What is Google AppSheet?
Google AppSheet is a no-code platform for developing mobile and web applications. With AppSheet, you can become a developer and build customized apps suited to your needs without learning to code. You can create apps that are supported in a wide range of systems such as Android, iOS, browsers, and so on. In addition, you can develop powerful solutions to automate your workflows and boost productivity.
Software applications at the workplace help businesses to work smarter, faster, and more productively. Over 2 billion businesses demand software solutions from only 10 million software developers. As a business looking to incorporate apps to streamline your workflows, you’ll find that there is a shortage of software developers. In addition, creating customized apps to optimize your processes can be time-consuming and extremely expensive. But it doesn’t have to be this way, thanks to AppSheet.
AppSheet’s Integration with Google Workspace
Although AppSheet has been around for over 10 years, it only became a part of Google Cloud in 2020. As a result, it is fully integrated with Google Workspace with both solutions working together to simplify and streamline processes at the workplace. Google Workspace provides collaboration and communication tools to enable staff to work from anywhere efficiently.
As you use Google Workspace apps like Gmail, Google Sheets, etc., to complete tasks, you will develop some routine processes with tasks subsequently following each other. Instead of completing these tasks one after the other, you can package the whole process into an intuitive app using AppSheet. AppSheet works well with Gmail, Sheets, Docs, Meet, and all other apps in Google Workspace.
Take inventory management as an example. As soon as products arrive on your premises, you have to count them, compile this data into Google Sheets and send an email to update management on the current stock levels. This takes a lot of time if done manually. With AppSheet, you can create an app that scans the barcodes on incoming products, compiles the data in Google sheets, and automatically sends an email to management from a prebuilt template.
How does AppSheet work?
AppSheet lets you develop your apps by specifying some instructions from its graphical interface and it handles the rest for you. Just as the name suggests, AppSheet lets you create customized apps from Google Sheets containing your data or other data sources. As soon as you authorize your data source to work with AppSheet, it initializes the development process. Depending on your preferences you can make a new app by:
Starting with your own data – if you have it well organized on Google Sheets, start with column headers, or any other data source.
Starting with an idea – if you want to do everything yourself and define finer details about the app you want to create, starting from the type of data it should have.
Utilizing the available app templates – AppSheet has an extensive library of app templates built based on common use cases. You can find app templates for simple inventory, project tracking, field delivery, task management, and so many more. Selecting these templates gives you a foundation to start with leaving you to just do the customizations. This way, you get to rapidly accelerate your app development process.
After choosing your path, AppSheet lets you customize how your application looks, and how it behaves, decide who you would like to share your app with, and even add automation and machine-learning capabilities.
Key features of AppSheet
AppSheet offers infinite possibilities for creating your no-code apps as a product of its breadth of features. Below are some of its key features:
Data capturing
AppSheet offers you different ways to capture your data using barcodes, photographs, locations, forms, and signatures.
App customization
AppSheet lets you customize the interface and behavior of your app to suit your brand. You can add or remove elements, change the positioning of elements, edit the color scheme, and so on. AppSheet will give you a live preview of the changes in real-time.
App monitoring
AppSheet lets you monitor the status of your app directly from the dashboard. If your app encounters errors or irregularities, AppSheet will notify you instantly so that you can fix them quickly.
Automated workflows
AppSheet has built-in automation tools to enable you to automate your processes or tasks. It lets you utilize pre-built bots to carry out repetitive tasks when certain events occur. For example, you can use a bot to send memos to invite members to routine meetings at specified times.
Machine learning capabilities
AppSheet lets you utilize prebuilt machine-learning models to add machine-learning capabilities to your app. This improves your application’s functions by adding intelligence to it. Consequently, it can play a critical role in helping your enterprise make better decisions based on your data. If the available models don’t cut it for you, you can still build your models, train them, and incorporate them into your app.
Governance
Governance is one of the features that sets AppSheet apart from other no-code application development platforms. It allows you to manage how your app is accessed by setting guard rails for authentication.
AppSheet is more than just a no-code app development platform. AppSheet allows you to leverage different technologies to enrich your app’s functions and build solutions without limits.
Other Integrations
Up to now, you’ve seen that AppSheet readily accepts data from Google Sheets to initiate building your app. So what if you have data from another source? Apart from Google Workspace, AppSheet also allows you to connect to third-party apps such as Office 365 and Salesforce, and database solutions including SQL and Dropbox databases. You can also integrate REST APIs, OData, and Apigee.
AppSheet’s pricing
AppSheet has a free trial plan where you can build your apps and share them with up to 10 users for free. It has 4 paid plans:
Starter – $5 USD/user/month.
Core – $10 USD/user/month.
Enterprise Standard
Enterprise Plus
The enterprise plans don’t have a fixed monthly price. Instead, you have to contact Google Cloud or us as your Google Cloud partner and relay your specification so that you get a custom quotation. Also, AppSheet is available for free for high-tier Google Workspace plans but with limited features.
AppSheet helps to enrich your experience with Google Workspace. By using these solutions together, you’ll be able to boost your productivity, work smarter, and collaborate more efficiently.