Integrating with Google and Google Calendars

Created by Stefan Perchinkov, Modified on Wed, 26 Feb at 9:02 AM by Stefan Perchinkov

Connecting your Google Calendar helps you sync your bookings from Google Calendar to the system and vice versa. This ensures correct availability, prevents double bookings, and facilitates seamless scheduling and booking management.

Prerequisites

You need access to your Gmail account associated with the Google Calendar you want to connect.
Check if the writer's access is required:

Writer's access to the calendar is necessary to add events created in the system to your Google Calendar.

For more information, check our article “What To Do If you Get the Google Calendar Writer Access Error”

Read-only access will suffice if you simply want to fetch all your events from your Google Calendar into the system.

Step 1: Integrate Your Google Account

Go to Settings > Integrations within Referins.
Click “Sign in with Google” Under the Google Icon

Follow the prompts to link your Google Account with Referins.
Once integrated, you can access various Google services within Referins.
You can add multiple Google accounts by clicking on 'Sign in with Google' on the integrations page.
To disconnect an account, click the 'Connected' button and confirm deletion.

Step 2: Calendar Configuration

After connecting your Google account, you must complete the calendar configuration by selecting your linked and conflict calendars. To proceed, navigate to Calendars > Calendar Settings > Connections.

What is Calendar Configuration?

Calendar configuration involves setting up two key elements: Linked Calendar and Conflict Calendar.

Linked Calendar:

Purpose: All new events created within the system will automatically sync to your linked calendar. For example, any new event scheduled within the system will appear on your linked calendar (e.g., Google Calendar).

Important note: Please ensure your calendar is also showing as connected in your Settings > My Profile tab. From there, you can also manage your Linked and Conflict Calendars.

Sync Preferences (Advanced Setting)s

Default Sync (One-way Sync)

Events created on the system will be synced to Linked Calendar (Eg. Google).
Events created on Linked Calendar (e.g., Google) will be synced with the system.
- These events are synced as blocked slots.
- No contact is created for the guests found in the Linked Calendar (Eg. Google) events.
- No automations / workflows are triggered.

Two-way Sync

Events created on the system will be synced to Linked Calendar (Eg. Google).
Events created on Linked Calendar (e.g., Google) will be synced with the system.
- These events are synced as appointments.
- Contact is created for the guests found in the Linked Calendar (Eg. Google) events. (
- Automation/workflows can be triggered like any other appointment created in the system.

Example:

John has created a Google event from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. called 'Doctor's Appointment with Dr. Mark' and added Dr. Mark as a guest in his Google calendar.

Default Sync (One-way Sync)

Only a blocked time from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm will be added in the system so that no one can book during that time.

Two-way Sync:

An appointment is created in the system from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm so that no one can book during that time.
A new contact for Dr. Mark is created in the system.
If any workflows are created, they will get triggered for Dr. Mark.

Conflict Calendar:

Purpose: Events from third-party calendars designated as conflict calendars are synced to the system, marking your availability as occupied for the duration of the event.
Behavior:
- Only events marked as 'BUSY' in the third-party calendar will block your availability. Events marked as 'FREE' will be fetched by the system without affecting your availability.
- You can add multiple calendars to ensure thorough checking and prevent double bookings.

Unassigned Calendar synchronization (Simple/Event Calendars)

Navigate to Settings > Calendars to create or edit an existing calendar.

When creating, if you do not see this option right away, click on advanced settings and go to Connections.

Go to Connections. You will see the “Link to Calendar” dropdown. Select a calendar and choose the sync options based on the explanations below these example screenshots.

One way:

All events from the Google calendar will be shown in grey. It will not add whoever is invited in the Google event to the system as a contact. But will still sync the Appointments from the Google calendar and block the timeslot pulled from Google into the system.

Two way:

All events from Google Calendar will be colored and talk to each other. The system will find who is invited to the Google event, create a contact record for them, and fire off any triggers associated with the calendar.

Smart:

When an event is created in Google Calendar but the contacts associated with it are not found to already exist in the system as contacts, the system will not add them as contacts but will block the time off in your calendar (the event color will be gray).

Alternatively, when an event is created in Google Calendar, and the contacts associated with it are found as existing contacts, the event will be color-coded, and any triggers related to the calendar will fire off.

Disable Trigger:

All Google Calendar event contacts will be pulled into the system as new contacts, but no triggers associated with the calendar will fire.

Setting up Google Meet as the Meeting Location:

Now that your Google Account is integrated, let's set up your User Availability to generate Google Meet links for appointments automatically:

Navigate to Settings > My Profile.
Scroll down to User Availability.
From the dropdown menu, choose Google Meet as the preferred meeting location.
Click 'Update Availability' to save your changes.

Now, whenever you schedule appointments, the location automatically provides a Google Meet link for easy virtual meetings.

For more information, check our article “Google Meet Calendar Integration”

Pro Tips

Verify Access Levels: Ensure you have the appropriate access level for the calendar you want to connect. Writer's access is required to sync events to your linked calendar, while read-only access is sufficient for fetching events.
Manage Sync Preferences: Adjust your Sync Preferences in the Advanced Settings to choose between one-way or two-way sync based on your needs. Two-way sync offers more comprehensive integration, including contact creation and workflow automation.
Monitor Conflict Calendars: Regularly review your conflict calendars to ensure they are accurately reflecting your availability. Adding multiple calendars can help prevent double bookings by providing a more complete view of your schedule.
Use Smart Sync Wisely: When using Smart Sync, be aware of how it handles new contacts. It blocks time slots if contacts are not found in the system but does not create new contacts or trigger workflows.
Enable Google Meet: To streamline virtual meetings, set Google Meet as your preferred meeting location in User Availability settings. This ensures that every appointment scheduled will automatically include a Google Meet link.

FAQs

Q: How do I connect my Google Calendar to the system?

A: Navigate to Settings > Integrations, click “Sign in with Google” under the Google icon, and follow the prompts to link your Google account.

Q: What is the difference between one-way and two-way sync?

A: One-way sync updates your linked calendar with events from the system but does not create contacts or trigger workflows. Two-way sync synchronizes events in both directions, creates contacts and allows workflows to be triggered.

Q: How can I configure conflict calendars?

A: Go to Calendars > Calendar Settings > Connections, and select the calendars you want to use as conflict calendars. These calendars will be checked to block your availability for events marked as 'BUSY'.

Q: What does Smart Sync do?

A: Smart Sync blocks time slots for events in Google Calendar but only creates contacts and triggers workflows if the event’s associated contacts are already in the system.

Q: How can I ensure Google Meet links are included in my appointments?

A: Set Google Meet as the preferred meeting location in your User Availability settings. Navigate to Settings > Profile, choose Google Meet from the dropdown menu, and click 'Update Availability'.