10 Ways to Automate Google Calendar with Zapier to Improve Your Business Operations, Fast

Zapier is changing the way we think about automation as much as it’s changing the way we think about software in general. Zapier is a tool that was developed to help improve business operations by automating workflows and putting all the busywork on autopilot. It works to create seamless integrations for apps that you use every day, giving you the chance to spend less time on tedious tasks and more time taking care of your customers, or any other part of your business that requires your attention. 

Google Workspace, formerly G Suite, is Google’s business solution for all of your work tools, including a robust Calendar. Even personal users have access to a robust Calendar tool that helps keep everything organized and on track. Google Calendar includes impressive standard features like:

• Email integration
• Calendar sharing
• Publishing
• Easy scheduling
• Mobile access

Plus, when you integrate it with Zapier’s automated workflows, you’ll be able to do it all without actually doing anything. Zapier is changing the way that companies handle automation and making sure that everyone’s tech stack is working for them in the best ways possible. All you have to do is pick the workflows you want, choose the apps you use most, and get to work setting up the automations so that you never have to deal with the boring details ever again. 

There’s a lot that you can do with this tool, including thousands of pre-built triggers and actions that will be easy to implement to get you started, even if you’ve never considered automation before. Plus, there are solutions available for almost every type of tech that you’re using. In fact, with Zapier and Google Calendar, you can create workflows for all kinds of apps and platforms, including:

• CRMs and databases
• Project management and collaboration tools
• Email and autoresponders
• Marketing automation platforms
• Billing, invoicing, and accounting tools
• Payment processors and eCommerce apps
• And plenty of other tools you use regularly!

Automated scheduling and calendar management is going to change your business in so many ways. It will free up your time, keep everyone informed, and make sure that you never miss an appointment, phone call, or important meeting ever again. (If you want to be sure your business never misses a beat, ask about the 24/7 live chat and phone answering services from our virtual receptionists at Smith.ai.)

How can you make the most of Google Calendar with Zapier? Well, there are hundreds of different integrated workflows to choose from, but here are 10 of our top picks. 

1. Create Trello cards for Google Calendar events    

Trello is a great tool for project management and collaboration. When you use this integrated workflow, you’ll be able to automatically generate Trello cards for events on your Google Calendar. You can set it up for all events, certain types of events, or anything else that you want. You can even choose between creating actual event cards or just posting a reminder on the board for everyone to see. It's easy to customize this workflow to keep everyone in the loop about what’s going on, whether it’s a meeting or a new client appointment, or anything else. 

2. Add new events from Google Calendar as tasks on Todoist    

The only thing worse than having to write down all your to-dos is having to transfer them digitally between platforms—the whole point of technology is to work smarter, after all. With this workflow from Zapier, you can automatically generate to-do items in your Todoist app from your Google events. You can pick specific events or types or choose to have anything that’s scheduled added to your tasks to make sure that you never miss another meeting, appointment, phone call, or anything else that requires your attention or attendance. 

3. Add Outlook events to your Calendar    

If you’re working back and forth between Microsoft Outlook and Google Calendar, you’ll be happy to know there’s a Zap available that can automatically add Outlook events to Google. Rather than having to transfer the details yourself, you can set up this workflow and let the integration do the work. Just choose the events in Outlook to transfer, and when they’re created or discovered, set the trigger to add them to Google Calendar at the same time. 

4. Create events in Google Calendar from Google Sheets    

With Google, you’ve got a lot of transferability and integration with the tools and apps on their own. Of course, when you add the power of Zapier, it just gets better. You can even use it to transfer all of your events to Google Sheets, or more conveniently for some, take information from rows in Google Sheets and turn them into scheduled events. You can even then share the events with your team or have Calendar events created for everyone on the company email list if you want to take it even further. 

5. Send Calendar notifications via Slack    

If you use Slack to collaborate and keep in touch, Zapier holds a lot of potential for you. Not only can it help streamline your calendar and the related activities, but it can give you the chance to keep everyone on the same page. When you set up this workflow, you’ll be able to make all Calendar events become notifications in Slack, either on a specific channel or board or by messaging certain members of your team. It’s all up to you how you use it, but it will definitely come in handy. 

6. Create new tasks in Asana from Google Calendar    

Asana is a great project management and CRM tool. It offers scalability and customization and is popular among small to mid-size brands looking for simple tools to keep their businesses running better. When you combine it with the power of Google Calendar, you can easily turn your Calendar events into Asana tasks, including creating full to-do lists for meetings, such as including setup and tear-down, and even share those Asana tasks with your team or assign them to specific people. 

