2-way Syncing Between Outlook and Resource Guru

Our calendar integration allows you to import Outlook Calendar events into Resource Guru, and send Resource Guru bookings out to Outlook Calendar. During setup, you can choose which Outlook calendars sync into Resource Guru, and whether Resource Guru bookings appear in your main Outlook calendar or in a separate Resource Guru calendar.

If you choose the main calendar, your Resource Guru bookings will show up alongside all your Outlook Calendar events. Here’s how that helps: 

• A unified view with integrated availability: See all your commitments in one place, and let Resource Guru bookings show up in Outlook's scheduling tools like Scheduling Assistant — so calendar conflicts get caught before they happen.

• Additional integration opportunities: Some external tools can only be integrated with the main/primary calendar offered by Outlook.

If you choose a separate calendar, you can toggle it on and off to just see Resource Guru events. Here’s how that helps:

• A clear calendar: Reduce clutter by only seeing events sent from Resource Guru.

• Streamlined management: Focus on only one calendar at a time to make focused adjustments.

• Isolated edits: Since this view only shows Resource Guru events—and edits within Outlook Calendar don’t update Resource Guru bookings—you can make concentrated edits on your main calendar, without accidentally touching Resource Guru events.

Note: Once set, the choice between main calendar or separate calendar cannot be edited. To change it you’ll need to disconnect and reconnect your calendar sync.

If you disconnect your external calendar from Resource Guru, Resource Guru historical and future events will be removed from that calendar, but will auto-sync once the connection is re-established.

New bookings and changes to existing events are automatically updated in the connected calendar, so you’ll never have to worry about being out of sync.
A few things to note:

• Imported calendar events won’t affect your availability or utilisation.

• You can control whether the full details of imported events are visible to everyone in the Schedule or only to you. Events marked as private in your Outlook Calendar will always remain hidden from others. Administrators can configure a global setting to make event details visible by default, but individuals have the flexibility to adjust this visibility on a per-calendar basis.

• External events sent into Resource Guru are read-only.

• You can also decide to sync tentative bookings and, if the Approval Workflow feature is enabled, unapproved (pending approval) bookings to your external calendar.

• Changes to Resource Guru events should be made from within Resource Guru only, and not from within an external calendar. Any changes to date, time, title or description outside of Resource Guru will be lost when the event is synced. Notifications and attendees will not be lost.

• If your time zone in Resource Guru is different to the time zone you use in Outlook, there could be a discrepancy between the time shown for events across the two apps.

To set up 2-way syncing between Resource Guru and Outlook, visit the Dashboard and then click Sync to Calendar.

You’ll be shown a window where you can set up a full 2-way integration between Resource Guru and Outlook, or subscribe to your Resource Guru schedule via a 1-way iCal URL. Click Connect with Microsoft to set up the 2-way integration.

A new window will appear; enter your Microsoft credentials and then click Next.

You’ll now be taken to your Sync Settings in ​​Resource Guru, where you can:

• choose which calendars to import

• choose whether you’d like event details to be visible to everyone or not

• scroll further down to choose to filter out certain events by keyword (eg. lunch break, add multiple by comma)

When you are happy with your selection, click Next.

You’ll now be taken a new pop-up where you can choose whether Resource Guru bookings appear in your main Outlook calendar or in a separate Resource Guru calendar. This is where you can also decide if you'd like to sync only confirmed or also unconfirmed bookings (eg. tentative, pending approval):

When you are happy with your selection, click Confirm & Sync to complete the integration.

Voilà! You’ll now see your events from Outlook appear alongside your bookings in Resource Guru, and vice versa.

To set up 2-way syncing between Resource Guru and Outlook Calendar, visit your Settings, choose Calendar Sync on the left-hand side and then click the Add Calendar button. You’ll follow the same steps as shown in the Dashboard setup.

If you've chosen to sync Resource Guru events into a separate calendar, keep in mind that Outlook hides new calendar integrations by default. To see your Resource Guru events in Outlook, make sure your Resource Guru calendar is selected in the side panel shown below.

If you are using the Outlook desktop app you may find that your Resource Guru calendar is shown side by side with your Outlook calendar once you’ve connected them. In order to overlay the calendars, go to Outlook’s Navigation Pane and ensure that your Resource Guru calendar is displayed. Then, in the calendar tab click the arrow to View in Overlay Mode.

Your Resource Guru calendar will now be in overlay mode with the calendar you first opened; usually your default Outlook calendar.

If time booked in Outlook clashes with bookings made in Resource Guru, or if the total booked hours exceeds someone’s total availability, the affected day/s will be highlighted so you can quickly spot any potential issues.

Please note that clashes with bookings from external calendars will not cause the booking clash warning to be displayed; this warning will only be shown when there are clashes between Resource Guru bookings. So, it’s important to look out for any red highlighting if you’re booking someone who also has bookings in an external calendar.

Imported events will be displayed in red if the person is busy, or in green if the person remains available. If you have imported public holidays whilst syncing your calendar, these events will generally indicate that you are still available.

To edit or remove a calendar integration, click on your picture at the bottom left corner of the app and then choose Settings > Calendar Sync. Now click on the cog next to the integration you want to change.

To edit the integration, make the desired updates and then click Confirm & Sync.

To remove the integration, click on the three dots menu and then click Remove Connection to confirm your choice. ​​Removing the connection will remove imported calendar events from Resource Guru and remove exported Resource Guru bookings from Outlook Calendar.

Not all teams need to see all the external events that their colleagues have booked via other calendars. So, the calendar icon on the schedule lets you choose which external events are displayed to you. External events are those which have come from Outlook or Google Calendar via the 2-way calendar sync feature.

• If you choose All you will see the external calendar events for anyone in your account who has synced Resource Guru with Outlook or Google Calendar.

• If you choose Mine Only, everyone else’s external calendar events will be hidden, and you will only see events from your own Outlook or Google Calendar.

• If you choose None, all external calendar events will be hidden.

Your preferences will be remembered even if you log out, and they will not affect what other people see in the account; this setting is specific only to you.

You can filter out certain event titles like “Lunch” or “Out of Office”, so these events won’t appear on the Schedule. The events remain in your personal Outlook Calendar, but are not shown to the team.

Discover how to use your Calendar Sync smart as a Contractor in this video.