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ICS Feed

Some calendars don’t have a direct integration. Most can still publish an ICS feed, which RevDesk reads to block out busy times. It’s read-only, so it won’t create events. The right way to use it: pair an ICS feed for a secondary calendar (a personal calendar, a shared team calendar from a different provider) with a direct integration for the calendar where bookings should actually land.
ICS is read-only. The agent checks availability and avoids conflicts, but it can’t write events. For bookings, connect Google Calendar, Outlook, Apple Calendar, or Zoho Calendar directly.

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What changes

  • Conflict checking. The agent reads busy windows from any ICS source.
  • Universal compatibility. Works with anything that exports an ICS URL.
  • Secondary calendar coverage. Pair with a primary direct integration to honor both your work and personal schedules.

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Setup

1

Find your ICS URL

In the source calendar’s sharing or export settings.
2

Open the integrations panel

Inside the app: Settings → Integrations → Calendar.
3

Select ICS Feed

Click “Connect ICS Feed.”
4

Paste the URL

Enter the ICS feed URL.
5

Test the connection

RevDesk verifies it can read the feed and confirms how many events were found.

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Finding the ICS URL

CalendarWhere to find it
Google CalendarSettings → Settings for my calendars → Integrate calendar → Secret address in iCal format.
Outlook.comSettings → Calendar → Shared calendars → Publish a calendar.
Apple CalendarRight-click calendar → Share calendar → Public calendar URL.
Yahoo CalendarCalendar settings → Share → Get sharable link.

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How it works

The feed fetches periodically (every few minutes). Busy times block those windows in availability, so the agent won’t offer a slot that overlaps. Bookings still write to the primary calendar you have connected directly.

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What ICS doesn’t do

CapabilityICS feedDirect integration
Check availabilityYesYes
Create appointmentsNoYes
Two-way syncNoYes
Real-time updatesMinutes delayInstant

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When to use ICS

  • Secondary calendars for conflict checking alongside a primary direct integration.
  • Team availability aggregation when team members use mixed calendar providers.
  • External systems that only expose an ICS URL.

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Troubleshooting

ICS syncs every few minutes by design. For instant updates, use a direct integration.
Confirm you’re using the ICS/iCal URL, not the HTML calendar link. It should end in .ics or contain /ical/.
Some ICS exports only include a limited date range. Check the source calendar’s export settings.

Connect ICS Feed

Pair it with a direct calendar integration for full coverage.