The Google Sheets Sync Tool links a Google Sheet to your StoreRocket account. Your team edits locations in the sheet, and a sync copies those changes to your store locator. It's the easiest way to manage hundreds or thousands of locations in bulk.
You'll find it in your dashboard under Data > Tools > Google Sheets Sync, or open it directly: Google Sheets Sync.
How the sync works
StoreRocket creates the sheet for you and fills it with your current locations. One row is one location.
Editing the sheet doesn't change your locator right away. Your changes go live when a sync runs.
A sync runs when you click Sync FROM Sheets, or every morning if you turn on daily auto-sync.
During a sync, the sheet wins. Every location that has a row in the sheet takes the values in that row. A blank cell clears that detail, for example a blank Phone cell removes the phone number. The column list below notes the few exceptions.
After a sync, StoreRocket writes each location's StoreRocket ID and map coordinates back into its row. The StoreRocket ID is how StoreRocket knows which row belongs to which location.
Which plans include it
The Google Sheets Sync Tool is part of the Business plan. It's also included in the free trial, where you can have up to 2,000 locations.
On the Basic and Pro plans, the Google Sheets Sync page shows an Upgrade to unlock button instead of the setup button.
If you move to a lower plan or your subscription ends, the sync stops. Your locations stay in your account, and your Google Sheet isn't deleted.
Set up your Google Sheet
Open Google Sheets Sync in your dashboard.
Click Create Google Spreadsheet.
Wait for an email titled Your Google Sheet is ready. It has a button that opens your sheet.
StoreRocket copies all your current locations into the new sheet, so you can start editing right away. The sheet is named after your account, for example Acme - StoreRocket Locations.
The sheet is shared with your account's billing email address, and Google sends that address a sharing email too. To open the sheet with a different Google account, add that address under Access to Google spreadsheet (see the next section).
You can't link a Google Sheet you already have. StoreRocket always creates a new one. To bring in data from another sheet, copy it into this one. See Bring in locations from another sheet or system below.
Open the sheet and share it with your team
Click Open Sheets at the top of the Google Sheets Sync page to open your sheet in Google Sheets.
To give teammates edit access:
Go to the Access to Google spreadsheet section of the Google Sheets Sync page.
Type an email address. Click Add Email to add a field for each extra person.
Click Send Invitation.
Google emails each person a link, and they can edit the sheet right away. Use addresses that have a Google account (Gmail or Google Workspace). Your teammates don't need a StoreRocket login to edit the sheet.
To let someone see the sheet without editing it, open the sheet, click Share in Google Sheets and invite them as a Viewer. To remove someone's access, use the same Share button in Google Sheets.
You'll also see [email protected] in the sharing list. That's StoreRocket support, so we can look at your sheet if you need help.
Add, edit, hide or delete a location
Add a location
Add a new row below your other locations.
Fill in Name and the address columns.
Leave StoreRocket ID, Full Address, Lat and Lng empty. StoreRocket fills them in during the sync.
Copying an existing row to create a new location? Clear StoreRocket ID, Full Address, Lat and Lng in the copy. Two rows with the same StoreRocket ID update the same location, so the copy would overwrite the original instead of adding a new one.
Edit a location
Change the cells in its row. Never change the StoreRocket ID. If you change the address, read Change an address and move the pin below, because the pin doesn't move on its own.
Hide a location
Set Visible to 0. The location stays in your account but disappears from your locator. Set it back to 1 to show it again.
Delete a location
Turn on the delete option. See Delete locations that aren't in the sheet below.
Delete the location's whole row in the sheet. Right-click the row number and choose Delete row.
Click Sync FROM Sheets.
If the delete option is off, deleting a row doesn't delete the location. It stays on your locator.
Deleting a location only in the dashboard doesn't work while its row is still in the sheet. The next sync adds it back as a new location. Delete the row in the sheet as well.
Sync your changes (Sync FROM Sheets)
When you're done editing, sync the sheet to update your locator:
Open Google Sheets Sync.
Click Sync FROM Sheets.
The button changes to Sync in progress. You can leave the page while it runs.
If you're still on the page when the sync finishes, StoreRocket shows a summary, for example: Sync complete. Read 250 rows from your sheet. 3 locations added, 12 updated. If the sheet already matched your locations, the summary says Nothing changed.
Here's what happens during a sync, in order:
StoreRocket reads every row on the first tab of your sheet.
Rows with a StoreRocket ID update that location. Rows without one become new locations.
If the delete option is on, locations that aren't in the sheet are deleted.
Locations without coordinates are placed on the map. That's new rows, and rows where you cleared Full Address, Lat and Lng.
