How to Export Analytics Data to Spreadsheets

Dragging data out of your analytics platforms and into a spreadsheet is a weekly ritual for almost every marketer and business owner. It's the standard way to combine numbers from different tools, build custom reports, and get a deeper look at your performance. This article will walk you through the practical steps of exporting data from key platforms like Google Analytics 4 and explain the best practices for managing it - and when it's time to find a better way.

Why We Export Data to Spreadsheets in the First Place

Your analytics tools - Google Analytics, Shopify, Facebook Ads Manager, your CRM - are great at reporting on what happens inside their own walls. But the moment you need to see the bigger picture, you reach a limit. That's when spreadsheets like Excel or Google Sheets become essential.

Here are the most common reasons why we still rely on the trusty "Export to CSV" button:

Combining Data from Multiple Sources: You ran a campaign on Facebook Ads, which sent traffic to your blog, which was tracked by Google Analytics, and hopefully resulted in a sale on Shopify. None of these platforms can tell the whole story on their own. Exporting data allows you to merge these different datasets in a spreadsheet to connect the dots and calculate a true return on investment (ROI).
Creating Custom Calculations: Platforms often have predefined metrics. But what if you need to calculate a custom metric, like Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) to Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) ratio, or a unique lead scoring model? Spreadsheets give you the freedom to build any formula or model you need from your raw data.
Deeper, Ad-Hoc Analysis: Sometimes you just need to get your hands dirty with the raw data. Spreadsheets let you sort, filter, and pivot your data in complex ways to uncover trends or answer very specific questions that a pre-built dashboard can't address. It’s your digital workbench for detailed investigation.
Static Reporting for Stakeholders: Your boss, client, or investor might not need access to a live dashboard, they just want a straightforward report in a familiar format (like an Excel file or PDF) that summarizes weekly performance. Exporting data is the first step in creating these custom, static reports.

How to Export Data from Google Analytics 4

Google Analytics is the bedrock of most analytics workflows, so knowing how to pull its data is a critical skill. While GA4's interface is different from its predecessor (Universal Analytics), the export process is still fairly straightforward.

Step-by-Step Guide for GA4 Exports:

Navigate to the Report You Need: Log in to your GA4 property and go to the Reports section. This could be an "Acquisition" report, an "Engagement" report, or a custom one you've built in the "Explore" section.
Adjust Your Data: Before you export, make sure the report is showing exactly what you need. Use the date range selector to pick the correct timeframe. Apply any filters or comparisons necessary to segment your data (e.g., filtering for only "Mobile traffic" or comparing "Organic Search" vs. "Paid Search").
Increase "Rows per page": By default, most GA4 reports show only 10 rows. At the bottom-right of the table, find the "Rows per page" dropdown and select the highest number available (like 5000) to ensure you export as much data as possible in one file.
Locate the "Share & Export" Button: In the upper-right corner of the report, you'll see a share icon (a box with an arrow pointing out). Click this.
Choose Your Format: A dropdown menu will appear with the option to "Download File" or "Share link." Click "Download File," and you'll typically be presented with two choices:
- Download CSV: This is the most common format. A CSV (Comma Separated Values) file can be opened by virtually any spreadsheet program, including Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets.
- Download PDF: This is useful if you just want a static, visual snapshot of the report to share - not the raw data.

Pro Tip: For more complex or unsampled data, the "Explore" reports are your best friend. Build a custom report there, and the export options will be similar, but also include the ability to export directly to Google Sheets for G Suite users.

Exporting Data from Other Common Platforms

Most SaaS platforms follow a similar pattern for exporting data. Once you know where to look, the process feels familiar across various tools.

Shopify

To export data like orders, products, or customers from Shopify:

Navigate to the relevant section (e.g., Orders, Products > All products, or Customers).
Use the search and filter options to narrow down the data you want to export.
Click the Export button, usually located in the top-right corner.
A dialog box will appear, letting you choose what to export (e.g., "Current page" or "All orders") and the format (usually CSV).
Click "Export orders," and Shopify will email you a link to download the file.

