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Migration guide

Move from Google Sheets to Pike

Download each Google Sheets tab as CSV, upload the files to Pike templates, and connect the accounting system you invoice from. Budget three to four weeks.

Available now

Google Sheets downloads a spreadsheet as CSV from the File menu, so you produce one CSV per tab and map each file to a Pike template.

  1. 1Open the tab you want, click File → Download and choose the CSV file type. Repeat for every tab, and check that each downloaded file shows the rows of the tab you meant.
  2. 2Download the whole spreadsheet once more as Excel from the same menu. That copy stores every tab in one file for your archive.
  3. 3Rename the header row of each CSV to the Pike template column names, and put dates in `YYYY-MM-DD` with a period as the decimal separator before you upload.
  4. 4Upload customers, contacts, projects, members, then time entries, expenses and deals under Workspace settings → Integrations → CSV, using the Google Sheets column mapping.

Google’s help pages do not state which text encoding the CSV download uses. Open one file with accented client or people names in a text editor and confirm the names read correctly before you upload.

Available now

Google Sheets has no ledger, so your invoice history exists in the accounting system finance invoices from. Connect that system to Pike before you upload the first tab.

  1. 1Connect your accounting system under Workspace settings → Integrations and run Import data. Pike imports customers and invoice history from the ledger.
  2. 2Compare the customers Pike imported with your Clients tab, and reuse the ledger’s customer numbers in the `customerNumber` column so projects link to the right customer.
  3. 3Retire the Invoices log tab at cutover. From then on, finance sends invoices from Pike to the ledger.

Pike syncs with your accounting system every 3 hours after the first import, or in real time on the Enterprise plan.

Entity map

What each Google Sheets record becomes in Pike

Column one uses common tab names for a services spreadsheet. Your tab names will differ. Each row says which Pike columns that tab’s CSV must end up with.

Clients

Pike: Customers and contacts

Carries over: The columns you keep on this tab. The CSV must end up with a client name and a unique client number per row.

You set in Pike: Currency and VAT ID where the tab has no column for them.

Template columns: customerName, customerNumber, taxVatId, mainCurrency

Projects

Pike: Projects

Carries over: The columns you keep on this tab. The CSV must end up with a project number, title, client number and lead email per row.

You set in Pike: Team and project template.

Template columns: projectNumber, title, customerNumber, status, billingType, startDate, endDate, leadEmail

Team

Pike: Members

Carries over: The columns you keep on this tab. The CSV must end up with each person’s work email, the same email they sign in to Pike with.

You set in Pike: Workspace role and cost profile.

Template columns: email, displayName, team, position

Timesheet

Pike: Time entries

Carries over: The columns you keep on this tab. The CSV must end up with one row per entry: date, decimal hours, person email and project number.

You set in Pike: Nothing, once billable, approval and invoiced columns use the Pike values.

Template columns: date, hours, email, projectNumber, taskTitle, note, billableStatus, approvalStatus, invoiced

Rates

Pike: Project rate and cost profiles

Carries over: The columns you keep on this tab. Bill rates must end up as an hourly rate on each project row.

You set in Pike: Cost rates as member cost profiles. The CSV templates have no cost rate column.

Template columns: hourlyRate

Budgets

Pike: Project budget

Carries over: The columns you keep on this tab. Each budget must end up on its project row as money, hours or both.

You set in Pike: Retainer period and allowance for recurring budgets.

Template columns: projectNumber, budgetAmount, budgetHours

Invoices log

Pike: Invoice history from accounting

Carries over: Pike imports invoices from the accounting system finance sends them from, so this tab is not uploaded.

You set in Pike: Nothing. The CSV route does not import invoices.

Pipeline

Pike: Deals

Carries over: The columns you keep on this tab. The CSV must end up with a deal title, client number, stage, value and probability.

You set in Pike: Deal statuses that match your pipeline stages.

