10 Ways to Automate Google Sheets with Zapier to Improve Your Business Operations, Fast

Google Sheets offers a lot of great features and ways to keep your information organized. On its own, it’s an impressive program that delivers more of the things that you need and less of those that you don’t. As far as apps and software tools go, it might not really seem like anything to call home about—it’s a spreadsheet tool after all. But it’s so much more than that for the modern business and taking advantage of the tools and resources available to harness the true power of such a “simple” resource can change the way that your business operates.

Namely, it can help you improve your operations by embracing the power of automation and integration. Today’s technology is helping with that, thanks in part to tools like Zapier. For those who haven’t heard, Zapier is making waves in the automation world with its impressive collection of more than 3,000 apps that it integrates with, and it’s growing on a daily basis. 

For those apps, there are hundreds of pre-built workflows, triggers, and actions that you can simply put into place and then watch your apps automate themselves. Zapier also has an impressive API with an interface that makes it simple for you to customize all kinds of your own workflows, or even just tweak the ones that already exist. 

We know what you’re thinking—workflows, triggers, actions—what do all these words mean? We’ll break it down for you to keep it simple:

Zapier is designed to connect the apps you use the most and automate the tasks that are eating up your valuable time so that your team is doing less work and getting more done. 

Need to launch that email campaign? Just set up an integration so that when you add a row to your Google Sheets to track each email campaign, Mailchimp launches a new campaign and triggers the first email send to your customers. 

Perhaps you’re looking to turn your sheets into database records with less work—there are integrations with some of the best databases and CRM tools that will turn any Google Sheet cell, row, or chosen section into whatever you want. 

The point is, Zapier can get it done. 

Although there are dozens, if not hundreds, of workflows and ways to integrate with Google Sheets, here are some of the most popular automations to show you just what this tool can do. 

1. Turn Typeform responses into rows in Google Sheets    

With this workflow, you’ll be able to maximize your data transfers and minimize the effort involved. Just set the trigger so that when you get a Typeform submission, Zapier turns it into a row in Google Sheets on the spreadsheet of your choosing. You can select specific submissions or queries, or even pick certain rows or types of information to create, capture, or transfer. That way, you’ll never have to chase down the submissions and transfer the data manually, freeing up time and resources. 

2. Add your leads from Facebook Ads to Google Sheets rows    

Speaking of getting rid of manual data transfers, this is another automation that is helping businesses streamline with lead generation. Now, anytime you get a lead from your Facebook Lead Ads campaign, you can automatically have it added to a Sheet so that it’s trackable and your team can start taking the appropriate action to follow up on the lead. You can pick and choose which leads to transfer or which sheets to use, and even customize it further with other automations if you’d like. 

3. Create Trello cards from new rows on Google Sheets    

Trello is one of the leading collaboration and project management tools used today. It’s a great way to keep remote teams on the same page and ensure that everyone knows what’s going on at all times. If you’re tired of transferring data into Trello and creating cards on your own, this integrated workflow can help you. With this automation, you’ll be able to set a trigger so that when new rows are created in your sheets, they are turned into a corresponding Trello card. There are a lot of customizations and tweaks here, too, so you can play around with it and make it work for you.

4. Send Slack notifications when Google Sheets rows are created or updated  

Slack is another great tool that’s available for team collaboration and it has become increasingly popular in recent times. This app makes it easy for you to communicate with your team, no matter where in the world you all are. Plus, you can share files, create channels and groups, and more. With this automation, you can even create a Slack notification any time that the specified Google Sheets are created or updated. That will keep everyone on the same page and make it easy to keep track of projects and take the next steps without having to check up on every step along the way. 

5. Turn Google Sheets rows into Calendar events    

With this automation, it will be easy for you to keep your Calendar organized and make sure that you never miss an appointment, event, or opportunity. Using Zapier, you can set up the trigger so that when certain rows are modified or when the Sheet is filled with event-related information, that row is turned into a Calendar event. This is great if you’ve got a sheet of weekly team meetings, for example, or a list of lead appointments and calls that need to be handled. Instead of having to set the events manually, they’ll create themselves based on the rules you set with this automation.

6. Send Gmail messages when Sheets are updated     

This automation will allow you to keep everyone updated on all the changes that are taking place in Sheets throughout the day. When you automate, you still have to keep tabs on things, but with this integration, you can automate that, too. Pick who to send messages to, which Sheets to notify for, and more, so that you get seamless communication and collaboration every single time. No more checking in with people or trying to follow up on your own because this workflow will do it for you. 

