Why the group chat fails
"When is everyone free?" cannot be answered in one message. One of you works nine to five. One is on shifts and has not seen next month's rota. One is self-employed and will not know until the week before. One has small children and a partner's diary to check first. One has moved two hours away and needs a whole day to make the trip worth it.
So every reply is true and partial: "can't do the 14th", "maybe after six", "depends". Nobody holds every answer at once, the thread goes quiet, and the plan slides another month. The guide to finding a date everyone is free compares the ways round this, polls included.
What each of you puts in
Everyone adds their own diary from one link, in whatever form it already exists.
- A calendar link or file, for anyone whose week is in Google Calendar, Apple iCloud or Outlook. The guide to calendar links shows where to find one.
- A rota, as a screenshot from a rota app, a PDF, a spreadsheet or a pasted message, for the friend on shifts. Vennado reads it, and they check what it read before it counts.
- A few days tapped in by hand, for the friend who keeps no calendar, or whose working week is whatever the job needs.
The group sees when each person is busy and what kind of busy it is: work, on call, personal or rest. Never what, where or who with.
A worked example
Six friends. Ali works nine to five and is the one who organises. Cat is a nurse on shifts. Dev has two kids. Ffion is a chef and works weekends. Jo is a self-employed joiner. Sam is a teacher.
Saturday, from middayThe only time this week all six are free. Wednesday evening is a near miss: everyone but Ffion.
- Work shift
- Family and personal
- Everyone free
- Near miss, all but one free
The weekday evenings go to Cat's long days, Ffion's evenings in the kitchen and the children's clubs. Sunday goes to Cat and Ffion, who are both at work. That leaves Saturday from midday, once Dev is back from football and Jo has finished a morning job. It is the only time that week all six are free, and no message in the chat would have found it.
Why near misses matter for six or more
Every diary added removes some free time, so a week with one shared window is a good week for six people. For the other weeks Vennado lists near misses: the times when everyone but one person is free, with the person's name.
In the example, Wednesday from 7:30pm works for everyone but Ffion. That gives the group a real choice. Ffion asks about swapping a shift, or five of you go ahead and the next one is planned around her. If one of you is on a rota, the pages for people on shifts cover swaps and requests job by job.
Hold the date before anyone argues about what to do
The date is the hard part, so settle it first. Each free window has a control called Tell the group. It writes a message for the group chat that says you are all free, gives the day and the hours, asks everyone to hold the date and carries the plan's link, so the friends who have not added a diary yet can.
What to do with the day can wait. It goes to a vote.
What to do with the day
Say the budget a head and where you are setting off from, and Vennado suggests things that fit the hours you have. These show what different budgets cover.
£10–25 a head, guide price
Pub quiz and a round
A weeknight plan for when weekends never line up.
£40–80 a head, guide price
The long lunch
One big table, no rush, and nobody has to leave for a shift.
£120–220 a head, guide price
One night in a UK city
Train up on the Saturday, home Sunday afternoon.
Those are guide prices a head for a typical UK city. The price you pay is the seller's. The friend who moved away changes the sums: an evening is little use to someone two hours off, so look for a whole Saturday, or for a night or two away. Every kind of outing is under ideas with guide prices.
Put the ones you like on the shortlist, vote yes, maybe or no, and lock one in. Then one of you books with the seller. Vennado takes no bookings and no payment.
Questions people ask
How do you find a date when everyone in the group is busy?
Stop asking for dates and collect diaries. A question in the group chat gets a partial answer from each person, and nobody holds them all at once. If each person adds a calendar, a rota or the days they cannot do to one shared plan, the times everyone is free can be read straight off. Vennado does that part.
Do all my friends have to sign up?
No. There are no accounts and nothing to install. One person starts a plan and sends the link. Each friend opens it on their own phone, gives a first name and adds their diary. Anyone with the link can open the plan, so send it to the group and nobody else.
What if there is no day we can all do?
Then look at the near misses. Vennado lists the times when everyone but one person is free and names the person. Sometimes that person can move something or swap a shift. Sometimes the group goes ahead and plans the next one around whoever missed out. Either beats waiting two months for a perfect date.
Can my friends see what is in my calendar?
No. The group sees when you are busy and what kind of busy it is: work, on call, personal or rest. Event titles, places, notes and who you are with are not shared. A calendar file is read in your own browser, and a calendar link is stripped down to its timings. The privacy notice sets it out.