Connecting Google (Gmail, Calendar, Meet)

Esqase can connect to your personal Google account so you can send email from your own Gmail address, keep events in sync with Google Calendar, and add Google Meet video links to meetings. These connections are personal to you, not shared with the rest of your firm, and you manage them from the Integrations page.

This page explains how to connect each Google service, what Esqase asks Google for, what each connection unlocks, how to check the status of a connection, how to disconnect, and what to do when a connection does not work.

Before you begin

A few things to know before you start:

• The connections are yours. Each Google connection belongs to your individual user account, not to your firm. Other members do not see or share your connections, and disconnecting only affects you.
• You sign in to Google during the process. Connecting first shows you a short summary of what Esqase will ask Google for, then sends you to Google's own consent screen, where you choose the Google account to use and approve the access. You can use any Google account you have access to (it does not have to match the email you use for Esqase).
• Esqase asks for as little as it can. Each connection asks Google for the one permission that service needs, plus your Google account email address so the card can show which account is connected. Esqase does not ask for your name or your profile picture, and it does not ask to read your mailbox.
• No special firm role is required. Because these connections are personal, any signed-in member can connect their own Google account. You do not need owner or administrator access.
• Your email must be verified. If your Esqase email is not yet verified, you will be asked to verify it before you can open these settings.

Opening your Integrations page

All three Google connections live on one page.

1. In the sidebar, click Integrations. (You can also click the Integrations card on the Settings page.)
2. The page is grouped into categories. Gmail sits under Email, Google Calendar under Calendar, and Google Meet under Meetings.

Every card shows the service name and a short description of what it does. A card that is not connected shows a Connect button. Once connected, the card shows a Connected badge and a more options (⋯) menu listing the connected Google address and a Disconnect action.

Connect your Google account for Gmail

Linking Gmail lets Esqase send email through your own Gmail account. Esqase asks Google for one Gmail permission, sending mail on your behalf, plus your account's email address. The connection is send-only: Esqase cannot read, list, or change anything in your mailbox.

1. On the Integrations page, under Email, find the Gmail card.
2. Click Connect. A Connect Gmail dialog opens and explains what Esqase will ask Google for (permission to send email on your behalf, and your Google account email address), what it uses each for, and that you can disconnect at any time: Esqase holds one connection with your Google Account for all of its Google services, so disconnecting any of them revokes Esqase's access with Google and, after a warning, disconnects the others. It also links to section 3.5 of the Privacy Policy.
3. Read it, then click Continue to Google. (Cancel closes the dialog and nothing is requested.)
4. You are redirected to Google. Sign in (if prompted) and choose the Google account you want to use.
5. On Google's consent screen, review the access Esqase is requesting, keep every permission ticked, and click Allow (or Continue) to approve it. If you untick the permission to send email, Esqase cannot do the job you connected it for, so the connection is refused.
6. Google sends you back to Esqase. You will see Connecting your account... for a moment, then a confirmation such as Gmail connected as followed by the Google email address you chose.
7. Click Back to Integrations to return to the list. The Gmail card now shows a Connected badge, and its more options (⋯) menu shows the connected address and a Disconnect action.

What linking Gmail enables

Once Gmail is linked:

• You can send email from your own Gmail address inside Esqase: from a matter, a lead, a contact, an invoice, or the header + menu, with templates, your signature, and placeholders. The recipient sees the message coming from your Gmail account.
• Every message you send is recorded on the Communications tab of the matter or lead you sent it from.
• Replies arrive in your Gmail inbox as normal. Esqase does not read your mailbox, so a reply is not recorded automatically. To keep it with the matter, log it manually from the Communications tab.

Connect Google Calendar

Linking Google Calendar keeps your Esqase events and your Google Calendar in step with each other. Esqase asks Google for permission to work with events on the calendars you own, plus your account's email address. The sync covers your own primary calendar only, and never a calendar someone else owns and has shared with you.

