Tired of juggling meetings in one place and deals in another? If you’re using Pipedrive to track sales but still stuck manually copying events into Google Calendar, you’re wasting time that you could spend actually closing deals—or just enjoying your day. This guide is for sales teams, founders, and anyone who needs their CRM and calendar to finally work together, without a bunch of manual headaches.
Forget the vague promises about “seamlessness.” Here’s how to actually connect Pipedrive and Google Calendar, what to expect, and a few things nobody tells you until it’s too late.
1. What Integrating Pipedrive and Google Calendar Actually Does
Before you dive in, it’s worth being clear about what this integration covers—and what it doesn’t.
What works: - Meetings and activities created in Pipedrive can show up in your Google Calendar. - Updates to events (like rescheduling) can sync both ways—if you set it up right. - You can see your scheduled calls, demos, and to-dos on your phone, with your normal calendar app.
What doesn’t: - This won’t sync deals or contacts—it’s just calendar events and activities. - Some recurring events or custom fields may not sync as you expect. - If you’re using shared calendars, things can get weird. More on that later.
Pro tip: If you already have a mess of duplicate events or conflicting meetings, clean up your calendars before you sync. Otherwise, you’ll just double the chaos.
2. Prerequisites: What You Need Before You Start
Don’t waste time getting halfway and realizing you missed something. Here’s your quick checklist:
- A Pipedrive account (any paid plan; the calendar integration is not available on the most basic free trial).
- A Google account (Gmail or Workspace works).
- Admin access to both accounts helps, but isn’t always required unless you’re rolling this out for a team.
- Browser access—do this from a laptop or desktop, not your phone.
Heads up: If you use two-factor authentication or SSO with Google, have your phone handy.
3. Step-by-Step: Connecting Pipedrive with Google Calendar
Let’s get your events syncing. You’ll do this from within Pipedrive.
Step 1: Go to Calendar Sync Settings
- Log in to Pipedrive.
- Click your profile picture (top right), then select Tools and Integrations.
- Find Google Calendar Sync. It’s usually listed under “Calendar Sync.”
Step 2: Start the Integration
- Click Connect next to Google Calendar.
- When prompted, log into your Google account.
- Review the permissions. Pipedrive will ask to manage your calendars and events. If you’re not cool with that, stop now—there’s no way around it.
Honest take: You can choose which Google calendar to sync (if you have several), but you can only sync one per Pipedrive user. If you try to get clever and use multiple calendars, you’ll get inconsistent results.
Step 3: Choose Sync Direction
You’ll be asked: - One-way: Pipedrive → Google Calendar only (good if you just want to see sales events in your calendar) - Two-way: Pipedrive ↔ Google Calendar (lets you add/edit events in either place)
For most people, two-way sync makes sense. But if you’re worried about accidental changes or clutter, stick to one-way.
Step 4: Fine-Tune What Gets Synced
Here you pick which types of Pipedrive activities get sent to Google Calendar: - All activities: Meetings, calls, tasks, etc. - Only meetings: Keeps your Google Calendar from getting overloaded with reminders and to-dos.
Pro tip: If your Pipedrive is full of reminders or non-meeting activities, just sync meetings. Otherwise, your Google Calendar becomes a noisy mess.
Step 5: Confirm and Sync
- Hit Save or Connect.
- The first sync might take a few minutes, especially if you have a lot of events.
Don’t freak out if old meetings suddenly show up. You can adjust the date range for syncing in the settings.
4. How to Avoid Common Integration Headaches
Most guides stop at “congratulations, you’re synced!” Here’s what actually trips people up.
Double Bookings and Duplicates
- Problem: You see two versions of the same meeting, or events showing up twice.
- Fix: Make sure you’re not syncing the same Google account with another integration (like Zapier, Calendly, or a previous CRM). Disconnect and clean up duplicates before proceeding.
Shared Calendars Don’t Work Like You Expect
- Problem: You want team events or shared calendars to sync, but only your personal Google calendar is an option.
- Fix: Pipedrive only syncs with your main calendar. Shared or group calendars are not supported for direct sync. If this is a dealbreaker, look at third-party tools (but expect to pay for them).
Recurring Events Are Flaky
- Problem: Recurring meetings in Google sometimes don’t show up right in Pipedrive, or vice versa.
- Fix: Basic recurring events usually sync, but weird custom rules (every third Thursday, etc.) can get lost. Double-check important recurring meetings manually.
Time Zone Madness
- Problem: Events shift by an hour or show up at the wrong time.
- Fix: Make sure both Pipedrive and Google Calendar are set to the same time zone. Don’t trust auto-detection—check your profile/settings in both.
5. Advanced: Using Zapier, Make, or Other Tools (Should You?)
If you need more than the built-in sync—like syncing contacts, deals, or using shared calendars—you’ll hear about tools like Zapier or Make.
Here’s the real deal: - They work, but… They can be fiddly and unreliable for calendar sync. They’re best for simple automations, not as a replacement for the built-in integration. - You’ll pay extra. Both Zapier and Make have limits on free plans. If your team is big, costs add up fast. - Setup is more complex. Expect to spend at least an hour getting it right—and a few more dealing with edge cases.
Bottom line: Try the native integration first. Only go third-party if you really need features Pipedrive doesn’t offer.
6. Pro Tips for a Smoother Workflow
- Test with a dummy event before rolling out to your whole team.
- Communicate with your team about how events should be scheduled (in Pipedrive, Google Calendar, or both?).
- Review sync settings every few months. Sometimes updates reset your preferences or break connections.
- Turn on notifications in both Pipedrive and Google Calendar, so you don’t miss anything.
7. What To Ignore
- Don’t bother with browser plugins that claim to “supercharge” the sync. They often break or just add clutter.
- Avoid adding every activity type—stick to what you actually need on your calendar.
- Don’t try to hack around the single-calendar limitation by creating multiple Pipedrive users. You’ll just create more confusion.
8. Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Iterate as Needed
Getting Pipedrive and Google Calendar to play nice is mostly a one-time setup—if you do it thoughtfully. Don’t make it more complicated than it needs to be. Start with just your own account, check that the basics work, and only then roll it out to others.
If you run into quirks (and you probably will), don’t sweat it. Most are fixable. And if something doesn’t work the way you want, ask yourself: is it worth hours of fiddling, or can you just adjust your workflow? Simpler is usually better.
Now, get back to work—and let your tools keep up with you for a change.