Top Tips – SmarterBusinessProcesses

Airtable for FREE

mike_admin — Tue, 02 Dec 2025 09:58:31 +0000

Welcome to Top Tip Tuesday and today we’re focusing on the wonders of Airtable.

In fact, the tip is simple and it’s to check out Airtable’s free membership tier.

If you ever feel like you’re sellotaping tools together to manage your content planning (or any other project for that matter), or you’re bouncing back and forth between project management platforms and spreadsheets to track things, it’s worth a look as it can achieve more than you might expect.

Because Airtable is a relational database wrapped in a user-friendly interface, it offers amazing functionality. You have the structure of a database, the flexibility of a spreadsheet, and the views of a project management tool… all in one.

Try using this to manage a project such as content planning.
– Track blog posts, social content, and video workflows in one place
– Link ideas to platforms and topics
– View everything in Calendar, Kanban, Grid or Gallery mode

If you’re managing content across platforms or juggling project details between tools, this solution will definitely save you time.

Don’t forget, you can always contact us and ask us about Airtable.

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Conditional Counting

mike_admin — Tue, 25 Nov 2025 09:50:11 +0000

How many tasks has your team completed this week? How many belong to a specific department or client?

Instead of filtering data manually, let Smartsheet do the counting for you with COUNTIFS formulas that count only the rows meeting multiple conditions.

Try this:
=COUNTIFS([Status]:[Status], “Complete”, [Department]: [Department], “Marketing”)
This counts the number of rows where the Status column is “Complete” and the Department column says “Marketing.”

How can you use this?

It’s ideal for tracking KPIs and progress by department, team, or timeframe.

Keeps dashboards accurate and up to date in real time.

Helps you make quick, data-driven decisions without manual updates.

COUNTIFS is one of the most powerful tools in Smartsheet’s formula library and once you start using it, you’ll find endless ways to apply it.

Whether you’re tracking projects, analysing workloads, or managing performance metrics, this one formula can replace hours of manual reporting.

If you’re not sure how to start building COUNTIFS into your sheets, get in touch. We can help set up automated dashboards that do the hard work for you.

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Linking to Local Folders

mike_admin — Wed, 19 Nov 2025 08:52:39 +0000

If you’ve ever clicked a cell in Smartsheet expecting it to open a folder on your network drive, only to see the dreaded “Invalid URL” error, you’re not alone. So, can Smartsheet link directly to a folder or file on your local network drive, or does everything now need to be cloud based?

The short answer is – not quite.

Smartsheet currently requires URLs that conform to web formats, so when you try \\Server\Folder\MyFile.xlsx, it flags it as invalid. This limitation is by design and the platform encourages linking to cloud-accessible URLs (like SharePoint, Google Drive, Dropbox) instead.

How can you get around this?

Enter the local folder path as plain text in a cell column labelled ‘File Location’. Users can then copy-and-paste this path into File Explorer.

Upload key files to a cloud folder, generate a share link and paste that into Smartsheet so it becomes clickable.

Taking this approach ensures everyone has quick access to documentation or assets, regardless of where they start and reduces the frustration of broken links in dashboards or approval workflows. It keeps your Smartsheet sheets and dashboards smoother, without invalid link errors breaking the experience.

If you need help making this workflow rock-solid for your team, we can help!

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Introducing Smarter Sheet Manager

mike_admin — Tue, 11 Nov 2025 11:39:59 +0000

If you’ve ever needed to update the same formula or column property across multiple Smartsheets, you’ll know how time-consuming it can be.

That’s why this week’s top tip is all about managing global updates efficiently and how the newly enhanced Smarter Sheet Manager makes that easier than ever.

Until recently, our Column Manager was the go-to tool for keeping columns consistent across sheets. It handled everything from renaming columns to updating properties. But we’ve taken things a big step further and evolved our app. In fact, it’s so much better, we’ve given it a new name.

Introducing Smarter Sheet Manager.

