Connect your Google Calendar or Microsoft Outlook (Office 365) Calendar with Appointy to keep your appointments and availability synchronized, avoid scheduling conflicts, and manage your bookings more efficiently.
Appointy supports two-way calendar synchronization on eligible paid plans, allowing appointments booked through Appointy to appear on your connected external calendar while using existing calendar events to block unavailable time slots in Appointy.
How Does Two-Way Calendar Synchronization Work?
When you enable two-way synchronization, Appointy and your connected Google or Outlook Calendar exchange scheduling information in both directions.
- Google Calendar or Outlook → Appointy: Busy events on your connected calendar block the corresponding time slots in Appointy, preventing customers from booking appointments during those times.
- Appointy → Google Calendar or Outlook: New appointments booked through Appointy automatically appear as events on your connected calendar.
This helps you maintain an accurate schedule across both platforms without manually blocking time or adding new appointments.
How to Connect Your Google or Outlook Calendar
Follow these steps to connect your external calendar with Appointy.
- Log in to your Appointy Admin Panel.
- Navigate to Marketplace.
- Under Calendars, select Google Calendar or Outlook Calendar, depending on the calendar you want to connect.
Click Connect.
- Sign in to your Google or Microsoft Office 365 account and authorize the requested permissions.
- Select the calendar you want to synchronize with Appointy.
- Set the synchronization option to BOTH WAYS.
- Click Update to save your settings.
Once connected, Appointy will begin synchronizing new appointments with your selected calendar.
Important: Existing Appointments Will Not Sync Automatically
Calendar synchronization applies only to appointments booked after you successfully connect your Google or Outlook Calendar to Appointy.
Appointments that were already booked in your Appointy account before establishing the calendar connection will not automatically appear in your external calendar.
Example:
- Before connecting: You already have 15 appointments in Appointy. These appointments will not automatically synchronize when you connect your Google Calendar.
- After connecting: A customer books a new appointment through Appointy. This appointment will automatically appear in your connected Google Calendar.
Note: Calendar synchronization does not work retrospectively for previously booked Appointy appointments.
What Appointment Information Gets Synchronized?
When a new appointment is booked through Appointy, the corresponding event is created in your connected Google or Outlook Calendar.
In addition to the appointment schedule, the following information can be synchronized.
1. Appointment Notes
If a note is added to an Appointy appointment, the appointment note is also synchronized with the corresponding calendar event.
This allows you to access relevant appointment information directly from your connected calendar without switching between applications.
2. Customer Intake Form Responses
If your business uses Appointy's Intake Form to collect additional information from customers during booking, those responses are also synchronized with the appointment in Google Calendar.
Example:
Suppose you operate a consulting business and ask customers the following questions during booking:
- What is the purpose of your consultation?
- Is there anything you would like us to prepare before your appointment?
- Do you have any specific requirements?
When the customer completes the booking, their submitted responses will be included in the corresponding Google Calendar event.
This helps staff review relevant customer information before the appointment.
Privacy note: Calendar events may contain customer-provided information. Make sure your calendar's sharing permissions are configured appropriately, particularly when collecting personal or sensitive information through intake forms.
How Can Staff Connect Their Own Google Calendars?
With the Professional plan, staff members can log in to their individual Appointy profiles and connect their respective Google Calendars.
This allows each staff member to manage their Appointy appointments and personal calendar availability independently.
How Staff Calendar Synchronization Works
- Appointy → Staff Google Calendar: When a customer books an appointment with a particular staff member, the appointment automatically appears on that staff member's connected Google Calendar.
- Staff Google Calendar → Appointy: When a staff member creates a busy event on their connected Google Calendar, the corresponding time slot is blocked in their Appointy schedule.
Example:
Suppose your business has three staff members: Sarah, John, and Emily.
Each staff member connects their own Google Calendar to Appointy.
- A customer books an appointment with Sarah at 10:00 AM. The appointment appears on Sarah's connected Google Calendar.
- John creates a personal meeting on his Google Calendar from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM. That time is blocked on John's Appointy schedule.
- Emily books a personal appointment on her Google Calendar. The corresponding time is blocked in her Appointy availability.
This enables staff members to maintain their individual schedules while allowing customers to book available appointments through your business booking page.
Important: Rescheduling and Deleting Calendar Events
Although Appointy supports two-way calendar synchronization, changes made directly to external calendar events do not necessarily update the original Appointy appointment.
Rescheduling Appointy Appointments
If an appointment was originally booked through Appointy, reschedule it from your Appointy Admin Panel.
Changing the time of its corresponding event directly in Google Calendar does not reschedule the original appointment in Appointy.
Example:
A customer books an Appointy appointment for 10:00 AM, which is synchronized with Google Calendar.
If you move the event to 11:00 AM directly in Google Calendar, the original Appointy appointment will not automatically move to 11:00 AM.
To reschedule the appointment correctly, make the change in Appointy.
Managing Events Created in Google Calendar
If an event was originally created in Google Calendar, manage that event directly from Google Calendar.
Deleting or modifying a synchronized calendar entry in Appointy does not delete the original event from Google Calendar.
Best Practice: Manage appointments and events in the system where they were originally created.
- Appointy appointments: Reschedule or cancel them in Appointy.
