Why Use Google Sheets as a Data Destination?

Why Use Google Sheets as a Data Destination?

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Google Sheets solves several challenges that users face when reporting in Data Studio.


Blend Without Limits

-  You can only blend up to 5 data sources maximum in Data Studio.  In Google Sheets, there are no limits.
-  Blending in Data Studio uses the Left Outer Join method, which creates constraints and potential for inaccurate data.
-  Blending in Data Studio is difficult.  There are rules that need to be followed to ensure the data is accurate.


Report Changes in Data Over Time

-  Data Studio does not have the ability report the delta change in a metric between two date ranges by itself.  You can report the total value and change from last time period or same time period last year only.  Google Sheets allows for this calculation to be assembled.  Take Instagram Insights Follower Growth, for example.  Report the date and Followers fields, then calculate Follower Growth:



 And import into your Data Studio report as a table:
 


Or scorecard:




As another example, Mailchimp cannot report list growth month-over-month, just total list size:



Take this data into Google Sheets, subtract one month's value from the previous month:


and you can then report true list growth, the import into Data Studio into a graph:

 


Or scorecard:

Selecting Any Date Field For A Report

Data Studio is limited in how the data can be reported by date.  You can have multiple "Date" fields in your schema, but only 1 can be used for all scorecards.  When creating a connector, we developers have to find the best "Date" field to support the most reports.  The date typically selected is the date of standard reporting.  For example, for our HubSpot connector, the default "Date" field is for reporting traffic stats.

However, if one wants to report total deals by "Deals - Close Date" , this is not possible in a Scorecard in Data Studio.  

Enter Google Sheets!  Report the following dimensions in a table:


Then connect to Data Studio and set up as follows to report total closed deals by deal close date:



Using Other BI Dashboards with PMA Data

If Data Studio is not your desired data destination, you have options.
  1. Connect your data to Google Sheets and you can import Google Sheets into Tableau.
  2. Or connect your data into our Excel data destination and you can import Excel data into Power BI.