Keep your store locator in sync with a Google Sheet. Manage locations in a spreadsheet and Storepoint automatically updates your locator widget. Perfect for businesses maintaining a location map with frequent changes, whether you're managing retail stores or a network of dealers.
New to Google Sheets sync? See our step-by-step guide to creating a store locator from a Google Sheet.
On This Page
- How It Works
- Before You Begin
- Setting Up Google Sheets Sync
- Spreadsheet Fields
- Sync Frequency
- How Sync Handles Your Data
- Monitoring Sync Status
- Troubleshooting
How It Works
- Create a Google Sheet with your location data
- Share the sheet and connect it to Storepoint
- Storepoint syncs automatically on your chosen schedule (or instantly via Force Sync Now)
Before You Begin: Export Your Current Locations
If you already have locations in Storepoint, export them first so you can include them in your Google Sheet.
- Go to Manage Locations in your dashboard
- Click the More button in the top-right corner
- Select Export All Locations to download your current locations as a CSV
See exporting locations for more details.
Each sync replaces your locator's data with what's in your Google Sheet. That's why exporting your existing locations and adding them to your sheet is important: any location missing from the sheet will be removed from your locator after the next sync.
Setting Up Google Sheets Sync
Step 1: Download the Template
This template includes all standard spreadsheet fields. Only name and address are required, the rest are optional. Storepoint handles geocoding automatically, but you can add lat and lng columns if you have specific coordinates.
If you've configured custom fields, download the template from the Google Sheets Sync page in your Storepoint dashboard so they're included.
Step 2: Create Your Google Sheet
The easiest approach: create a new Google Sheet and import the template or your Storepoint export. Then add or update your location data.
- Go to sheets.google.com and create a new spreadsheet
- Go to File → Import and upload the template CSV
- Add your location data (if you exported locations earlier, import that file too or copy the rows over)
Step 3: Share the Sheet
- Click the Share button in Google Sheets
- Under General access, set permissions to "Anyone with the link" and "Viewer"
- Click Copy link and you're ready for the next step
If you'd rather not make your sheet publicly accessible, you can share it directly with our sync service account instead. Contact us and we'll provide the email address to share with.
Step 4: Connect to Storepoint
- Go to Google Sheets Sync in your dashboard
- Paste your Google Sheets share link
- Select your sync frequency
- Click Save & Start Sync
Your first sync will begin shortly. That's it - the whole setup takes just a few minutes.
Spreadsheet Fields
The standard template includes all the fields below. Only name and address are required, everything else is optional.
Required: name, address
Optional: description, city, state, postcode, country, phone, website, email, monday through sunday (for store hours), facebook, instagram, twitter, image_url, tags
The address field can contain the full address (e.g., 123 Main St, Boston, MA 02101, USA). The city, state, postcode, and country fields are there for convenience if your existing data already has these in separate columns, but they're not required if your address is complete.
Custom Fields
If you've set up custom fields in your Storepoint account, download the template from your Google Sheets Sync page to get a version with your custom columns included.
Store Hours
Use a simple format like 9:00am - 5:00pm or Closed. If a location has a break (like a lunch closure), separate the time ranges with a comma: 9:00am - 12:00pm, 1:00pm - 5:00pm.
See the Opening Hours guide for all supported formats and display options.
Coordinates
Storepoint automatically geocodes each location based on the address. If you have specific coordinates, add lat and lng columns to your sheet.
Tags
Use the tags column to categorize locations for filtering. Enter tags as a comma-separated list:
Coffee, WiFi, Parking, Drive-Thru
Include all relevant tags for each location in a single cell.
Just include your tags for now. You can organize them into filter groups later in your dashboard. If you've already set up filters, Storepoint automatically assigns tags to the right groups on sync. Learn more about filters and tags.
Images
The image_url column accepts a direct link to an image file. Images display on your locations in the locator.
Getting image URLs:
- From your website: Right-click an image and select "Copy image address"
- From image hosts: Services like Cloudinary provide direct image URLs
Example: https://example.com/images/store-photo.jpg
Learn more about location images
Sync Frequency
Choose how often Storepoint checks your sheet for updates:
- Daily sync is available on Pro plan and above
- Hourly, every 15 minutes, and every 5 minutes sync options are available on the Business plan
Need an immediate update? Click Force Sync Now in your sync settings to trigger a sync right away.
How Sync Handles Your Data
When Storepoint syncs your sheet, it intelligently processes your locations:
- Matching: Locations are matched by name and location. If a match exists, it's updated rather than duplicated.
- Deduplication: If your sheet contains duplicate rows (same name and location), Storepoint automatically removes the duplicates and keeps just one. The sync log shows how many duplicates were removed.
- Updates: Existing locations are updated with any changed data from your sheet.
- Removals: Locations that are no longer in your sheet are removed from your locator.
Monitoring Sync Status
You can monitor sync status in your dashboard. The sync activity log shows:
- When the last sync ran
- How many locations were processed
- How many were new, updated, or removed
- How many duplicates were automatically removed
- Any errors that occurred
Once your sync is running, just update your spreadsheet and your store locator reflects the changes automatically.
Troubleshooting
If your sync isn't working, the Google Sheets Sync page in your dashboard will show any errors. Here are common issues:
Permissions error
Your Google Sheet permissions aren't set correctly. Make sure the sheet is set to "Anyone with the link" can "View". To check: click Share in Google Sheets, then under General access, select "Anyone with the link" and set the role to "Viewer".
Using an Excel file (XLSX) instead of a Google Sheet
Google Sheets Sync only works with native Google Sheets, not Excel files stored in Google Drive. If you have an Excel file, open it in Google Sheets and save it as a Google Sheet (File → Save as Google Sheets), then use that sheet's URL.
Missing required columns
Your sheet must have at least a name column and an address column in the first row. If you're not sure about the format, download the template and use it as a starting point.
Sync seems stuck or not updating
Click Force Sync Now on the sync page to trigger an immediate sync. If it still doesn't work, check for errors in the sync status section.
Still having issues? Contact us with a link to your Google Sheet and we'll help sort it out.
Next Steps
- Learn how to view and manage your synced locations
- Set up filters and tags to let customers filter your locations
- Add custom fields for additional location data
- Customize your locator's appearance