Clash-free freelancer meeting booking on Google Sheets and Calendar, 2023

In autumn 2023, around November as I recall, I started building a system for a consulting company in London through which its freelancers booked time with each other without clashes. It is one of the projects described on the Software development for a London consultancy, 2023–2024 page.

The task

The company hired a lot of freelancers through marketplaces. Each had their own schedule and preferred way to be contacted, and meetings started to overlap. They needed a system that brought this together and let people book time.

What I did

I developed the system, with a Node.js backend. Specialists could find the right person and book time with them, while the system helped avoid overlapping slots and meetings. I consider the project a success.

How it worked

Specialist data lived in Google Sheets: skills, contact method and other details. A matching request described who was needed and when: skills, dates, duration, contact method, meeting topic and a message. The system used it to find suitable specialists in the sheet data.

Availability came from Google Calendar. A specialist connected their calendar through OAuth, and the system asked Google for the time ranges when they were busy.

For the user, booking looked like this: first a form, then an email, then a slot in the calendar.

What happened next

As far as I know, the company later tried to sell the system. I don't know how that attempt turned out.

Have a similar task?

If your team needs spreadsheets, calendars and booking tied into one working tool, see Google Workspace automation and internal systems. The other projects from this engagement are on the Software development for a London consultancy, 2023–2024 page.

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