- Google Calendar events: Modify or delete them in Google Calendar.
This helps keep your booking schedule and external calendar consistent.
Why Was an Appointment Booked During a Blocked Calendar Event?
Sometimes, you may notice that an appointment was successfully booked in Appointy even though your Google Calendar shows an event blocking that time.
Before assuming that calendar synchronization failed, check when the blocking event was created and when the Appointy appointment was booked.
1. Check When the Calendar Event Was Created
A booking conflict may occur if the appointment was already booked in Appointy before the blocking event was created or synchronized.
Example:
- 10:00 AM: A customer books an Appointy appointment for Friday at 3:00 PM.
- 11:00 AM: You create a busy event on Google Calendar for the same Friday at 3:00 PM.
In this situation, the Appointy appointment was booked before the blocking event existed.
The Google Calendar event does not retroactively prevent an appointment that was already booked.
2. Verify the Blocking Event in the Staff Schedule
To investigate a possible calendar conflict:
- Log in to your Appointy Admin Panel.
- Navigate to the Staff section.
- Select the staff member associated with the appointment.
- Open the relevant date and time on their schedule.
- Locate the synchronized blocked event.
- Check the event's creation date and time, where available.
- Compare it with the date and time when the Appointy appointment was booked.
If the appointment was booked before the blocking event was created, this explains why the appointment could be scheduled during that time.
If the blocking event existed before the appointment was booked, review the calendar connection and synchronization settings.
3. Admins and Staff Can Book During Blocked Times
Appointy administrators and staff members can manually book appointments during blocked time slots.
Blocked availability primarily prevents customers from booking those times through the online booking calendar.
However, admins and staff can override this restriction when manually scheduling appointments.
Therefore, an appointment appearing during a blocked period does not always indicate a synchronization issue.
Example:
A staff member has blocked 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM using Google Calendar.
Customers cannot select that time through the online booking page once the block has synchronized.
However, an administrator or authorized staff member can manually schedule an appointment during that blocked period.
Important Things to Know
- Google Calendar and Outlook Calendar integrations are available on eligible paid Appointy plans.
- Two-way synchronization with Outlook (Office 365) requires the Professional plan or higher.
- With the Professional plan, staff can connect their individual Google Calendars.
- Only appointments booked after the calendar connection is established will synchronize automatically.
- Appointment notes can be synchronized with the corresponding calendar event.
- Customer intake form responses are included in synchronized Google Calendar appointments.
- Reschedule Appointy appointments directly from Appointy, rather than editing their Google Calendar events.
- Manage original Google Calendar events directly from Google Calendar.
- A blocking event created after an appointment was booked does not cancel or block that existing appointment.
- Admins and staff can manually schedule appointments during blocked time slots.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Appointy support two-way Google Calendar synchronization?
Yes. Appointy supports two-way synchronization with Google Calendar on eligible paid plans. New appointments booked through Appointy appear in the connected Google Calendar, while busy Google Calendar events block corresponding time slots in Appointy.
Can I synchronize Appointy with Microsoft Outlook or Office 365?
Yes. Appointy supports Outlook (Office 365) Calendar integration. Two-way synchronization with Outlook requires the Professional plan or higher.
Will my existing appointments sync when I connect Google Calendar?
No. Appointments booked in Appointy before connecting Google Calendar will not automatically synchronize. Only new appointments booked after the connection is established will sync.
Can each staff member connect their own Google Calendar?
Yes. With the Professional plan, staff members can log in to their individual Appointy profiles and connect their respective Google Calendars. Appointments booked with them will synchronize with their connected calendars, and busy events from their Google Calendars will block their Appointy availability.
Are appointment notes synchronized with Google Calendar?
Yes. Appointment notes added in Appointy are synchronized with the corresponding calendar event, allowing you to access appointment-related information from your connected calendar.
Will customer intake form responses appear in Google Calendar?
Yes. If your business collects additional information through an Appointy intake form during booking, the customer's responses are included with the synchronized appointment in Google Calendar.
Can I reschedule an Appointy appointment directly from Google Calendar?
No. Rescheduling a synchronized event directly in Google Calendar does not reschedule the original Appointy appointment. You should reschedule the appointment from Appointy.
If I delete an event in Appointy, will it also be deleted from Google Calendar?
If the event was originally created in Google Calendar, deleting or modifying its synchronized representation in Appointy does not delete the original Google Calendar event. Manage the original event directly in Google Calendar.
Why was a customer able to book an appointment during a blocked Google Calendar event?
This may happen if the appointment was booked before the blocking event was created or synchronized. Compare the appointment booking time with the blocking event's creation time to investigate the conflict.
Also, admins and staff can manually schedule appointments during blocked periods, so an appointment appearing during blocked time does not necessarily indicate a synchronization problem.
Can admins or staff book appointments during blocked calendar times?
Yes. Appointy administrators and staff members can manually create appointments during blocked time slots. These restrictions prevent customers from booking unavailable times through the online booking calendar, but manual bookings can override blocked availability.
Where can I manage my Google Calendar or Outlook synchronization settings?
Navigate to Appointy Admin Panel → Marketplace → Calendars, select Google Calendar or Outlook Calendar, and review your connection and synchronization settings.