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Guide 01 · Operations → Systems

Move a WhatsApp-based process into Google Forms and Sheets

Use this when requests, jobs or updates arrive in WhatsApp and somebody has to scroll through the chat to work out what is still outstanding. You will keep WhatsApp for conversation, but move the actual record of work into one form and one register.

Time60–90 minutes
CostFree with a Google account
Finish withA live request register and weekly view
Last verified25 September 2026

Before you start

What “working” looks like

  • Every new request is submitted through one short form.
  • Every submission creates one row in a shared work register.
  • An owner, status and due date can be added without searching WhatsApp.
  • You can see open, overdue and completed work at a glance.
  • WhatsApp is used to discuss a request—not to store the only copy of it.

What you need

  • A Google account the business controls. A Google Workspace account on your business domain is best. If you use free Gmail, create an account for the business (for example,requests.yourbusiness@gmail.com) rather than using someone’s personal account, so the process does not leave with a person.
  • A named backup owner who can take over if you are away.
  • Your five or six most common request types, written down.
  • 60–90 minutes, and one other person to help you test.
  • Cost: free. If you already pay for Google Workspace, nothing extra is needed. Workspace forms may accept responses only from people in your organisation until you change it when publishing (step 08).

01

Create one home for the process

  1. Open Google Drive and create a folder named Request tracker – live.
  2. Share the folder with the person who must be able to take over if you are away.
  3. Give editor access only to people who will maintain the form or work register.
  4. Do not share the whole folder with everyone who only needs to submit a request.
Why this way: the form, response sheet and instructions remain together, while responders see only the form. A backup owner also prevents the process from disappearing with one person’s account.

02

Build the intake form

  1. Inside the folder, select New → Google Forms → Blank form.
  2. Name it Request intake – live.
  3. Add this description: Use this form for every new request. Use WhatsApp only for discussion after the request has been captured.
  4. Add the fields below in this order.
QuestionTypeSetting
Submitted byShort answerRequired
Request typeDropdownRequired; use your five or six common request types
What needs to happen?ParagraphRequired
Customer, supplier or itemShort answerOptional
Needed byDateOptional
Why is this important?Multiple choiceRequired: Normal / Blocking work / Customer waiting / Money at risk
Supporting linkShort answerOptional; use a Drive or OneDrive link instead of uploading files
Collect only what the work needs: do not ask for ID numbers, banking or card details, medical information or passwords in this form. A customer’s name or reference is usually enough. Everyone who can open the register can see every response, so keep its access narrow (step 04).
Do not start with file upload: Google requires responders to sign in for file uploads. A supporting-link field is less likely to block somebody. Add upload later only if you genuinely need the files collected into Drive.

03

Use settings that fit repeated work

Open the form’s Settings tab. Open the Responses section and set:

  • Limit to 1 response: Off. The same person must be able to submit again.
  • Collect email addresses: Off unless the process genuinely requires it.
  • Allow response editing: On if submitters should correct their own request.

Then open the Presentation section and set:

  • View results summary: Off. Otherwise responders may be able to see other responses.
  • Disable autosave for all respondents: On if the form will be reused on a shared device.

Still under Presentation, next to Confirmation message, select Edit and enter:

Captured. Your request is now in the work register. If it becomes urgent, reply in WhatsApp with the words “URGENT” and the time you submitted it—do not submit a second copy.

04

Connect the response sheet

  1. Open the form’s Responses tab and select Summary.
  2. At the top right, select More → Select destination for responses.
  3. Choose Create a new spreadsheet.
  4. Name it Request register – live and move it into the same Drive folder if necessary.
  5. Submit one test response before changing the sheet.

The response sheet now contains columns A–H: Timestamp, Submitted by, Request type, What needs to happen, Customer/supplier/item, Needed by, Importance and Supporting link.

Add four working columns to the right:

I OwnerJ StatusK Completed dateL Working notes

In column J, use Insert → Dropdown and add: New, In progress, Blocked, Done, Cancelled. Set the first owner and status during a short daily review.

Protect the raw structure: do not rename, delete or reorder the original form columns after going live. Add operational fields to the right. Keep access to this sheet narrower than access to the form because the sheet contains every response.
Don’t sort or filter the response tab itself: new answers keep arriving there. Use Data → Create a filter view instead; it gives each person their own sorted or filtered view without changing the rows.

05

Create the first useful summary

  1. Add a new tab to the spreadsheet and name it Weekly view.
  2. Enter the labels below in column A and the matching formulas in column B.
Open work=COUNTA('Form Responses 1'!A2:A)-COUNTIF('Form Responses 1'!J2:J,"Done")-COUNTIF('Form Responses 1'!J2:J,"Cancelled")
Waiting for an owner=COUNTIFS('Form Responses 1'!A2:A,"<>",'Form Responses 1'!I2:I,"",'Form Responses 1'!J2:J,"<>Done",'Form Responses 1'!J2:J,"<>Cancelled")
Overdue work=COUNTIFS('Form Responses 1'!F2:F,"<"&TODAY(),'Form Responses 1'!F2:F,"<>",'Form Responses 1'!J2:J,"<>Done",'Form Responses 1'!J2:J,"<>Cancelled")
Completed this week=COUNTIFS('Form Responses 1'!K2:K,">="&TODAY()-WEEKDAY(TODAY(),2)+1,'Form Responses 1'!K2:K,"<"&TODAY()-WEEKDAY(TODAY(),2)+8,'Form Responses 1'!J2:J,"Done")

If your response tab has a different name, replace Form Responses 1 in each formula with the exact tab name. If your spreadsheet expects semicolons, replace the formula commas with semicolons.

