Where the dates come from, and the field map
A Zap can only put a date in a calendar if a field holds it. Here are the real fields, how to shift them with Formatter, and every mapping the Zaps on this site use.
- 5/5 on G2
- 4.2 on Capterra
- Building QuoteCloud since 2013
Dates for Google Calendar events come from four places: a Forms answer the client gives, a data item you fill, the time a QuoteCloud trigger fired, or a date the Zap set itself, such as Send Document's expiry. Formatter by Zapier's Date / Time step adds or subtracts time before Create Detailed Event uses it.
Last reviewed by the QuoteCloud team
Two overlapping panels with sample data. Behind, the Book your install form on Halden Climate Co.'s quote HC-5108, answered with a preferred start of Tuesday 3 November 2026 at 7:30 am, marked as mapped by the Zap to Start Date & Time, and an access note mapped to Description. In front, the calendar event the Zap created, each value labelled with its source: the form answer through Formatter, the site address data item, the signer emails, and the title, number and access note.
Where can a calendar date come from?
Four real sources. Pick the one the client or your team already fills in.
A form answer
A Forms question on the document, answered by the client, such as Preferred install start. Find Document with Detail Level Full loads forms. Form Builder: Essentials and up.
Used to book the workA data item
A custom data item you fill before sending, such as Event date. Check it shows in your Zap's test data; if not, use a form answer.
Used to hold datesThe trigger's time
When a document was first viewed, signed or expired: the moment itself, moved to a sensible hour.
Used for follow-up callsA date the Zap set
Send Document's Document Expires At. The Zap that set it can reuse it for a reminder in the same run.
Used for expiry reminders
How do I move a date with Formatter?
Formatter by Zapier's Date / Time step changes a date's format and adds or subtracts time. The examples on this site:
+1 day, 10:00 am
Viewed Mon 19 Oct, 6:12 pm → call Tue 20 Oct, 10:00 am.
+8 hours
Install start Tue 3 Nov, 7:30 am → end 3:30 pm.
−6 weeks, 11:00 am
Event date Sat 13 Mar 2027 → tasting Sat 30 Jan 2027, 11:00 am.
+30 days, then −2
Approved Wed 28 Oct → expires Fri 27 Nov, 5:00 pm → reminder Wed 25 Nov, 9:00 am.
Shape the event, not just the date
Fields on Google Calendar's Create Detailed Event that matter for quotes.
All day
For holds and deadlines with no time of day, such as a pencilled wedding date.
Repeat How Many Times?
With Repeat Frequency daily, one event covers a two-day install.
Show me as Free or Busy
Holds as free, confirmed bookings as busy, so holds never block diaries.
Attendees
The client's email, so Google Calendar sends them the invitation. Add Attendee(s) to Event takes a comma-separated list.
Reminders
Your calendar's defaults, or Minutes Before Reminders, up to four weeks before.
Add Conferencing?
Yes adds a video meeting link: useful for follow-up calls and kickoffs.
Every field the Zaps on this site map
| Google Calendar: Google Calendar field | Direction | QuoteCloud: QuoteCloud field | Goes into | Example (sample data) | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Signed: book the work (Document Signing Complete → Create Detailed Event) | |||||
| Start Date & Time | QuoteCloud to Google Calendar | Form answer: Preferred install start, via Formatter | Form answer | Tue 3 Nov 2026, 7:30 am |
|
| End Date & Time | QuoteCloud to Google Calendar | The start + 8 hours, via Formatter | Formatter | Tue 3 Nov 2026, 3:30 pm |
|
| Summary | QuoteCloud to Google Calendar | Document number + client | Document field | Install · HC-5108 · Hadley |
|
| Location | QuoteCloud to Google Calendar | Site address data item | Data item | 22 Banksia Rise |
|
| Attendees | QuoteCloud to Google Calendar | Signer email | Document field | claire.hadley@example.com |
|
| Sent: hold the date (Document Status Changed → Create Detailed Event) | |||||
| Start Date & Time (All day) | QuoteCloud to Google Calendar | Event date data item | Data item | Sat 13 Mar 2027 |
|
| Show me as Free or Busy | QuoteCloud to Google Calendar | A fixed value | Event field | Free |
|
| Signed: confirm (Find Events → Update Event) | |||||
| Search_term | QuoteCloud to Google Calendar | Document number | Search value | TP-2741 |
|
| Start / End Date & Time | QuoteCloud to Google Calendar | Event date + Event start data items | Data item | Sat 13 Mar 2027, 3:30 pm – 12:00 am |
|
| First viewed: book the call (Recipient First Viewed Document → Create Detailed Event) | |||||
