Calendar and events

The Calendar is your firm's shared schedule. Every event your firm creates, every meeting a client books, and every task with a due date shows up here in one place. This page walks you through viewing the calendar, creating and moving events, setting up recurring events, inviting guests, setting reminders, syncing with Google Calendar, and responding to client scheduling requests.

Before you begin

• You reach the calendar from the main sidebar by clicking Calendar.
• Your role must include view access for the calendar. If it does not, the calendar page shows a "no access" message instead.
• Create, edit/move, and delete are each governed by their own permission. By default, firm owners and administrators have full access, while attorneys and staff can view, create, and edit events but cannot delete them. If a button described below is missing for you, your role most likely does not include that level of access.
• The first time you open the calendar, Esqase makes sure you have a personal default calendar to add events to, so you can always create an event right away.

View and manage the firm calendar

The calendar header gives you everything you need to move around the schedule, switch views, and search.

1. In the sidebar, click Calendar.
2. Use the view button on the right side of the header (it reads Day, Week, or Month) to switch how the grid is laid out:
   • Day shows a single day, hour by hour.
   • Week shows the current week in a time grid.
   • Month shows the whole month at a glance.
3. Move through time with the arrow buttons: click the left arrow to go to the previous day/week/month and the right arrow to go forward. Click Today to jump back to the current date.
4. Use the mini month picker in the left rail to jump to any date quickly. Clicking a day there moves the main grid to that day.
5. Type in the Search event box in the header to filter the calendar down to events whose details match your search.
6. Click the refresh button (the circular-arrows icon) on the left of the header to reload calendars and events, for example after a teammate adds something.

Preview an event or task on the grid

Hover over any event or task on the grid to open a preview card. It shows the same details as the panel that opens when you click, and it carries a few actions you can take on the spot, so you can check or change something without losing your place in the calendar.

• A colored bar runs across the top edge of the card. It is the color of the calendar the entry belongs to, so you can tell at a glance which calendar it came from. Tasks use the built-in Tasks color.
• For an event, the card shows the reminder (for example, 15 minutes before, or No notification), the title, the full date, the start and end time (or All day for an all-day event), the location, the meeting link, an About this event summary of the description, and a Participants row of avatars.
• For a task, the card shows the task's ID, the title, the due date, the time, the priority, the matter it belongs to, and the description.
• Clicking the meeting link inside the card opens the call in a new tab. Clicking anywhere else opens the entry: an event opens in the detail panel in the left rail, and a task opens in your task list.

Act on an event from its preview card

An event's preview card carries two actions:

1. The ... menu in the top-right corner of the card, the same menu you get in the event detail panel:
   • Edit opens the usual event dialog, with the same fields you filled in when you created the event.
   • Delete asks you to confirm in the Delete event? dialog. The event is removed once you click Delete event there, and this cannot be undone.
2. Are you coming to the meet? with Yes, No, and Maybe buttons appears at the bottom of the card when you are one of the event's guests. Picking an answer saves it right away, without opening the event. See Respond to an invitation (RSVP).

Act on a task from its preview card

A task's preview card has an Open task button in its top-right corner. Click it to go to your task list with that task already open, which is exactly where clicking the task on the grid takes you. See Creating and managing tasks.

Choosing which calendars you see

The left rail lists the calendars you can show or hide:

• My calendars lists your own calendars, each with a colored swatch and a checkbox. Uncheck a calendar to hide its events; check it to show them again.
• A built-in Tasks entry appears in the same list. Turn it on to overlay your firm's tasks (shown on their due dates) on top of the calendar, or off to hide them. A task on the grid is labelled with its ID and title together, for example TASK-0007 - Draft the settlement letter, so you can tell tasks apart from events at a glance.
• Other calendars lists your teammates' calendars, grouped by person. Check a person's name to show all of their calendars at once, or uncheck it to hide them.

Creating, editing, and deleting calendars

Calendars are color-coded buckets you use to organize events (for example, a "Trial prep" calendar separate from your default one).

1. To add a calendar, click the small plus button next to the My calendars heading, or open the ... (more) menu in the header and choose New calendar.
2. In the New calendar dialog, fill in:
   • Name (required): what the calendar is called.
   • Description (optional): a short note about what it is for.
   • Color (required): the color used for its events on the grid.
3. Click Create calendar. To change a calendar later, hover over it in My calendars, open its ... menu, and choose Edit.
4. To remove a calendar, open its ... menu and choose Delete, then confirm in the Delete calendar? dialog.

