If you've ever tried turning a basic form into an actual meeting on your calendar—without back-and-forth emails or manual copying—you know it's a pain. You're probably here because you want to use Typeform to schedule meetings with automatic calendar invites, but you don't want to hack together a mess of tools that breaks if you sneeze at it.
This is for anyone who wants a no-nonsense, honest walkthrough on making Typeform work for scheduling—without having to become a Zapier wizard or buy yet another SaaS subscription.
Let's get into it.
Why Typeform for Scheduling?
Typeform is great if you want forms that don't look like they were built in 2005. It's flexible, easy to use, and doesn't scare people off with a wall of fields. But—and this is important—it isn't natively built for scheduling. There’s no built-in calendar picker that actually blocks off your real availability, nor does it send out proper calendar invites by itself.
So if you're looking for a Calendly replacement, you’ll need to do some stitching together. But if you want to collect info, let people pick times, and automatically send them a calendar invite, Typeform can get you most of the way there… with a bit of setup.
What You Actually Need
Before you start, here's what you'll need:
- A Typeform account (obviously)
- A Google or Outlook calendar (this guide focuses on Google, but Outlook is similar)
- Zapier or Make (formerly Integromat) — these connect Typeform to your calendar
- (Optional but recommended) A calendar where you’re actually free during the times you offer
Let’s walk through the whole process.
Step 1: Build Your Typeform with Scheduling in Mind
First things first: Create the form that people will fill out to book time with you.
Key fields to include: - Name - Email (make this required) - Meeting purpose or topic - Date selection (use the Date field) - Time selection (use a Dropdown or Multiple Choice) - Anything else you need (but keep it lean—people bail on long forms)
Tips: - Don't overcomplicate the form. Every extra field = more drop-offs. - The Date field lets people pick any date, so you’ll need to control your availability elsewhere. - For the Time slot, list only times you're actually available. Don’t trust people to magically know your schedule.
Pro tip: Typeform doesn't check your real calendar for conflicts. If you want to avoid double bookings, you’ll need to manually block off times, or use a tool like Calendly instead.
Step 2: Connect Typeform to Zapier (or Make)
Now, let’s make the magic happen. We want Typeform to trigger a calendar invite when someone picks a date and time.
Setting up Zapier
-
Create a new Zap
- Trigger: "New Entry" in Typeform.
- Connect your Typeform account and select your form.
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Add a Google Calendar action
- Action: "Create Detailed Event" in Google Calendar.
- Authorize your Google account.
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Map the fields
- Title: Use something like "Meeting with {{Name}}"
- Date & Time: Map these from the Typeform fields. This part can be tricky if you use separate date and time fields—Zapier can combine them, but you may need to use a Formatter step to merge them into a single datetime.
- Description: Add any other info (purpose, notes, etc.)
- Guests: Map the email field so the guest gets the invite.
- Set notifications/reminders if you want.
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Test the Zap
- Fill out your form once and see if an event pops up on your calendar, with a real invite sent to the guest’s email.
Common Gotchas
- Time Zones: Typeform doesn't handle time zones for you. Decide if you’re taking bookings in your local time or theirs, and make that crystal clear on your form.
- Double Bookings: Zapier doesn’t check if you’re already busy. It just slaps the event on your calendar.
- Formatting: If your date and time end up in weird formats, use Zapier's "Formatter" tool to fix them.
Can you use Make instead? Yes. The setup is almost identical: trigger with Typeform, then create a Google Calendar event. Make’s UI can be more flexible if you want to get fancy, but for most folks, Zapier is simpler.
Step 3: Add Some Guardrails
The basics work, but if you want this process to be less error-prone, here are a few ways to tighten things up:
- Limit choices: Only offer times you know are free. Update your form if your availability changes.
- Add logic jumps: If you want to ask different questions based on meeting type, use Typeform’s Logic Jump feature.
- Confirmation emails: Typeform can send a confirmation email, but honestly, the calendar invite is usually enough.
- Buffer times: Manually include buffer slots in your available times so you don’t get stacked meetings.
If you're scheduling high-stakes meetings (like sales demos or interviews), nothing beats a real scheduling tool with live calendar integration. But for casual or low-volume bookings, this setup works fine.
Step 4: Test the Whole Flow (Repeatedly)
Don’t trust that it'll “just work.” Before you share your form with the world:
- Fill it out yourself with a test email.
- Check that the meeting appears in your calendar and that a real calendar invite (with RSVP buttons) goes to your test email.
- Double-check the date, time, time zone, and description.
- Try edge cases: weird times, international dates, etc.
Pro tip: Set up a separate calendar just for bookings if you want to keep things tidy (and avoid polluting your main calendar).
Step 5: Share Your Form and Monitor for Issues
Once you’re confident, send your form link to whoever needs it. Keep an eye out for:
- People booking at the same time (double bookings)
- Confusion about time zones
- Wrong info in invites
If you start to see the same issues pop up, tweak your form, Zap, or process. This setup is flexible, but it does require a bit of babysitting if your availability changes often.
What Works, What Doesn’t, and What to Ignore
What works:
- Collecting detailed info before meetings
- Sending instant calendar invites automatically
- Keeping the process simple for the user
What doesn’t:
- Avoiding double bookings (unless you manually curate your available times)
- Handling rescheduling or cancellations gracefully
- Real-time availability checks
What to ignore:
- Typeform add-ons that promise “scheduling integration”—they usually just pass data to another tool, not true calendar syncing
- Over-automating before you even have people booking
If you’re getting more than a handful of bookings per week, or you need to sync with your real calendar availability, just use a dedicated scheduling tool. Typeform is great for collecting info and making a nice first impression, but it’s not a replacement for a real scheduling app.
Keep It Simple and Iterate
Don’t overthink it. This setup covers most scenarios for solo operators, freelancers, and anyone who wants something that just works (most of the time). If your needs get more complicated, or you’re drowning in double bookings, upgrade your stack—don’t hack your way into a maintenance nightmare.
Start basic, see how it goes, and tweak as needed. The simpler your system, the less likely it is to break at the worst possible time.