1. On the Integrations page, under Calendar, find the Google Calendar card.
2. Click Connect. A Connect Google Calendar dialog opens and explains what Esqase will ask Google for (permission to see, create, change and delete events on calendars you own, and your Google account email address), that it uses this to keep your Esqase events and your primary Google Calendar in step, that it does not touch calendar settings, sharing, or other people's calendars, and that you can disconnect at any time: Esqase holds one connection with your Google Account for all of its Google services, so disconnecting any of them revokes Esqase's access with Google and, after a warning, disconnects the others. It also links to section 3.5 of the Privacy Policy.
3. Read it, then click Continue to Google. (Cancel closes the dialog and nothing is requested.)
4. You are redirected to Google. Choose the account to use and sign in if prompted.
5. On the consent screen, review the calendar access being requested, keep every permission ticked, and click Allow (or Continue). If you untick the calendar permission, the connection is refused.
6. Google returns you to Esqase, where you will briefly see Connecting your account... followed by a confirmation such as Google Calendar connected as followed by your Google email address.
7. Click Back to Integrations. The Google Calendar card now shows Connected, and its more options (⋯) menu shows the connected address.

What linking Google Calendar enables

Once Google Calendar is linked:

• The meetings already on your primary Google Calendar for the year ahead are imported on the first sync, so your existing commitments start blocking your booking slots right away. You do not have to wait for them to change, or recreate them by hand.
• Events you create in Esqase (for matters and from bookings) are sent to your primary Google Calendar, so they appear alongside the rest of your schedule.
• Changes flow both ways, keeping your Esqase calendar and your primary Google Calendar aligned.
• An event you set to show you as Free, and an invitation you declined, do not hold your time, so neither blocks your booking page.
• An all-day event blocks that full day on your own clock, not a day shifted by your timezone.

Court dates on your Google Calendar

If your firm uses court rules and court dates are put on your calendar, Google Calendar receives them a little differently from other events:

• Esqase copies each court date to your primary Google Calendar without inviting anyone, so nobody is emailed.
• An all-day court date shows there as free time, so it does not block your day. A timed hearing or trial shows as busy.
• When a court date leaves your calendar in Esqase (it is vacated, marked not applicable, or removed) or its calendar entry is deleted, Esqase deletes the copy from Google Calendar, again without emailing anyone.
• If Google refuses the removal, for example because Esqase's access was removed from your Google Account, the copy stays and you need to delete it by hand. The matter's activity timeline records that it could not be removed.
• Moving or deleting the copy in Google Calendar never changes the court date in Esqase.

See Court dates and your connected calendar.

Connect Google Meet

Linking Google Meet lets Esqase generate a video meeting link when you schedule a meeting. Esqase asks Google for permission to create meeting spaces, plus your account's email address, and it can read the join link of a space it created and nothing more.

1. On the Integrations page, under Meetings, find the Google Meet card.
2. Click Connect. A Connect Google Meet dialog opens and explains what Esqase will ask Google for (permission to create Google Meet spaces, and your Google account email address), when Esqase uses it, that it cannot see your other meetings, and that you can disconnect at any time: Esqase holds one connection with your Google Account for all of its Google services, so disconnecting any of them revokes Esqase's access with Google and, after a warning, disconnects the others. It also links to section 3.5 of the Privacy Policy.
3. Read it, then click Continue to Google. (Cancel closes the dialog and nothing is requested.)
4. You are redirected to Google. Choose your account and sign in if prompted.
5. On the consent screen, keep every permission ticked and approve the requested access by clicking Allow (or Continue). If you untick the permission to create meeting links, the connection is refused.
6. After Google returns you to Esqase and the connection finishes, click Back to Integrations. The Google Meet card shows Connected.

What linking Google Meet enables

Once Google Meet is linked, Esqase can create a Google Meet video link for consultations and client meetings, so a join link is ready to share when you schedule the meeting. A Meet link is made in two cases only: when you click Generate Google Meet link on the event form, where the new link fills the Meeting link field, and when a booking you host is confirmed on an event type set to generate links, as described next.

Event types use your Google Meet connection. When a booking you host is confirmed on a Google Meet event type whose Meeting link is set to Generate a new link for each confirmed booking, Esqase creates the Meet link on your Google account and adds it to the meeting, so your client gets it once the booking is confirmed. For a round-robin type, the account used is that of the host the booking went to. If you have not connected Google Meet, no link is made for your bookings: a Gmail or Google Calendar connection is not enough, and Esqase does not use a Zoom or Microsoft Teams connection, or another member's account, instead. See Meeting link for video locations. The generated Meet link also appears in your firm's own emails about the meeting, such as the confirmation email a workflow Event step sends, on their "Join the meeting" line. See Add the meeting link to an event email.

View your connected accounts and their status

The Integrations page is also where you check the current state of each connection at a glance.