Create a calendar event

You can create an event in two ways: with the New event button, or by drawing it directly on the grid.

1. Click New event in the calendar header. (If your role does not include create access, this button is hidden.) Alternatively, click an empty slot on the grid, or click and drag across a time range, to open the same dialog with the date and time prefilled.
2. In the New event dialog, fill in the details:
   • Title (required): the name of the event.
   • Event type (optional): if your firm has set up bookable meeting types, you can pick one here. Choosing a type fills in the title and adjusts the end time to match the type's standard length. Leave it as None for an ordinary event. (See Event types (scheduling).)
   • Link to (optional): link the event to a matter or lead. This field appears at the bottom of the form, after the Calendar and Color fields. Picking a matter makes the event appear on that matter's Events tab; picking a lead ties it to that lead. Leave it on Not linked to a matter or lead for an unlinked event. This field is hidden when you create an event from inside a matter or lead (the record is pre-filled automatically).
   • Date (required), Start time, and End time (required): when the event happens. Check All day to make it an all-day event and hide the time fields.
   • Repeat: leave this as Does not repeat for a one-time event, or pick a recurrence (covered below).
   • Timezone (required): the timezone the event's times are in. It defaults to your firm's timezone.
   • Guests: the people invited (covered below).
   • Location (optional): a free-text place, for example an office address or a courtroom.
   • Meeting link (optional): a video link such as a Google Meet or other URL.
   • Description (optional): a rich-text note with the agenda or any details.
   • Notification: when to remind attendees, for example 15 minutes before. Choose Custom to set your own interval, or None for no reminder. Everyone invited, plus you as the creator, gets one reminder at that time. See Event reminders.
   • Calendar (required): which calendar the event lives on. It defaults to your default calendar.
   • Color (optional): override the calendar's color for just this event.
3. Click Create event. The event appears on the grid right away, and a confirmation message is shown.

Edit or move an event

You can open an event for editing, drag it to a new time, or resize it on the grid.

Edit event details

1. Click an event on the grid. Its details open in the left rail, showing the date, time, meeting link, description, and participants.
2. If you are the event's creator (or its host), open the ... menu at the top of that panel and choose Edit.
3. The Edit event dialog opens with the same fields as when you created it. Make your changes and click Save changes.
4. To remove the event instead, open the same ... menu and choose Delete, then confirm in the Delete event? dialog. Deleting an event cannot be undone.

Move or resize on the grid

Only the event's host or the person who created it can move or resize it on the grid. This is the same rule that controls who sees the Edit and Delete options in the detail panel. If you are not the host or creator, the event stays fixed in place: you can still click it to view its details, but you cannot drag it to a new time or change its length.

1. To reschedule, drag an event to a new day or time. Esqase saves the new time and shows a brief "Event rescheduled" message.
2. To change how long an event lasts, drag its bottom edge (in the Day or Week views) to make it longer or shorter. The duration updates automatically.

Create a recurring event and edit a single occurrence

A recurring event repeats on a schedule (for example, a weekly case review) so you only have to set it up once.

Set up a recurring event

1. Create or edit an event as usual.
2. Open the Repeat menu and choose how often it repeats:
   • Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Yearly for the common patterns.
   • Custom to set your own interval, such as every 2 weeks. With Custom, set Repeat every to a number and choose the Unit (Day, Week, Month, or Year).
3. Once you pick anything other than Does not repeat, an Ends section appears. Choose when the series stops:
   • Never: the event repeats indefinitely.
   • On a specific date: pick the last date the event should occur.
   • After a number of occurrences: enter how many times it should repeat.
4. Save the event. The grid shows every occurrence in the series.

Move one occurrence vs. the whole series

When you drag or resize an event that is part of a series, Esqase asks how to apply the change. As with single events, only the host or creator can move or resize a recurring event; for everyone else it stays fixed in place.

1. Drag a single occurrence of a recurring event to a new time.
2. In the Move recurring event dialog, choose:
   • Only this event: moves just the occurrence you dragged and leaves the rest of the series untouched. That occurrence becomes an exception with its own time.
   • All events in the series: shifts the entire series by the same amount.
3. Esqase saves your choice and refreshes the grid. To keep things as they were, click Cancel and the occurrence snaps back.

