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Import Sessions from Google Sheets Through Zapier
Import Sessions from Google Sheets Through Zapier
Ariane Ramirez avatar
Written by Ariane Ramirez
Updated over 3 weeks ago

Import Session Information from Google Sheets to Accelevents

If you're using Google Sheets to manage your event data such as the event agenda, you can easily import session information to Accelevents by creating a Zap!

Accelevents has an official app published in Zapier for integrating with other platforms. The steps below will show you how to connect your Accelevents account to Zapier and then build your integration between your event and the other apps available in Zapier, such as Airtable.

A Zap is like your personal assistant following all your instructions to complete the task. It has two essential components: a trigger and an action. The trigger is an event or condition as to when the action will happen. The action is the command that will complete your goal.

Your zap would look like this:

Session Fields

Before setting up your zap, ensure that the field and value formats are compatible with Accelevents. Here are the fields that can be imported and their proper format.

See a Sample Google Sheets Format

Accelevents Session Field

Google Sheet Value Format

Title

Text

Session ID

Number field

Default Value: 0

Session Visibility

(Is session visible?)

Text or Dropdown

Below are the accepted values:

  • Yes

  • No

OR

  • True

  • False

Session Format Type

Text or Dropdown

Below are the accepted values:

MAIN_STAGE_SESSION

REGULAR_SESSION

MEET_UP

WORKSHOP

EXPO

BREAK

OTHER

Session Date and Time

This should be 2 separate fields:

  • Session Start Date and Time

  • Session End Date and Time

Format:

The date, time, and timezone should be in ISO format.

Example: February 13 at 2 pm ET

ISO format: 2025-02-12T19:00:00Z

See a Sample Template with ISO Format Formula

Short Description

Text

Full Details

Text

Location

Text

Capacity

Number

Tags

Text - The items should be comma-separated

  • Tag 1,Tag 2, Tag 3

Tracks

Text - The items should be comma-separated

  • Track 1,Track 2, Track 3

Accept the Invite to Create a Zap

Accepting the invite will allow you to use the most up-to-date version of our Accelevents app. Click Accept & Build a Zap.

Start by Clicking This Invite Link

Create the Zap

Click the arrows to see the next steps to set up the trigger and actions.

Part 1 Trigger - New or Updated Spreadsheet Row

1. Format the Google Sheet Values

Please ensure that the Google Sheet values and format are compatible with Accelevents. The date and time should be in ISO format. For tags and tracks, the items should be comma-separated.

See a Sample Google Sheet Template

Click the arrow to learn how to generate ISO 8601 start and end date-time format in Google Sheets

  1. Prepare your Google Sheet column A to F headers

    1. Start Date

    2. Start Time

    3. End Time

    4. Time Zone Offset (UTC)

    5. ISO Start Time (Calculated)

    6. ISO End Time (Calculated)

  2. Add sample values with the correct format in the second row

    1. Date: 2025-02-26

    2. Start Time: 2:00 PM

    3. End Time: 3:00 PM

    4. Time Zone Offset (UTC): -05:00 (for Eastern Time - New York)

  3. Enter these formulas in the second row

    • Column E: ISO Start Time (Calculated)

      • =TEXT(A2 + B2 - (TIMEVALUE(MID(D2, 2, 5)) * IF(LEFT(D2, 1)="+", 1, -1)), "YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS") & "Z"

    • Column F: ISO End Time (Calculated)

      • =TEXT(A2 + C2 - (TIMEVALUE(MID(D2, 2, 5)) * IF(LEFT(D2, 1)="+", 1, -1)), "YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS") & "Z"

See a Sample Template With Formula

2. Accept the Accelevents' Invite

To ensure that you're using the correct app version, accept the Accelevents invite to build a Zap

Accept the Invite

3. Choose Google Sheets as the Trigger

After creating the zap, click the trigger and select Google Sheets from the available apps.

4. Choose the Trigger Event

Select New or Updated Spreadsheet Row as the trigger event. When a new session is made on Google Sheets, a session is created on Accelevents. Any changes made on Google Sheets will also update on Accelevents.

5. Connect your Google Account

If you have used Google Sheets for your zaps before, select an account from the dropdown. You can also add a new one by clicking + Connect a new account. Once selected, click Continue.

