---
title: Calendar & timeline
id: calendar
description: See every event and its milestones on a month calendar, toggle milestones on or off, and subscribe your Google, Apple, or Outlook calendar to a private SpinBook feed.
category: Features
order: 28
tags: [calendar, milestones, ical, google-calendar, outlook, subscribe]
related: [checklist-and-forms, per-event-view, event-status]
updated: 2026-08-03
---

The **Calendar** gives DJ staff one view of everything happening across the business —
every event, plus each event's milestones — and lets both DJs and Couples subscribe
their own calendar app so SpinBook dates stay in sync automatically.

## The DJ calendar

Open **Calendar** from the top navigation (staff only). You'll see:

- A **month grid** with three kinds of thing on it — see the colours below.
- Use **‹ / ›** to move between months and **Today** to jump back.
- An **Upcoming** agenda list underneath the grid for a quick chronological read.

Events are titled **couple name — event type** ("Sam & Alex — Wedding"), so you can find
a booking by whose it is. If you've given an event its own title, that wins.

### Three colours, three types

| | Colour | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| **Events** | Gold | The gig itself, on its date |
| **Checklists** | Blue | A checklist item's due date |
| **Payments** | Green | A payment's due date, with the amount |

Colour tells you the **type**; anything already done — a completed checklist item, a paid
payment — goes grey and struck through instead. So a glance answers both "what kind of day
is this?" and "what's still outstanding?" without the two competing.

### Find one event fast

The **search box** above the grid narrows the calendar as you type — match on the couple's
name, the event or checklist item's title, or the venue. The month grid and the Upcoming
list both follow the search, so "sarah" leaves only Sarah's wedding, its checklist dates,
and its payments on the calendar.

### Preview a checklist item without leaving

Click any blue **checklist chip** and it opens a **preview** right on the calendar: what
the item is, when it's due, whether it's done, and which event (couple, venue, event day)
it belongs to. Close it and you're exactly where you were — or hit **Open event →** to go
work on it. Events and payments still open their pages directly with one click.

### Hide what you don't need

Each type has a toggle above the grid, with a count beside it. Turn off **Checklists** on a
busy month to see just the gigs, or turn off **Payments** when you're planning schedules
rather than cash. The counts always reflect everything, so a switched-off toggle still tells
you what turning it back on would show.

Checklist dates come straight from your checklist: the date is the event date minus its
"due" offset, and the done/not-done state is the same one the
[checklist](/checklist-and-forms) shows — the calendar never disagrees with the event page.
Items with no due date (like "Sign your contract", due as soon as possible) don't appear.
Payment dates are the due dates on each request, including the ones SpinBook creates for you
when you mark an event booked (see [Payments](/payments)).

### One click back

Open an event from the calendar and its **← Back to calendar** link returns you exactly
where you were, rather than dropping you on the dashboard.

## The Couple timeline

From their event page a Couple can open **Timeline**. At the top they build their
**reception timeline** — a row per moment (time, activity, and any detail) that saves itself
as they type and orders by time on demand (and on page load), which the DJ prints to run the
night. **Submit
timeline** hands it to the DJ and completes the timeline checklist item; they can re-submit
after an edit, and staff can un-submit to reopen the item. Below that is their
**milestones** list: a simple dated view of what's coming up and when it's due, ending on
the event date. It shows only their own event, and marks each item done as they complete
it. Staff opening the same page can edit the reception timeline too.

## Subscribe from Google, Apple, or Outlook

Both the DJ calendar and the Couple timeline (below the reception builder) offer an
**Add to your calendar** panel with a private subscription link.

- Click **Subscribe** to open your calendar app's "add calendar by URL" flow (this uses
  a `webcal://` link), or **Copy** the URL and paste it into your app manually:
  - **Google Calendar:** Other calendars → **From URL** → paste the link.
  - **Apple Calendar:** File → **New Calendar Subscription** → paste the link.
  - **Outlook:** Add calendar → **Subscribe from web** → paste the link.
- Your calendar app refreshes the feed periodically, so new and changed dates flow in
  automatically. The DJ feed carries every event; a Couple's feed carries only theirs.

### Keep your link private

The subscription link is a **secret key to your dates** — anyone who has it can read the
events (and, for the DJ feed, Couple names and venues) without signing in. Only share it
with people who should see those dates. If a link is ever over-shared or lost, click
**Rotate link** to invalidate the old one and issue a fresh URL; you'll then re-subscribe
with the new link.

## Checklist

- [ ] Open **Calendar** and confirm your events appear on the right dates
- [ ] Toggle **Checklists** off and on to check due dates line up with your checklist
- [ ] Click **Subscribe** (or copy the URL) into Google, Apple, or Outlook
- [ ] Share the Couple timeline link so couples can see what's due when
- [ ] Rotate any link that has been shared too widely