• A connected card carries a Connected badge beside the service name. A card with no badge, showing a Connect button, has not been connected yet.
• On a connected card, open the more options (⋯) menu to see the Synced account, the Google address the service was connected with. This is helpful if you have more than one Google account and want to confirm you connected the right one.
• The same menu holds the Disconnect action.

Disconnect a Google integration

Esqase holds one connection with your Google Account for all of its Google services: Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Meet, and Google Drive. Disconnecting any of them ends that connection, so Esqase revokes its access with Google and disconnects the other Google services you connected with the same Google account. Esqase warns you before it does. You might disconnect if you connected the wrong account, if you are leaving the firm, or if you no longer want Esqase using your Google account.

1. On the Integrations page, find the card for the service you want to disconnect.
2. Open the card's more options (⋯) menu and click Disconnect. What happens next depends on what else you connected with that Google account:
   • Other Google services are connected with it. A dialog named after the card, such as Disconnect Gmail?, opens first. It explains that disconnecting ends Esqase's one connection with your Google Account and lists the other Google services you will need to connect again. If Google Drive is among them, it adds that Google Drive folder sync stops until you connect it again. Click Continue to disconnect them all, or Cancel to keep everything connected.
   • No other Google service is connected with it. Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Meet disconnect straight away, with no dialog. Google Drive asks you to confirm first (see Connecting OneDrive, Google Drive, and Dropbox).
3. A Disconnecting message appears while Esqase works. When it finishes, a confirmation names every service Esqase disconnected, for example Gmail disconnected, along with Google Calendar and Google Meet, and the page refreshes. Each of those cards loses its Connected badge and offers Connect again.

What happens when you disconnect:

• Esqase revokes its access with Google, so it disappears straight away from the list of third-party apps and services in your Google Account. See Disconnecting and deleting your data.
• Esqase deletes the credentials it stored for every Google service it disconnected and stops using them, so it can no longer send email, sync events, create Meet links, or sync your Google Drive folder on your behalf.
• Only services connected with the same Google account are disconnected together. A service you connected with a different Google account keeps working.
• The connection is removed only for you. It does not affect other members' connections.
• You can connect each service again at any time by clicking Connect on its card, reading the dialog, and going through the consent screen.

Disconnecting and deleting your data

Disconnecting takes effect straight away, in Esqase and at Google. Because Esqase holds one connection with your Google Account for all of its Google services, disconnecting any one of them is how you take Esqase out of that Google Account.

• Esqase revokes its access with Google. Esqase hands back the access you granted, for every Google service you connected with that Google account, and Esqase disappears from the list of third-party apps and services in your Google Account straight away.
• Esqase deletes its stored credentials. Esqase deletes the credentials it stored for each of those services and stops using them, so it can no longer act on your Google account. To use a service again, you connect it afresh and approve the consent screen again.
• Each Google account is handled on its own. If you connected services with different Google accounts, disconnecting a service ends only the connection with the Google account that service used. Services connected with another Google account keep working.
• Email you already sent stays sent. A message sent through your Gmail account stays in your Gmail Sent folder, and the record of it stays on the Communications tab of the matter or lead it belongs to. Disconnecting does not recall or delete sent email.
• Events already synced stay where they are. Events that reached your Esqase calendar stay on it, and events Esqase created on your Google Calendar stay on that. They stop updating each other.
• Files stay where they are. If Google Drive is disconnected, its folder sync stops. Files already in Esqase stay in Esqase, and files in Google Drive stay in Google Drive. See Connecting OneDrive, Google Drive, and Dropbox.
• You can also remove Esqase from Google's side. Open your Google Account, find Esqase in the list of third-party apps and services with account access, and remove it. Google then ends Esqase's access to every Google service you connected with that account at once, so those Google cards in Esqase stop working, even though they can still show Connected. Click Disconnect on one of them, and Continue if Esqase asks, so the Integrations page shows the real state. Then click Connect again on any service you want to keep using. See A Google service shows Connected but stopped working.

Troubleshooting

If a connection does not complete, the message Esqase shows points to the cause. Here is what each one means and what to do.

"The link request expired. Please try again."

A linking attempt is only valid for a short window. If you waited too long on Google's screens, or paused partway through, the request times out.

• Return to the Integrations page and click Connect again to start a fresh attempt.
• Complete the Google steps promptly this time without long pauses.

"That account did not finish granting access. Remove Esqase from your account settings for that provider and try again."

This appears when Google does not hand Esqase the full, lasting permission it needs (often because you previously granted access and Google skips part of the consent the second time).

