Book consultations at the slot the client picked
A prospect picks a date and a time on your request form, and the consultation lands on your calendar with them invited.
New submission on your "book a consultation" form
Create a Google Calendar event at the chosen date and time with the client added as a guest
One-directional. A submission triggers the action — nothing is written back into your form.
A consultation request usually arrives with a slot already in it. The prospect has looked at their week, picked Thursday afternoon and written two lines about what they want to talk through. This flow takes those answers and writes the event onto your calendar, client invited, before you have opened your inbox.
Solo consultants and small advisory practices reach for it first, because there is no front desk retyping bookings from an email. Google Calendar handles the invitation and the reminder; you work from the day view.
Setting it up
- 1
Publish the consultation request form with Preferred Date and Preferred Time of Day required, and use conditional logic to reveal a longer brief only when Service Type is a full strategy session.
- 2
In Zapier, choose formformform as the trigger app, select New Submission, and pick that published form.
- 3
Add Google Calendar's Create Detailed Event action and point it at the calendar you actually work from, not a shared team one.
- 4
Combine Preferred Date and Preferred Time of Day into the start field with a Formatter step, then set the end by adding the length of your standard consultation.
- 5
Write the summary as Service Type plus Full Name, so a glance at Thursday reads "Strategy review — Priya Raman".
- 6
Map Email Address to the attendee field and set Send updates to all guests, so the client gets the invitation and Google's reminder rather than a promise to confirm later.
- 7
Drop Reason for Appointment and Phone Number into the description, so you have the context and a number to ring if nobody joins.
- 8
Send a test submission, check the event lands in the right timezone, then switch the Zap on.
What maps where
Using the Appointment Request Form as the starting point. These are its real fields — swap in your own and the mapping works the same way.
| Form field | Google Calendar |
|---|---|
| Preferred Date | The event's start date on your consultation calendar |
| Preferred Time of Day | Combined with the date to set the start time; the end follows from your standard session length |
| Full Name | Second half of the event summary, after the service |
| Service Type | First half of the event summary, so the day view sorts itself |
| Email Address | Guest on the event, which is what sends the invitation and reminder |
| Reason for Appointment | Event description, so you read the brief before the call starts |
Variations worth knowing
Add a Zapier Find Event search on Preferred Date before the create step. Where something already sits in that slot, route the run down a second path that builds the event from Backup Date instead, and email the client to say which one you took.
Put Have you been here before? into a Zapier paths step. New clients get a ninety-minute event on your intake calendar; returning ones get the shorter follow-up slot. One form, two lengths, no second booking link to keep current.
If something isn't arriving
Nothing in formformform reads your calendar — the connection runs one way. Offer a short list of slots as a choice question and keep it current, or add a Find Event step ahead of the create action and route matches to a "pick another time" email.
The Zap and the calendar disagree about timezone. Set the timezone in your Zap settings to the one you work in, and format the combined date and time explicitly in a Formatter step rather than passing the raw answers through.
Frequently asked questions
Can the form only show times I am free?
No. Nothing reads your Google Calendar, so the form cannot know your availability. List the slots you are willing to offer as a choice question and update it when your week changes, or use a Find Event step to catch clashes after the fact.
If I move the meeting in Google Calendar, does the submission change?
It does not. The submission is a record of what the client asked for and stays as they sent it — nothing is written back into the form. Move the event, and Google notifies the guest for you.
Can I take a deposit when they book?
Yes. Add products and priced options to the form, then collect payment through secure hosted checkout with Stripe, PayPal, or Square. Payment status is tracked alongside the response.
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Build the form first
The automation needs somewhere to fire from. Publish a form, connect it once, and every submission from then on runs this flow.
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