What is the Google Sheets Integration?
You'll LOVE how simple our Google Sheets integration is! Using this integration, Motivosity will read a Google Sheet spreadsheet to sync over any changes that have been made to your employees. Adding an employee will automatically add their profile to Motivosity, removing an employee will deactivate their profile, and any other changes made will be synced through.
Also, we'll only sync your spreadsheet when changes have been made.
Before setting up this integration: Please note that once you have an integration in place, your HR platform will become the SOURCE OF TRUTH for employee data you are feeding into Motivosity. Any changes made in Motivosity will be overwritten by this Integration. Issues with data accuracy will need to be addressed in your HR platform.
Before You Get Started...
Please be sure you have the appropriate permissions from Google to access your spreadsheet. If you have any questions, please reach out to our Integration Team here: integrations@motivosity.com
How to Setup the Google Sheets Integration:
The following steps will walk you through how to integrate Motivosity with Google Sheets:
Getting started, we'll select the "Setup" icon in the navigation bar at the top of the screen.
We'll then select "Integrations" on the left-hand side of the page.
From the integrations page, select the "Google Sheets" tile.
A modal will appear asking if you would like to activate the integration. Go ahead and select "Activate".
Next, select "Authenticate account".
This will authorize Motivosity to access your Google Sheet data on your behalf.
You will then be brought to the configuration page. From here, you'll be able to select from two different options:
Choosing an Existing Spreadsheet from Google Drive:
To connect to your existing Google Sheet, paste the URL of your Google Sheet in the Sheets URL box to link it to your integration.
To be valid, the URL must begin with https:// docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/.
Next, click "Save".
Once your Google Sheets connection is set up, ensure your linked spreadsheet matches our template. This ensures your data syncs correctly without errors.
You can also view our required file specifications here.
Please verify your Google Sheet data before completing the sync. Adding a new row will create a user, editing a row will update their information, and removing a row will deactivate that user's account.
Next, go to this section to finalize your connection.
Choosing a Motivosity Generated Spreadsheet:
If you don’t have an existing spreadsheet to link, you can have the system build one for you. Simply leave the Sheets URL field empty. When you click Create File, Motivosity will automatically generate a correctly formatted spreadsheet with your current active Motivosity users in your connected drive.
Next, to access the newly created file, click "View Your Google Sheet"
This will pull up your Google Sheet called Motivosity Team Import with your current active Motivosity users already populated in there. From there, you can review your data before continuing. Adding a new row will create a user, editing a row will update their information, and removing a row will deactivate that user's account.
While this file is already formatted to match our required file specifications, you can also view those details here.
Next, go to this section to finalize your connection.
File Specifications
Please name your tab Sheet1. Motivosity specifically looks for a tab named Sheet1. Data stored on any other tab will be ignored by the integration.
What Employee Information Will You Need?
When it comes to adding users, no matter how you do it, you will need the following information:
First Name - Users can add a preferred name when they set up their own profiles.
Last Name
Middle Name (Optional)
Email Address (Optional) - Each user must have either a unique valid work email address or a unique phone number, since one of these is required for sign-in.
Phone Number (Optional) - Each user must have either a unique valid work email address or a unique phone number, since one of these is required for sign-in.
Hire Date - Should be typed in as MM/DD/YY or MM/DD/YYYY.
Birth Date - Should be typed as MM/DD or MM/DD/YY or MM/DD/YYYY.
Supervisor - Supervisor email OR supervisor payroll ID
NOTE: You will always have at least one person with NO supervisor listed. This is the person who should be at the top of your org chart.
Title - A user's job title.
Department - The department within the company the user is in.
Country Code - Here is a Country Code List.
Payroll ID - A number that is UNIQUE to each user. If you don't have official Payroll IDs, you can simply use any unique numbers. We recommend something like 1001, 1002, 1003,... to get started.
Custom Field 1-5 (Optional) - Add a column for each Custom Field you'd like to include. List them in order using the headers Custom Field 1, Custom Field 2, etc.
Action - Leave blank
Running Your First Sync
Once you are ready, select "Sync".
An initial sync will begin immediately to import your users. After the first run, the system will automatically scan your Google Sheet every 24 hours and update your records whenever changes are detected.
You can see the outcome of the sync by going to Setup > Team > Recent Uploads > View Details to view the outcome of the sync.
Setup is complete, and your integration is now active. You can update your user data at any time by making changes directly within your linked Google Sheet. The system will automatically sync these updates: adding a new row creates a new user, editing an existing row updates that user’s profile, and removing a row entirely will deactivate the associated account.
Please Note: To modify your integration, navigate to the Integration Settings tab. From there, you can access your configuration by clicking View Details or using the three-dot menu for more options.
Running the Integration Manually
If you've made a change to your org that you want to see now rather than waiting for your scheduled sync, these steps will help walk you through how to run your integration manually to get any changes into the platform when you need them.
From the Integrations page, select "View Details" on the integration you would like to run.
You will then be brought to a screen that shows the current details of your integration.
To run the integration after making any changes to your spreadsheet, go ahead and select the "Sync" button.
This will then run the integration workflow and pull any changes that you've made into Motivosity.
Troubleshooting Tips
Common Error Messages
"Save Fails: Invalid Request" Ensure your URL follows the required format. It must start with https:// docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ and include a valid Sheet ID segment.
"Sync Button Unavailable" or Authentication Errors Use the Re-authenticate button to refresh the connection. This re-runs the Google OAuth process and is necessary if your token has expired, consent was revoked, or you wish to switch to a different Google account.
Data Sync Issues
Rows Not Importing as Expected If your data isn't appearing in Motivosity, verify the following:
Tab Name: The data must be on a tab titled Sheet1.
Headers: Column names must exactly match the expected template names.
Validation: Ensure all required fields (First Name, Last Name, Payroll ID, and Email/Phone) are populated.
Identity & Duplicate Issues
Motivosity uses four primary fields to identify a user: First Name, Last Name, Email Address, and Payroll ID.
If you update two or more of these identifying fields simultaneously in your spreadsheet, the system will treat the entry as a brand-new person rather than an update. This can lead to Payroll ID rejections or duplicate accounts.
If you need to change multiple identity fields at once, we recommend manually updating the user’s profile within Motivosity first to ensure the records match before your next sync.