This upgraded app gives you:
Global updates across multiple sheets in seconds with no more manual edits.
The ability to manage column formulas and sheet summary fields, ensuring data stays accurate everywhere.
A clear, centralised dashboard so you can see what’s been changed and where.

So, to today’s tip!
If you’re running a suite of similar sheets (for example, project trackers or regional reports), keeping your structure uniform is key. It means cleaner reporting, fewer formula errors, and much simpler automation. Smarter Sheet Manager takes care of that consistency for you.

You can find out what’s new and how it could save you serious admin time here

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Managing Users and Groups

mike_admin — Tue, 04 Nov 2025 10:11:59 +0000

You can copy or clone a group of users by using the following steps:

1. Go to the Manage Groups section in Smartsheet. Open the group you want to duplicate.
2. Select “View Group,” then highlight all the group members (names and email addresses). Copy them (e.g. Ctrl+C).
3. Paste that into a text editor. (Heads up: this raw list isn’t ready to go back into Smartsheet yet.)
4. Use a tool (even an AI-powered one if you have it) to extract just the email addresses and clean up the list.
5. Back in Smartsheet, open the group you want to populate. Use the “Add Members” option, then paste in those cleaned email addresses. Save.

If your group has more than 1000 members, you’ll need to repeat the copy-paste in batches.

Doing this saves so much time and manual retyping when you’ve got large user groups. It also helps maintain consistency of names and permissions and, without a ‘duplicate group’ button, it’s the best way to tackle this task.

If you want help setting this up, or making similar Smartsheet admin tasks more efficient, drop us a message and we’ll be happy to show you how.

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Formulas For Success

mike_admin — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 09:36:27 +0000

Today, we’re focusing on using formulas to make Smartsheet work even harder for us.

Do you ever wish Smartsheet could read between the lines of your data? With a simple combination of formulas, it can.

Let’s say you have a column for comments or task notes. You might want to automatically flag anything that mentions the word “urgent” so your team can respond quickly.

Here’s how:
=IF(HAS([Comments]@row, “urgent”), “High Priority”, “Normal”)

This formula looks inside the Comments column. If it finds the word “urgent”, it automatically labels that row as High Priority with no manual checking required.

It’s useful to:

Keep your team focused on what matters most.

Removes the risk of overlooking important updates.

Works perfectly alongside conditional formatting (e.g., colour-code “High Priority” rows in red).

This small but mighty formula is a great example of how Smartsheet can help automate your everyday tasks and reduce human error which saves time and keeps your workflow smooth.

If you’d like to explore other ways to make your sheets smarter, our team can help build custom automations that work just like this, but across entire processes.

To find out more about formulas, contact debbie.sawyer@smarterbusinessprocesses.com to discuss creating a bespoke workshop.

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It’s Good Sharing

mike_admin — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 09:06:17 +0000

Today we’re sharing a bit of a “heads up” when sharing sheets in Smartsheet: pay vigilant attention to the title in the share dialogue box.

Ways to share if the sheet is open.
* Clicking on Share from the File menu will open the Sheet Share dialogue box
* Clicking the Share button in the top right corner, allows you to choose Share Workspace or Share Sheet, it’s fairly clear.

If the sheet is NOT open
Clicking on a workspace or folder in the browse bar will display the contents of that workspace/folder in the right hand pane. From here:
* Right clicking a sheet name and selecting Share will open the Sheet Sharing dialogue box
* Selecting the sheet (by ticking the box next to it) and using the Actions Menu and selecting Share will open the Sheet Share dialogue box but…if you click the Share Button in the top right corner will open the Share Workspace Dialogue box even though you had just a single sheet selected.

Sharing to a workspace means that users will have access to everything in that workspace and not just the item you clicked on.

It’s easy to make a mistake with this and the implications could be far-reaching.

So the top tip is: before filling out the user details and permission details, just check the title of the dialogue box – does it say Share Sheet or Share Workspace?

