Connect Excel to your Outpost data

This guide covers how to point Excel at the files Outpost delivers, for each supported destination.

SharePoint or OneDrive

The smoothest path for Microsoft 365 shops.

In Outpost:

1. Open the wizard, select your saved search or dataset
2. Choose SharePoint or OneDrive as the destination
3. Authenticate with your Microsoft 365 account
4. Pick the folder and filename (e.g. /Finance/Daily/AR_Aging.xlsx)
5. Set the schedule and save

In Excel:

1. Data → Get Data → From File → From SharePoint Folder (or From OneDrive)
2. Paste the site URL, not the file URL
3. In the navigator, find your file and click Transform Data
4. In Power Query, expand the file content, apply any cleanup, then Close & Load
5. From now on, Data → Refresh All pulls the latest version

Tips:

• Use the SharePoint Folder connector, not the file URL. The folder connector survives filename changes and lets you filter inside Power Query.
• Pin shared workbooks to a SharePoint site, not a personal OneDrive. Personal paths break the moment someone else opens the file.
• When Power Query asks for credentials, choose Organizational account. Windows and Anonymous will fail silently on later refreshes.
• Enable background refresh (Queries & Connections, right-click the query, Properties) so the workbook stays responsive while data loads.
• For workbooks that get emailed around, set the query to refresh on open.

Google Drive

Excel has no native Google Drive connector. Use Drive for desktop and treat the synced folder as local.

In Outpost:

1. Select your saved search or dataset
2. Choose Google Drive as the destination
3. Authenticate with the Google account that owns the target folder
4. Pick the folder and filename, schedule, save

In Excel:

1. Install Google Drive for desktop if you haven't. It mounts Drive as a local drive letter (typically G:\).
2. Data → Get Data → From File → From Folder
3. Browse to the Drive folder where Outpost delivers
4. Find the file in the navigator, Transform Data, continue as usual

Tips:

• In Drive for desktop settings, choose Stream files, not Mirror files. Streaming pulls the latest version on demand.
• Avoid spaces and special characters in filenames. Drive handles them; Power Query gets cranky.
• Shared workbooks need every analyst to have Drive for desktop installed and mapped to the same drive letter. SharePoint is usually less friction for shared use.

NetSuite File Cabinet

Simplest destination on the Outpost side. Trickiest for Excel, because Excel needs a URL.

In Outpost:

1. Select your saved search or dataset
2. Choose NetSuite File Cabinet as the destination
3. Pick the folder (e.g. /Outpost Exports/Finance)
4. Mark the file Available Without Login if your security policy allows
5. Schedule and save, then copy the file URL from the File Cabinet record

In Excel:

1. Data → Get Data → From Other Sources → From Web
2. Paste the File Cabinet URL
3. Authenticate as Anonymous
4. Continue in Power Query

Tips:

• “Available Without Login” makes the file public to anyone with the URL. Use SharePoint or OneDrive for anything sensitive.
• The URL is stable across deliveries. Outpost overwrites the file in place, so the query keeps working without changes.
• If you can't make the file public, wrap it in a RESTlet or Suitelet that authenticates and serves it. By that point, SharePoint is usually less work.

Common pattern

Outpost runs the AR aging saved search at 6 AM, drops it to SharePoint, the controller's workbook refreshes on open. By 8 AM everyone reviews the same numbers. Setup takes about ten minutes per workbook.