# Claude for Google Sheets — Setup + Formula Pack

Hand this file to Claude and say: "walk me through these instructions one step at a time."

---

## Step 1 — Install the add-on

1. Open any Google Sheet.
2. Extensions → Add-ons → Get add-ons.
3. Search for **Claude for Sheets**.
4. Install and approve the Google permission screen.

## Step 2 — Add your Anthropic API key

1. Go to console.anthropic.com and sign in.
2. Open **API Keys** → Create Key → copy it.
3. Add a few dollars of credit under Billing (this is separate from Claude Pro).
4. Back in the sheet: Extensions → Claude for Sheets → **Enter your API key**.

## Step 3 — Your first formula

```
=CLAUDE("Clean up this company name. Return only the name.", A2)
```

Drag the corner down the column to run it on every row.

## Step 4 — Freeze the results

Formulas re-run (and re-bill) whenever the sheet recalculates.

Select the column → Copy → Edit → Paste special → **Values only**.

---

## Formula pack

**Clean messy data**
```
=CLAUDE("Fix the capitalization and remove extra spaces. Return only the cleaned text.", A2)
```

**Categorize rows**
```
=CLAUDE("Categorize this expense as Travel, Software, Meals, or Other. Return one word.", A2)
```

**Summarize long text**
```
=CLAUDE("Summarize this customer feedback in one sentence.", A2)
```

**Score sentiment**
```
=CLAUDE("Is this review positive, negative, or neutral? Answer with one word.", A2)
```

**Extract one field**
```
=CLAUDE("Extract just the city from this address. Return only the city.", A2)
```

**Draft personalized emails**
```
=CLAUDE("Write a two-sentence friendly follow-up email to this person about this order.", A2, B2)
```

**Longer answers** — use `=CLAUDEXL()` instead of `=CLAUDE()` when you need a paragraph back.

---

## Worked example — categorize a bank export

1. Download the CSV from your bank and open it in Google Sheets (Date | Description | Amount).
2. In D2:

```
=CLAUDE("Categorize this transaction into exactly one of: Travel, Software, Meals, Office, Personal. Return only the category word.", B2)
```

3. Check rows 2–6 by eye. Fix the category list in the instruction before filling down.
4. Drag down, then Copy → Paste special → Values only.
5. Insert → Pivot table: Category as rows, Amount as sum.

---

## Rough costs

| Job | Model | Rough cost |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Tag 500 expenses (one word back) | Haiku | ~5–10 cents |
| Clean 1,000 company names | Haiku | ~10–20 cents |
| Summarize 200 long reviews | Sonnet | ~$1–2 |
| Draft 100 personalized emails | Sonnet | ~$1–3 |

Put $5 of credit on the account and treat it as your ceiling.

---

## Add-on vs Claude Connectors

- **Connectors (chat):** one question about one Drive file, covered by Claude Pro, no API key.
- **Add-on (formulas):** the same instruction on hundreds of rows, answers in cells you can sort and pivot.

---

## Rules that keep the bill small

1. Always tell it the output format: "Return one word" / "Return only the name."
2. Test on 5 rows before dragging down 2,000.
3. Paste as values once a column looks right.
4. Errors across a block of cells usually mean rate limiting — wait a minute and recalculate.
5. Keep instructions short. Every word in every row is billed.

---

More guides: https://chadesheppard.com/playbooks