Microsoft Outlook Calendar integration guide
NexaSquared can sync approved employee leave and staff unavailability into a dedicated Microsoft Outlook calendar called NexaSquared Leave Calendar. Outlook Calendar is a display destination only; NexaSquared remains the source of truth.
What NexaSquared syncs
- Approved employee leave and staff unavailability.
- All-day events for full-day leave.
- Timed events for morning or afternoon half-day leave.
- Updates when approved leave dates or display settings change in NexaSquared.
- Removal or cancellation when approved leave is cancelled in NexaSquared.
Why Microsoft Graph calendar permission is required
NexaSquared uses Microsoft 365 / Outlook Calendar access only to create, update and remove calendar events for approved employee leave and staff unavailability. NexaSquared remains the source of truth. NexaSquared does not access Microsoft email content, OneDrive files, SharePoint files, Teams messages, Contacts or Microsoft 365 Admin data.
NexaSquared does not request mailbox, file, Teams, SharePoint, contacts or Microsoft 365 admin permissions.
The requested permissions are limited to sign-in/account identification, refresh-token support and delegated calendar event management.
What data is not synced
- Pending or declined leave.
- Sick leave reasons or private leave notes by default.
- HR notes, approval comments, payroll data, medical details or sensitive employee records.
- Edits made in Outlook Calendar never update NexaSquared in this phase.
How to connect, disconnect and revoke access
- A Company Admin opens Settings → Calendar integrations.
- They choose Connect Microsoft Outlook Calendar and approve the Microsoft consent screen.
- NexaSquared creates or selects a leave calendar and stores OAuth tokens encrypted at rest.
- Admins can disconnect from the same page at any time.
- Admins can optionally remove NexaSquared-created Outlook events during disconnect.
- Admins can also revoke NexaSquared access from their Microsoft account app permissions.
Admin consent and troubleshooting
Some Microsoft 365 organisations block user consent. If Microsoft says administrator approval is required, ask your Microsoft 365 administrator to approve NexaSquared Calendar Sync. NexaSquared only requests calendar access so approved leave and staff unavailability can be shown in Outlook Calendar.
- Admin consent required: ask an IT administrator to approve the app, then retry connection.
- Invalid client or redirect URI: confirm the Microsoft Entra app uses the NexaSquared redirect URI shown in Platform settings.
- Token revoked or expired: reconnect Microsoft 365 / Outlook Calendar from NexaSquared.
- Calendar or event missing: run bulk resync to recreate missing NexaSquared-managed events.
How external Outlook changes are handled
NexaSquared may detect changes made to NexaSquared-managed Outlook Calendar events so that company admins can review, restore or approve those changes inside NexaSquared. NexaSquared does not automatically change leave balances, approvals or staff records based only on Outlook Calendar edits unless the company has explicitly enabled a review and approval workflow.
If a NexaSquared-created Outlook event is edited or deleted externally, NexaSquared records the change in the external changes queue. A Company Admin can restore the NexaSquared version, ignore the change, or use a future approved workflow to convert it into a proposed leave change.
Outlook availability import and privacy
Availability import is disabled by default. When enabled, NexaSquared uses privacy-safe busy/free metadata unless detailed import is explicitly enabled. Private event titles and descriptions are not imported by default.
Employees and admins can disconnect calendar access, and admins can disable availability import from the Microsoft calendar integration settings.
Who can manage the integration
Only authorised Company Admins can connect, disconnect, test, retry failed syncs or change calendar sync settings. Platform Owners can configure OAuth credentials and view readiness/status information, but token values are never shown.
How events appear
The default event title is Employee Name - Unavailable. The default description includes Managed by NexaSquared. Showing the leave type is optional and disabled by default.