How to Automate AppFolio Exports to Excel and Google Sheets
Updated 2026-09-26
Short answer
You can export any AppFolio report to Excel or CSV by hand, and schedule most of them. To automate it, schedule the report (CSV or Excel; daily, weekly or monthly) and email it to an inbox an automation reads. The automation appends it to Google Sheets, Excel Online or a database. You get a dashboard that refreshes every morning with no downloads.
Manual export: any report, any time
- Open the report in AppFolio and set your filters (properties, date range, etc.).
- Use the report's export option and choose Excel or CSV.
Fine once. Painful every morning.
Scheduled reports: the backbone of AppFolio automation
In AppFolio's reporting area you can create a scheduled report, pick the report and filters, choose CSV or Excel, set the frequency (daily, weekly or monthly), and add email recipients. Menu labels can vary by version. Look for Scheduled Reports under Reporting.
Tip: send automation-bound reports to a dedicated address (e.g. reports@yourcompany.com), not a person's inbox. Nothing breaks when someone goes on holiday, and access stays controlled.
Turning scheduled emails into a live spreadsheet
- Trigger on new emails from AppFolio in the dedicated inbox.
- Read the attachment and normalise headers, dates and currency.
- Add a snapshot date to every row, so you keep history instead of overwriting it.
- De-duplicate in case a report is re-sent.
- Append to Google Sheets, Excel Online, BigQuery or Postgres.
- Alert when a run fails or the report layout changes.
Reports worth automating first
| Report | What the automation gives you |
|---|---|
| Rent roll | Daily snapshots, so you can trend occupancy, rents and loss-to-lease over time |
| Delinquency | Aging buckets by property and manager, and escalation lists each morning |
| Work orders | Open-days aging, per-vendor turnaround, and stalled-job alerts |
| Lease expirations | 90/60/30-day renewal pipeline routed to the right agent |
| Vacancy | Days vacant and make-ready status across the portfolio |
Dashboards on top
Once the data lands somewhere structured, Looker Studio (free with Google) or Power BI can chart it and refresh automatically. Owners and regional managers get a link instead of an attachment.
Don't want to build it yourself? RentOps Sheets Sync does steps 1–6 inside your own Google account, after about 15 minutes of setup.
Frequently asked questions
Can AppFolio export to Excel automatically?+
AppFolio can email reports on a schedule as Excel or CSV files. Getting that data into a live spreadsheet or dashboard takes a small automation that reads the email and appends the file.
Can I connect AppFolio to Google Sheets?+
Not with a built-in connector. Scheduled report emails plus an automation (n8n, Make, Zapier or Apps Script) keep a Google Sheet updated. On plans with API access, the sheet can be filled from the API directly.
Can I build Power BI dashboards from AppFolio?+
Yes. Land the scheduled exports or API data in a folder, database or SharePoint list, and point Power BI at that. It refreshes on its own schedule.