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Spreadsheets are where a lot of client reporting ends up: a monthly performance export, a media plan, a budget tracker, a cleaned dataset at the end of a research project. The numbers are usually right. What goes missing is the explanation, because the client opens a workbook with six tabs and a few hundred rows and has to work out for themselves what changed and what matters.

This page covers the usual ways of getting spreadsheets to clients, where version drift and missing context come from, and how to share Excel, CSV and Google Sheets files from Fabric with a written summary next to them and a single link that stays current.

How people usually share spreadsheets with clients

Emailing an XLSX file is the most common route. The client gets the full workbook with formulas intact and can work on it in Excel. Once they start editing their copy, though, it drifts from yours, and the next report arrives as another attachment with a new date in the filename. Links to other workbooks on your machine break when the file leaves it.

Google Sheets keeps one live copy that both sides can see, which suits trackers and plans that change weekly. Clients who work in Excel sometimes export it back to XLSX to do their own analysis, and the two copies separate again.

For reporting, many teams paste a chart screenshot into an email and attach the data underneath. The email carries the explanation, the attachment carries the numbers, and a month later they’re hard to find together. Freelancers juggling several clients describe the same issue across their inbox: email works for sending, and searching it later is slow.

Step 1: Keep each client’s spreadsheets in their own space

Create a space for the client and add their spreadsheets. Fabric handles CSV and XLSX files; drag them in or click Upload a file. If the sheets are in Google Sheets, connect Google Drive through the Fabric marketplace. The Google Drive connection syncs both ways, so the sheet stays live in Google and current in Fabric. Connections need a paid plan.

When you share a client space, the client sees only that space, and with it only their own figures. For teams handling many accounts, how to organize files across multiple clients covers the structure in more detail.

Step 2: Write a plain-language summary with the AI assistant

Open the client’s folder and ask the AI assistant about the spreadsheet. The assistant can read XLSX and CSV files, and when you open it inside a folder it works only from what’s in that folder. Ask something specific: “What changed between the September and October tabs?” or “Which three campaigns had the lowest cost per lead?” Its answers cite the files they came from, so you can check each figure against the source.

Save the answer as a note, then edit it into the summary you’d want the client to read first. A few sentences on what moved and why, sitting next to the workbook, saves the client from working it out alone. Check every number in the note against the sheet before it goes out; the assistant cites its sources so this is quick, and the figures are your responsibility once they’re sent.

Step 3: Publish the spreadsheet and summary together

Put the spreadsheet and the summary note in one folder for that report, then publish the folder. Click Share to open the share modal, open the Publish tab, and click Create link. A folder publishes as a web page, so the client sees the summary and the file together. Name the link and choose whether to collect engagement analytics, allow indexing by search engines, allow visitors to copy it to their Fabric, and allow downloads.

Turn on allow downloads if the client needs to work with the data in Excel, and leave indexing off. Editing the source in Fabric updates the published version, so if you correct a figure after sending, the client’s link shows the corrected file. How to send a client one page with all their deliverables extends this into a page for the whole engagement.

If the client needs to collaborate on the sheet itself rather than receive a report, share the Google Sheet through Google as usual. With the Drive connection in place, their edits flow back into Fabric.

Step 4: Protect financial data and confirm it was received

Budgets, salaries and revenue data often need more than an unlisted link. Right-click the spreadsheet or its folder (or open it and use the three-dot menu), choose Add password protection, and enter a password. A password on a folder covers files you add later, so next month’s report is covered too. There’s no password reset, and access lasts six hours before the viewer re-enters it. Password protection is on the Pro and Team plans.

With engagement analytics on, each link shows visits over time with dates, location and device. If the finance and marketing leads both need the report, send each a separately named link to see which of them has opened it. Link analytics need a Pro or Team plan.

Frequently asked questions

How do I share an Excel file with a client without emailing it?

Upload the XLSX to Fabric and publish it as a link with downloads allowed. The client opens the link in a browser and saves the file if they need it.

Can the AI read my Excel or CSV files?

Yes. The AI assistant can read XLSX and CSV files and answer questions about them, citing the files it used.

Can I share Google Sheets with a client through Fabric?

Yes. Connect Google Drive and your sheets sync both ways. Connections need a paid plan.

How do I explain a spreadsheet to a client who isn’t a numbers person?

Ask the AI assistant what changed and why, save the answer as a note, edit it, and publish it in the same folder as the spreadsheet so the client reads it first.

Can I stop a client downloading a spreadsheet?

Yes. Leave allow downloads off when you create the publish link.

What if I spot an error after sending?

Fix the source in Fabric. Editing the source updates the published version, so the same link shows the corrected file.

Can I password protect a spreadsheet?

Yes, on the Pro and Team plans. Right-click the file or folder and choose Add password protection.

Can I share spreadsheets with clients on the free plan?

Yes. Publishing, including downloads, is on the free plan, and AI use is limited. Connections, passwords and analytics need a paid plan; see pricing.