Add guests and send RSVPs

Guests are the people invited to an event. You can invite firm members, contacts, or anyone by email.

Add guests when creating or editing an event

1. In the event dialog, click the Guests field to open the people picker.
2. Start typing in the Search or type an email box. The list is grouped into Members (your colleagues) and Contacts (people from your contacts list, such as clients). The list searches as you type and loads more people as you scroll, so you do not have to load everyone at once.
3. Click a name to invite that person. A checkmark shows who is selected; click a selected name again to remove them. Each guest you add appears as a removable chip in the field, with a small icon showing whether they are a member, a contact, or an email guest.
4. To invite someone who is not a member or contact, type their full email address. An Invite by email group appears at the top of the list with an Invite option showing the address you typed. Choose it to add that person as an email guest.
5. When you create an event from a matter or a lead, the related clients who have an email on file are added as guests automatically, so you do not have to add them by hand.
6. As the creator, you are added as the host and marked as attending.

Respond to an invitation (RSVP)

If you are a guest on an event, you can mark whether you are coming.

1. Click the event on the grid to open its detail panel in the left rail. You can also just hover the event: the same Are you coming to the meet? buttons sit at the bottom of its preview card, so you can answer without opening anything.
2. Under Are you coming to the meet?, click Yes, No, or Maybe. (In the read-only event preview that opens from a lead or matter step, the same three buttons read Going, Not going, and Maybe.)
3. Your response is saved immediately and the grid reflects it: an event you have accepted is filled in with its color, while one you have not accepted yet stays outlined.

See who has responded

Wherever an event's Participants are shown (the detail panel in the left rail and the hover preview card on the grid), each avatar carries a small badge in its lower corner with that person's answer:

• The host is listed first, then the other guests.
• Up to three avatars are shown at once. If the event has more guests, a +N chip after them tells you how many are not pictured.
• Hover over an avatar to see that person's name, (Host) if they are hosting, their email address, and their answer.
• The full guest list, one row per person with the same wording, is on the read-only event preview you open from a lead or matter step.

Event reminders

Every event can remind the people attending it before it starts, so nobody has to keep an eye on the clock.

Set the reminder

1. Create or edit an event, and open the Notification field.
2. Pick how far ahead the reminder should arrive: 5 minutes before, 10 minutes before, 15 minutes before, 30 minutes before, 1 hour before, or 1 day before.
3. Choose Custom to set your own lead time instead. Two fields appear: enter a number in Notify and pick the Unit (Minutes, Hours, Days, or Weeks), for example 2 days before.
4. Choose None if the event should not remind anyone.
5. Save the event. The reminder line also shows on the event's detail panel and on its hover preview card, so you can see the setting at a glance without opening the event.

How the reminder reaches you

• You receive one reminder, at the time you chose. Set 15 minutes before and it arrives 15 minutes before the start, once, and never repeats.
• Everyone invited as a guest gets the reminder, and so does the member who created the event, even if they are not on the guest list.
• The reminder arrives the same way your other notifications do: in the bell inbox, as a desktop alert, and by email if you have turned email on for Event reminders. Clicking it opens the calendar.
• Desktop alerts for event reminders stay on screen until you dismiss them, so one does not disappear while you are away from your desk.
• Changing the Notification field on an event that has not started yet changes when the reminder goes out. An event whose reminder has already been sent is not reminded again.

Sync events with Google Calendar

If you connect your Google account, Esqase keeps your calendar in step with Google so your events show up in both places.

1. Connect your Google account from your integration settings. See Connecting Google (Gmail, Calendar, Meet).
2. Once connected, events you create, edit, or delete in Esqase are pushed to your Google Calendar automatically. Reminders, recurrence, and the meeting link are carried over too.
3. Changes you make on the Google side are pulled back into Esqase on a regular schedule, so the two stay aligned.

Approve, reject, or propose a new time for a booking

When a client books a meeting or asks for a different time, that arrives as a scheduling request. A scheduling request is a back-and-forth where the client and your firm propose dates and times until one is accepted. You handle these from the lead or matter the request belongs to (see "View and manage events on a matter" and Managing leads).

