Tutorial 8 of 12
Connect calendars and attach event costs
Import or subscribe to Google and Outlook calendars, plan events, and keep linked costs in the right budget.
Parents and other adults can connect their own Google or Outlook calendars. Open Schedules from the workspace navigation, then choose Add calendar.
1. Choose an import or a subscription
Select Provider, enter a Calendar name, and choose a Connection:
| Connection | What to supply | What happens later |
|---|---|---|
| Import an .ics file | A calendar file up to 1 MB | Grace keeps a snapshot. Later provider changes do not update that import. |
| Subscribe with a link | The calendar's .ics subscription URL |
Grace can refresh from that feed. Subscriptions refresh every 15 minutes while Schedules is open; use Refresh to request an update yourself. |
For Google Calendar, open that calendar's settings. Export it to get a file; unzip the download before choosing the .ics file. For a subscription, use Integrate calendar → Secret address in iCal format.
For Outlook, open Settings → Calendar → Shared calendars → Publish a calendar. Copy the ICS link to subscribe, or download the file to import. Your work or school organization may restrict publishing.
Choose Import calendar or Subscribe to calendar. Keep the subscription link private: it grants access to the feed. Grace uses files and links for these connections; it does not ask you to sign in to Google or Microsoft in this flow.
2. Read and refresh your schedule
Use the calendar filters and calendar or agenda view to show the sources you need. Connected personal calendars are private to you. Edit imported or subscribed source events in the original calendar; a subscription can pick up those changes after a refresh.
Open Add calendar again to inspect the connection's Last updated time, refresh a subscription or Remove a connection. If refreshing fails, check the displayed error, verify the ICS link still works, and retry. Removing the connection removes it from Grace; it does not delete the source calendar.
Organization calendars require parent-approved access. See the request and approval workflow.
3. Create an event and attach its cost
- Choose New event in Schedules, or in a project's schedule.
- Select the calendar. You can use My calendar, a project you may edit, or the Shared family calendar when you are a parent.
- Enter the title, start and end, location and description. Check the date and time before saving.
- Select Attach cost item if the event has an expense. Enter its label, cost in USD, cost date and any note.
- Choose Save event, then review the resulting entry in Budget or the project's budget.
| Event | Where the attached cost goes |
|---|---|
| Project event | That project's budget |
| Parent's ordinary event | The family budget |
| Other adult's ordinary event | That adult's private budget |
An event cost is a one-time entry on its cost date. It is already included in the associated budget: adding a second manual line would double count it. Moving the cost date changes which month contains an ordinary event's budget entry.
Editing the attached cost updates the same budget entry. Clearing Attach cost item removes the linked cost; deleting the event removes it as well. Recording a cost does not itself mean it has been paid. Use the applicable budget controls to track payments or actual amounts where available.
Children can participate in shared projects but do not see adult cost controls or budgets. The Planner can use project schedule and budget records supplied to its chat, but connecting a personal calendar does not automatically give that chat access to it.