Excel into Hubspot

[rspencer01]

We are trying to have an existing excel spreadsheet that lives on our internal server become more visible to our sales team. This report utilizes SQL to refresh the excel spreadsheet. 

The issue is that our sales team cannot look at this report on mobile and they usually do not have laptops in the field. I want them to somehow have access to this report through hubspot so they can either view it in the app or on the webpage (used on a mobile device). 

Is there a way to upload this spreadsheet to hubspot and then it just needs to be refreshed? 

[Crystal_Hopper · Accepted solution]

Hi @rspencer01 . Here's another potential solution. Build your team a private webpage using dymanic content from a HubDB. The unknown here is if you could sync your spreadsheet with the HubDB. Perhaps through APIs you could but that is beyond my ability to speak to. 

This article will give you an insight into what's possible if you can get the data into Hubspot this way:

Build dynamic pages using HubDB (hubspot.com)

[DHicks9 · Accepted solution]

How often is that file updated? 

I did something similiar for my company by creating a Custom Object with properties for each column. Set to View-Only and update monthly.

I am currently looking for an option to automate the update import, which sounds like you would need if your data updates more often. I do think if it updates more than once a day you could run into some issues with this solution.

[Jnix284 · Accepted solution]

@rspencer01 based on your use case, I agree with @DHicks9 that a custom object could be a good solution for connecting the data to HubSpot and making it easy for your field reps to have access to the information directly.

[RKon]

HubSpot doesn’t support live spreadsheet embedding or auto-refresh out of the box. You could sync the Excel data into HubSpot custom objects or properties using Skyvia. Just set it on a schedule for sync, and sales can view the data right inside the mobile app. You can find more info here (https://skyvia.com/data-integration/integrate-hubspot-excel)

[victoriahcw]

Hi @rspencer01  Have you tried using other tools? I've been using one called Coefficient and one of their features allows you to export live data from Excel directly into HubSpot. You can even set up an automated sync so that the latest data is always available instead of using SQL to refresh. I've found using this tool is quite easy to use, set up, and does not have any impact on Excel's native functions.

[Crystal_Hopper · Accepted solution]

Hi @rspencer01 . Here's another potential solution. Build your team a private webpage using dymanic content from a HubDB. The unknown here is if you could sync your spreadsheet with the HubDB. Perhaps through APIs you could but that is beyond my ability to speak to. 

This article will give you an insight into what's possible if you can get the data into Hubspot this way:

Build dynamic pages using HubDB (hubspot.com)

[BérangèreL]

Hi @rspencer01, I hope that you are well!

Thank you for reaching out to the Community!

I understand that you'd like HubSpot users to be able to view an Excel document in HubSpot using the HubSpot mobile app. Please let me know if that's not the case.

Which integration is updating the Excel document in the first place? I see it is via SQL, maybe there is a way to connect the two integrations?

One way to do this would be via an integration I guess, here is a thread about this that might be of interest: "Integrating an excel sheet with HubSpot".

Another way would be to import the Excel data into HubSpot properties so that the data can be accessed on the HubSpot mobile app.
you could then create a list in HubSpot with the columns/properties that you wish, which would replicate the Excel document?
Then you would need to import regularly to keep the information up-to-date.

Here are some resources if you'd like to import data:

- Set up your import files
- Import records and activities

I'd like to invite a couple of subject matter experts to this conversation: Hi @Jnix284, @HubSpot_Corey and @Crystal_Hopper do you have other suggestions to help @rspencer01, please?

Also, if anybody else has anything to add and/or share, please feel free to join in the conversation 🙂

Thank you so much and have a brilliant day!

Best,
Bérangère

[Jnix284]

@rspencer01 I'm going to have to poke a few holes in this - what does the report look like when you open it on mobile with excel? how much data is in the report? what is the formatting of the report? is it columns/rows? pivot tables? pie charts? have you opened the report on mobile? what information in the report will benefit the sales rep in the field? can that report be distilled down into simpler graphics?

here's my concern with finding a solution, an excel spreadsheet on mobile is a terrible user experience, whether it's opened in excel or hubspot. 

flip the question around - what aspect of that report do they need in the field, and how can you present that information in a way that's easy to view on mobile?

[rspencer01]

Jennifer, 

Thank you for the response! 

The purpose of the data as a whole is to provide our outside sales team with data on items we have in stock. We have multiple companies that carry stock items and the industry we work in sometimes requires an immediate response on whether or not we have something for a customer whose operation is down because of a part that is desperately needed. 

It doesn't necessarily need to be a spreadsheet - I agree that as a whole, excel on mobile is terrible which is why we're trying to find some type of solution. Our sales team works in an outside environment where they generally only have access to their phone or their tablet.

Right now, the data in the spreadsheet is pulling from our ERP system utilziing SQL and we can just refresh it. That works well for our inside team but not our outside sales team. In total, its a table on a spreadsheet that consists of 7 columns and roughly 2000 rows. There is a need to be able to filter down or to search for a product ID. 

In a perfect world, the outside team would be able to access this list/chart/whatever it might be on their phone or tablet, search by a part number, or by a specific "warehouse" which denotes what the type of product is. They could then relay to their customer whether we have something readily availabe to them or not.

[HubSpot_Corey · Accepted solution]

Hi @rspencer01 and thanks for the tag @BérangèreL 

I think @Jnix284 is right on the money with setting up a custom object. Just to add to her reply, using custom objects leaves the customisabity and functionality completely up to you. For example, you could summarise the data by having single objects with a total of each device per company, or you could have an individual object for each device. You can then use workflows or external tools to update and sync this data via HubSpots APIs.

Another benefit of this, is that you can use reports to build a dashboard that easily displays the necessary information immediatly to your team, such as how many devices are at what company. On top of this, both the dashboards and the custom object are accessible via the HubSpot android app, allowing your team to easily see it on the go using the reports or to perform more advanced filtering and search functionality on the custom object page. 

I'm always happy to jump on a call if you would like to discuss these options further!

[DHicks9 · Accepted solution]

How often is that file updated? 

I did something similiar for my company by creating a Custom Object with properties for each column. Set to View-Only and update monthly.

I am currently looking for an option to automate the update import, which sounds like you would need if your data updates more often. I do think if it updates more than once a day you could run into some issues with this solution.

[Jnix284 · Accepted solution]

@rspencer01 based on your use case, I agree with @DHicks9 that a custom object could be a good solution for connecting the data to HubSpot and making it easy for your field reps to have access to the information directly.