to Google Calendar button on the Calendar Sync tab opens Google Calendar with the feed ready to add. Use it on a computer, signed in to the Google account the staff member uses.

You can also add it by hand: in Google Calendar on a computer, go to Other calendars, choose From URL, and paste the subscription link. If Google won't accept it, change webcal:// at the start of the link to https://. Once it's added on a computer, it shows up in the Google Calendar app on their phone too.

Treat the link like a password

The link shows client names, phone numbers and emails, and anyone who has it can subscribe without logging in. If a link is shared by mistake, or a staff member leaves or loses a phone, click Regenerate link on the same tab. Every calendar subscribed to the old link stops getting updates, so share the new link with anyone who should still have access.

What appears in the feed

• Bookings from 30 days ago to 6 months ahead.
• Each event is titled with the client's name and the service.
• The event notes show the service, duration, the client's name, phone and email, and any booking notes.
• Pending bookings show as tentative.
• Cancelled and no-show bookings are sent as cancelled. Most calendar apps then hide them or show them crossed out.

How quickly changes show up

Your calendar app decides how often it checks the feed, not TimeToBook. Apple Calendar usually picks up changes within about 15 minutes. Google Calendar checks subscribed calendars much less often, and it can take many hours for a new booking or a change to appear. There's no way to make Google check sooner.

Because of this delay, always check the TimeToBook Calendar before telling a client a time is free.

Things it doesn't do

• No two-way sync. Events you add in Apple, Google or Outlook don't block time in TimeToBook. To block time, add a block on the TimeToBook calendar.
• No importing calendars. You can't import a Google Calendar or .ics export into TimeToBook. To bring bookings across from another booking system, see Importing bookings.
• One staff member per link. Each link shows one staff member's bookings. To see several people, subscribe to each of their links.

Troubleshooting

• Nothing's showing up. Give Apple 15 minutes and Google several hours. If you're on Google Calendar and used Add to my calendar, that link won't work there: use the Google steps above instead.
• It's showing old data. Calendar apps cache feeds. Remove the subscription and add it again.
• It stopped updating. Someone may have clicked Regenerate link. Ask the owner for the new link.
• Wrong staff member's bookings. Each link belongs to one staff member. Get the link from the right person's Calendar Sync tab.

If you just want to glance at the day, the Calendar page works in any phone browser. See Using TimeToBook on your phone.