Google Sheets Import and Export

What You Can Do

Standard Time® has a direct Google Sheets integration that pushes any data set to Google Drive as a live spreadsheet and pulls data back in for imports — no intermediate file required. The integration supports two authentication methods (Service Account and OAuth2) and handles both one-off exports and automated recurring delivery.

Export to Google Sheets

Exporting is a one-click operation from any view. Open any grid or report — Time Logs, Projects, Project Tasks, Resource Allocation, Timesheets — apply your filters and column layout, then go to File → Export → Google Sheets.

Export Dialog Options

Option	What it does
Sheet Name	Name for the new spreadsheet. Defaults to the title of the current view.
Append date	Adds today's date to the sheet name — useful for keeping dated snapshots without overwriting earlier exports.
Drive Folder	Folder in your Google Drive where the sheet is created. Defaults to "Standard Time Exports". Leave blank to save to your Drive root.
Replace if exists	Updates the existing sheet in-place rather than creating a new one when a sheet with the same name is already in the chosen folder.
Remember settings	Saves these preferences and skips the dialog on future exports. Hold Alt while clicking Google Sheets in the menu to force the dialog open again.

After the export completes, Standard Time® opens the new Google Sheet in a new browser tab automatically and shows a toast notification confirming whether a sheet was created or an existing one was updated.

Import from Google Sheets

To import data from a Google Sheet, go to File → Import → Google Sheets. The dialog remembers the last URL you used, so repeat imports from the same spreadsheet are fast — just confirm the tab and click Import.

1. Open the Import dialog.
   Click File → Import → Google Sheets. The dialog opens with the URL field pre-filled if you have imported from the same sheet before.
2. Paste the spreadsheet URL or ID.
   Copy the URL from your browser's address bar when the sheet is open — for example, https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BxiMVs0XRA5nFMdKvBdBZjgmUUqptlbs74OgVE2upms/edit. You can also paste just the spreadsheet ID (the long alphanumeric string between /d/ and /edit).
3. Click Load to fetch the tab list.
   Standard Time® reads the spreadsheet's sheet tabs and populates the dropdown. If you are using a Service Account and the sheet is not already shared with the service account email, a blue note appears at the bottom of the dialog — share the sheet with that email address and click Load again.
4. Select the tab and record type.
   Choose the sheet tab that contains your data. Then choose the record type: Projects, Project Tasks, Time Entries, Employees, Work Orders, Inventory, or BOM.
5. Click Import.
   Standard Time® reads the spreadsheet rows and creates or updates records. When complete, the current view refreshes and a toast confirms the result.

Setting Up Google Integration

Before you can export or import, an administrator must configure Google credentials. Go to Tools → Google Integration to open the setup dialog. The Auth Type dropdown determines how Standard Time® authenticates with Google APIs.

Auth Types

There are four Auth Type settings. The two you will use are Service Account and OAuth2. Choose Both if you want OAuth2 for users who sign in and Service Account as a fallback for those who do not.

• None — Google Sheets export and import are disabled. Choose this if credentials are not yet configured.
• Service Account — Standard Time® uses a shared Google service account identity to create sheets and automatically shares each sheet with the requesting user's email. No per-user sign-in required.
• OAuth2 — Each user connects their own Google account once via a consent popup. Exports go directly into that user's Google Drive under their own identity.
• Both — Uses the connected user's OAuth2 tokens when available; falls back to the service account for users who have not signed in.

Service Account Setup

A service account is a special Google identity that Standard Time® uses to access Google APIs without requiring individual users to sign in. You download a JSON key file from Google Cloud Console and enter three values from it — Client Email, Private Key, and Project ID — into the Google Integration dialog.

1. Go to console.cloud.google.com and sign in with your Google account.
2. Create a project (or select an existing one). Google may require a billing account on file even for free-tier API usage — the Sheets and Drive APIs have no per-use charge for normal volumes, but a credit card on file may be required before Google allows API enablement.
3. Enable the Google Sheets API and Google Drive API.
   Go to APIs & Services → Library, search for each API, and click Enable.
4. Create a service account.
   Go to IAM & Admin → Service Accounts and click Create Service Account. Give it a name and click Done.
5. Create a JSON key.
   Click the service account you just created, go to the Keys tab, and click Add Key → Create New Key. Choose JSON and click Create. The key file downloads automatically.
6. Copy the three values from the JSON file.
   Open the downloaded file in a text editor. Copy the values for client_email, private_key (the full -----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY----- block), and project_id.
7. Enter the values in Standard Time®.
   Go to Tools → Google Integration, set Auth Type to Service Account (or Both), paste the three values into Client Email, Private Key, and Project ID, and click Save.

OAuth2 Setup

OAuth2 lets each user connect their own Google account so exports go directly into their personal Google Drive. You set up an OAuth2 app in Google Cloud Console, then each user completes a one-time sign-in flow in Standard Time® by clicking Connect Google Account in the Google Integration dialog.

1. Enable the Google Sheets API and Google Drive API — same as steps 1–3 of the Service Account setup above.
2. Configure the OAuth consent screen.
   Go to APIs & Services → OAuth consent screen. Choose External (or Internal if your organization uses Google Workspace). Fill in the app name and support email, then click Save and Continue. On the Scopes step, add auth/spreadsheets and auth/drive.file, then finish the wizard.
3. Create an OAuth client ID.
   Go to APIs & Services → Credentials and click Create Credentials → OAuth client ID. Choose Web application as the application type — not Desktop or Android.
4. Add the Redirect URI.
   Open Tools → Google Integration in Standard Time® and copy the Redirect URI shown in the dialog (click the copy icon). Paste it into Authorized redirect URIs in Google Cloud Console and click Save. The URI must match exactly.
5. Copy the Client ID and Client Secret.
   After saving, Google displays your Client ID and Client Secret. Copy both values.
6. Enter them in Standard Time®.
   In Tools → Google Integration, set Auth Type to OAuth2 (or Both), paste the Client ID and Client Secret into the corresponding fields, and click Save.
7. Each user connects their Google account.
   After credentials are saved, each user clicks Connect Google Account in the dialog. A browser popup opens Google's consent screen — the user clicks Allow. Standard Time® stores the tokens and future exports go directly to that user's Drive.

Troubleshooting