All Collections
Workflows
Google Sheets Basics
Sharing and permissions in Google Sheets
Sharing and permissions in Google Sheets

Learn how to securely share your Tiller spreadsheet with other Google Accounts

Heather Phillips avatar
Written by Heather Phillips
Updated over a week ago

Google Sheets inherently makes collaboration very simple. Tiller's automated bank feeds to Google Sheets takes it a step further by allowing you to link multiple spreadsheets for different purposes and be selective by sharing specific account information with specific people based on the settings outlined below.

Try Tiller Free

Perhaps your accountant only needs view access, but your spouse needs edit access to your monthly budget. Google Sheets makes it easy to set these fine grained permissions, Tiller empowers you with that data.

Review our FAQ below and if this guide doesn't answer your question, please let us know via the chat tool.

Sharing a Google Sheet

  1. Click the green "Share" button in the upper right corner of the Google Sheet.

  2. Type the email address for the person with whom you’d like to share the sheet and assign permissions from the drop down to the right.

  3. Optionally, add a note and make sure the "Notify people" box is checked.

  4. Click done to share and send the invitation to that person.

Understanding Google Sheets Permissions

“Edit” permissions

Allow the person to make changes to the sheet, which are always recorded in the revision history. 

“Commenter” permissions 

Allow the person to leave comments about data in the sheet, but not change any data. 

“Viewer” permissions

Allows the person to open and view your Tiller-powered Google Sheet, but not make edits or leave comments.

Advanced Sharing Options

Open the advanced sharing settings for the sheet by clicking the gear in the upper right corner of the “share with people and groups” dialog box. You'll see two new check box settings options.

You can disable the ability to allow editors to change permissions and share the Google Sheet.

You can prevent viewers and commenters from being able to download, print, or make a copy of the Google Sheet.

Changing or removing permissions

If you need to change or remove someone's access to your Google Sheet you can easily do this from the "Share with people and groups" dialog.

Click the dropdown next to the person's name and choose a new option.

You can also make someone the owner of the Google Sheet this way too. Be very careful with this option as they will have full control over the sharing and permissions could remove your access as the new owner.

Sharing Your Sheet with Non-Google users

If you need to share your Tiller spreadsheet with people who don’t have a Gmail address or Google Account you can use the Get Link option and change it from "Restricted" to "Anyone with the link."

Choose this option with care, and note that you can assign view only, comment, or edit permissions the same way for these people too. Just choose an option to the right after setting it to "Anyone with the link."

Frequently Asked Questions

Are shared viewers notified when the Google sheet is updated?

Not automatically, but here are the steps from Google to set up notifications for changes in a spreadsheet. https://support.google.com/docs/answer/91588?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop

The shared viewer will need to complete this for themselves, as it's not possible to enable notifications for anyone except yourself.

What should I do about request for access emails that I don't want to get?

If you do not want to receive request for access emails, make sure the people who need edit access for the Google Sheet are set up as "Editors." See "Change or remove permissions" section. If your spreadsheet is shared publicly on the internet where "Anyone with the link" is a "viewer" then you're likely to get a lot of "request for access" email. Make sure your spreadsheet has clear instructions that people should Make a copy from the File menu in order to edit the spreadsheet.

How can I get edit access to a spreadsheet someone has shared with me?

If you do not have edit access to a spreadsheet that is shared with you and you need to add data or edit the sheet click the green "View only" button near the top left of the Google Sheet to request edit access. Alternatively, you can ask the owner to give you edit permissions by having them click the "Share" button in the upper right of the sheet and share it with the email address associated with the Google account you plan to use to edit.

How can I protect certain parts of my spreadsheet?

You can use the Protected Ranges and Sheets features to give someone overall edit access to the spreadsheet, but protect specific sheets or ranges in the spreadsheet.

How can my spouse, partner, financial planner, or other person update my Tiller-powered Google Sheet with new transaction and balance data?

Right now there isn't a way to delegate access to the features found in the Tiller Money Feed add-on for Google Sheets to another user. Whichever account is associated with your Tiller subscription is the one that will need to sign in to the Tiller Money Feeds add-on to fill the spreadsheet your latest transactions and balances.

If you need to share refresh and fill access with someone else we recommend that you create a new Google account specifically for use with Tiller and share the credentials for that Google account with those who need the ability to refresh, fill sheets, run AutoCat, and use other features in the Tiller Money Feeds add-on.

I'm a financial professional, how can I use Tiller with my clients and access their accounts and data?

We recommend financial professionals using Tiller with clients create a new Google account specifically for use with Tiller for their client, subscribe (or have them subscribe) to Tiller using that account, and share the credentials for that Google account with them. Your clients will probably still need to handle refreshing of accounts on the Tiller Console if they have 2FA enabled accounts because this will require that they enter a code sent to their cell phone, but with access to that shared Google account you can fill whatever data is available, run AutoCat, and more on their behalf.

Did this answer your question?