Hi there!
Do you use Google Calendar? I use it extensively in my personal and professional life.
In this article, we will introduce a mechanism to automatically add an appointment to Google Calendar. The Google Meet URL is also automatically retrieved.
No-code Development Platform Questetra BPM Suite
The no-code development platform Questetra BPM Suite is used to automate operations.
Questetra BPM Suite establishes a system for business execution in an organization through the drawing of workflow diagrams. This system not only automates the handing over of work to people, it also automates text conversion, numerical calculation, and email transmission. Furthermore, data integration to other cloud services can also be automated.
Such automation is achieved by placing an item (e.g. a quote file to be uploaded to Google Drive) in the workflow diagram that will be automatically processed in some way at the desired time (e.g. after the sales manager approves the quote).
Various automation items that are available in Questetra BPM Suite will allow you to automate your operations easily.
Add a Google Calendar Appointment
Google Calendar is a system that allows teams to share schedules. Not only individual schedules, but also group schedules, meeting room schedules, and equipment usage schedules can be shared. It is included in Google Workspace along with Google Drive and Google Spreadsheet.
The automation items provided in Questetra BPM Suite, introduced in the previous section, include those related to Google Calendar. (v13.3.0)
- Google Calendar: Insert Event
- Google Calendar: Move Event to another Calendar
- Google Calendar: Delete Event
The mechanism created in the next section will use [Google Calendar: Insert Event].
Appointments Automatically Added to Calendar After Acceptance
Consider automating the following tasks
- Applicants for product demonstrations enter their preferred time slot on the reservation form. At this time, available appointment times can be checked on the calendar.
- The receptionist at the product demo will review the reservation request and determine if the reservation is available or not.
- If a reservation is available, the receptionist adds the confirmed appointment to the next two calendars. The reservation receipt e-mail is then sent.
- Availability Calendar: for applicants to check their availability. It can be accessed from the reservation form.
- Demo Appointment Calendar: to keep track of appointments within the company; also retrieves the Google Meet URL.
- If the reservation is not possible, the receptionist will send an email stating that the reservation is not possible.
There are several aspects of this work that can be automated.
- Adding appointments to two calendars
- Two types of mail transmission
If these are to be automated, the part after the receptionist determines whether a reservation can or cannot be made will change.
- If a reservation is available, the receptionist enters the confirmed date and time.
- Appointments are added to the Availability Calendar and the Demo Appointment Calendar; an appointment acceptance email is sent with the Google Meet URL inserted.
- If the reservation is not possible, a «reservation not possible» e-mail will be sent.
We will actually automate these processes. First, we will create such a workflow diagram in Questetra BPM Suite.
In the leftmost round item in the workflow diagram the applicant enters their name, email address, and desired date and time. In the next blue process, the receptionist determines whether the reservation is available or not.
The two gray processes that follow are handled by an automated item called [Google Calendar: Insert Event] that does the following:
- An appointment is added to the Demo Appointment calendar
- An appointment with a title that includes the applicant’s name will be added to the Demo Appointment calendar, and the Google Meet URL will be retrieved.
- An appointment is added to the Availability Calendar
- An appointment titled «Reserved» will be added to the Availability Calendar.
The two round items marked «email» will automatically send an email.
The Demo Appointment Calendar and Availability Calendar will be created in advance.
The calendar ID is written in the calendar integration section of the Google Calendar Settings screen. The Availability Calendar is publicly accessible, so you should check the «Make publicly available to anyone» checkbox in the access permissions for appointments section of the calendar settings page.
When an appointment for a product demo is requested, the appointment is automatically registered in the two calendars and an email is automatically sent.
Summary
We have shown you how to get your appointments automatically added to Google Calendar.
Before the automation, receptionists were burdened with the time and effort of:
- Registering appointments on two calendars
- Sending emails to the customer
Automation eliminates this burden, but it does more than just reduce the time and effort.
In the case of manual work, typographical errors and erroneous information in calendars and emails inevitably occur. In addition, there can be delays and forgetfulness when registering appointments in the calendar and sending emails. The major advantage of automation is that such errors are not just reduced, but eliminated entirely.
By using the automation items provided in the no-code development platform Questetra BPM Suite, you can build a mechanism to automatically add appointments to Google Calendar without any knowledge or experience with Google Calendar API (Application Programming Interface).
Questetra BPM Suite is available for a 60-day free trial. If you are interested, please apply from the following link.
There are many more possibilities for automation
But that’s all for now!
