Google Sheets template requirements

Last updated: October 21, 2026

This article lists the required columns, optional columns, named range and formatting rules for each Polar Google Sheets template. To connect a sheet, see Google Sheets.

Adding data for Amazon or another non-Shopify store? The Marketing Spend and Expenses templates only support Shopify stores. Use a Custom Report sheet and a custom metric instead. See Amazon and other non-Shopify stores at the end of this article.

Rules for every template

Rule

Details

Keep the structure

Don't rename sheets or remove columns (except unused dimension columns in the Custom Report template). Delete the example rows before connecting.

Dates

The same rule applies to every template. Use real Google Sheets date cells (any display format works), or type dates as text in YYYY-MM-DD format (for example, 2026-09-01). Avoid typing dates as text with slashes, such as 09/01/2026, since they can be read as day/month or month/day and are flagged as ambiguous. Add data daily rather than aggregating by month or year.

Numbers (metrics)

Use a period as the decimal separator (for example, 10.2). Don't use commas, even as thousands separators. If a metric cell is unused, enter 0.00 instead of leaving it blank.

Text (dimensions)

Leave unused dimension cells empty. Don't leave stray spaces in cells.

Currencies

Use ISO 4217 codes (for example, USD, EUR, GBP).

Metric names

Each metric column name must be unique across all your connected sheets. If two sheets use the same metric name, only one is imported. Dimension names don't have this restriction.

Named ranges

Every template includes a named range that tells Polar which cells to import. To find it, open Data › Named ranges in your sheet and copy the name (by default, polar_test_range). You can rename it, but keep the cell range listed for your template below.

Marketing Spend

Use this for marketing spend from channels Polar doesn't connect to directly, such as influencers, offline media or affiliates. Spend imported this way is added to blended marketing metrics like Total Marketing Spend.

Shopify store format: every row's store must be in yourstore.myshopify.com format. Any other value shows "Invalid store format" and the sheet won't sync. Spend for Amazon or other non-Shopify stores won't import through this template. See Amazon and other non-Shopify stores below.

Required columns

date, currency, store, channel

Optional columns

campaign, device. Leave empty if unused.

Metric columns

spend, conversions, conversion_value, impressions, clicks. Enter 0.00 for any metric you're not tracking.

Named range

spend_report!A:K

Keep all 11 columns: every column in the template must stay in the sheet, even if you leave some empty. Removing a column or adding an extra one blocks the sync.

Currency conversion: each row is converted to your account currency using that day's exchange rate. Double-check the currency code, since an unrecognized code (for example, CDN instead of CAD) is treated as USD.

Tip: to track influencer spend, put each influencer's name in the campaign column.

Expenses

Use this for operational expenses you want included in your profit metrics. You can choose whether these expenses are deducted from Total Sales in Data Settings.

Shopify stores only: the store column must be a Shopify store. Expenses for Amazon or other non-Shopify stores won't import through this template. See Amazon and other non-Shopify stores below.

Required columns

date, currency, store, expenses_type

Optional columns

sales_channel, shipping_country, billing_country. Leave empty if unused.

Metric columns

Format all amount columns as numbers.

Named range

expenses_report!A:H

Cost of Goods

Use this to import product costs by SKU. For other ways to manage product costs, see How to View and Manage Your Cost of Products (COGs) in Polar.

Required columns

start_date, end_date, currency, platform_identifier (your Shopify URL or Amazon Merchant ID), shipping_country, SKU, cost_type

Cost types

One of: cogs, ops_cogs, fulfillment, opex

Formatting

Columns A–B as dates (see Dates above), columns C–G as plain text, column H (cost) as a number.

Named range

cost_of_products_report!A:H

Date ranges: leave start_date empty to apply a cost to all past dates, and leave end_date empty to apply it to all future dates.

Exchange Rates

Use this to override Polar's exchange rates for specific days and currencies. Polar fills in all other historical rates automatically, so only add the day and currency pairs you want to customize.

Required columns

date, currency, value

Formatting

date as a date (see Dates above), currency as an ISO 4217 code, value as a number.

Named range

exchange_report!A:C

Which currency goes where: put the target currency in the currency column. For example, for a USD → GBP rate, enter GBP.

Adding past rates: if you add rates for past dates, reach out through the in-app chat so we can run a full data refresh.

Custom Report

Use this for any other data, such as supplier sales, subscription data from tools Polar doesn't support, custom targets, or spend and expenses for Amazon and other non-Shopify stores. Unlike the other templates, you define the columns.

Date column

Required. Every row needs a date (see Dates above).

Dimension columns

Plain text. To match Polar's existing dimensions, use the same names with underscores instead of spaces (for example, Order_Id or Campaign_Id). You can delete dimension columns you don't need.

Metric columns

Numbers, with 0.00 in empty cells. Enter monetary values in USD. See the note below.

Named range

Make sure it covers all your data (for example, from A1 to your last filled cell).

Currency note: Polar treats monetary values in Custom Report sheets as USD and converts them to your account currency, even if your sheet has a currency column. If your values are in another currency, convert them to USD first, or use one of the standard templates above, which handle currency conversion automatically.

Charting sheet metrics against store data: metrics from a Custom Report sheet are formatted as plain numbers, not currency. If you chart them alongside currency metrics like Net Sales (for example, a budget or forecast), they'll appear on a separate Y-axis. To put them on the same axis, create a custom metric for the sheet column and set its format to Currency.

Amazon and other non-Shopify stores

The Marketing Spend and Expenses templates only support Shopify stores. To bring in spend or expenses for Amazon (or another non-Shopify store), add them to a Custom Report sheet, then use a custom metric to include them in your calculations.

  1. Set up a Custom Report sheet. Make a copy of the Custom Report template. Keep the date column, add any dimension columns you need (for example, expense_type), and add a metric column with a unique name, such as amazon_expenses or amazon_marketing_spend. Enter amounts in USD.

  2. Connect the sheet and select Custom Report as the report type.

  3. Create a custom metric. Combine your sheet metric with your Amazon metrics. For example, subtract amazon_expenses from your Amazon sales to see Amazon profit after expenses. See Understanding Custom Metrics.

Why the custom metric? Values from a Custom Report sheet aren't automatically added to blended metrics like Total Marketing Spend or deducted from Total Sales, so a custom metric is how you factor them into your numbers.

Having trouble? See Troubleshooting Google Sheets.