Master

1. Objective

This SOP defines how a Virtual Assistant (VA) manages a client's calendar and all scheduling activity on their behalf. It covers appointment types, booking authority, conflict resolution, rescheduling, meeting prep, and weekly reporting.

The goal is simple: the client never misses a meeting, never gets double-booked, always has appropriate buffer time, and always knows what is coming next — without having to manage the calendar themselves.

Relationship to Email Inbox Management: Most scheduling requests arrive through the inbox. Always cross-reference the email SOP when a booking trigger comes in via email. The triage and escalation rules there apply before any calendar action is taken here.

Success looks like: The client opens their week on Monday morning with a clean, conflict-free calendar, a prep note for every external meeting, and zero surprises.

2. Your Role & Boundaries

Calendar mistakes are high-visibility. A missed meeting or a double-booking reflects directly on the client. When in doubt, verify before confirming.

What you can book independently:
- Recurring meetings already established on the calendar
- Appointments the client has explicitly approved via message or email
- Internal team calls with known participants
- Confirmed follow-up meetings where the client has already agreed to meet
- Focus blocks and buffer time the client has pre-authorized

What requires client approval before booking:
- Any new external meeting with someone the client has not previously met
- Any appointment outside the client's stated working hours
- Any meeting longer than the client's defined maximum (see Section 4)
- Any commitment that moves or cancels an existing external appointment
- Any speaking engagement, media appearance, or podcast recording
- Any appointment that requires travel preparation

What you never touch without explicit instruction:
- Calendar blocks marked HOLD, PERSONAL, FAMILY, or DO NOT MOVE
- Any appointment the client created themselves unless they ask you to modify it
- Tentative blocks that have not been confirmed — do not convert or cancel these independently

The golden rule: A double-booking is always the VA's responsibility. Verify every new booking against the full calendar — including buffer time and travel — before confirming with any party.

3. Calendar Check Schedule

Daily checks:

Weekly checks:

Note: Confirm exact check times with your client during onboarding. Adjust to match their workflow.

What to look for on every audit:
- Any two events overlapping or with insufficient buffer
- Any event missing a video link, dial-in number, or location
- Any event with no title or an unclear title
- Any event with no attendee confirmation (still showing as tentative)
- Any new invite in the client's inbox that has not been responded to

4. Appointment Types & Authority Matrix

Before booking anything, identify the appointment type. Your authority level depends on it.

Fill in during onboarding: Maximum meeting length the VA can book independently: _____ (recommended default: 2 hours)

5. Booking Protocol

Every booking — regardless of type — follows this sequence:

Step 1: Receive the request
- From email: triage per Email Inbox Management, identify as ACTION REQUIRED — scheduling
- From client directly: confirm you have all required info before proceeding
- From third party: do not confirm until you have checked the calendar and verified authority

Step 2: Check for conflicts
- Open the client's calendar and check the proposed time
- Check not just the exact time slot — check buffer time before and after
- Check travel time if the meeting is in-person
- Check whether the client has a prep requirement for an adjacent meeting
- If any conflict exists, do not confirm — go to Section 7

Step 3: Verify required information
Before creating the invite, confirm you have:
- ☐ Full name of all attendees
- ☐ Correct email addresses for all attendees
- ☐ Meeting type (video / phone / in-person)
- ☐ Video link or dial-in (or create one — see Google Calendar Implementation Guide)
- ☐ Duration
- ☐ Agenda or meeting purpose (even one sentence)

Step 4: Create the invite
- Use the title naming convention: [Type] | [Name] | [Topic]
- Examples: Discovery | Sarah Moore | Levrly Intro / Check-In | Apex Underground | Q2 Review
- Add all attendees
- Add location or video link
- Add a brief agenda in the description field
- Set a reminder (default: 24 hours for external, 15 minutes for internal)

Step 5: Confirm with all parties
- Send the invite
- If the meeting originated from an email thread, reply to confirm the time is booked
- Apply the appropriate label in Gmail (CLIENTS, LEADS, VENDORS / TEAM)
- Archive the scheduling email thread

Scheduling links (Calendly or similar):
- Use a scheduling link when: the other party needs to self-select a time, the client has authorized link-based booking for this meeting type
- Do not use a scheduling link when: the meeting is sensitive, the contact is a VIP the client wants handled personally, or the client has specified direct booking only

6. Buffer Time Rules

Buffer time is non-negotiable. Never book a meeting that violates the client's buffer minimums.

Fill in during onboarding: Client's preferred buffer minimums may differ from defaults above. Record customized values in the Client Context Sheet and update this table.

If a proposed meeting would violate buffer rules:
1. Do not book it
2. Propose the next available time that respects the buffer
3. Notify the requesting party: "The client is available at [alternative time] — does that work?"

