Guide: How Do I Sync My Calendar with Vacation Tracker?

Three ways to bring leaves into the calendar your team already uses.

3-minute read

Calendar sync makes the leaves tracked in Vacation Tracker appear in the calendar your team already uses. Once it's set up, an approved leave shows up next to meetings without anyone copying dates over. There are three ways to sync, and which one you use depends on whose calendar you're connecting.

The three connection types

Personal iCal link

Every User gets a personal iCal link they can paste into Google Calendar, Outlook, Apple Calendar, or any calendar app that reads the iCal standard. The link shows that User's own approved leaves plus the holidays for their Location. Available on every plan, including Free.

Personal calendar integration (Google or Outlook)

A one-click connection between the User's Vacation Tracker account and their Google Calendar or Outlook. Approved leaves land directly on the calendar as events, without needing to copy an iCal URL. Available on Core and Complete.

Shared / existing calendar

Connects Vacation Tracker to a shared team calendar. Approved leaves for the chosen scope (a Department, a Location, or the whole company) push into that shared calendar so everyone with access can see them alongside meetings and events. On the Core plan, this works over iCal; on the Complete plan, direct Google Calendar and Outlook shared-calendar connections are also available.

How to pick

• I just want my own leaves in my own calendar: personal iCal (any plan) or personal Google/Outlook connection (Core / Complete). Same visible outcome; the direct connection updates a touch faster.
• The whole team should see everyone's leaves in a shared calendar: shared / existing calendar. iCal works on Core; direct Google or Outlook connections need Complete.
• Team is on Outlook and lives there all day: pair the personal sync with the Outlook plug-in for requesting leave from inside Outlook.

What actually syncs

• Approved leaves: appear as events with the User's name, leave type, and duration
• Holidays: regional holidays for the relevant Location show up alongside leaves
• Updates and cancellations: when a leave is edited or cancelled, the calendar event updates on the next sync
• Pending requests: they don't sync. Only approved leaves make it to the calendar

How often it refreshes

iCal feeds are polled by the receiving calendar app on its own schedule, typically every few hours up to once a day. Direct Google Calendar and Outlook integrations push updates in near real time when a leave is approved, edited, or cancelled.

What each role does

• Administrator: sets up shared calendar connections at the workspace level and decides which scope (Department, Location, or workspace-wide) syncs where.
• Approver: uses calendar sync to spot team conflicts before approving requests.
• User: connects their personal iCal link or their Google/Outlook account in a couple of clicks. Nothing else changes in their calendar app.

Common Questions