Convert Meeting Times

Overview

The API treats `time` as a wall-clock time in `fromTimezone` on `date`. It first reads the date and time as if they were UTC, then looks up the UTC offset of each zone for that moment using the runtime's IANA timezone data. Subtracting the source offset gives the real instant, which is then formatted in `toTimezone` as `convertedTime` in 24-hour `HH:MM:SS` form.

`date` is optional and defaults to today's date in UTC. It matters because offsets follow daylight saving rules: on a summer date `America/New_York` reports `-04:00` and on a winter date `-05:00`. `fromOffset` and `toOffset` are those offsets as `+HH:MM` or `-HH:MM`, and `timeDifference` is the target offset minus the source offset in hours, so it can be fractional for zones such as `Asia/Kolkata` (+5.5) and negative when the target is behind.

`convertedTime` carries no date, so a conversion that crosses midnight does not say whether the result falls on the previous or next day; compare `timeDifference` with the input time to work that out. Each timezone is validated on its own, and a name the runtime does not recognise returns a 400 that says which parameter was wrong. A date and time that do not form a valid moment also return a 400. Offsets are looked up at the input reading as UTC, so within a few hours of a daylight saving change the result can be off by an hour.

Live Test Convert Meeting Times Source →

Formula

One function covers the whole catalog: the first argument names the source, the next are its inputs, and the field after them says which single value lands in the cell. Formulas covers the grammar that applies to all of them.

=VERVE("meetingtimeconverter", A2, B2, C2, "originalTime")

=VERVE.CALL("meetingtimeconverter", A2, B2, C2, "originalTime")

A2 holds time, B2 holds fromTimezone, C2 holds toTimezone. Arguments go in that order — the same order as the table below.

With literal values

Nothing has to come from a cell — typed values work the same way.

=VERVE("meetingtimeconverter", "14:30", "America/New_York", "Europe/London", "originalTime")

=VERVE.CALL("meetingtimeconverter", "14:30", "America/New_York", "Europe/London", "originalTime")

Inputs

Required inputs are positional, in the order below, followed by the field. Everything else is passed as a "name", value pair after that — the same shape as SUMIFS. Premium inputs are accepted on every plan but only take effect on plans that include them.

Passing an option

=VERVE("meetingtimeconverter", A2, B2, C2, "originalTime", "date", "2024-03-15")

=VERVE.CALL("meetingtimeconverter", A2, B2, C2, "originalTime", "date", "2024-03-15")

What lands in your sheet

The field — the argument after the inputs — is what makes the formula resolve to one cell. Its value is a dot-path from the table below, so swapping it is how you pull a different value — one formula per column.

Seeing everything at once

Leave the field out and the formula returns the whole response instead: two columns, field name on the left and value on the right, spilling from the cell you typed in.

=VERVE("meetingtimeconverter", A2, B2, C2)

=VERVE.CALL("meetingtimeconverter", A2, B2, C2)

Response fields

Paths are relative to data. Each one is exactly what the field argument accepts, so swapping it is how you pull a different value into a cell. On a plan without a Premium field the cell reads #PREMIUM(field) rather than a value, so a locked field never looks like a real answer.

Filling a whole column

Both platforms make one batched call for a column rather than one request per cell, and both cost the same — 1 credit per row looked up. How you write it differs, because the two runtimes batch at different points.

=VERVE("meetingtimeconverter", A2:A100, B2:B100, C2:C100, "originalTime")

In Google Sheets, give the arguments ranges and the answers spill down from the cell you typed in. Custom functions there run synchronously and in isolation, so dragged cells cannot be coalesced — the range form is how a column becomes one call. The field is required here: a per-row two-column table has nowhere to spill. Use a full column per input (A2:A100, not A2) — a single-cell reference is read as row 1 only and the rest of the column comes back blank.

In Excel, type the formula once and fill down — no range form and none needed, because its runtime is asynchronous and the add-in coalesces the calls a fill produces into a single batched request. Do not hand VERVE.CALL a range: Excel flattens it into positional arguments, so A2:A100 arrives as a hundred separate arguments and the cell reads #ERR rather than filling.

Either way, column A holds your time values and the answers land beside them, one row each, blank rows skipped.

When a cell doesn't fill

A failed lookup returns readable text starting with #ERR rather than a spreadsheet error, because Excel cannot show a custom message on a real error — you would get a bare #VALUE! with no reason. The trade-off is that IFERROR() will not catch it; test with LEFT(cell, 4) = "#ERR" instead. Error handling covers the rest.

Before the formula works

The add-in reads the API key you saved once in the side panel — the key never goes in the formula, so a shared sheet does not leak it and a collaborator without access simply sees the last calculated values.

1. Install the add-in for Google Sheets or Excel.
2. Open the side panel and sign in, or paste a key from your dashboard.
3. Type the formula above into any cell.

Use cases

Global Scheduling

Schedule international meetings by converting times across timezones

Calendar Apps

Display meeting times in user's local timezone automatically

Conference Planning

Coordinate multi-timezone events and conference calls

Travel Planning

Convert appointment times when traveling across timezones

Other ways to use Convert Meeting Times

Set up Convert Meeting Times on VerveSheets, or reach the same source a different way. Your VerveSheets account and credits work on all of them — one key, one balance.

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