How to Add Google Workspace User Accounts

Google Workspace is a collection of powerful tools and features designed to help businesses streamline their operations and increase productivity.

If your organization is new to Google Workspace and needs to add and manage users, this guide will walk you through how to do so.

At Promevo, we are a team of Google-certified experts specializing in helping teams get the most out of Workspace. Whether you've recently invested in a subscription or you're just curious as to what the platform offers, our team is here to help.

Google Workspace: A Complete Guide for Businesses

Google Workspace, formerly known as G Suite, is a suite of cloud-based productivity and collaboration tools developed by Google. This system offers a range of professional applications and services designed to help businesses communicate, collaborate, and manage their work efficiently.

From email and document creation to video conferencing and team chat, Google Workspace has a range of tools to streamline your business operations and foster a more collaborative environment for your team members.

Before we explore how to add new users, let's dive into the features and tools that Google Workspace offers.

Features & Tools in Google Workspace

Millions of teams worldwide use Workspace for its intuitive and efficient tools that help streamline work and collaboration. Some of the most popular Google Workspace tools include:

• Gmail: A powerful and secure email service with personalized email addresses for your domain, e.g., you@yourdomain.com, and features like spam protection, email filtering, and automated responses.
• Google Drive: A cloud storage solution that allows you to save, synchronize, and share files with your team members. With Google Drive, you can store and access files from any device connected to the internet.
• Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides: A suite of productivity tools for creating, editing, and sharing documents, spreadsheets, and presentations in real-time, complete with collaborative features like version history, comments, and suggestions.
• Google Meet: A video conferencing tool that facilitates online meetings, webinars, and virtual classrooms, directly integrated with Google Calendar.
• Google Chat: A chat platform for teams, allowing them to communicate and collaborate through direct messages or group chat rooms.
• Google Calendar: An online calendar tool that helps schedule events, meetings, and appointments, integrated with other Google Workspace apps for seamless planning and organization.

Benefits of Google Workspace for Businesses

If you're considering investing in Workspace for your business, here are some key benefits of this platform:

• Enhanced Collaboration: One of the biggest advantages of Google Workspace is its ability to streamline teamwork through real-time editing, sharing, and collaboration on documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.
• Remote Work Support: Google Workspace is cloud-based, enabling your team members to access their files and communicate from anywhere, as long as they have an internet connection. This is particularly beneficial for businesses that have remote or distributed teams.
• Increased Productivity: With an integrated suite of tools, Google Workspace simplifies work processes, saving time and improving productivity. Direct integration between apps, like Gmail and Google Calendar, can help your team stay organized and on track with their tasks.
• Scalability: As your business grows, so does your need for more resources. Google Workspace offers a variety of plans designed to scale with your business, allowing you to tailor the suite to meet your specific needs at any given time.
• Reliability and Security: Google Workspace is built on the foundation of Google's secure infrastructure. With features like 2-step verification and single sign-on, you can protect your business data from unauthorized access and keep your information safe.

Setting up Google Workspace

Now that you understand what this system offers let's review how to set up Google Workspace, beginning with creating your account.

Create Your Google Workspace Account

To get started with Google Workspace, follow these steps:

1. Visit the Google Workspace website and choose a pricing plan that meets your business needs.
2. Sign up with your existing Google account or create a new one.
3. Provide your business domain name or purchase a new one during the signup process.
4. Provide your business information, like the name, address, and number of employees.
5. Once the account is created, add the users (your team members) and set up their email addresses using your chosen domain.

Upon completing these steps, you can access your Google Workspace Admin console, where you can customize settings and manage user accounts. The Admin console is the hub for all Workspace administrators to manage users, implement safety practices, and more.

Verify & Configure Your Domain

Once your account is set up, you need to verify your domain to ensure you own it. This requires you to update your domain’s DNS records with a unique verification code or file provided by Google Workspace.

After your domain is verified, configure your domain’s MX records to route email traffic through Google Workspace. This step is essential for using Gmail with your custom email addresses (e.g., you@yourdomain.com).

Customize Your Google Workspace Settings

With your Google Workspace account up and running, you can now customize settings to suit your business needs. Here are a few things you may want to configure:

• Email Settings: Set up email forwarding, automated responses, and spam filtering for your domain's email accounts.
• Security Features: Enable 2-step verification, single sign-on, and other security measures to protect your business data.
• Third-Party Integrations: Connect your Google Workspace account with other business tools and applications, such as CRM, project management, and marketing automation software.
• Collaboration Settings: Configure sharing settings for Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides to control how your team members can share and collaborate on files.