StoreRocket writes every location's current details back into its row, including the StoreRocket ID, Full Address, Lat, Lng, Timezone and Slug.
Sync FROM Sheets doesn't clear your sheet.
Don't edit the sheet while a sync is running. The sync rewrites your rows at the end, so changes made while it runs can be overwritten. Wait until the sync has finished.
How long does a sync take?
Most syncs take a few seconds. These are typical times from real syncs over the last 30 days:
Rows in your sheet | Usually finishes in | 9 in 10 finish within |
Up to 100 | 2 seconds | 3 seconds |
100 to 1,000 | 8 seconds | 22 seconds |
1,000 to 5,000 | 26 seconds | about 1 minute |
5,000 to 20,000 | about 1 minute | about 3 minutes |
A sync takes longer when it has many new addresses to place on the map, for example the first sync after you paste in a big list.
If the page still says Sync in progress after 30 minutes, refresh it. If it still says so, message us on live chat. Don't unlink the sheet to stop a sync.
Copy your dashboard changes to the sheet (Export TO Sheets)
Use Export TO Sheets when StoreRocket has the right data and the sheet is out of date. For example, after you edited locations in the dashboard, imported a CSV file or changed locations through the API.
Open Google Sheets Sync.
Click Export TO Sheets.
Export TO Sheets clears the first tab of your sheet and writes all your StoreRocket locations into it again. That means:
Edits in the sheet that you haven't synced yet are lost. Click Sync FROM Sheets first if you want to keep them.
Columns you added yourself are removed. Columns for your custom fields and buttons are added back automatically.
Rows come back in the order the locations were created, so your own sorting is lost.
Other tabs in the spreadsheet aren't touched.
Turn on daily auto-sync
Auto-sync runs Sync FROM Sheets for you every day. Turn it on if your team updates the sheet regularly, or if another system writes to it.
Open Google Sheets Sync.
In Settings, turn on Auto-sync spreadsheet daily.
Click Yes, enable auto-sync to confirm.
When does it run? Every day at 4:00 AM New York time (US Eastern Time). That's 08:00 UTC from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November, and 09:00 UTC the rest of the year. It usually finishes within 2 minutes.
The time can't be changed. If another system updates your sheet, make sure it finishes before 4:00 AM Eastern Time. Otherwise its changes wait until the next morning, unless you click Sync FROM Sheets.
Before you turn it on, make sure the sheet has all your current locations. If you've been editing in the dashboard, click Export TO Sheets first. Otherwise auto-sync replaces your dashboard changes with the older data in the sheet.
While auto-sync is on, edit locations in the sheet, not in the dashboard. Changes made in the dashboard, like opening hours or buttons, are replaced by the sheet's values the next morning. The location editor shows a yellow warning about this.
Auto-sync runs only while your Business plan or free trial is active. To stop it, turn the switch off.
Delete locations that aren't in the sheet
The setting At the end of the sync, delete the locations on StoreRocket that are NOT on Google Spreadsheet makes your sheet the complete list of your locations. It's off unless you turn it on.
When it's on
Deleting a row in the sheet deletes that location at the next sync.
Locations added outside the sheet (in the dashboard, by CSV import or through the API) are deleted at the next sync, because they aren't in the sheet. Add them to the sheet before the next sync, or click Export TO Sheets to copy every location into the sheet.
When it's off
The sync never deletes anything. Deleting a row in the sheet doesn't delete the location.
Safety checks
If a sync would delete more than half of your locations, it stops before changing anything. You'll see this message: No locations were changed. Sync stopped because it would remove [number] of [number] locations. This usually means the StoreRocket ID column was cleared, changed or pasted over.
A sheet with no rows never deletes your locations.
With the delete option on, sheets with fewer than 5,000 rows can reconnect a row whose StoreRocket ID is blank or no longer matches. StoreRocket looks for exactly one existing location, not already linked to another row, with the same Name, Address Line 1 and Postcode. A match updates that location and keeps its ID. Keep its existing Slug value in the sheet to preserve links to it. With the delete option off, a row without a usable StoreRocket ID is added as a new location, within your plan's location limit.