7. Add Mailchimp subscribers from Google Sheets rows    

Google Sheets is all about making data management easy and this is another automation that serves to make the management and transfer of your data a process that you no longer have to worry about. You can collect leads, put them into a Google Sheet for safekeeping, and then have them automatically added to the corresponding Mailchimp subscriber list based on the triggers that you set into place. This automation will save your team from inputting all the addresses manually and it will ensure that everything stays on track. 

8. Transfer Gravity Forms submissions to Google Sheets    

With this automation, you can easily transfer any information that you collect in Gravity Forms to the spreadsheet of your choosing. Just set up the Zap so that anytime a submission comes in, it sends the submission to your Sheets and you’ll be done. The work will happen behind the scenes and you’ll enjoy having easier access to the things you need without having to do the work. When it comes to reducing busywork, getting rid of tedious tasks like this is a definite improvement for any business. 

9. Add new Webhooks to Google Sheets  

This automation can help you with email tracking, follow-up, and other needs. You can take the webhooks through POST by Zapier, choose specific parameters if you’d like, and have those messages generate as rows on your spreadsheet. You can even choose specific hooks to capture, and more. Although there is a lot that you can do between Google apps without Zapier, there’s a lot more that you can do with it and the tools it offers, including streamlining your contact management and email tracking solutions, and more. 

10. Save Eventbrite attendees to spreadsheets in Google Sheets    

If you use Eventbrite to plan events, this automation is going to make your life a lot easier. You can set this up so that every time someone registers for an event, they are automatically transferred to a spreadsheet where you can track all the information in one place. Or, you could choose to have all attendees downloaded at a specific point or date rather than one at a time. It's really up to you how you use it, but it’s great for event tracking no matter what you do.

Five reasons to automate your business operations

Some people still don’t understand the value of automation, or perhaps just think that there isn’t enough value in it for them. That’s rarely, if ever, the case. Today, there is more value than ever in automation, and it can be useful in a variety of areas of business. You can use automated tools and tasks for things like:

• Human resources, including onboarding, training, and employee self-service
• Accounting and payroll
• Billing and invoicing
• File sharing and project management
• Document management
• Administrative tasks
• And so much more

If you are considering automation, you’ll find several benefits, too. You can choose to start small with a single tool like Zapier, or you can roll out a full-scale automation strategy that launches your business into a new era. Either way, you’ll enjoy several perks. Why automate? Although there are countless reasons, here are the top five. 

1. Save Time and Money: When you automate, you are going to reduce the number of hours you spend on work. You're also going to reduce the amount of resources that you use, and the money spent there. This can be added to your bottom line or put back into the business, but either way, it’s yours. 
2. Increase Productivity: Automation helps you get more done in less time. Your team will be more productive and efficient, which will give everyone a much better feeling about their role in the business. Plus, the productivity boost will benefit the business in several ways, so it’s a win-win for everyone. 
3. Quality and Consistency: Whether you’re trying to standardize processes or just want to improve things all around, automation can be a critical tool that helps along the way. When processes are automated, there’s less chance for errors and inconsistencies, and more opportunities for your business to get better results. 
4. Visible Metrics: Trying to “improve operations” is a pretty vague challenge, and when you’re trying to create a strategy, you need more than just a notion. When you use automation, you can create measurable goals and then actually measure them to see how things are doing along the way. 
5. Standardization and Compliance: If you’re in any business where compliance is an issue, you’ll love this perk of automation. Setting things to task with AI and technology allows you to ensure that they remain compliant at all times. It also allows you to standardize repeat processes and tasks so that there is a clear methodology that can be followed. 

Sound like a list you’d like to embrace? Get started with automation and watch the world change right before your eyes. 

Embrace a partnership with Smith.ai for even more improvement 

At Smith.ai, we love automation. We also love being one of the reasons behind why your business is running better. Hire our virtual receptionists to act as the face of your brand for every single need, from live chat on your website to after-hours call answering, and so much more. We’ll even work with you to create the perfect plan of attack to field all your needs, no matter what they might be. 

We love Zapier for several reasons, but namely because it allows anyone to create smart workflows that help business software programs work better together. It’s also due to Zapier that Smith.ai can integrate with more than 3,000 apps and tools to ensure all your calls, texts, and chats are logged in the right business software, from CRMs to marketing platforms, and more. 

Check out our apps to explore how we connect to Zapier! Learn more about Smith.ai’s Answering Service app on Zapier, and explore Smith.ai’s Website Chat app on Zapier.

Schedule a consultation now to learn about our 24-hour solutions, including after-hours call answering, new client intake and scheduling, live website chat, and so much more. You can also reach out to us at hello@smith.ai or (650) 727-6484.