Weekly sales CSV
Each Monday, import the warehouse CSV with append to a Staging tab, then QUERY into a clean Sales tab.
How do you import data into Google Sheets?
Importing means pulling external data into a spreadsheet tab: from a file upload, another Google Sheet, a published CSV URL, or a function like IMPORTRANGE. The import dialog controls separator, locale, and whether new rows replace or append existing data.
When to use it
Use import when you receive recurring exports from accounting, ads, CRM, or a database and need a working copy inside Sheets for formulas, dashboards, or Apps Script.
When to skip it
Skip manual import when a live connection is safer and available. Very large datasets may belong in BigQuery or a database with Sheets as a thin summary layer.
How it works
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1
Choose File > Import and pick Upload, My Drive, or a URL depending on the source.
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Preview columns and set separator, charset, and whether row 1 is headers.
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{:"Select import location"=>"new sheet, replace current sheet, append rows, or insert new sheet(s)."}
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For another Google file, use IMPORTRANGE with the spreadsheet key and range syntax.
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For repeating pulls, combine IMPORTDATA or IMPORTXML with refresh habits or a scheduled script.
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After import, format ID columns as plain text and spot-check dates before building formulas on top.
Examples in Google Sheets
Cross-workbook rollup
IMPORTRANGE pulls Region A and Region B tabs into a master file for leadership dashboards.
Published feed
IMPORTDATA reads a public CSV URL from a partner site into a raw tab for transformation formulas.
Build this without starting from a blank cell
Use a Better Sheets tool for importing data into Sheets, then watch a walkthrough when you want the full pattern.
Better Sheets resources
Common mistakes
- Appending duplicate rows every run without a key column to dedupe.
- Letting Sheets auto-convert long invoice numbers into scientific notation on import.
- Importing into the only tab with live formulas, wiping work when you meant append elsewhere.
- Wrong locale on dates, so March 4 and April 3 swap depending on source country.
- Trusting column order forever; upstream exports that add columns break OFFSET-based formulas.
Frequently asked questions
- Import vs copy-paste?
- Import handles large files and repeatability better. Paste is fine for small, one-off snippets.
- Can I import from Excel online?
- Download XLSX or CSV from Excel, then import into Sheets. Direct live Excel sync is not native.
- What is IMPORTRANGE?
- A formula that pulls a range from another Google Sheet by URL key. You must grant access once per pair.
- How do I import on a schedule?
- Use Apps Script with DriveApp or UrlFetchApp, or an add-on, to fetch files into a tab nightly.
- Can I import JSON?
- Not via the basic File menu. Use Apps Script, IMPORTDATA on a JSON-to-CSV endpoint, or a connector.
- Append vs replace?
- Replace overwrites the target sheet. Append adds rows at the bottom. Pick based on whether history matters.
- Why are columns merged wrong?
- Check delimiter in preview, especially for semicolon exports from European systems.
- Import into existing formulas?
- Import to a dedicated raw tab and reference it. Keeps transforms stable when source layout shifts slightly.
Related Tutorials
Watch how importing data into Sheets works
Scrape Google Maps
How to Download a Sheet as a CSV with a URL only
Related blog posts
Guides that explain importing data into Sheets in more depth.
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CSV and Google Sheets
CSV (comma-separated values) is a plain-text table format Sheets opens, imports, and exports easily. Use File > Import for controlled uploads or File > Download > CSV for handoffs to other tools. Watch encoding, delimiters, and date formats because CSV does not store types the way a native sheet does.
Read guide →Excel XLSX and Google Sheets
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Read guide →normalizing data in Sheets
Normalizing means making inconsistent inputs follow one reliable shape: same date format, trimmed text, unique keys, one fact per row, and separate columns for categories that were crammed into one field. Clean data makes VLOOKUP, QUERY, and dashboards dependable.
Read guide →SQL-style queries (QUERY)
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Read guide →Done reading about importing data into Sheets?
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