We cover tips like this and many many more on our training workshops. Feel free to contact us to find out more.

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Formula Handbook

mike_admin — Tue, 14 Oct 2025 09:34:28 +0000

If you’re a regular Smartsheet user, you’ve probably found yourself writing or tweaking a formula or two. From basic calculations to more advanced functions, formulas are where the real power of Smartsheet starts to shine.

But did you know that Smartsheet has an official Formula Handbook available on their website? It’s a comprehensive, easy-to-use reference that covers everything from simple operators to advanced logical functions, complete with examples.

Whether you’re just getting started or you’re already comfortable building complex formulas, this resource can save you time and frustration. It’s also a great way to discover new functions you might not have used yet and to learn how different formulas can work together to automate calculations or streamline workflows.

At Smarter Business Processes, we spend a lot of time helping clients set up and refine formulas to make their Smartsheet solutions smarter, faster, and more accurate so we know how useful this resource could be.

You can find it and download it HERE

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Optimise Email Alerts

mike_admin — Tue, 07 Oct 2025 16:46:15 +0000

If you use Smartsheet automations, you’ll know how powerful they are for keeping work moving. But sometimes the notifications you expect don’t quite behave the way you want.

For example, you might only get one email when multiple approvals are checked on a sheet or form.

If this happens, it’s because Smartsheet is trying to keep your inbox tidy by grouping alerts together but what ends up happening, if you’ve not set up any dynamic fields (such as name or project) in your email subject line or body, is you can’t see the detail you need.

So you need to include a dynamic field so that Smartsheet treats each alert as unique and sends them as separate emails. It’ll work for up to six at a time. Beyond that, Smartsheet will group them again, but only where the values are shared.

It’s a small tweak that makes a big difference to how your alerts land in your inbox and it gives you more control over how information is delivered.

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Product Roadmaps

mike_admin — Tue, 30 Sep 2025 08:19:19 +0000

Product roadmaps are the heartbeat of your development process but if your plans are scattered across slides, spreadsheets, and different systems, keeping everyone aligned can be a challenge.

Airtable’s Product Roadmap Template brings everything together in one dynamic, AI-powered workspace so you can:

Visualise strategy with grid, kanban, timeline, or calendar views for sprint planning, release tracking, and stakeholder alignment.

Connect the dots and see the bigger picture between product vision, business goals, and long-term strategy with fields for features, goals, status, and release dates.

Clarify ownership by defining team roles and responsibilities, so everyone knows who’s doing what — and when.

Leverage built-in AI to summarise updates, surface key insights, and drive cross-functional buy-in.

Integrate seamlessly with tools like Jira, Salesforce, and Snowflake to keep strategic initiatives in sync with engineering execution.

Centralise existing plans by importing Excel or PowerPoint data, avoiding duplication and keeping historical context.

Track progress in real time with dashboards that highlight blockers and successes at a glance.

The result is faster launches, tighter alignment, and products your customers will love.

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Looking Good

mike_admin — Tue, 23 Sep 2025 08:04:59 +0000

This week we’re getting our creative on!

Smartsheet Forms are often the very first touchpoint for users, and whether you’re collecting feedback, logging requests, or gathering project data, the way your form looks and feels can make a big difference.

Smartsheet has recently introduced new enhancements that make forms more polished, more user-friendly, and easier to align with your brand. Here’s what’s new:

Custom colours and themes – adjust background and text colours so your form feels like part of your brand, not a bolt-on.
Improved layout options – create cleaner designs that make forms easier to navigate, with better spacing and flow.
Enhanced header images – add a professional touch at the top of your forms with custom graphics or logos.
Streamlined usability – forms now look more modern and are easier for respondents to complete, especially on mobile.

These changes mean your forms don’t just collect information, they represent your organisation professionally and clearly. They’re more engaging for respondents and easier to digest, which often translates to higher completion rates and more accurate data.