Facebook Ads Manager

Getting your campaign performance from Facebook is crucial for calculating ROI:

Go to your Facebook Ads Manager dashboard.
Select the campaigns, ad sets, or ads you want to analyze. Make sure your date range is set correctly.
Find the Reports icon (looks like a chart) in the top-right toolbar and click it.
Select Export Table Data....
You can choose the file format (.xls or .csv) and decide whether to include a summary row. Click Export and the file will download.

Salesforce & HubSpot

For CRMs, the process is centered on their reporting functionality:

Go to the Reports tab in your CRM.
Open an existing report or create a new one to show the data you need (e.g., deals closed this quarter, lead sources by sales rep).
Once the report is open and displaying the correct data, look for an Export or dropdown button near the top.
Choose your format. Salesforce often provides options for "Formatted Report" (which looks nice in Excel) or "Details Only" (a raw CSV), which is generally better for further analysis.

The Hidden Costs of Manual Reporting

"So, I'll just export my data every Monday and update my spreadsheet."

It sounds simple enough, but this routine is a silent time-killer that plagues countless businesses. That manual process you run every week is likely costing you far more than you realize.

1. It's Brutally Time-Consuming

Think about the real steps involved. You don’t just click "export." You log in to GA4, download the CSV. Log in to Facebook Ads, find the right report, download another CSV. Log in to Shopify... you get the idea. Then comes the "spreadsheet wrangling" - cleaning data, making sure columns match up, creating pivot tables, and trying to get your VLOOKUP formula to work without throwing an error. For many teams, this process consumes half of Monday, and by the time follow-up questions come in on Tuesday, half the week is already gone just building a report.

2. Your Data is Stale on Arrival

The second you export a CSV, your report is already out of date. It’s a static snapshot of the past. If you're trying to make fast decisions about ad campaigns or sales performance, working with data that's three hours old, let alone three days old, means you're always one step behind.

3. It’s Incredibly Prone to Human Error

Copying and pasting data is a recipe for disaster. One wrong cell, one broken formula, one accidental filter can corrupt an entire report without anyone noticing until it’s too late. These small errors can lead to misguided decisions and a fundamental lack of trust in the data.

4. It Reinforces Data Silos

When reporting relies on one person's complex spreadsheet, insights become bottlenecked. If your team has a follow-up question, they can't answer it themselves. They have to ask the "spreadsheet person," wait for an answer, and hope they have the time to go on another data-finding mission. This kills agility and prevents your team from becoming more data-driven.

When to Stop Exporting and Start Automating

Manual exports have their place for one-off analyses, but if exporting has become a key part of your weekly workflow, it's a sign that you've outgrown the process.

Look for these telltale signs:

Reporting takes more than one hour per week.
You regularly combine data from three or more platforms.
Your team needs access to real-time (or near real-time) data to make decisions.
You spend more time gathering and cleaning data than you do analyzing it.
Multiple team members need access to the same reports.

If any of these sound familiar, it’s time to look beyond the CSV and toward automated solutions that connect directly to your data sources and handle the updates for you.

Final Thoughts

Knowing how to export analytics data is a fundamental skill for anyone in marketing, sales, or business operations. It’s what allows you to break free from the limitations of individual platforms and create truly customized reports. But doing it all manually is tedious, error-prone, and unsustainable as you grow.

The weekly grind of downloading CSVs and fixing broken formulas is why we built our tool. Rather than pulling data out of your tools and into a static spreadsheet, we help you connect to all your sources (like Google Analytics, Shopify, and Facebook Ads) in one place. You can create real-time, interactive dashboards instantly using simple, natural language, without ever touching a CSV file. For us, data shouldn't be about wrangling cells, it should be about getting a clear answer, fast. To see what that looks like, check out Graphed and ask your data a question directly.