By taking the time to understand and properly set up Google Workspace, you can unlock the full potential of this suite of tools and elevate your team's productivity and collaboration. As an admin in Workspace, it's your responsibility to ensure your team has the proper settings to access what they need while protecting shared data.

As Google-certified experts, Promevo helps Workspace teams and admins ensure the best safety and data practices. We even offer our exclusive software, gPanel®, to help you manage Workspace efficiently.

Adding Users & Best Practices for Managing Google Workspace

With your account set up, it's time to review adding and managing users in Workspace. As your organization grows and roles change, you may frequently need to add new users or update permissions.

Let's review these processes.

Invite New Users Through the Admin Console

The Google Workspace Admin console provides an easy method to invite new users to your organization. Simply follow these steps:

1. Sign in to your Google Admin console with your administrator account.
2. In the Admin console, go to "Menu," then "Directory," then select "Users."
3. On the left, under "All organizations," select the organizational unit to which you want to add the user.
4. At the top of the page, click "Add New User."
5. Fill out the account information. This includes information like first and last name, primary email, and optional information like a photo or password.
6. Click "Add New User," and the New user window will open. Note that if the new account's primary email address matches an existing Google Account, you may need to fix the conflict before you can add the user. Learn more here.
7. To send the user their password, click "Copy Password." To send account information to the user, click "Preview and Send."
8. To finish, click "Done."

If you emailed the user their account information, they'll receive a welcome message that explains how to sign in. This message includes a link to reset their password, which expires in 48 hours. If the link expires before they use it, you'll need to reset the password again.

Learn more about that process here.

Add Multiple Users Simultaneously with CSV Import

If you need to add several users at once, the CSV Import feature is helpful. Note that if you use this method to create new accounts, users don't receive a welcome email with their credentials. You will need to send your new users their credentials separately.

Before you begin, there are specific guidelines for making sure this is the best method for you and that you don't run into a License Management issue. Learn more about these guidelines here.

Here's how to add users from a CSV file:

1. Download the template file: In the Admin console, go to Menu, then "Directory," then "Users." At the top of the page, click "Bulk update users" and click "Download blank CSV template" to download a comma-separated values (.csv) file. Next, open the CSV file in a spreadsheet application, such as Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel.
2. Enter users' information: For each user you want to add, enter the required information in the CSV file. Required information includes (in order of columns):

• Column 1 - First Name
• Column 2 - Last Name
• Column 3 - Email address (use the format username@example.com)
• Column 4 - Password (must be at least 8 characters)
• Column 5- Org Unit Path (Enter / to place users in your top-level organizational unit. You might do this if you haven't set up an organizational hierarchy in the Admin console).

If you want to require a user to reset their password when first signing in, in the "Change Password at Next Sign-In" column, enter "True." Otherwise, leave it blank. If you want to specify additional information (like recovery emails), enter it in the remaining columns.

       3. Save the file: After it's complete, save it as a .csv file. Note that the maximum CSV file is 35        MB and the maximum number of records per file is 150,000. If your file is too large, split it into        separate CSV files.

      4. Upload the file: At the top of the Users page, click "Bulk update users," then click "Attach             CSV file." Next, browse to the location on your computer and attach the CSV file. Click                         "Upload." Your Tasks list opens automatically and shows the progress of the upload. Once it's           complete, you'll receive an email report. Note that it can take up to 24 hours for new users to           access Google services and appear in the Directory.

To learn more about adding users with a CSV import, click here.

Manage User Roles & Permissions

Google Workspace offers customizable roles and permissions to ensure users have the appropriate level of access to resources and tools.

Administrators can create custom roles or adjust the default roles (Super Administrator, Group Administrator, etc.) based on the organization's needs.

Follow these steps to manage user roles and permissions effectively:

1. Sign in to the Google Admin console.
2. Select "Admin roles" from the left-side menu.
3. Click "Create New Role" or choose an existing role to modify.
4. Adjust the role name, description, and permissions accordingly.
5. Save your changes and assign the role to the desired users.

Review and update roles and permissions regularly to ensure the right access levels are maintained across your organization.

Best Practices for Managing Google Workspace Users

As a Google Workspace administrator, your goal is to maintain a secure and productive user environment. Follow these best practices to manage your Google Workspace users effectively:

Monitor User Activity & Usage

Keeping an eye on user activity helps you identify potential security threats or compliance breaches. Google Workspace provides various reports and monitoring tools, such as activity logs, usage reports, and security dashboards, to gain insight into user behavior.

Regularly review and analyze these reports to detect suspicious activities or identify areas for improvement in your organization's Workspace usage.

