Step 1 - Compare the time in every zone at once
Type the proposed time once and look at it side by side in every time zone your team spans. A meeting-time tool like TimeWindow covers the standard remote-team spread - US coasts, Latin America, Europe, the Gulf, and East Asia - plus any custom zone you add.
The side-by-side view catches the mistakes that silently break meetings: a 15:00 that is really 03:00 somewhere, or a time computed on the wrong DST date.
Step 2 - Check business hours in each zone
A time can be technically possible and still be terrible. Look for a flag on each zone that says whether the meeting lands inside a normal 9-to-5 window. That flag is what stops you from inviting someone to a 22:00 call.
Set the duration too - a 30-minute catch-up has more viable slots than a two-hour workshop.
Step 3 - Export the invite as an ICS file
When the slot works, export it as an ICS file and send it. Attendees open it in Google Calendar, Outlook, or Apple Calendar and the event lands in their own time zone automatically - no manual conversion on their side.
This is the step that removes the follow-up emails asking "what time is that for me?"
Daylight saving - the silent meeting killer
A meeting scheduled for next month may cross a DST transition date, which shifts offsets by an hour. Use a tool backed by the IANA time zone database so the local times shown for the chosen date are correct, not just correct-for-today.
Compare meeting times across time zones
Frequently asked questions
How many time zones can I compare?
Tools like TimeWindow compare up to 30 zones per meeting, from presets or any IANA zone name.
Does it handle daylight saving time?
Yes. Calculations use the IANA time zone database, so a meeting scheduled across a DST transition shows correct local times for the actual date.
What is an ICS file?
A standard calendar file containing the meeting with its duration. Opening it in Google Calendar, Outlook, or Apple Calendar creates the event in each attendee's local time.
How do I avoid inviting someone to a 3 a.m. meeting?
Use the business-hours check on every zone before sending. It flags slots that land outside a normal workday so a bad time is caught before the invite goes out.