Before loading your data into Google Docs, you will have to prep it first. If you don't already have a data structure in which to store the data you retrieve, you'll have to create a schema for your data tables. Then, for each value in the response, you'll need to identify a predefined datatype (INTEGER, DATETIME, etc.) and build a table that can receive them.

Salesforce documentation should tell you what fields are provided by each endpoint, along with their corresponding datatypes. Complicating things is the fact that the records retrieved from the source may not always be "flat" – some of the objects may actually be lists.

In these cases you'll likely have to create additional tables to capture the unpredictable cardinality in each record.

Note that Salesforce provides several APIs for its different products that can easily deliver data on leads, accounts, tasks, and more. Users can easily find a list of useful APIs on one of Salesforce's helpdesk posts with directions on how and when to use each API. And by going through that post, you will get a good idea of which API will make the most sense for your specific use case. We will use the company’s REST API with Salesforce Object Query Language (SOQL), but keep in mind that the same data is also available using some other protocols.

Google Sheets is an online spreadsheet that you can use to share data, but what in case your data currently is on another app or in a different file format, such as TXT or CSV? Don’t worry as we have you covered. Here's how you can import your data into Google Sheets. If there is a file on your system that you would like to add to a new spreadsheet in Google Sheets, you could do it easily.

Keep in mind that Google Sheets can import many different file types, such as:

• Microsoft Excel (.xls,  .xlxm, xlsx, .xltx, .xltm)
• Text files (.txt)
• MapInfo (.tab)

On your computer or tablet, open a spreadsheet in Google Sheets. Create or open a sheet. Go to the File tab at the top and click Import.

You can choose a file (non-password protected) in one of the following file types:

• .xls  
• Xlsm
• xlsx
• .xlt

Now choose an import option out of six available options. Keep in mind that not all types of files have all the options.

1. Create a new spreadsheet: This option allows you to create a spreadsheet from your imported data contained in your new browser tab.
2. Insert a new sheet:  This option allows you to add new sheets along with the imported data to the existing spreadsheet.
3. Replace the current sheet: This option allows you to replace the content of the current sheet with the imported data.
4. Replace a spreadsheet: This option allows you to replace the open spreadsheet with all the data in the imported file.
5. Append rows to a current sheet: This option allows you to add the imported data to your current sheet after the last row using any data.
6. Replace data starting at a selected cell:  This option allows you to replace the data contained in a range of selected cells with your imported data.

An optional technique: In case you import a plain text file, such as .txt or .csv, under "Separator character," you have the option to pick what symbol or letter Google Sheets uses for separating cells.

Detect automatically: This option will automatically find some ways to split your data set.

Custom:  You can choose a custom character in order to split your  data.

Now click Import

If you've made it this far, congrats! You probably have a written a program or script to extract your data and move it into Google Docs. Now it's time to think about how you will keep this data up-to-date by loading updated or new data. Of course, you can just replicate all your data every time you have updated your records, but that would be extremely manual and time-consuming.

Luckily there is a better way. The key is building your script so that it can sense incremental updates made to the data.

Thankfully, Salesforce’s API results include fields so that you can identify those records which are new since the last update you made (or since the most recent record you have copied). Once you have taken new data into consideration, you can easily set your script either as a continuous loop or cron job to pull down new data as soon as it appears.

And keep in mind that, as with most codes, once you write it, you will need to maintain it. In case Salesforce changes its API, or if the API sends a field containing a data type that your code does not recognize, you might have to change the script.

If all this sounds a bit overwhelming, don't worry -- there is an easier way to get this done!

Thankfully, products like Improvado were developed to move data from Salesforce to Google Docs automatically. Using Improvado, you can easily combine the most crucial and relevant data from your ad campaign into a dashboard. You can then connect this data to Google Docs.