I am an aspiring VA and I am trying to wrap my brain around how VAs update their client's calendars. Any advice on how you do this would be great. I am especially having a hard time understanding if a client uses Outlook to maintain his/her schedule. Do you remote in, or try and get the client to migrate to a web-based program?

Thank you!

Kimberly Kissel
Virtual Assistant Services by Kimberly

Hi Kimberly,

I too am new to the world of VAs and have struggled with this concept also. I'm sure many of the experienced VAs here at VAF will be able to shed some light.

I'll be checking back to see what responses you get.


Sharon

__________________
Sharon
Melbourne, Australia

Hi Kimberly,

I use Google Calendar for all things calendar! There is a google sync tool you can download that will sync up an Outlook calendar to Google calendar and it syncs both ways. So your client can make changes in Outlook and you'll see it in Google, and you can make changes in Google cal and your client will see it in Outlook.

__________________
Tracey DelCamp | EZ Ezines
www.traceydelcamp.com

Originally Posted by TraceyDelCamp

Hi Kimberly, I use Google Calendar for all things calendar! There is a google sync tool you can download that will sync up an Outlook calendar to Google calendar and it syncs both ways. So your client can make changes in Outlook and you'll see it in Google, and you can make changes in Google cal and your client will see it in Outlook.

Hi Tracey,
Do any of your clients object to having their personal/private calendar on google, let's say where it is not as secure as an internal networking calendar? Maybe I just don't understand the technology...

Many thanks,
Amanda

The google calendar is still a password protected app, so only you and the client can access it. One other thing to note is to be sure that the "sync" function is set up to run both directions (ie, outlook to google / google to outlook) at least every 15-30 minutes. You don't want to schedule a meeting for your client on google, only to find out that they have already put something on their calendar for the same time slot! Ouch!

I am in the process of just starting up too and was wondering this as well, I'm glad I came across this! The Google calendar is something I will have to keep in mind!

Thanks for the great info

There are several options out there for VAs to sync calendars. If you are not using Microsoft Exchange Server, there are several programs out there you can use. ShareOutlook by 4 Teams is a paid subscription that updates Outlook (appointments, contacts, tasks, etc.) as soon as somone makes a change (depending on how you set up your preferences).

Here's a great article on this topic: http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/share.asp.

__________________
Mary Hettwer
Hettwer Virtual Office

This is very helpful - I can't believe how much this forum has to offer. There is so much to learn and VAF makes it so easy!!

__________________
Sharon
Melbourne, Australia

If the client uses Outlook I use OfficeCalendar http://www.officecalendar.com/.

This programs allows you to share Outlook calendars, contacts, and email without Exchange Server. I pay the annual fee and bill my clients monthly based on the number of users they are assigned.

If you do not have a dedicated IP address, then you can use a service such as TZO http://www.tzo.com/MainPageServices/index.html.

Best Wishes,
Julie

__________________
Julie | Virtual Resource Services, Inc (VRSI)
http://www.vrsioffice.com

I use google calender and that is a request I have for all my clients is that they use google calender too