Today, in our Flow of the Month update, we will brought back the earliest prominent sales function in Power Automate. It’s the early days connector between Power Automate and Google Sheets. Tools that every sales people use to sheet their work, well, also every body else.
Whether it is to recording inventory, keeping track of sales orders or checking in real time location, Google Sheets has it all. However, as we are living in bustling world, time is more demanding than ever. People need to move swiftly and more efficiently in running between activities. Buttons are the most seek getaway vehicle for the majority.
Also, it reflects in work behavior. Buttons are an integral part of people life. In this article, we will highlight a useful capability Flow Mobile Buttons. The button collects valuable information such as your location, your user details, and the current time. This info can now be leveraged within your flow.
This data can be useful in various cases. One use case which is often raised by some Flow users, is their need to keep track of their work hours, and work locations, so that they can review the info or sum it up at the end of the month. For example, consultants who advise several companies, or project contractors.
Here are templates that you can use for this flow:
Getting started with Power Automate Work Hours Button
On the template page, if this is the first time that you are using a Google Sheet, you will be asked to Sign in.
As you connect, you should see a green checkmark next to the connection. This indicates that the connection has been successfully tested. Then, once you have connected, select Continue.
Filling out the flow settings
In order to use this flow, you will need to create a Google sheet with the following columns: Date, Timestamp, Full address.
Now that you have connected to your services, and created your Google sheet, you only need to configure one action in the flow:
In the Insert row card, select your Google Sheet file using the highlighted file picker.
Then, in the Worksheet field just select your respective sheet name, i.e. “Sheet1” In the below example.
Once choosing your sheet names, the sheet columns will be mapped to your button trigger inputs, as pre-defined in this template.
If you choose, you can also customise other aspects of the flow, such as the text of the push notification which you receive upon run completion.
Please note that this flow can also be created directly from your Microsoft Flow Mobile application for Android or iOS.
Running Flow Track Work Hours with Power Automate
Finally, running the flow is easy. In your Flow mobile app, select the Buttons tab at the bottom of the screen, and then tap the flow you just created.
Using your button trigger info, tapping the button will log your current location and time to your table. Finally, you will get a push notification at the end of the run, indicating that your Sheet was updated successfully.
Please note that when Flow accesses your location info for the first time, it will ask for your consent.
That’s it, you’re all set to use this button now. You can now simply tap the button once when starting your workday, and once again at the end of your workday.