Google Sheets is an extremely easy spreadsheet application to use, capable of performing complex data processes. But, undoubtedly, the most appealing characteristic of Google Sheets is that it's FREE in stark contrast to the 'other' very costly spreadsheet for Windows that everyone knows.
Now, suppose you can figure out how to connect Google Sheets with QuickBooks Online to synchronize data. In that case, you will be able to customize and manipulate your data and produce customized financial reports. In addition, Google Sheets would allow you to filter and sort your data in many more ways than possible within QuickBooks Online. So, let's go ahead and assume it is possible to migrate data between QBO and Google Sheets on a bid-directional basis. I will come back to the 'how' later in this article.
Since some of you may not be totally familiar with Google Sheets and all aspects of how it works because you use that 'other' spreadsheet, I need to cover a few of the basics of Google Sheets. But I want you to know that those basics, along with a lot of other material, will be covered in an Insightful Accountant hosted webinar at 2:00 PM Eastern on November 16, 2021, Intro to Google Sheets for QuickBooks Online featuring G-Accon.
The Google Sheets interface is very similar to that 'other' spreadsheet interface, with just a little less clutter. Basic functionality and operation are similar as well. Most of these functions are pretty self-explanatory, but we want to discuss some of the 'Advanced' functions and features of Google Sheets because these are really why you use a spreadsheet in the first place.
Google Sheets features many built-in formulas to perform statistical and data manipulation. You can also combine formulas to create even more powerful math functions by stringing tasks together. In my last article promoting this webinar, I covered the most basic formulas in Google Sheets shown in the red box above and talked about the 'More functions' available.
As an example, I want to talk about a basic arithmetic formula you might find beneficial in the computation of counts, sums, and averages of data you assemble into one spreadsheet, for which you then need a somewhat more complex valuation. In the example below, which I adapted from Google's own Google Sheets Tutorial, we need to calculate the total cost of a typical breakfast by multiplying the average cost of each ingredient by its unit count based on the recipe.
Now we could manually type a lot of information into a basic arithmetic formula within the "Avg Price" row for Scrambled Eggs that would look something like this:
=$I2*B2+$I3*B3+$I4*B4+$I5+$I6*B6+$I7*B7+$I8*B8
Note: The $ symbol before column I (the average prices) tells Google Sheets that no matter where we put the formula in our spreadsheet, we always want to reference the I column. But really, that's too much work, and you can see in the example above that I haven't used this formula at all. So instead, I took a much simpler approach to accomplish the same thing using an advanced formula:
=SUM(ARRAYFORMULA(B2:B8*$I2:$I8))
These are examples of the complex tasks you can do with Google Sheets and a little instruction… that's why Insightful Accountant is hosting the webinar on November 16, 2021, at 2 PM Eastern Time. The webinar will cover Google Sheets Basics like formulas and functions, formatting, sorting, filtering, and working with multiple sheets. It will also include some beneficial tips and tricks to help you with your everyday work with your spreadsheets. And, we will also see how easy it is to sync data between QuickBooks Online and Google Sheets using G-Accon. That's right; I told you earlier not to worry about synchronizing data between QBO and Google Sheets. There is a way to migrate data on a bi-directional basis, and it's an App called G-Accon.
There are a lot of benefits of using G-Accon for bi-directional synchronization of data between QuickBooks Online and Google Sheets. G-Accon allows you to generate reports from your QBO data using their flexible templates with filters and various attributes, including dynamic, static, and custom dates. In addition, you can have multiple periods and many other unique filtering and sorting capabilities you don't have in QuickBooks.
G-Accon makes it easy to create various reports from QBO data, including Aged AR/AP, General Ledger, Profit and Loss, Income Statement, Balance Sheet, Detailed Transactions, and more in ways you've never seen before. In addition, you will be able to configure automatic refresh of any/all of those reports even when you are offline from QuickBooks.
If you are wondering who will be conducting this FREE Insightful Accountant webinar on November 16, 2021, at 2 PM Eastern Time, it's Kelly G (aka Kelly Gonsalves) who will be introducing you to Google Sheets for QuickBooks Online featuring G-Accon. The webinar will focus on the essential aspects of 'what you do with your data in Google Sheets' after you sync it from QuickBooks using G-Accon.
Now a 'free' webinar can't cover everything there is to know about Google Sheets, or G-Accon, in one hour. That's why this is just an 'Intro to Google Sheets for QuickBooks Online featuring G-Accon.' However, Insightful Accountant hopes if our participants at this webinar show enough interest, we can produce and schedule several additional webinars expanding upon the concepts summarized during the introduction.
I want to encourage you to attend this FREE Webinar if you are a QBO user who wants to learn how to sync data with Google Sheets, or if you are someone using Google Sheets or who will benefit from this FREE Webinar. And, G-Accon users who want to learn more about synchronizing Google Sheets with QuickBooks Online, then register for this FREE Webinar.