Where requests appear

• On a lead or matter, an event step that is waiting on you shows a View request button (with an amber clock) once the client has proposed a time. A step still in negotiation shows a status such as Review date & time or Awaiting client.
• Click that button to open the Scheduling request dialog.

Review and respond

1. In the Scheduling request dialog, review the list of dates and times. Each entry is labeled Client proposed or Your firm proposed, with the latest pending one being the time you can act on.
2. Choose how to respond:
   • Click Accept to confirm the client's proposed time. Esqase creates (or updates) the event for that time, and then offers to send the client a confirmation email.
   • Click Reject to decline the client's proposed time and hand the request back to them so they can pick another. Esqase then offers to email the client asking for a new time.
   • Click Propose schedule to suggest a different time yourself. In the Propose a new schedule dialog, pick a Date and Start time (the end is set automatically from the meeting's length) and click Propose schedule. Esqase then offers to email the client your proposed time so they can review it, and they can accept it or counter again.
3. Use Copy link to copy the client's scheduling link, for example to resend it.
4. If no event has been created yet, you can click Cancel request to stop the request entirely. The client's link stops working and they can no longer pick a time. This cannot be undone.

Creating a scheduling link to send a client

You can also start a scheduling request yourself so the client picks the time:

1. On a lead or matter event step that has no event yet, click Schedule and choose Request client to pick a schedule.
2. Esqase creates a link and shows the Scheduling link ready dialog. Click the copy button to copy the link, or click Send email to client to email it.
3. The client opens the link from their own email, confirms their identity, and picks a date and time, which comes back to you as a scheduling request to accept. For the client's side of this, see How clients book meetings.

View and manage events on a matter (the matter Events tab)

Every event linked to a matter also lives on that matter's Events tab, so you can see and manage a case's schedule without leaving the matter.

1. Open a matter, then click the Events tab.
2. The tab shows the matter's events in a table with columns for Title, Date / time, a Record time control (right after Date / time, for billing time spent on the event, covered below), Calendar, Event type, Guests, Status, Updated by, and Last updated. Each event is tagged Pending (still upcoming) or Done (already past).
3. Use the tabs above the table to filter by All, Pending, or Done, and use the Search events box to find an event by title.
4. To add an event to this matter, click New event. The event dialog opens with the matter pre-filled and the Link to field hidden, so the new event is automatically linked to the case.
5. To change an event, click its title or the Edit button on its row. To remove one, open the row's ... menu and choose Delete, then confirm. If you can delete events, you can also select several rows and remove them together with the batch Delete action.

Record time on an event

If you bill for the time you spend on a meeting or appointment, the events table has a Record time column so you can run a timer right on the event and turn it into a time entry on the matter. This control is in the Record time column of the events table (right after Date / time) on both the matter Events tab and the contact Events tab. There is no timer inside the event dialog itself; you record time from the table.

1. Find the event's row and look at the Record time column.
2. In the Record time control:
   • If no time entry exists yet, click Record time to start a fresh timer. The button turns into a running clock showing elapsed time, and a confirmation reads "Timer started."
   • While a timer is running, the button shows the elapsed time and a pause icon. Click it to pause. Pausing opens the time-entry window so you can review and adjust the recorded time.
   • When a timer is paused, the button shows a play icon. Click it to resume.
3. Use the options menu (the three-dots button next to the timer) for:
   • Edit manually -- open the time entry to set the duration, rate, or notes by hand.
   • Remove -- detach and discard the timer from this event.
4. Starting a timer creates a time entry (an activity) linked to this event and its matter. To manage it further, see Time and expense tracking.

Open an event from a lead or matter workflow row (the stable event link)

Events that come from a workflow step (for example, a scheduled intake meeting) carry a stable link so you can always jump straight to them.

1. On a lead or matter workflow step that has an event, click View to open a read-only preview of the event.
2. From the preview you can click Edit to make changes, Copy link to copy the event's public link, or use the step's ... menu for further actions such as Send email, Unlink event, or Delete event.
3. A direct event link always opens the event in the calendar's detail panel, even if you paste the link into your browser or arrive from a notification. Esqase resolves the link and shows the event with its RSVP controls.

Related

• Event types (scheduling)
• How clients book meetings
• Workflows and the builder
• Managing leads
• The matter workspace
• Time and expense tracking
• Connecting Google (Gmail, Calendar, Meet)
• Notifications