Calendar Sync

You can sync Bookinda bookings with your personal calendar (Google, Apple, Outlook). Goes both ways:

Bookinda → external calendar: bookings appear in personal calendar
External calendar → Bookinda: time booked on personal calendar blocks Bookinda

Where to find it

/manager/connect/calendar (or on staff profile: Calendar Sync section).

The 3 providers

1. Google Calendar

OAuth 2.0 flow (Bookinda requests access)
Real-time push: booking creation appears in Google instantly
15-min pull cron: Google → Bookinda direction refreshes hourly

2. iCal feed (Apple Calendar / any)

Token-based ICS URL: e.g., https://api.bookinda.hu/ical/{token}.ics
One-way push: Bookinda bookings appear
Apple / Outlook / anything can read with ICS feed support

3. Outlook (future)

Schema infrastructure ready, OAuth flow not yet implemented
For now use iCal feed in Outlook

Per-staff vs per-tenant

Per-staff sync

Staff connects own Google. Only their bookings sync.

Typical: hairstylist sees own bookings in personal calendar

Per-tenant sync

Owner / Manager connects a salon-level calendar. All staff bookings sync to common calendar.

Typical: salon owner sees whole salon in one view

Both can coexist: staff can have personal sync + tenant-level too.

2-way sync

Bookinda → external (push)

New booking → push event to external calendar
Modification (e.g., reschedule) → update on event
Cancellation → cancelled status on event

Bookinda marks event "Bookinda-origin" via extended properties, so we don't pull back (loop prevention).

External → Bookinda (pull, busy-blocks)

Cron pulls every 15 min
External calendar events become ExternalBusyBlock
Appear on Bookinda calendar as "Busy" time slot
Blocks: no new online booking on that time

What's pulled

✅ Confirmed events
❌ Cancelled events (skipped)
❌ All-day events (skipped)
❌ Declined events (skipped)
❌ "Free" (transparent) events (skipped)

Works in 60-day future window.

Multi-calendar

A staff can connect multiple Google Calendars:

Personal Google (family calendar)
Work Google (business calendar)
Both pull busy-blocks into Bookinda

Useful if events are on different accounts.

What customer sees

On Bookinda online booking page, customer:

Salon bookings block time slots (default)
Staff's personal calendar "Busy" time slots also block (busy-block)
Customer doesn't see staff event content, only "Busy" marker

Privacy levels

Configurable, how much info goes to external calendar:

FULL_DETAILS: customer name + service + note
LIMITED: service name only
BUSY_ONLY: just "Busy"

→ Details: Privacy levels

When to use it

Scenario 1, hairstylist personal sync Staff connects own Google Calendar. Salon bookings appear in personal calendar (FULL_DETAILS). Personal events (doctor, family) become busy-block in Bookinda.

Scenario 2, salon owner overview Owner connects salon-level Google. All staff bookings to common calendar. See everything in one view.

Scenario 3, Apple Calendar user Add iCal feed URL in Apple Calendar. Read-only sync (Bookinda → Apple).

Scenario 4, multi-calendar Staff connects Personal + Work Google. Both pull busy-blocks.

Tips

Per-staff sync recommended by default, staff sees own bookings in own calendar.
15-min pull cron isn't real-time, new external event can be "lost" for 0-15 min.
iCal feed is read-only, only Bookinda → external direction. Can't write back from Apple.
Multi-calendar typically means 2 Google calendars, don't connect 5 (noise).
Privacy level reflects salon sensitivity: medical-spa stricter (BUSY_ONLY), hairstylist looser (FULL_DETAILS).
Loop prevention is automatic, Bookinda doesn't pull itself.

Calendar Sync overview