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View Reports in Google Sheets

View Reports in Google Sheets is currently in beta; please feel free to provide feedback by clicking the BETA label.

If you don't have Microsoft Excel installed, you can send many of your SimplePay reports straight to your own Google Drive, where it will open as a Google Sheet. This option is available for most report screens that already support the Excel format.

👉 How-To Guides

How to connect your Google account

Before you can use this feature, you'll need to connect your Google account to SimplePay. This is a once-off setup, done per user.

  1. Go to the Profile icon ( ) > User Profile.
  2. Under Connected Accounts, click Connect Google.
  3. You will be redirected to Google to sign in (if you aren't already) and approve access for SimplePay.
  4. Once you have approved access, you will be returned to the User Profile screen, and your connection status will show as "Connected as", followed by your Google account's email address.

Permissions requested by SimplePay

SimplePay requests permission only to create and update files that it has uploaded to your Drive. It cannot read, edit, or delete any other files in your Google Drive.

Bookkeepers and accountants

If you manage payroll for several companies on SimplePay, you need to connect your Google account only once. Reports for all the companies you have access to can be sent to the same Google account.

How to send a report to Google Sheets

Once you have connected your Google account, Show Google Sheets becomes the primary download button on most report screens that support the Excel format, taking the place of Show Excel. The Show Google Sheets button will not be visible until you have connected your Google account, as described above.

  1. Go to the relevant report (e.g. Reports > Transaction History Report) and select your filters and options as you normally would.
  2. Click Show Google Sheets.
  3. SimplePay will generate the report and upload it to your Google Drive. The Google Sheet will open in a new browser tab once it's ready. More information about the file location is available below.

Downloading in another format

The existing format options are still available from the drop-down arrow next to Show Google Sheets – click it, and select Show Excel or Show PDF (where available).

Larger reports

Some reports take a little longer to generate. In these cases, you'll see SimplePay's usual progress screen while the report is being prepared, and the link to your Google Sheet will appear once it's done.

How to disconnect your Google account

If you no longer wish to use the Google Sheets integration, you can disconnect your Google account from SimplePay at any time:

  1. Go to the Profile icon ( ) > User Profile.
  2. Under Connected Accounts, click Disconnect next to Google.

Disconnecting will remove SimplePay's access to your Google Drive. Files that have already been uploaded to your Drive remain there and are unaffected.

Reconnecting later

You can reconnect at any time using the same steps as the initial setup. If you reconnect with a different Google account, future reports will be sent to that account's Drive.

Where Your Reports Are Saved

The first time you send a report to Google Sheets, SimplePay will create a folder called "SimplePay" at the top level of your Google Drive. Within that folder, a sub-folder is created for each company whose reports you send to Google Sheets, named after the company.

Each report sent to Google Sheets is saved as a new file with a timestamp in its name, so you'll always have a history of past reports. You can move, rename, share, or delete these files in Google Drive just like any other.

Renaming the SimplePay folder

You can rename or move the SimplePay folder (and the company sub-folders) in your Google Drive if you'd prefer a different folder structure. SimplePay will recreate any missing folders automatically the next time you send a report.

Password-Protected Reports

If your company uses password-protected reports, note that Google Sheets does not support file passwords. When you send a password-protected report to Google Sheets, the file uploaded to your Google Drive will not be password-protected.

SimplePay will warn you about this before the upload, so you can choose whether to proceed.

Sensitive data in Google Drive

Files in your Google Drive are protected only by your Google account's security. If you handle sensitive payroll data, please ensure that your Google account has a strong password and 2-Factor Authentication enabled.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if my Google connection expires?

From time to time, your connection to Google may need to be refreshed (for example, if you change your Google password or revoke SimplePay's access in your Google account settings). When this happens, clicking Show Google Sheets will show an error message telling you to reconnect your Google account. Once you've reconnected from your User Profile, click Show Google Sheets again to send the report.

Can I save reports to a specific folder in my Drive?

Not at this stage. All reports are saved in the "SimplePay" folder structure described above. We may add the ability to choose a custom destination folder in a future release – please let us know via the BETA label if this would be useful to you.

My Google Drive is full. What happens?

If your Google Drive does not have enough space, the upload will fail and you'll see an error message. Free up space in your Drive (or upgrade your Google storage plan) and try again.

Can I use this with a Google Workspace (work) account?

Yes. The integration works with both personal Google accounts and Google Workspace accounts. If your Workspace administrator has restricted third-party app access, you may see an error from Google when trying to connect – if this happens, ask your administrator to allow access for SimplePay.