Google Sheets serves as a goldilocks data source for companies that aren't quite ready to connect their CRM, but are tired of maintaining stale CSVs in Crossbeam.
In this article:
Video Tutorial
More of a visual learner? Watch our quick tutorial below!
Prepare your Google Sheets for syncing with Crossbeam
❗️Important
Crossbeam cannot process XLSX files (MS Excel Open XML Format Spreadsheet file) that have been uploaded to Google drive. If there is a green .XLSX after the name, it will not be compatible with Crossbeam.
To ensure your Google Sheet syncs properly, please title your Google Sheet with a unique name. Each column in your Google Sheet must be also uniquely named. For example, you cannot have two columns labeled Website.
✍️ Note
Rows with identical values in the Company Name and the Company Website columns will be treated as duplicates and skipped.
Include the following columns in your sheet:
Company Name
Company URL
This column is not required, but can help produce better account matches in Crossbeam if included
Adding AE Data to Google Sheets
If you would like your Account Owner information to display in Crossbeam and Slack Search, provide Account Owner Data columns in your Google Sheet and toggle the optional Map Account Owner Columns button.
If you want Account Owner Data to be mapped in Crossbeam, you will need to add a column for Account Owner Email (Account Owner Name and Account Owner Phone are optional columns).
❗️Important
Once you've mapped these required columns in Crossbeam, do not change them or your sync will return an error.
Google Authentication
In order to connect Google Sheets to Crossbeam, you will first need to authenticate this connection.
We suggest connecting as a team, and deputizing your Crossbeam account admin as your Google authenticator to maintain clear ownership and accountability. Follow the steps below to authenticate!
Navigate to your Data Sources page by clicking on Data in the left hand navigation.
Click on the Google Sheets tile.
Click Authenticate with Google.
Select which Google account you want to authenticate.
❗️Important
Only one user can authenticate this connection within a single organization. Any Google Sheet you wish to bring into Crossbeam must be shared with the user who authenticated the connection to your organization's Google Workspace.
Authentication should happen quickly! Once complete, you'll be ready to start syncing your sheets.
✍️Note
For special circumstances where you need assistance with your Google Authentication, please reach out to your IT team with the following instructions:
Log into admin.google.com with an account with sufficient privileges such as Super Admin
Click 'Security' on the left
Click 'API Controls'
Click 'Manage Third-Party App Access'
Click 'Configure New App'
Select 'Oauth App Name or Client ID'
Enter 'Crossbeam' and click Search
Hover over 'Crossbeam' in the search results and click 'Select'
Check the box 'Oauth Client ID' to select all client ID's
Check 'Trusted: Can access all Google services' (please note the scopes for this app are only Google Drive, this does not grant access to all of your Google services to Crossbeam)
Click 'Configure'
Syncing your Google Sheet
Now that your connection is authenticated, you can select sheets to upload!
Navigate back to the Data Sources page.
Click Add next to your Google Sheets connection.
Copy your unique Google Sheet URL and add it to Crossbeam within the Google Sheet URL section.
Select the individual tab within your sheet that you would like to use.
Identify the data type you'd like to map with: Companies or People. Click Next to map your columns.
Map the appropriate columns for Company Name, Website (recommended)
Optional: Once you've mapped these two columns, you can toggle on Map Account Owner Columns to include this information.
Click Add Google Sheet to start the sync.
Nice job! Your Google Sheet is now synced and ready to use within Crossbeam for building Populations! Depending on how much data is included in your sheet, the initial sync may take a few moments to complete.
Managing your Google Sheets
Once your Google Sheets connection is in place, you can manage your sheets via the Data Sources Page. Click on the small arrow to display all of your uploaded sheets and their status.
Manually sync your data as needed by clicking on Sync Now.
To adjust your update frequency, open Settings by hovering over the three dots next to the connection.
Select how often you would like Crossbeam to check for new data from the Update Frequency drop down menu.
From the Settings menu, you can also delete the Google Sheets connection by clicking Remove Data Source and view Connection Details and/or Reauthorize the connection.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the typical/example upstream data sources that can create a Google Sheet for your Crossbeam data replication?
The best example is data from a CRM! Do we support your CRM? Do you not have permission to connect to your production CRM? Export your data, import it into a Google Sheet, and you're ready to go. Even better, set up an automated workflow (Zapier, Workato) to add any new accounts into a Google sheet to keep your CRM and Google Sheets in sync.
Will you be able to collaborate with partners using Google sheets?
Sure! Any columns that are outside of the columns you're collaborating with your partner on, will be pulled into Crossbeam and viewable in reports (and shareable) as "Account information".
How do you authenticate with Google Sheets from Crossbeam?
We authenticate with your Google account so we can view your sheets. Any sheet you want to include in Crossbeam must have a unique name and be shared with the person that authenticated Google in Crossbeam.