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Help centre

Calendar sync and iCal export

Keep your personal calendar up to date with a live feed of your confirmed bookings.

What the calendar sync does

Sessional exports confirmed bookings as a live iCal feed, the standard calendar format used by Google Calendar, Outlook, Apple Calendar, and most other calendar apps. Once you subscribe, your locum bookings sit alongside your personal appointments.

The feed is read-only. You manage events in Sessional, and your calendar app displays them. When a booking is confirmed, rescheduled, or cancelled in Sessional, the change appears the next time the app refreshes.

Access
Plus
Format
iCal
Mode
Read-only
Note
Calendar sync is available on the Plus tier and above. Basic tier users can upgrade from Dashboard > Profile > Billing to enable it.

Setting up the feed

Open Dashboard > Calendar
This is where your availability and calendar export live.
Generate feed URL
Sessional creates a unique private URL for your account.
Copy the URL
Use the Copy button and add it to your calendar app.

The URL contains a secure token that identifies your account. Anyone with it can view your booking schedule, so treat it like a password and do not share it publicly.

Adding the feed to your calendar

Google Calendar
  1. Open Google Calendar in your browser.
  2. Click the + icon next to Other calendars.
  3. Select From URL, paste the feed URL, and add the calendar.

Google usually refreshes external feeds every 12 to 24 hours.

Microsoft Outlook
  1. Open Outlook and go to Calendar.
  2. Choose Add calendar, then Subscribe from web.
  3. Paste your Sessional feed URL and save it.

Outlook refreshes subscribed calendars every 3 to 24 hours, depending on the client.

Apple Calendar
  1. On macOS, use File > New Calendar Subscription.
  2. On iOS, use Settings > Calendar > Accounts.
  3. Paste the URL and set a refresh interval.

Every hour is a sensible balance between timeliness and efficiency.

Tip
If you use multiple calendar apps, add the same feed URL to all of them. Each app refreshes independently.

How the feed updates

New confirmed booking
A new event appears with the organisation name, date, and time.
Booking rescheduled
The event moves to the new date and time.
Booking cancelled
The event is removed from the feed.
Booking details updated
Organisation, rate, and notes update in the event description.

The feed URL itself does not change unless you regenerate it. Your calendar app fetches the latest version each time it refreshes.

What the feed includes

Event title

The organisation name.

Date and time

The start and end time, or all day for daily-rate bookings.

Description

Booking status, rate, and any notes you have added.

Location

The organisation address, if one is recorded.

Only confirmed, delivered, invoiced, and paid bookings are included. Offered and cancelled bookings do not appear in the feed.

Regenerating the feed token

If you believe your feed URL has been compromised or you shared it by mistake, regenerate the token from Dashboard > Calendar. The old URL stops working immediately, and you must add the new URL to each calendar app.

Important
Regenerating the token invalidates the old feed URL immediately. Update every calendar app that uses the feed, otherwise it will stop syncing.

Frequently asked questions

Can I edit bookings from my calendar app?

No. The iCal feed is read-only. To change a booking's date, time, or details, edit it in Sessional. The change will appear in your calendar at the next refresh.

Why is there a delay before new bookings appear?

Calendar apps refresh subscribed feeds on their own schedule. Sessional updates the feed immediately, but your calendar app may not fetch the latest version straight away.

Does the feed include bookings from before I enabled calendar sync?

Yes. The feed includes all confirmed, delivered, invoiced, and paid bookings on your account, regardless of when they were created.

Can I share the feed URL with my agency or organisation manager?

You can, but the feed shows confirmed bookings across every organisation, not just one workplace. If you only want to share your availability, use the availability calendar feature instead.

What happens to the calendar feed if I downgrade from Plus to Basic?

The feed URL stops returning data when your subscription changes to Basic. If you upgrade again, you can regenerate a new feed URL.

Related topics

Booking managementAvailability calendarBilling and subscriptions