1. Open your Google Account, go to the security or connected-apps area (the section listing third-party apps with account access).
2. Find Esqase in the list and remove its access.
3. Return to Esqase, open the Integrations page, and click Connect again. This time Google shows the full consent screen, and the connection should complete.

"Google did not grant Esqase permission to ..."

Google's consent screen lets you untick individual permissions. If you untick the one the service needs, the connection cannot do its job, so Esqase refuses to save it and shows one of these:

• "Google did not grant Esqase permission to send email. Connect again and keep every permission ticked."
• "Google did not grant Esqase permission to manage your calendar events. Connect again and keep every permission ticked."
• "Google did not grant Esqase permission to create Google Meet links. Connect again and keep every permission ticked."

Nothing is saved. If you have no Google service connected in Esqase with that Google account, Esqase also hands the access it was given straight back to Google. If you do, Esqase leaves its access with Google in place, because handing it back would also end your other Google connections on that account. Either way, there is nothing for you to tidy up. To finish connecting, click Connect again on the card, click Continue to Google, and leave every box ticked on Google's screen before you approve.

"You declined the link request."

This means you closed or denied Google's consent screen instead of approving it. To finish connecting, click Connect again and click Allow (or Continue) on Google's screen.

"The provider could not complete the link request."

Something went wrong on Google's side during the handoff. Wait a moment, then click Connect again to retry. If it keeps failing, try again later.

"The link request is missing required information."

The page that finishes the connection did not receive everything it needed (for example, if you reached it by an incomplete or altered link). Start over from the Integrations page by clicking Connect rather than reusing an old link.

"We couldn't finish connecting your account. Go back to Integrations and try again."

Esqase could not finish the connection, for example because your internet connection dropped while it was saving it. Click Back to Integrations. If the card shows Connected, you are done. If it does not, click Connect again.

"Linking is not available right now. Please try again later"

This means Google connections are not configured for your firm's Esqase environment yet, so the Connect buttons cannot start the process. This is a setup item handled by whoever administers your firm's Esqase account, not something you can fix from this page. Check back later, or ask your firm administrator whether Google connections are enabled.

"We couldn't load your linked accounts" or "Please try again in a moment"

These are temporary errors. Refresh the Integrations page and try again. If the problem continues, sign out and back in, then return to the page.

A Google service shows Connected but stopped working

A Google card can still show Connected after Esqase's access with Google has ended. For example, events stop syncing with Google Calendar, or sending through Gmail or generating a Google Meet link fails. This happens when:

• You removed Esqase in your Google Account. Removing Esqase from the list of third-party apps and services ends its access to every Google service you connected with that account.
• You disconnected one Google service in an earlier version of Esqase. In an earlier version, disconnecting one Google service, such as Gmail, also ended Esqase's access with Google for the others but left their cards showing Connected.

To fix it:

1. On the Integrations page, open the more options (⋯) menu on one of the Google cards that stopped working and click Disconnect. If a dialog lists other Google services, click Continue. Every Google card connected with that Google account goes back to Connect.
2. Click Connect on each service you use, read the dialog, and click Continue to Google.
3. Approve Google's consent screen with every permission ticked, then click Back to Integrations. The card shows Connected again, and the service works again.

Common questions

• Do I need to connect all three? No. Connect only the services you use. You connect each one on its own, whenever you like. Disconnecting works differently: disconnecting one disconnects the others connected with the same Google account.
• Will my colleagues use my Gmail or calendar? No. These connections are personal. Each member connects their own Google account.
• Can I switch which Google account is connected? Yes. Disconnect the service, then click Connect again and choose a different Google account on the consent screen. Disconnecting also disconnects your other Google services on the old account, so connect each of them again with the account you want.
• Do I have to accept every permission? Yes, for the service to work. Google lets you untick permissions, but a connection missing the permission it needs is refused, so keep every box ticked.
• Is disconnecting reversible? Yes. Disconnecting revokes Esqase's access with Google, and you can connect each service again whenever you like by clicking Connect on its card and approving Google's consent screen.
• Why did disconnecting one Google service disconnect the others? Esqase holds one connection with your Google Account for all of its Google services, and Google does not let an app give back one permission at a time. So when you disconnect a service, Esqase revokes the whole connection rather than keep access it no longer needs, and you connect the other services again when you want them.

Related

• Your profile and personal settings
• Integrations overview
• Connecting Outlook and Zoom
• Notifications
• Sending email
• Calendar and events
• Event types (scheduling)