6. Choose the Spreadsheet and Worksheet fields

Choose the spreadsheet and worksheet fields from the dropdowns, then click Continue.

7. Test the Trigger

Click Test Trigger so Zapier can check for a successful connection between the two platforms. Select which Google Sheets spreadsheet row to test.

Part 2 Action - Create or Update Sessions in Accelevents

1. Select Accelevents for Action

Search and choose the latest version of Accelevents. You will only see this version if you accept the invite in the previous step.

2. Select Create or Update Sessions

Select Create or Update Sessions in the action event dropdown.

3. Connect Your Accelevents Event to Zapier

Click Sign In, and a pop-up will appear where you can enter the API Key.

To get your Zapier API Key, open your event admin console in Accelevents

  • Go to Settings > Integrations

  • Enable the toggle for Zapier Integration

  • Click on Configure, then copy the generated API key.

  • Paste the API Key to the Zapier pop-up, then click Yes, Continue to Accelevents. Then click Continue in the Zapier settings.

4. Configure the fields

Map all the fields that you want to import to Accelevents.

  • Session id, session title, format type, date and time are required fields.

  • For the session visibility, you can select True or False to have the same settings for all sessions or click the 3 dots and select Custom to map your session visibility field.

5. Test

Click Continue, then test the step to see if it will create a session in Accelevents.

Part 3 Action - Filter Conditions

This next action creates a filter that will determine if the zap will proceed to the next step. It's important to create a filter so that it does not create a continuous loop as the last action in this Zap updates the Airtable record, and the first step in this Zap triggers when an update is done to the Airtable record.

1. Select Filter as Action

Click the + button to add another step, and select Filter from the available apps.

2. Setup Filter Conditions

This step means it will continue to update the Airtable Session ID field only if the existing value in that field is "0" or blank. And it will no longer update the field if the value is more than that.

  • Choose the Session ID field under Only continue if.

  • Select (Number) Less than as the condition and input 1 as data.

3. Add Another Rule Group as Filter Condition

  • Click + Add "Or" rule group

  • Select the Session ID field, then Does not exist as the condition. Click Continue.

4. Test the Step

A prompt will appear explaining that your Zap would have continued for this test data. Click Continue.

Part 4 Action - Update Spreadsheet Row

1. Select Google Sheets as Action

Select Google Sheets from the available apps.

2. Choose Update Spreadsheet Row as the action event. Click Continue.

3. Configure Which Row to Update

Select the Drive, Spreadsheet, and Worksheet from Google Sheets. For the Row, select the 3-dot menu, choose Custom, and select Row ID.

4. Map the Session Id from Accelevents

In the same configure menu, Map the Session Id from Accelevents to the Session ID field in Google Sheets. Click Continue.

5. Test

When the step is tested, the Session ID from Accelevents is imported to Google Sheets. Click Publish.

Having the Accelevents Session ID in Google Sheets allows the Zap to update the correct session in Accelevents.

5. Publish the Zap

If the test is successful, publish the zap. After publishing, data will be pushed to Accelevents whenever a new row is created or updated.

Import and Update Behavior

Below are the expected behavior when you create new sessions or make changes to existing ones after the Zap is turned on

Create New Sessions

  • Newly created sessions from the integrated platform will be imported to Accelevents, as long as the required fields have a valid value (e.g., session date and time are within the event duration, main stage sessions are not overlapping with other main stage sessions)

  • Existing sessions from the integrated platform will only be imported to Accelevents when the record is updated in the other platform.

Update Session Information

  • Sessions will sync if the Session ID matches in the other platform and Accelevents, regardless of where and how the sessions are created. The Session ID allows the integration to update the correct session even if there are sessions with the same name.

  • If the Session ID is removed from the other platform, a new session will be created in Accelevents, instead of updating the existing one.

  • When updates are made in the integrated platform, the new data will sync with Accelevents, replacing the existing data.

  • When updates are made in Accelevents and that field is not mapped in the Zap or is blank in the other platform (e.g. description, session visibility), that field will update to the default session settings (blank description field, the session is visible) if updates are done in the other platform.

  • Deleted Accelevents sessions will reappear in Accelevents if changes are made to the existing session in the integrated platform.

  • Deleted sessions from the integrated platform will not be deleted in Accelevents.

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