What is Google AppSheet and when to use it?

Learn in this guide what AppSheet is, Google's Nocode mobile app creation solution, its key features, and the use cases where you should use this solution.

What is AppSheet?

Google AppSheet is a cloud-based Nocode platform that allows users to create professional mobile apps without code. 

With AppSheet, users can easily create custom mobile apps for tasks such as data collection, inventory management and project tracking.

AppSheet was acquired by Google in 2020 when the company was 8 years old and already had native integrations with Google Sheets and Google Forms, but also with other tools, including AWS DynamoDB, Salesforce, Office 365, Box and others.

What are the possibilities of AppSheet?

AppSheet can offer a wide variety of features to make application creation simple and smooth. Here are some of the main advantages of AppSheet: 

• Collect information from many data sources (Excel, Google Sheets...)
• Team collaboration
• Application integration
• Process automation

Moreover, with AppSheet, it is possible to benefit from native functionalities such as the management and sending of notifications or the possibility to take pictures.

Another important point, AppSheet highlights its compliance with the most demanding security protocols, as well as its compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The platform is SOC2 Type 2 certified.

Finally, applications created with AppSheet can work offline, which is a significant advantage for certain business applications that are intended to be used in the field but without the certainty of having Internet access.

Advantages and disadvantages of AppSheet

The benefits of AppSheet

Here is a list of AppSheet benefits:

• Ease of use: AppSheet is designed to be easy to use, even for users without coding knowledge.
• Flexibility: AppSheet can be used to create applications for many different needs, including inventory, project and customer data management.
• Integration with other widely used tools: AppSheet can be integrated with other tools such as Google Sheets, Dropbox and Microsoft Excel.
• Mobile Access: Applications created with AppSheet can be used on mobile devices, allowing users to work on the go.
• Real-time collaboration : AppSheet enables real-time collaboration between users, which is ideal for team-based projects.
• Customization: Applications can be customized to meet the unique needs of each business.
• Affordable cost: AppSheet is an affordable solution for small and medium businesses looking to automate their processes. Prices range from $5/user (Starter plan) to $10/user (Core plan). It is possible to upgrade to an Enterprise plan as well and contact their sales department to establish a price based on the specific needs of the organization.

The disadvantages of AppSheet

Here is a list of AppSheet drawbacks:

• Limited performance: Due to the decentralized nature of the application, performance may be limited compared to other more robust solutions. For example, the Google Sheets-AppSheet pairing may lack performance on large projects.
• Limited integration with other systems: Although AppSheet can be integrated with widely used tools, it may lack many connectors that could meet specific business needs. One example is payment services.
• Setting up logics can sometimes be tedious.
• Customization from a UI (User Interface) point of view remains limited. But this is not really a major problem for business or internal applications.

How to use Google AppSheet?

Prepare your data 

Before starting the development of an application on AppSheet, you need to prepare your data in a spreadsheet. AppSheet can read data from a Google Sheets table of course, but also from Forms, Excel, and others.

In order for the application to develop smoothly, it is important that the top row of the spreadsheet contains the names of each determined column, so that the data can be understood and processed by the platform. 

For example, the first column of your Google Sheets can be called "name", the next "price" and the other "stock" if you want to create an inventory tracking application for example. It is of course possible to add other types of data to your spreadsheet to get other functionalities you need for the application.
AppSheet offers many database templates if you don't want to start from a blank sheet of paper, or if your data is not yet structured.

Connecting your data

AppSheet never hosts your data, but interacts with it depending on how you have configured your application. There are two ways to connect data to AppSheet: 

• From the AppSheet application
• From your Google Sheet from the Extensions tab of your spreadsheet.

Shape your mobile application

Once the data is structured in a spreadsheet and connected to AppSheet, the application will generate itself automatically. Then you have to check if the data entry is correct or if it needs to be improved. With the built-in editor, you can change properties, create new ways to display information (calendars, forms, galleries, charts, etc.), create smaller datasets, and build customizable views to customize the application to the max.

Securing your data

Once the application is shaped to meet your expectations, you need to manage the notions of access to the application. The application can be accessible to certain users according to the domain name of their e-mail, with a double authentication, or according to other criteria.

On line

Once the application is fully configured, it is time to put it online and invite users to download it. One of the advantages of AppSheet is that it is possible to continue to modify the application afterwards, to respond to users' feedback and to make its functionalities evolve.

When to use Google AppSheet?

AppSheet is a solution that allows companies to quickly create applications without having to write code. AppSheet was specifically designed for non-developers who need to automate their business processes.

The platform can be integrated with existing systems or cloud services, making it easier for companies to manage data and processes. Applications created using AppSheet can be shared and accessed across multiple devices, allowing companies to reduce development time and costs.

The use cases of AppSheet in enterprises are numerous, as shown by the gallery of available templates. 

Here are some examples of projects that can be managed by creating an application on AppSheet : 

• A marketing project management application
• An inventory application to track the inventory of items and record the amounts of incoming and outgoing inventory.
• An application for managing and coordinating the work of teams
• An application for onboarding new employees
• A delivery tracking application that sends notifications to its customers
• An app that allows employees to check in guests to a building, let them in when they arrive, and let them out when they leave, with notifications to guests and visitor tracking.

What are the alternatives to Google AppSheet?

Many Nocode and low-code solutions allow to build professional mobile applications like AppSheet. They all have their own characteristics that allow you to choose the best option for your project. 

Among the Nocode solutions that share AppSheet's ease of use and the ability to connect to many data sources, we can find Glide or Adalo.

Within the low-code solutions, more adapted to technical profiles, AppSheet can be compared to Mendix, Microsoft Power Apps, OutSystems or Zoho.