The columns in your sheet
Row 1 holds the column names. StoreRocket finds columns by name, so keep every name exactly as it is. Here's what goes in each column:
Column | What to enter |
Name | The location's name. Required. |
Address Line 1 | Street address, for example |
Address Line 2 | Suite, unit or floor. Optional. |
City | City or town. |
State | State, province or region. |
Postcode | ZIP or postal code. To keep a leading zero, see Tips for typing in Google Sheets. |
Country | Country name or two-letter code, for example |
Phone | Phone number. Numbers that start with + need an apostrophe in front, see the tips below. |
The location's email address. | |
URL | The location's website, starting with |
Visible |
|
Filters | Filter names, separated by commas. See Filters in the sheet. |
Hours ID | The name of a saved schedule from the Opening Hours page. Leave it blank to use the day columns. |
Monday to Sunday | Opening hours for each day. See Opening hours in the sheet. |
Timezone | Filled in by StoreRocket from the location's position. To set it yourself, use a time zone name like |
Marker ID | The ID number of a custom marker, shown next to each marker on the Map Markers page. Blank uses your default marker. |
Type | A location type name from the Location Types page. Blank uses your default type. A name that doesn't exist yet creates a new type. |
Slug | A short, unique identifier for the location, for example |
Image | A full link to an image, starting with |
Facebook, Instagram, X / Twitter | The profile handle, for example |
Yelp | Your Yelp page link, or just the business ID (the part after |
Full Address | Filled in by StoreRocket. Clear it when you change the address. |
Lat, Lng | The location's map coordinates. Filled in by StoreRocket. Clear both when you change the address. |
StoreRocket ID | Filled in by StoreRocket. Never edit, move or delete it. Leave it blank on new rows. |
Field: (name) | One column per custom field, for example |
Button: (name) | One column per button, for example |
YouTube, TikTok | A channel or profile handle, or the full link. |
Older sheets may not have the YouTube and TikTok columns. Add them with exactly those names, or click Export TO Sheets to rebuild the columns.
Don't delete columns you don't use. If the Filters, Type or hours columns are missing, every sync removes the filters, resets the type or clears the hours of every location in the sheet. Hide unused columns instead: right-click the column letter and choose Hide column.
Filters in the sheet
Type each filter's full name, exactly as it appears on your Search Filters page. Separate several filters with commas, for example: Wholesale, Open Sundays, Pharmacy.
Use the filter's name, not its slug.
The cell replaces all of that location's filters. To add one filter, keep the existing names and add the new one.
A blank cell removes all filters from that location.
A name that doesn't exist yet creates a new filter, so a typo creates a second filter. Check the spelling.
The sync never deletes filters. To get rid of an old filter, remove it from every row in the sheet, sync, then delete it on the Search Filters page. If a row still has the name, the next sync creates the filter again.
Opening hours in the sheet
Type hours in 24-hour time, one cell per day:
What you want | What to type |
Open 9 AM to 5 PM |
|
Closed all day |
|
Open 24 hours |
|
Closed for lunch |
|
Closes after midnight |
|
Always use 24-hour time in the sheet, even if your locator shows 12-hour times. To show times like 9:00 AM, set Hours Format to 12-Hour in Store Locator Settings.
Many locations with the same schedule? Create it once on the Opening Hours page and type its name in Hours ID. When Hours ID has a name, the day columns are ignored.
If Hours ID has a name that doesn't match a saved schedule, that location's hours are removed. Check the spelling.
If Hours ID and all seven day columns are blank, the location has no hours.
Want free text like By appointment? Turn on Use Custom Hours in Store Locator Settings. The day cells then show your text instead of formatted times, but the open and closed label is turned off.
The sheet holds one weekly schedule per location. Holiday or special-date hours aren't supported.
Change an address and move the pin
Changing the address cells doesn't move the location's pin, because the old coordinates are still in Lat and Lng. To move the pin to the new address:
Update the address cells (Address Line 1, City, Postcode and so on).
Clear Full Address, Lat and Lng in that row.
Click Sync FROM Sheets.
StoreRocket looks up the new address and fills in the new coordinates. The same steps fix a pin that's in the wrong place.
Know the exact coordinates? Type them into Lat and Lng instead, with a dot for decimals, for example 40.7128 and -74.0060. StoreRocket uses them as they are.
If StoreRocket can't find the exact street, it places the pin in the right town instead. Correct the address, or type the exact coordinates.
If Lat and Lng are still empty after the sync, the address couldn't be found at all. StoreRocket also sets Visible to 0, so the location is hidden. Fix the address (check the spelling, add the postcode and country) or type the coordinates, set Visible back to 1, and sync again.
Custom fields and buttons in the sheet
Your sheet has a column for each custom field, like Field: Store Number, and for each button, like Button: Book Now.
Field columns: type the value for each location. Leave the cell blank when a location has no value.
Button columns: type the link that button opens for that location. A blank cell means the button doesn't show for that location.