It’s worth revisiting your existing forms to make sure you’re making the most of these upgrades. A few quick tweaks to layout and styling could significantly improve the user experience.

If this top tip has been of interest, please check out our latest blog, which goes into even more detail on how you can work with Smartsheet forms

Have you tried the new features yet? What branding changes will you be making to your forms?

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Timeline View widget

mike_admin — Tue, 16 Sep 2025 08:37:12 +0000

It’s Top Tip Tuesday and this week, we’re looking at how to bring clarity to your project dashboards with the Timeline View widget.

If you’re working across multiple projects, marketing campaigns, or long-term initiatives, seeing everything in one place can be a game-changer.

The Timeline View widget is a dashboard superpower that gives you a clean, horizontal view of your project’s phases, milestones, and current status.

You can use it to pull directly from any sheet that has at least one date column and place it front and centre on your dashboard. It sits alongside your charts, KPIs, and summary widgets, offering stakeholders a quick, visual snapshot of progress at a glance

Timing is everything, and this widget lets you:

Visualise deadlines and milestones in a single glance

Track project stages alongside key metrics

Highlight phases needing attention without opening multiple sheets

It’s genuinely useful for keeping your finger on the pulse.
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Why it works: the timeline brings your roadmap into the same view as your operational data. No more navigating tabs or scrolling through Gantt charts, just clear, concise visibility when you need it most.

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Enhanced Smartsheet Charts

mike_admin — Tue, 09 Sep 2025 08:26:35 +0000

It’s time to give your charts a glow-up!

Let’s face it, sometimes charts feel cluttered, cramped, or hard to read. When you need your dashboard to be accessible for lots of users, clarity is everything.

Smartsheet’s latest enhancements to chart styling and readability achieve this. Here’s what’s improved:

Better spacing and layout for cleaner visuals

Improved text overflow handling, so labels don’t get cut off or cramped

Refined display of negative values, making trends clearer at a glance

Custom series label sizing, giving you control over readability

Now is a good time to go and tweak a few things, perhaps resize a chart or move a legend around, to make the most of these upgrades. But the result is a dashboard that looks sleek and is much easier to understand.

The whole point of Smartsheet is to make data easier to view and interpret and this definitely helps with that mission. What have you noticed about the enhancements? Are you a fan?

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Marketing Campaign Workflow

mike_admin — Tue, 02 Sep 2025 09:02:15 +0000

It’s time for Top Tip Tuesday again and this week we’re focused on the sheer level of activity that happens when you’re running a complicated marketing campaign.

Between planning, content creation, ad spend, click tracking, conversions, and ROI reporting, it’s easy for information to get scattered across spreadsheets, emails, and multiple platforms.

When that happens, the team wastes time chasing updates, cross-checking numbers, and wondering which version is the latest.

Here’s the fix: With Airtable, you can create a custom marketing campaign workflow that brings everything into one place.

Using Airtable’s Marketing Campaign Tracking template, you can:

Track campaign spending, conversions, and ROI

Manage timelines and deadlines

Keep every asset, brief, and update in one view

Import live data from the platforms you already use (Google Analytics, SEO tools, CRMs, Google Ads, etc.)

There’s no need to change the tools you love, just connect them to Airtable and centralise your data to give you a single, reliable source of truth that everyone can access.

Whether you’re running a digital ad campaign, an email nurture sequence, or a multi-channel launch, Airtable helps you manage every stage from planning through execution.

Then, with all your campaign data in one place, you can focus on what matters most: delivering results.

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Summer Pause

mike_admin — Tue, 29 Jul 2025 08:16:04 +0000

Top Tip Tuesday is pressing pause for August but don’t worry, we’ll be back in September with more time-saving tips, smarter workflows, and helpful nuggets of wisdom.

In the meantime, we’re wishing you a sunny, restful, and well-earned summer break (with as little screen time as possible!).

See you in September!

[Image generated by AI]

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