Google Workspace is More Powerful Than You Think

We’ve had a lot of conversations about software lately. The realities of running a small business with a bloated tech stack are felt--hard.

It’s so easy to accumulate SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) tools when you’re busy building and growing your business. You’ve got to keep things running and moving forward, and adding another software to the mix is sometimes the shortest path to the goal.

But because of the always-evolving nature of SaaS, there are many times when you don’t need to add another tool. Why? Chances are that you're already paying for software that can do what you're looking for another tool to do. 

We see this happen most often with Google Workspace. Once something people used only for email and calendar (maybe), Workspace is now a real workhorse. 

Combined, the entire suite of software applications currently included in Workspace can do so much more than we ever could have imagined when we started using it back in the late '00s when it went by the names of 'GSuite' and 'Google Apps for Your Domain**.'

Here are a handful of our favorite things that Google Workspace can do that you may not be aware of:

Digital signatures

Using the eSignature feature in Google Docs, you can now create a contract or other document that needs a signature and get it signed digitally. A .pdf version of the document is created after it’s fully executed, and it’s automatically emailed to all parties, just like many of the other digital signature tools out there.

Appointment scheduling 

Long gone are the days that you have to sign up for Calendly if you want a way for people to self-schedule appointments with you. Using the Appointment Schedule feature in Google Calendar, you can now set up multiple schedulers for all of your booking needs. 

Convert Microsoft files to Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides

We’ve been using Workspace long enough to remember when all you could do was store one of those file types in your Google Drive and download them if you wanted to edit them in any way. Now, you can convert these files directly over to a Google Doc, Sheet, or Slide and then use the cloud-based features available in those apps to collaborate with team members or clients. This means you can finally cancel your Microsoft 365 subscription. Hallelujah! 

Shared Drives 

You may not realize this, but collaborating with others (including people on your team) in a “My Drive” folder can cause you to lose files unknowingly. Essentially, you don’t “own” the files they create in your My Drive folders, so if their account goes away, so do the files they created. With Shared Drives, you own everything created/stored in the Drive–regardless of who created it. If you’re still using your My Drive to collaborate, consider this your sign to migrate to a Shared Drive. 

Notion-like experience in Google Docs 

If you dig the free-flowing pages in Notion and keep thinking about signing up for a subscription, check out what Google Docs can do first! Using a combination of Pageless View, Default Styles, Building Blocks, and Smart Chips, you can create some pretty Notion-like setups in Google Docs. We even recently created a “light” project management system for a client using these features + Google Tasks! 

That’s only a small fraction of what we find ourselves sharing with clients when we’re exploring software solutions for their process needs. If you want to keep up to date with all of the new features that are constantly being added to Google Workspace, we highly recommend that you sign up for the Google Workspace Updates blog.

And if you’d rather have personalized coaching about how to maximize Google Workspace, check out our Drop-In Coaching service. 

**NOTE:  we’re talking about paid Google Workspace accounts, which are different than free Gmail accounts that end in @gmail.com. If you’re using a @gmail.com account, you may not have access to these features.