  1. Select the response data and choose Insert → Pivot table.
  2. Use Request type as Rows and Timestamp as Values, summarised by COUNTA.
  3. Place the pivot table in Weekly view under the four totals and label it All requests by type. It counts every request, not only this week’s.

06

Test it before sharing it

Test requests to type in

  1. Normal: Submitted by Naledi · Quote · “Send a quote for 20 office chairs” · Riverside Interiors · needed this Friday · Customer waiting
  2. Urgent: Submitted by Johan · Repair · “Replace the broken lock on the storeroom door” · needed today · Blocking work. Then reply “URGENT” in the chat.
  3. No due date: Submitted by Aisha · Admin · “Add the new courier’s number to the supplier list” · leave Needed by blank · Normal
  1. Submit the three invented test requests above. Use your own request types if they differ.
  2. Confirm that all three appear as separate rows in the response sheet.
  3. Give Johan’s request an owner and set it to In progress. Set Aisha’s to Done and enter today’s date in Completed date (Ctrl + ; or ⌘ + ; enters today’s date).
  4. Temporarily change Naledi’s Needed by date in the sheet to yesterday, check the totals, then change it back.
  5. Confirm the totals match the table below at each point.
  6. Ask the backup owner to open both the form and sheet.
  7. Delete the test data only after the process passes every check. Do it in both places: delete the rows in the sheet, and in Forms select Responses → More → Delete all responses. Deleting in one place does not delete in the other.
AfterOpen workWaiting for an ownerOverdue workCompleted this week
Submitting all three3300
Updating Johan’s and Aisha’s rows2101
Setting Naledi’s date to yesterday2111

07

Move the open requests out of the chat

  1. Scroll back two weeks in the WhatsApp conversation.
  2. Submit every request that is still open through the form yourself. Use the original sender’s name in Submitted by and the original due date if one was given.
  3. Skip anything already done. Do not copy the chat history into the register.
  4. In the register, give each captured request an owner and status.
Why only two weeks: older requests are usually done, abandoned or chased again. Asking people to resubmit anything older is quicker than reading months of chat, and the register starts clean.

08

Publish it and change the WhatsApp habit

  1. In Forms, select Publish, then Manage.
  2. Under General access, choose who may respond. For an open customer process, use anyone with the link; for internal work, share only with the relevant people or group.
  3. Copy the responder link and shorten it if useful.
  4. Pin the message below in the WhatsApp conversation.

Copy this message

We’re using one request register so nothing gets lost in the chat. For every new request, use this form first: [PASTE LINK]. You can still discuss it here afterwards. If it is urgent, submit it once and then reply here with “URGENT” and the submission time. If you asked for something more than two weeks ago and it is still open, please submit it through the form.

09

Keep it useful

  • Daily: assign an owner and status to new rows.
  • Weekly: review overdue work and request types with the highest volume.
  • Monthly: back up the register with File → Make a copy into a dated backup folder, or File → Download → Microsoft Excel, and remove access people no longer need.
  • When the process changes: test form changes with a dummy response before using them live. After adding a question, check where its column appeared and that your formulas still point at Owner, Status and Completed date.

Common fixes

People keep sending requests only in WhatsApp
Reply with the form link instead of capturing it for them. The habit changes when the route is consistent.
People see “You need access”
Open the published form’s sharing settings and confirm the responder—not editor—access is correct.
The summary shows zero
Check the response-tab name, status spelling and the column letters used by the formulas.
The same request was submitted twice
Set one copy to Cancelled and write “Duplicate of row N” in Working notes, so the history stays clear.
Two people work on the same request
Make Owner and Status part of the daily review; WhatsApp messages are not the assignment record.

Google instructions used in this guide

Tool interfaces change. These official instructions were checked on 25 September 2026:

If you would rather not do this alone

Bring the process you have. We’ll help you turn it into one that works.

This guide is enough on its own when one team handles one kind of request, volumes are manageable in a spreadsheet, and someone will run the daily review.

It’s worth getting help when:

  • several teams or approval steps are involved;
  • requests need to flow into another system, such as accounting, job cards or stock;
  • customers need automatic status updates;
  • you want this combined with other data for reporting;
  • or you’ve tried it and it didn’t stick.

You do not need to arrive with a specification. Show us the chat, spreadsheet or paper trail and explain what should happen; we can help design, build and hand over the working process.

Ask LightWork for help