How to Use Date Polls in TidyCal

Use TidyCal date polls to propose meeting times, let a group vote, then book the winning slot. Open Polls from the TidyCal logo menu. Available on every plan.

Overview

Unlike regular booking types where attendees pick from your open availability, date polls let you:

  • Propose specific dates and times for a meeting.
  • Share a voting link with participants.
  • See which dates get the most votes.
  • Book the winning date with one click, automatically creating bookings and sending invitations to all voters.

Plan availability: All plans (Free Plan, Individual Lifetime, Agency Lifetime and Pro). On mobile, open tidycal.com/dashboard/polls directly: Polls is not in the mobile More menu.

Creating a Date Poll

  1. Click the down arrow next to the TidyCal logo at the top of the sidebar to open the menu.
  2. Click Polls.
  3. Click Create date poll.
  4. Fill in the poll details:
    • Event title — Name your poll (e.g., "Q2 Planning Meeting").
    • Duration — Set the meeting length.
    • Description (optional) — Add context for participants.
    • Location (optional) — Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Custom video link, Phone number or In person/Custom location. Automatic Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams links need a paid plan (Individual Lifetime, Agency Lifetime or Pro).
  5. Click Dates in the editor menu and use the calendar editor to add your proposed dates and times (see next section).
  6. Save the poll.

Using the Calendar Editor

The calendar editor gives you three view modes for adding dates and times to your poll. Switch between them using the segmented control at the top:

Week View

TidyCal poll calendar editor in Week view showing time slots added for different days

The default view. Shows a weekly calendar grid with time slots.

  • Click any time slot to add it to the poll. The slot duration matches your poll's meeting length.
  • Click an added slot (shown in blue) to remove it.
  • Use the left/right arrows to navigate between weeks.

If you have connected calendars, busy times appear as grey background blocks, helping you avoid scheduling conflicts.

Month View

TidyCal poll calendar editor in Month view showing dates with scheduled poll times

Shows a monthly calendar overview.

  • Click a day to open a time picker popover.
  • Set the hour and minute for your proposed time.
  • Click Add slot to confirm, or Cancel to dismiss.
  • The popover shows when the slot ends based on your poll's duration.

List View

TidyCal poll calendar editor in List view showing date and time inputs with Add date option

A manual entry view with date and time fields.

  • Each row has a date picker and time selectors (hour, minute, and AM/PM if using 12-hour format).
  • Click + Add date to add a new entry.
  • Click Remove to delete an entry.

Managing Your Polls

TidyCal Date Polls management page showing poll cards with status, votes, and filter controls

The Date polls page shows all your polls as cards. Each card displays the poll title, duration, vote count, and status.

Poll Statuses

Status Meaning
Open Poll is active and accepting votes. No booking has been created yet.
Closed A booking has been created from this poll. Closed polls are listed under the Finished filter.
Cancelled The poll was cancelled and no longer accepts votes. Cancelled polls appear only under All.

Filtering Polls

Use the filter tabs at the top of the page to show All, Open, or Finished polls.

Poll Actions

Each poll card has Edit and View booking page icons (open polls only) and a three-dot More options menu with Clone, Embed, Copy link (the last two on open polls only) and Delete:

  • Edit (pencil icon) — Modify the poll details and dates (Open polls only).
  • View booking page (external link icon) — Open the public voting page in a new tab.
  • Clone — Create a copy of the poll.
  • Embed — Get an embed code to add the poll to your website.
  • Copy link — Copy the public voting link to your clipboard.
  • Delete — Permanently delete the poll (requires confirmation).

At the bottom of each card:

  • Copy link — Quick copy of the voting link.
  • View dates (Open polls) / View results (closed polls) — Opens a modal showing all proposed dates with vote counts and percentages.

Sharing and Embedding

Click Copy link on any open poll to copy the public voting URL. Share it via email, chat, or any messaging platform.

To pre-fill a voter's details, add ?name= and ?email= to the poll link (for example ?name=Jane%20Doe&email=jane@example.com). Voters can still edit them.

Embed a Poll on Your Website

TidyCal poll embed modal showing HTML embed code with Copy code button

Click the three-dot menu on a poll card, then click Embed. A modal appears with the heading "Embed this date poll on your website" and an embed code snippet. Click Copy code and paste it into your website's HTML. For pre-fill attributes and other embed options, see How to embed TidyCal on your website.

How Attendees Vote

  1. Participants open the voting link you shared.
  2. They see the available dates and times.
  3. They pick one or more dates, click Submit your dates, enter their name and email, and click Submit.
  4. You receive an email ("You have a date poll vote!") each time someone submits votes.

Booking from Poll Results

Once participants have voted, you can create bookings directly from the poll results:

TidyCal poll voting results modal showing date options with progress bars and Book this date buttons

  1. Click View dates on an open poll to see results.
  2. Each date shows a progress bar with the vote percentage and the number of votes.
  3. Click the voter count link to see who voted for each date.
  4. Click Book this date next to your preferred date.
  5. A confirmation modal appears showing the poll title, duration, invitees (all unique voters), and location.
  6. Click Create bookings and send invitations to finalize.

What happens when you book:

  • One booking is created per unique voter.
  • All bookings share the same meeting link (Zoom, Google Meet, etc.) if a video location is configured.
  • Every voter gets a booking, including people who did not pick that date.
  • Confirmation emails are sent to each voter. If you turned on manual approval for the poll, voters get a pending-approval email instead, and the confirmation and calendar event follow once you approve.
  • A calendar event is added to your connected calendar.
  • If no one has voted yet, clicking "Book this date" creates a single booking for you (the poll owner).
  • The poll then shows as Closed and its voting link stops working.

Troubleshooting

Busy times not showing in the calendar editor

Busy time overlays require a connected calendar with reading enabled. Go to Integrations > Calendars and make sure the calendar is connected and its Reading enabled switch is on. Busy times are fetched for the next 60 days.

Voters not receiving invitations

Invitations are sent when you click "Create bookings and send invitations." Check that voters provided valid email addresses. Also check your spam/junk folder. If the issue persists, contact support@tidycal.com.

Make sure the poll status is Open. Once you book a date the poll is Closed and its voting link shows a page-not-found error; cancelled polls send visitors to your booking page. If you need to reuse the same dates, clone the poll to create a fresh copy.

Need more help?

Contact support@tidycal.com for assistance, or see How do I contact TidyCal support?

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I change poll dates after sharing?

Yes. Click Edit on an open poll to add or remove dates. Existing votes are preserved for dates that remain.

Is there a limit to the number of voters?

No. TidyCal does not limit how many people can vote on a poll.

Can I use date polls with paid bookings?

No. Date polls cannot collect payment. To charge for a meeting, create a paid booking type instead (see How to Create and Manage Booking Types in TidyCal).

Can voters change their vote?

Yes. A voter opens the poll link again and submits new dates with the same email address; the new selection replaces the old one.

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