7. Create events with Evernote reminders    

Evernote reminders are a great way to keep yourself in line on the go. Of course, why not do one better than using Evernote to remind you to add items to your Google Calendar yourself? If you use this workflow, you can easily turn any Evernote reminder into a Google Calendar event, saving you the time and effort of doing the work yourself. You can even pick the parameters under which this happens and take it one step further by sharing the events or sending notifications to relevant team members. 

8. Create events from MeisterTask and include due dates    

MeisterTask is a great task management tool that helps you keep everything on track. You can easily create events in your Google Calendar from your tasks, including due dates for projects, milestones, and more. This workflow integration makes it easy for you to streamline your to-do list and keep all of your events organized. Plus, it’s easier to share with the masses when you have it in a platform like Google Calendar, which is popular among personal and business users around the world. You can even set custom task events and notifications. 

9. Get SMS alerts for events from Google Calendar

Zapier has its own suite of tools available to assist with workflow automations, including an SMS messaging platform that you can integrate with Google Calendar. This will allow you to get an SMS notification each time an event is scheduled in your Calendar. You can even set it up to remind you before an event or to text you the day of so that you can get everything ready, for example. However you use it, this tool will keep your calendar in touch with you. 

10. Create new Google Calendar events from Airtable records    

If you’re using Airtable as a database, this integration will deliver in several ways. You can easily go to views, select the records that you want to use in Airtable, and then set the trigger to create a new event in Google Calendar for each record that you choose. When you set this workflow up, you’ll save yourself the effort of going back and forth and transferring the information manually. 

The case for automation

A lot of people are still on the fence here, and that’s understandable. After all, you’ve worked so hard to create your business and build a strong team that can handle your needs. Why would you want to take that away from them? Well, for starters, your team has better things to do than repeat mundane tasks, over and over and over again until there is no more busywork. 

Automation has several benefits, including:

• Increased Efficiency: If you are using automated workflows, you’re spending less human time and effort on tedious work. That means that you can spend more time on the things that matter and better yet, get more done in less time. Your team will be grateful, and your company culture will definitely improve. 
• Time Savings: Time is one of those things that people never have enough of. It makes sense to get as much of it as you can and when you choose to automate, you can free up more time than you think. Consider all the tasks you can cross off your to-do list with automated tools like Zapier. 
• Reduced Costs: When you are saving time and doing things more efficiently, you’re also going to save money. This can go towards reducing your budgets or even boosting your bottom line, but no matter how you spin it, your expenses will go down as a result of automating routine tasks. 
• Increased Consistency and Quality: The only thing worse than redundant work is when the work is inconsistent or lacking quality. Your people are great, but no matter what, they’re human. There's no guarantee that they can provide the level of consistency that comes from automation. 
• Compliance: In some businesses, compliance is a big issue. Whether it’s industry standards or even local, state, or federal laws, it’s important to make sure that your business is keeping up its end of things. When you automate, you guarantee compliance in the areas where it counts. 
• Measurable Results: You might not easily be able to measure what kind of administrative work your team gets done in a day, but when you automate the tasks, you’ll have analytics for everything from the phone calls received to the messages taken to the exact number of appointments that came through Google Calendar and “zapped” their way into your CRM. It doesn’t get much better than that when it comes to improving operations. 

Of course, you could go on for days exploring the benefits of automation. These are just some of the highlights. Take a minute to think about what kind of boost your operations (and the rest of your business) stand to gain with automation. 

Get more handled when you let Smith.ai handle the calls and chats

Automation is one of the things we love. We also love being a part of what makes your business work smarter and run better. When you choose to hire our virtual receptionists, we can act as the face of your brand for all your needs, from answering after-hours calls to new client intake and live website chat, and so much more. We will even work with you to come up with the best strategy to field those needs, no matter what it might be. 

Zapier is one of our favorite tools today because it makes it easy for anyone to create smart workflows that connect the business software tools they use. And it’s thanks to Zapier that Smith.ai can integrate with more than 3,000 apps and tools so each call, text, and chat is logged in your software platforms, from your CRM to marketing automation software, and much more. 

Check out our apps to explore how we connect to Zapier! Learn more about Smith.ai’s Answering Service app on Zapier, and explore Smith.ai’s Website Chat app on Zapier.

Schedule a consultation to discuss our 24/7 solutions that ensure you never miss a thing, from scheduling to after-hours calls, live chat, and so much more. You can also reach us at hello@smith.ai or (650) 727-6484.