Adding a new field or button: create it first on the Custom Fields or Calls to Action page. Then add a column to the sheet named
Field:orButton:followed by its exact name.
A Field: or Button: column with a name that doesn't exist yet creates that field or button at the next sync.
More details: Custom fields and Call-to-action buttons.
Bring in locations from another sheet or system
You can't link a sheet you already have, but you can copy its data into your StoreRocket sheet:
Open your StoreRocket sheet with Open Sheets.
Paste your rows below the header row with Edit > Paste special > Values only. Put each value under the matching column name.
Click Sync FROM Sheets.
Rows without a StoreRocket ID become new locations. If some of those locations are already in StoreRocket, edit their existing rows instead. Pasting the same locations in again as new rows creates duplicates.
Replacing your whole list with an export from another system (for example NetSuite or your ERP):
Turn on the delete option.
Replace the rows in the sheet with your new list, as values only, keeping the column names.
Click Sync FROM Sheets.
Rows without a StoreRocket ID are linked to existing locations with the same Name, Address Line 1 and Postcode (sheets under 5,000 rows). Rows that don't match become new locations, and locations missing from the list are deleted. If that would delete more than half of your locations, the sync stops and nothing changes.
Updating the sheet automatically? Any tool that edits Google Sheets, like Zapier, Make, Apps Script or your own system, can write to the sheet. It must keep the column names, write plain values (not formulas) and keep each row's StoreRocket ID. Schedule it to finish before the daily sync at 4:00 AM Eastern Time. If your system can't keep the StoreRocket IDs, turn on the delete option so rows are linked by Name, Address Line 1 and Postcode.
Also using CSV import or the API? Locations you add or change that way aren't in the sheet. With the delete option on, the next sync deletes the ones you added. With it off, they stay, but every sync puts the sheet's values back on locations that have a row. Click Export TO Sheets after a CSV import or API changes to bring the sheet up to date.
Location limits
Each sync adds new locations until your plan's location limit is reached. During the free trial, the limit is 2,000 locations.
Rows over the limit are skipped. The sync summary tells you how many, for example: 12 rows could not be added because your plan's location limit is full.
Tips for typing in Google Sheets
Phone numbers that start with +: type an apostrophe first, like
'+1 555 010 0100. Otherwise Google Sheets reads the number as a formula and shows an error.Postcodes with a leading zero: select the Postcode column and choose Format > Number > Plain text before you type. Otherwise
02134turns into2134.Paste values only: use Edit > Paste special > Values only (Ctrl+Shift+V, or Cmd+Shift+V on a Mac). This keeps out merged cells, formulas and formatting.
Sort the whole sheet: use Data > Sort sheet. Rows can be in any order, but sorting a single column on its own mixes up your rows.
Rules that keep the sync working
Keep your locations on the first tab. You can rename it and add other tabs after it. Only the first tab syncs.
Keep one header row. Row 1 holds the column names. Don't add titles or a second header row.
Don't rename or delete columns. StoreRocket ignores a column name it doesn't recognize. A missing Filters, Type or hours column clears that detail from every location, and a missing StoreRocket ID column stops the sync.
Don't leave values under a column with no name, and don't create two columns with the same name.
Never edit the StoreRocket ID. It links each row to its location.
Don't merge cells.
Don't use formulas or IMPORTRANGE. The sync writes plain values into its columns and replaces formulas.
Don't edit the sheet during a sync.
Edit the linked sheet itself. A copy made with File > Make a copy, or a downloaded file, isn't linked to StoreRocket. Click Open Sheets to make sure you're in the right one.
Unlink the sheet or start over with a new one
Unlink Spreadsheet disconnects your sheet right away. There's no confirmation step.
Unlinking doesn't change your locations and doesn't delete the Google Sheet. The sheet just stops syncing, and auto-sync turns off.
To start over with a new sheet, click Create Google Spreadsheet after unlinking. The new sheet starts with your current StoreRocket locations. Changes in the old sheet that were never synced aren't copied over.
Unlinked by mistake? Message us on live chat before you create a new sheet.
Troubleshooting
The page says Sync in progress for a long time
Most syncs finish in under a minute, and almost all within 3 minutes. Refresh the page. If it still says Sync in progress after 30 minutes, message us on live chat. Don't unlink the sheet to stop it.
The sync finished, but my locator didn't change
Check you edited the linked sheet. A copy or a downloaded file doesn't sync. Click Open Sheets to open the right one.
Check your locations are on the first tab. Only the first tab syncs.
Check you didn't rename a column. Renamed columns are ignored.