Template columns: title, customerNumber, status, value, probability, closeDate

Google Sheets entityPike entityWhat carries overWhat you set in PikeTemplate columns
ClientsCustomers and contactsThe columns you keep on this tab. The CSV must end up with a client name and a unique client number per row.Currency and VAT ID where the tab has no column for them.customerName, customerNumber, taxVatId, mainCurrency
ProjectsProjectsThe columns you keep on this tab. The CSV must end up with a project number, title, client number and lead email per row.Team and project template.projectNumber, title, customerNumber, status, billingType, startDate, endDate, leadEmail
TeamMembersThe columns you keep on this tab. The CSV must end up with each person’s work email, the same email they sign in to Pike with.Workspace role and cost profile.email, displayName, team, position
TimesheetTime entriesThe columns you keep on this tab. The CSV must end up with one row per entry: date, decimal hours, person email and project number.Nothing, once billable, approval and invoiced columns use the Pike values.date, hours, email, projectNumber, taskTitle, note, billableStatus, approvalStatus, invoiced
RatesProject rate and cost profilesThe columns you keep on this tab. Bill rates must end up as an hourly rate on each project row.Cost rates as member cost profiles. The CSV templates have no cost rate column.hourlyRate
BudgetsProject budgetThe columns you keep on this tab. Each budget must end up on its project row as money, hours or both.Retainer period and allowance for recurring budgets.projectNumber, budgetAmount, budgetHours
Invoices logInvoice history from accountingPike imports invoices from the accounting system finance sends them from, so this tab is not uploaded.Nothing. The CSV route does not import invoices.
PipelineDealsThe columns you keep on this tab. The CSV must end up with a deal title, client number, stage, value and probability.Deal statuses that match your pipeline stages.title, customerNumber, status, value, probability, closeDate

Copy bill rates from the Rates tab into `hourlyRate` on each project row. Where one project bills people at different rates, an admin sets task rates in Pike after the upload.

Move each budget from the Budgets tab onto its project row: money in `budgetAmount`, hours in `budgetHours`. Set `billingType` to `fixedFee`, `timeAndMaterials` or `nonBillable`.

Pike calculates profit from cost profiles, so an admin creates them from the cost rates in your sheet before the pilot.

The plan

Seven steps out of Google Sheets

The same steps as the main migration guide, with this tool's screens and settings.

  1. Week 1

    Migration owner, finance

    1

    1Week 1 · Migration owner, finance

    Freeze the sheet and download

    The CSV route copies a snapshot of each tab. Any edit in the spreadsheet after download day needs retyping in Pike.

    • Pick a cutover Friday after the month’s invoices go out, and tell everyone with edit access which day the sheet freezes.
    • On one day, download every tab as CSV from File → Download, plus one Excel copy of the whole spreadsheet.
    • Store the raw files unchanged in one dated folder with two owners.
    exports / rawdo not edit
    • customers.csvraw
    • projects.csvraw
    • tasks.csvraw
    • time-entries.csvraw
    • invoices.csvraw
    Cutover: Friday, week 5

    Done when: One CSV per tab and one Excel copy in a dated folder, and a cutover Friday on the calendar.

  2. Week 1

    Operations lead

    2

    2Week 1 · Operations lead

    Reshape tabs into templates

    Pike takes one row per record and no merged cells, so remove totals and notes from each tab before you download it.

    • Delete subtotal rows, blank rows and notes, and unmerge any merged cells.
    • Give every client a customer number and every project a project number, and use the same values on the Timesheet, Budgets and Pipeline tabs.
    • Convert durations to decimal hours, dates to `YYYY-MM-DD`, and amounts to a period decimal with no thousands separator.
    customers.csvbefore / after
    • Acme
    • ACME Ltd
    • Acme retainer

    Acme

    C-104 · T&M · 1,250/h

    Done when: Every timesheet row has a date, decimal hours, an email and a project number that exists on the projects file.

  3. Week 1 to 2

    Workspace admin

    3

    3Week 1 to 2 · Workspace admin

    Build the workspace shell

    Admins set up Pike before the first upload, so they can give imported projects a team and a rate on day one.

    • Create teams, roles, and deal statuses that match the stages on your Pipeline tab.
    • Create cost profiles from the cost rates in your sheet for everyone who logs billable time.
    • Connect accounting and run Import data for customers and invoice history.
    Workspace setup
    • Teams and roles
    • Templates and labels
    • Cost profiles12 of 12
    • Accounting connected
    • Invite everyoneweek 4

    Done when: Finance sees the ledger’s invoices in Pike. Every billable person has a cost profile.

  4. Week 2

    Workspace admin

    4

    4Week 2 · Workspace admin

    Upload in dependency order

    Customers, then projects, then members, then time, expenses and deals. Pike reports a row it cannot match with its line number.