| Start Date & Time | QuoteCloud to Google Calendar | Viewed time + 1 day at 10:00, via Formatter | Formatter | Tue 20 Oct 2026, 10:00 am |
|
| Summary | QuoteCloud to Google Calendar | Recipient name + document number | Document field | Call Leila Hassan · TL-1184 |
|
| Approved: remind before expiry (Send Document → Create Detailed Event) | |||||
| Start Date & Time | QuoteCloud to Google Calendar | Document Expires At the Zap set − 2 days, via Formatter | Formatter | Wed 25 Nov 2026, 9:00 am |
|
| Meeting ended: draft the proposal (Event Ended → Create Document) | |||||
| Attendee email | Google Calendar to QuoteCloud | Email Address (Find or Create Contact) | Contact field | ava.marsh@example.com |
|
| Location | Google Calendar to QuoteCloud | Site address | Data item | 41 Wren Street |
|
| Start | Google Calendar to QuoteCloud | Site visit date | Data item | Tue 13 Oct 2026 |
|
| Description | Google Calendar to QuoteCloud | Visit notes | Data item | Low-water planting, deck off the kitchen |
|
All values are sample data from fictional businesses. QuoteCloud-side names are described, not quoted: check them in your Zap's test data.
Map your own dates
QuoteCloud's Zapier app, Form Builder and custom data items are on the Essentials plan and up. Start a free 14-day trial and look at the test data yourself.
What about time zones and date formats?
QuoteCloud, Zapier and Google Calendar each have a time zone setting. If they differ, an event can land an hour or a day out. Set them to match where the work happens, and test with an afternoon time so any shift is obvious.
Formatter by Zapier's Date / Time step reads most written dates and turns them into the format the next step needs. Run it even when a date looks right: a form answer typed as 3/11 means different days in different countries.
- QuoteCloud's time zone and date format: Company settings in the user guide.
- Prefer a date question the client can't mistype: give an example format in the question's wording.
Questions about dates and fields
Can a QuoteCloud data item set the date of a Google Calendar event?
Yes, if it reaches Zapier. Fill a data item such as Event date before sending, load the document with Find Document, and map the value through Formatter by Zapier into Start Date & Time. Check the data item appears in your Zap's test data; if it doesn't, ask for the date in a Forms question.
Can the client choose the date?
Yes. Add a Forms question to the document, such as Preferred install start. When the document is signed, Find Document with Detail Level Full loads the form's answers, and the Zap maps the answer into the event. Form Builder is on QuoteCloud's Essentials plan and up.
How do I set a reminder days before a date?
Either subtract the time with Formatter by Zapier's Date / Time step and create a separate reminder event, or keep one event and set Minutes Before Reminders on Create Detailed Event, up to four weeks before. A separate event is easier to see in a busy week.
Can Google Calendar dates come back into QuoteCloud?
Into a new document, yes: a Zap starting from a Google Calendar trigger such as Event Ended can map the event's start into a data item with Create Document. Moving an event doesn't change an existing document; each Zap runs one way.
More on QuoteCloud and Google Calendar
Four use cases with the exact Zapier steps, then how to connect, the limits and the cost.
- Book the work when the quote is signedWhen every signer has signed, a Zap books the install on the date the client chose, with the client invited.
- Hold, confirm and release event datesA sent proposal pencils the date, a signature confirms it and books the tasting, an expired one releases it.
- Follow-up calls and expiry remindersA first view books a call for the next morning; a quote the Zap sends gets a reminder two days before it expires.
- Draft proposals from calendar meetingsWhen a site visit or discovery call ends in Google Calendar, a Zap drafts the proposal with the meeting's details.
- Connect Google Calendar to QuoteCloud, step by stepCheck the plan, connect both apps in Zapier, build and test the first Zap, or build it in Make.
- What QuoteCloud with Google Calendar can and can't doWhat the Zaps do, where they stop, Zapier or Make, and what we haven't confirmed yet.
- What the Google Calendar connection costsEssentials and up for Zapier; only the meeting-to-proposal Zap creates documents that carry a fee.
- FAQAnswers to the questions teams ask before connecting QuoteCloud and Google Calendar.
Real fields in. Real dates out.
Start a free 14-day trial, add a date question to your template and watch it land in Google Calendar.