With auto-sync, changes made after 4:00 AM Eastern Time wait until the next morning. Click Sync FROM Sheets to apply them now.
Reload the page with your locator. If the summary said Nothing changed, the sheet already matched StoreRocket.
A location is missing from my locator
Visible is
0. Change it to1and sync.Lat and Lng are empty and Visible is
0. The address couldn't be found, so StoreRocket hid the location. Fix the address or type the coordinates, set Visible to1, then sync.You reached your plan's location limit. During the free trial, it's 2,000 locations.
The delete option is on, and the location wasn't in the sheet.
A pin is in the wrong place
Clear Full Address, Lat and Lng in that row and sync again. If StoreRocket can't find the exact street, it places the pin in the right town, so check the address or type the exact coordinates. See Change an address and move the pin.
My changes in the dashboard keep disappearing
Daily auto-sync is on, so the sheet's values replace them every morning. Make the change in the sheet instead, or turn off auto-sync. To copy dashboard changes into the sheet, click Export TO Sheets before the next auto-sync.
A location I deleted came back
You deleted it in the dashboard, but its row was still in the sheet, so the next sync added it again. Delete the row in the sheet with the delete option on.
I have duplicate locations
This usually happens when rows lose their StoreRocket ID (cleared, pasted over or overwritten by another system), or when the same locations are pasted in again as new rows. Delete the extra rows in the sheet and the extra locations in the dashboard. Or turn on the delete option and delete only the rows. The Duplicates Remover helps you find them. If you delete duplicates only in the dashboard, the sheet adds them back at the next sync.
I don't see the Create Google Spreadsheet button
The page shows Upgrade to unlock instead. The Google Sheets Sync Tool is part of the Business plan.
I can't open the sheet
The sheet is shared with your account's billing email address. If you're signed in to Google with another account, you'll see a page asking for access. Switch Google accounts, or add your address under Access to Google spreadsheet on the Google Sheets Sync page.
Error messages and emails
You see | What it means | What to do |
No locations were changed. Sync stopped because it would remove... | The delete option is on and more than half of your locations aren't in the sheet. Nothing was changed. | Check that the StoreRocket ID column wasn't cleared or pasted over, and that all your locations are in the sheet. If you really want to delete that many, message us on live chat. |
Sync could not finish. Please try again. | Something stopped the sync before it finished. | Click Sync FROM Sheets again. If it fails twice, check the sheet rules above and message us. |
Sync paused and will retry automatically. | Google was briefly unavailable. | Nothing. StoreRocket tries again within a few minutes. |
Email: Google Sheet needs attention | StoreRocket couldn't read your sheet's layout. | Check that your locations are on the first tab, row 1 has the column names, no column was renamed and there are no merged cells. Then sync again. |
Email: Connected Google Sheet not found or Reconnect Google Sheets | StoreRocket can't open your linked sheet anymore. | Message us on live chat. |
Email: Google Sheet is too large to sync | The spreadsheet is over Google's size limit (10 million cells). | Delete unused rows, columns or tabs, then sync again. If it keeps happening, message us on live chat. |
Email: Google Sheet setup did not finish | Creating the sheet failed. | Click Create Google Spreadsheet again. If it fails again, reply to that email. |
These emails go to the person who clicked the button. Daily auto-sync doesn't send them, so check your locator after big changes.
Frequently asked questions
Can I link a Google Sheet I already have?
No. StoreRocket creates the sheet for you. Copy your data into it, see Bring in locations from another sheet or system.
Do my changes show up on my locator right away?
No. They go live after the next sync, when you click Sync FROM Sheets or when daily auto-sync runs.
Can I change the time of the daily sync, or sync more often?
No. Auto-sync runs once a day at 4:00 AM Eastern Time. You can click Sync FROM Sheets whenever you like.
Can I add my own columns?
Sync FROM Sheets ignores them, but Export TO Sheets removes them. Keep your own notes on another tab.
Can I add more tabs, or rename the spreadsheet or the tab?
Yes. Only the first tab syncs, and the names don't matter.
Can I sort or filter the rows?
Yes. Rows can be in any order. Sort the whole sheet with Data > Sort sheet.
Can I use formulas, IMPORTRANGE or a connected data source?
No. The sync replaces formulas with plain values. Paste values instead.
Can people edit the sheet without a StoreRocket login?
Yes. Anyone you share the sheet with can edit it in Google Sheets. Their changes go live at the next sync.
Can I use the sheet together with CSV import or the API?
Yes, but the sheet wins at every sync. See Also using CSV import or the API? above.
Still stuck? Message us on live chat and tell us what you changed in the sheet and what you expected to see.