Implement Security Measures

Implementing robust security measures like 2-Step Verification, Single Sign-On (SSO), and BeyondCorp ensures that only authorized users can access sensitive data and applications. Periodically review and update your security settings to stay protected against emerging threats. Here are a few key recommendations:

• Enable 2-Step Verification for all users.
• Implement a Single Sign-On solution if applicable.
• Limit access to third-party applications.
• Regularly review user permissions and roles.
• Enforce strong password policies.
• Maintain up-to-date contact information for all users.

Train Users on Google Workspace Tools & Resources

Continuous training and support are crucial for users to leverage the full potential of Google Workspace. Provide training sessions, workshops, or webinars on various Workspace applications such as Google Docs, Sheets, Drive, and Meet.

Encourage users to explore the Workspace Learning Center for self-paced learning and quick access to helpful resources.

You can also turn to BrainStorm, a Promevo partner, to empower you with the platform you need to automate critical activities: onboarding, end-user behavior intervention, technology changes, and optimizing the use of your software. You set the training destination and BrainStorm empowers your end users to pick their best path to get there.

Get Help Managing Workspace from Promevo

If you're looking to better manage your company's Workspace system, Promevo can help. As a Google-certified team, our in-house experts provide unparalleled assistance and custom solutions to your Workspace pain points.

One of our key differentiators is gPanel®, our exclusive Workspace management and reporting software.

With gPanel®, you can centralize user management and security tasks while harnessing the robust capabilities of Workspace. gPanel® allows you to take precise administrative action, oversee communications, and more.

When your team chooses this software, you can:

• Streamline user management with easy control of Docs, Groups, Gmail settings, and more.
• Modify Gmail signatures for anyone in your organization.
• Sync contacts from one user to another and vice versa.
• View and manage the devices users have access to.
• Search text in any Drive document owned by any user in the domain.
• Generate comprehensive reports for documents, emails, groups, and more.
• Customize user and admin roles and specify the actions they can take.

In addition to gPanel® , Promevo provides end-to-end support for Google Cloud services, ChromeOS, app modernization, and more. Contact us today to get started.

FAQs: Add Google Workspace Users

What is Google Workspace and why should I add users?

Google Workspace is a suite of cloud-based productivity and collaboration tools provided by Google, including Gmail, Google Drive, Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and more. It's designed to help businesses, organizations, and teams work together more effectively.

By adding users to your Google Workspace, you can grant them access to these tools, allowing them to collaborate, share files, and communicate efficiently within your organization.

How can I add new users to my Workspace?

Adding new users to Google Workspace can be done through the Admin console. You can either create a new user manually or, if you have multiple users to add, import them using a CSV file.

Can I add multiple users at once?

Yes, you can add multiple users at once using a CSV file. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Create a CSV file with a header row containing the following column names: "First Name," "Last Name," "Email address," "Password," and "Org Unit Path" (optional).
2. Fill in the required details for each new user in the subsequent rows.
3. Save the file in CSV format.
4. Sign in to your Google Admin console.
5. Navigate to the "Users" section.
6. Select "Bulk upload users" from the menu icon (three vertical dots).
7. Upload your CSV file and verify the information.
8. Click "Upload" to add the new users all at once.

It's important to follow Google's guidelines for using the CSV method. Learn more about this process here.

What if I run into errors while adding users?

If you encounter errors when adding users, you can check the following:

• Verify that the user's email address is not already in use. Each Google Workspace user needs a unique email address.
• Make sure that the necessary fields in your CSV file are formatted correctly, such as email addresses and phone numbers.
• Ensure that you have enough licenses available for the new users. If you've reached your limit, you may need to purchase more licenses before adding new users.

If you still cannot resolve the issue, consult Google Workspace Support for assistance.

Can you add users to Google Workspace?

Yes, the administrator of a Google Workspace account can add additional users. This allows multiple people to access the suite of apps like Gmail, Drive, Calendar, etc.

How do I add a user to my Workspace in Gmail?

As the administrator, go to the Admin Console and select Users. Click Invite/Add new users. Enter the new user's email address and name. Choose their account type, like basic, business, etc. Select their storage amount and any additional services. Finally, click Invite to send them an email invitation.

How many users can I add to my Google Workspace account?

The number of users you can add depends on the edition of Google Workspace. For Business Starter, you can add up to 100 users. For Business Standard and Business Plus, you can add unlimited users. Check the edition for exact user limits.

Do you have to pay to add users to Google Workspace?

Yes, you need to pay for each additional user beyond the initial licenses included. The price per user varies based on the Google Workspace edition. You can add users at any time and just pay the prorated price.