Yes, Smartsheet can pull data from Excel—but only if Excel is already in the cloud, and only if you’re using the right connector at the right time. If you’ve tried dragging an XLSX file into Smartsheet and expected live updates, you just wasted 17 minutes.
Quick Answer
Smartsheet doesn’t natively pull live data from local Excel files (.xlsx on your desktop). It can import or sync from Excel files stored in OneDrive or SharePoint Online—but only via the Smartsheet for Office 365 app or the Excel Add-in. No local file path, no auto-refresh.
All the Methods
| Method | Steps | Best For | Limitations |
|---|---|---|---|
| OneDrive/SharePoint Import | Upload Excel to OneDrive → In Smartsheet, Create → Import → Select file | One-time snapshots (e.g., quarterly budget upload) | No auto-refresh. Manual re-import required. |
| Smartsheet for Office 365 (Live Sync) | Install add-in → Open Excel → Smartsheet tab → 'Sync to Smartsheet' → Choose sheet & range | Teams updating both Excel and Smartsheet in parallel (e.g., sales pipeline tracking) | Requires Office 365 E3/E5 license. Only works with Excel Online or desktop Excel v16.0+. |
| Excel Add-in + Webhook (Advanced) | Use Excel VBA + Smartsheet API to POST changes to Smartsheet rows | IT-managed workflows where Excel stays the source of truth | Needs admin API access. Not supported by Smartsheet support staff. |
| Power Automate Flow | Trigger on Excel file update → Parse table → Upsert rows in Smartsheet via API connector | Scheduled syncs (e.g., daily HR roster updates) | Requires Power Automate license. Latency up to 5 mins unless using premium trigger. |
Method 1 Deep Dive
The most common path—and the one that trips up 8 out of 10 people—is the OneDrive import. Let’s walk through it with real data.
You’re Sarah Chen, Finance Lead at Acme Corp. Your team sends a weekly spend report every Monday at 9 a.m. It lives in OneDrive > Finance > Q2 Reports > Weekly_Spend_2024-06-10.xlsx. You want it in Smartsheet for stakeholder dashboards.
Open Smartsheet. Click Create → Import. Under Cloud Storage, choose OneDrive. Sign in if prompted. Navigate to that folder. Click the file. In the preview pane, Smartsheet detects columns: A1:Vendor, B1:Amount, C1:Date, D1:Department.
Here’s the counterintuitive part: Smartsheet will not auto-detect your header row unless A1 says something like “Vendor” — not “Vendor Name” or “Vendor ID”. If your first row is blank or contains merged cells, it’ll treat row 2 as headers. So double-check before importing.
Click Import. Done. You now have a static sheet named Weekly_Spend_2024-06-10 with 7 rows:
| Vendor | Amount | Date | Department |
|---|---|---|---|
| CloudCore Inc. | $12,450.00 | 2024-06-07 | IT |
| Nexus Logistics | $8,920.50 | 2024-06-07 | Operations |
| Veridian Labs | $3,200.00 | 2024-06-06 | R&D |
| TerraSys Solutions | $15,675.25 | 2024-06-05 | Sales |
| Orion Media Group | $4,110.80 | 2024-06-05 | Marketing |
| StrataPay Systems | $6,842.00 | 2024-06-04 | Finance |
| Axiom Design Co. | $2,750.00 | 2024-06-03 | Product |
That’s it. But remember: this sheet won’t update when the OneDrive file changes. To refresh, go to Sheet Settings → Import History → Reimport. Or better—use Method 2.
Method 2 Deep Dive
This is the only method that gives you true two-way sync. And yes—it works even if your team uses Excel desktop (not just Online).
First: install the Smartsheet for Office 365 add-in from AppSource. Then open your Excel file — say, C:\Projects\Q2_Forecast.xlsx, where forecast data lives in Sheet1!A1:E25.
Go to the Smartsheet tab in Excel ribbon. Click Sync to Smartsheet. A sidebar opens. Click Connect Account if needed. Then:
- Select your workspace (e.g., “Acme Corp – Finance”)
- Name the new sheet (“Q2 Forecast Live”)
- Under Range to Sync, confirm it shows
Sheet1!A1:E25 - Check Include headers — crucial if your A1:E1 has “Product”, “Region”, “Q2 Forecast”, “Actual YTD”, “Variance”
- Click Sync
Now here’s the magic: any edit in Excel (say, changing cell D12 from $42,100 to $43,850) auto-syncs to Smartsheet in ~15 seconds. Same in reverse — change a value in Smartsheet, and Excel updates. No manual refresh. No add-in restart.
Keyboard shortcut alert: While in Excel, press Alt + S, then S again to reopen the Smartsheet sync panel fast. That’s saved me three meetings’ worth of waiting.
But — and this matters — if your Excel file isn’t saved to OneDrive or SharePoint, the sync breaks immediately. Smartsheet needs the cloud location to establish the webhook. So save Q2_Forecast.xlsx to OneDrive first, *then* sync. Don’t skip that step.
Cheat Sheet
| Action | Where | Shortcut / Path | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Import Excel from OneDrive | Smartsheet web UI | Create → Import → OneDrive → select file | No auto-refresh. Reimport manually. |
| Open Smartsheet Sync panel | Excel desktop or Online | Alt + S, then S | Only works after add-in is installed and connected. |
| Reimport latest Excel version | Smartsheet sheet view | Sheet Settings → Import History → Reimport | Only available for imported (not synced) sheets. |
| Verify sync status | Excel ribbon | Smartsheet tab → Status indicator (green = active) | If gray, check file location — must be in OneDrive/SharePoint. |
