Connecting an iCloud calendar

How can I connect my Apple iCloud calendar to show customers live information about my availability?

By connecting a calendar, you can significantly improve the availability information for customers. This makes it quicker and easier for customers to find appointments that match their own availability. This leads to smoother appointment scheduling and an overall improved customer experience.

Preparatory steps in your Apple account

Apple requires iCloud users to use application-specific passwords for all third-party applications. You can create an app-specific password in a few steps on your Apple ID account page:

1. Melde dich bei https://appleid.apple.com with your Apple ID.

2. Open the "Login and security" page.

3. Click on "Application-specific passwords".
   
   

4. Create a new application-specific password and copy it for the next step.
   
   

5. In addition to linking your calendar, you can create availability rules to exclude weekends or fixed appointments, for example. You then do not have to create these times as appointments in your calendar.

Connect your iCloud calendar to your Expert Marketplace account

1. Log in with your Expert Marketplace account and click on account settings in the user menu on the top right.

2. Click on "Integrations".

3. Select iCloud.

4. Enter your Apple ID and the previously created application-specific password and click on "Connect iCloud Calendar"

5. After successful setup, you can select which calendars should be included in your availability information and to which calendars new Expert Marketplace bookings should be added.
   
   

6. In addition to linking your calendar, you can create availability rules to exclude weekends or fixed appointments, for example. You then do not have to create these times as appointments in your calendar.
   

The most frequently asked questions and answers to get the most out of your calendars with Expert Marketplace

1. Are changes in my calendar automatically updated in the Expert Marketplace?

Yes, once your calendar is connected, any changes you make to your activated calendars will be automatically synchronized with Expert Marketplace. Note: Calendars are updated hourly, so you may not be able to see the changes immediately.

2. How can I set availabilities in my calendar for bookings?

In Expert Marketplace, you can define the times at which you are usually available (availability rules). Appointments in your calendar are also used to display your availability in the booking calendar as accurately as possible and to avoid overlaps with your existing appointments.

3. What happens if I change an appointment in my calendar

Changes in your connected calendars are automatically taken into account by Expert Marketplace. The calendars are updated hourly, so you may not be able to see the changes immediately.

4. Can I synchronize multiple calendars with Expert Marketplace?

Yes, you can connect several calendars from one account and even several Google or Microsoft accounts to Expert Marketplace at the same time. You can specify exactly which calendars you want to synchronize and in which calendar new bookings should be entered.

5. How do I avoid double bookings?

Make sure to maintain all your appointments correctly in the connected calendar. Expert Marketplace will then automatically only allow bookings that do not overlap with your existing appointments. We will also take any travel times into account if you have entered location information in your appointments.

6. How can I use my calendar to block vacations or personal absences?

Simply enter the times when you are not available as an appointment in your Google Calendar or Microsoft 365. These times will then be shown as unavailable in the Expert Marketplace.

7. How do I deal with flexible appointments?

Appointments that you may be able to postpone should be marked accordingly in the calendar so that they can still be booked. To do this, you can set the status "free" (Google) or "tentative" (Microsoft Outlook/365) in an appointment. You will then continue to appear as available in the Expert Marketplace booking calendar.

The appointment statuses are taken into account as follows:

Free -> will not be blocked

Booked -> will be blocked

With reservation -> will not be blocked

Working at another location -> will be blocked

Off-site -> will be blocked

Important note: Full-day appointments are set to "Available" by default at both Google and Microsoft. So if the expert does not deliberately set the status to "Busy", the days will continue to be displayed as free in the booking calendar.

8. Is the travel time between two appointments at different locations taken into account when displaying my availability?

Yes, if you enter a location in the field provided in your calendar entries, Expert Marketplace can automatically take into account the travel time between an appointment and the venue of a booking.

It is important that you select the location suggestion displayed by Google or Microsoft. This contains geodata that Expert Marketplace needs for the calculation. If the exact address is not displayed as a suggestion, you can also use an alternative address in the vicinity.

9. What should I do if I have technical problems with calendar synchronization?

If you have any technical problems, please contact Expert Marketplace support. We will be happy to help you integrate your calendars.

Related topics:

Creating availability rules