7. Conflict Resolution Protocol

What counts as a conflict:
- Two events overlapping in time
- Insufficient buffer between events (see Section 6)
- In-person meeting with no travel time accounted for
- A new booking that conflicts with a HOLD or personal block

Priority order when resolving conflicts (high to low):
1. Revenue-generating external meetings (discovery calls, client meetings)
2. Committed external meetings (already confirmed with another party)
3. Internal team meetings
4. Focus blocks and holds
5. Administrative tasks

How to resolve:
1. Identify which event has lower priority
2. Do not cancel or move anything without client approval if either event is external
3. Send client a message: "There's a conflict on [date] at [time] between [Event A] and [Event B]. I recommend moving [lower priority event]. Want me to handle that?"
4. Wait for client instruction before contacting any external party
5. Once approved, execute the reschedule per Section 8

Never resolve a conflict by canceling an external commitment without explicit client approval — even if the conflict seems obvious.

8. Rescheduling & Cancellations

Initiating a reschedule:
- Who can initiate is defined in the client's setup doc (Calendar & Scheduling — Client Setup)
- Default: VA can reschedule internal meetings independently; all external require client approval first

Rescheduling sequence:
1. Get client approval (if required for this appointment type)
2. Identify 2–3 alternative times that work within the client's calendar
3. Contact the other party with alternatives — do not ask open-ended "when works for you?" without offering options
4. Once new time is confirmed, update the calendar invite
5. Send an updated invite to all attendees
6. Confirm the change in whatever thread the meeting was scheduled through

Reschedule message format:

"Hi [Name], [Client name] needs to reschedule [meeting name] on [date]. They're available at [Option 1], [Option 2], or [Option 3]. Let me know which works best and I'll get the invite updated."

Cancellation sequence:
1. Get client approval (if required for this appointment type)
2. Contact the other party with appropriate notice (see client setup doc for minimums)
3. Delete or decline the calendar event
4. Send a cancellation message — always offer to rebook unless client instructs otherwise
5. Log the cancellation in the weekly report

Cancellation message format:

"Hi [Name], [Client name] unfortunately needs to cancel [meeting name] on [date]. They apologize for any inconvenience. Would you like to find a new time, or should we leave that open for now?"

No-show protocol:
- Wait the agreed window (default: 15 minutes) before marking as a no-show
- Send a brief message: "Hi [Name], just checking in — we had [meeting] scheduled for [time]. Let me know if you'd like to reconnect."
- Notify the client
- Offer to rebook unless client instructs otherwise

9. Meeting Prep Reminders

The VA is responsible for ensuring the client is never caught off guard before a meeting.

24-hour reminder (all external meetings):

Send the client a brief prep message via agreed channel:

Meeting Tomorrow — [Meeting Title]
Time: [time + time zone]
With: [Name, Company]
Purpose: [one sentence]
Link / Location: [link or address]
Materials to review: [any relevant docs, or "none"]

1-hour reminder:
- Confirm the video link is working
- Resend the link to the client if not already in the prep message
- Flag any last-minute changes to attendees or format

When to skip reminders:
- Recurring internal calls with no agenda change
- Client has explicitly opted out of reminders for a specific meeting type

10. Recurring Meeting Management

Setting up recurring events:
- Confirm the recurrence pattern with the client before creating (weekly, biweekly, monthly)
- Add all standard fields (title, attendees, link, agenda placeholder)
- Note in the event description: "Recurring — managed by [VA Name]"

Handling exceptions:
- Skip a single occurrence: decline or delete only that instance — never the series
- Change location or link for one occurrence: edit only that instance
- Add a one-time attendee: add to that instance only, not the series

Quarterly recurring meeting audit:
- Every 90 days, review all recurring meetings with the client
- Present a list: meeting name, frequency, last known purpose
- Client decides: keep as-is, modify, or cancel
- Document the outcome in the changelog

11. Weekly Calendar Report

Send every Friday alongside or combined with the inbox report.

Weekly Calendar Report Template:

Calendar Summary — Week of [date]

UPCOMING WEEK AT A GLANCE
[Monday] — [list meetings]
[Tuesday] — [list meetings]
[Wednesday] — [list meetings]
[Thursday] — [list meetings]
[Friday] — [list meetings]

FLAGS
- [Any conflict, missing info, or issue that needs attention]
- [Or: "None — week is clean"]

PREP NEEDED FROM YOU
- [Any materials, decisions, or information the client needs to provide before a meeting]
- [Or: "None"]

OPEN SCHEDULING REQUESTS
- [Any pending scheduling tasks not yet resolved]
- [Or: "None outstanding"]

12. Tools & Access