    • Upload customers, contacts, projects and members, then the remaining files.
    • Fix each reported line in the CSV and upload the corrected rows again. Pike matches on customer number, project number or email and updates the existing record.
    • Spot check three projects against the sheet: budget, rate, last month’s hours.
    Import datain order
    • Customers48
    • Projects112
    • Members19
    • Tasks1,430
    • Time entries
    • Deals

    Done when: Client, project, person and last-month hour totals match the sheet.

  5. Week 2 to 3

    Delivery lead, finance

    5

    5Week 2 to 3 · Delivery lead, finance

    One team in Pike for a sprint

    CSV has no ongoing sync, so the pilot team moves fully to Pike while everyone else fills in the Timesheet tab.

    • The pilot team logs time in Pike only. Everyone else logs in the sheet until cutover.
    • Finance approves pilot time in Time admin and sends one invoice from Pike.
    • Compare the pilot project’s profit in Pike with the margin your sheet shows. A gap means a rate or cost profile needs a fix.

    Old tool

    Rest of team

    logs as before

    keep syncing

    Pike

    Pilot team

    approved, invoiced

    Done when: One invoice sent from Pike. Pilot time in Pike matches what the team logged.

  6. Week 3 to 4

    Migration owner

    6

    6Week 3 to 4 · Migration owner

    Cutover weekend

    Close the spreadsheet on Friday evening by setting everyone to view only.

    • Friday: download the Timesheet tab again, and upload the rows dated after your first download.
    • Click Share and change every person from Editor to Viewer. Viewers can open the file but cannot make changes, comment or share it. If the sheet is in a shared folder, change access on the folder, since Drive does not allow less access to a file than to its folder.
    • Under General access, set the link to Restricted, so only the people listed can open the sheet.

    Fri

    Approve. Sync. Read-only.

    Sat, Sun

    Rest.

    Mon

    All in Pike. Demo at 10:00.

    Done when: Time admin shows every active member by Monday afternoon. The sharing panel lists no editors except the owner.

  7. Week 4 to 6

    Finance

    7

    7Week 4 to 6 · Finance

    First month-end in Pike

    Done when finance closes a month without opening the spreadsheet.

    • Approve all time, invoice every billable project from Pike, and check each invoice appears in your accounting system.
    • Write the baseline against your last spreadsheet month: days to invoice, unbilled hours at close, margin by project.
    • Move the view-only sheet and the raw CSV folder into an archive folder with two owners.
    Baselinebefore / Pike
    Days to invoice
    Unbilled hours at close
    Margin by project

    Done when: Month closed in Pike. Sheet view only and archived with two owners.

Rebuild

Set these up in Pike by hand

  • Bill ratesSet rates on projects and tasks from the Rates tab where one project rate is not enough.Pike docs
  • Cost rates and overheadCreate cost profiles per member and set overhead costs from your finance tab.Pike docs
  • Pipeline stagesCreate deal statuses before you upload the Pipeline tab.Pike docs
  • RetainersSet up retainer projects with their period and allowance.Pike docs
  • Invoice layoutSet numbering, terms and layout in invoice settings.Pike docs

Questions

Moving from Google Sheets: common questions

Our spreadsheet has many tabs. Do we download it once?

No. Pike imports one entity per CSV file, so download each tab you need as its own CSV from File → Download. Download one Excel copy as well, which stores every tab for your archive.

Why do accented names look wrong after upload?

Pike expects UTF-8 so accents survive. Google’s help pages do not state the encoding of the CSV download, so open one file in a text editor and check names with accents before the full upload.

What format do dates and amounts need?

Pike takes dates as `YYYY-MM-DD` and amounts with a period as the decimal separator and no thousands separator. Reformat those columns in the sheet before you download, so every row matches.

Can people still see the sheet after cutover?

Yes, as Viewer. Viewers can open the file but cannot change, comment on or share it. If you also want to stop copies, untick download, copy and print for viewers under Share → Settings.

Can Pike import our invoices log?

Not through CSV. Connect the accounting system finance sends invoices from, and Pike imports invoice history from the ledger.

Support through the move and after it

Migration support comes with every plan: we map your exports, run the imports with you and check the counts before cutover. After go-live, hypercare until the first month-end closes in Pike. Then we hand over to your admins and stay close for as long as you use Pike. Email hello@usepike.com with your source tool and we will say which route fits.

  • Switch playbook
  • Migration guide for every tool

Google Sheets documentation used for this guide

  • Google Sheets: Create, view, or download a file
  • Google Sheets: Use both Excel & Sheets, best practices
  • Google Sheets: Collaborate in Sheets
  • Google Drive: Share and manage access to files and folders

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