Migrating to OnTime Calendar: A Step-by-Step Setup GuideMigrating to a new calendar can feel like moving house: you want everything packed, labeled, and placed exactly where it should be so your daily routine isn’t disrupted. OnTime Calendar is designed to be both powerful and user-friendly, whether you’re switching from Google Calendar, Outlook, Apple Calendar, or a mix of systems. This guide walks you through the full migration process — planning, exporting, importing, syncing, configuring settings, and fine-tuning workflows — with practical tips to make the transition fast and painless.
Why migrate to OnTime Calendar?
Switching calendars isn’t just a technical task — it’s an opportunity to rethink how you schedule, reduce clutter, and adopt better habits. OnTime Calendar offers features that make it appealing:
- Unified syncing across devices and major calendar providers.
- Flexible views (agenda, day, week, month) to match how you work.
- Smart scheduling features like suggested time slots and buffer settings.
- Privacy-focused options for controlling what data is shared.
- Integrations with task managers, video conferencing, and email.
Step 1 — Plan your migration
Before moving any events, create a clear plan:
- Inventory your calendars: list accounts (Google, Outlook, iCloud), shared calendars, and subscription calendars.
- Decide what to migrate: all events, only future events, or events from specific date ranges. Consider excluding calendar clutter (old events, personal-only entries).
- Inform collaborators if shared calendars will move or be re-shared to avoid confusion.
- Schedule the migration at a low-activity time (weekend or evening) to minimize disruption.
Step 2 — Back up existing calendars
Always back up before making changes.
- Google Calendar: Settings → Import & export → Export (downloads a ZIP with .ics files).
- Outlook (web): Settings → View all Outlook settings → Calendar → Shared calendars → Publish or Export calendar.
- Apple Calendar (macOS): File → Export → Export… to create an .ics file.
- Other providers: Look for Export or download .ics options.
Store backups in a safe folder and keep copies offline/cloud as needed.
Step 3 — Clean and prepare data
Cleaning prevents transferring irrelevant or duplicate items.
- Remove or archive old events (e.g., events older than one year).
- Check for duplicate events across calendars; decide which copy to keep.
- Standardize time zones: convert one-off events to the target time zone if necessary.
- Fix recurring events if they have broken recurrence rules before export.
Tip: Use a spreadsheet to map which calendars will become OnTime calendars and note access permissions for shared calendars.
Step 4 — Create OnTime accounts and calendars
Set up your OnTime workspace:
- Sign up for OnTime Calendar with your primary email.
- In Settings → Calendars, create separate calendars for different purposes (Work, Personal, Team, Holidays).
- Configure default calendar, working hours, and time zone settings in Preferences.
Naming and color-coding calendars now saves headaches later.
Step 5 — Import events into OnTime
Use OnTime’s import options:
- Direct import: Settings → Import → Upload .ics files exported from other providers.
- Account sync: Connect Google, Outlook, or iCloud under Settings → Accounts to sync calendars directly (recommended for keeping event metadata and sharing intact).
- Select which calendars to import into each OnTime calendar.
When importing .ics files, choose to import only future events if you want a lean calendar. Allow a few minutes for large imports.
Step 6 — Verify and resolve conflicts
After import/sync:
- Scan each OnTime calendar view (day/week/month) for missing or duplicated events.
- Compare key shared calendars with collaborators to ensure permissions and updates are correct.
- Check recurring events for correct recurrence rules and time zones.
- Look for unreadable or truncated descriptions and reattach files or links if needed.
If duplicates exist, use OnTime’s duplicate detection (if available) or export, dedupe in a tool, and re-import.
Step 7 — Reconfigure integrations and automations
Re-establish connections that relied on the old calendar:
- Calendar invitations: Ensure email templates, default RSVP settings, and organizer details are correct.
- Video conferencing: Reconnect Zoom, Meet, Teams so new events auto-create meeting links.
- Task managers and CRMs: Re-link Zapier, IFTTT, or native integrations so tasks and events stay aligned.
- Notification rules: Set reminders, push notifications, and default alert times.
Test each integration by creating a sample event that triggers the automation.
Step 8 — Share calendars and set permissions
For shared/team calendars:
- Go to Calendars → Share and enter collaborator emails.
- Assign appropriate permissions (View only, Make changes, Manage sharing).
- Communicate changes and provide a short how-to for teammates (how to accept invites, where to find the calendar).
Document ownership: designate an admin for calendar management to avoid access drift.
Step 9 — Update booking links and public calendars
If you use public booking or scheduling pages:
- Update embeddable widgets and booking links to point to OnTime scheduling pages.
- Replace calendar URLs on websites, signatures, and third-party services.
- Re-publish any public calendars (holidays, events) and verify they display correctly.
Test the public booking flow as an external user to confirm time zone handling and confirmation emails.
Step 10 — Cutover strategy and rollback plan
Perform a controlled cutover:
- Choose a go-live date and communicate it.
- For a phased approach, migrate one team or calendar at a time and monitor for issues.
- Keep old calendars in read-only mode for a set period (e.g., 30 days) so users can reference historical events.
- Define a rollback plan: keep the exported backups and instructions to re-import if critical issues arise.
Post-migration checklist
- Verify all recurring events and shared calendars function correctly.
- Confirm integrations (video calls, CRMs, task apps) trigger as expected.
- Ensure notifications/alerts are set and delivered.
- Ask a small group of users to validate and report issues for 1–2 weeks.
- Clean up leftover calendars and revoke access from obsolete accounts.
Troubleshooting common problems
- Time zone shifts: Check event time zone metadata and user device settings.
- Missing attendees: Ensure organizer addresses match — re-invite if necessary.
- Duplicates after sync: Disable one-way sync temporarily, dedupe, then re-enable syncing.
- Files/attachments lost: Reattach manually or link to a shared drive and update event notes.
Tips to optimize your new OnTime setup
- Use color-coding and calendar layers to create visual separation between work and personal life.
- Set default event lengths (e.g., 25 or 50 minutes) to build meeting buffers.
- Leverage templates for recurring meeting types (one-on-ones, reviews).
- Schedule a weekly calendar review to tidy up and prepare for the week.
- Encourage teammates to add calendar descriptions with agendas and links.
Migrating to OnTime Calendar doesn’t have to be disruptive. With careful planning, backups, and staged verification, you can centralize schedules, restore order, and gain productivity features that help you manage time more intentionally.
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