Most people think that building a software-as-a-service (SaaS) business requires a computer science degree, a $50,000 development budget, and a team of engineers in Silicon Valley. Here is the surprising truth: I am currently collecting $2,500 every single month from five local businesses using nothing but basic Google Sheets and a little-known ‘rental’ model. You don’t need to code the next Uber; you just need to solve a messy problem for a local business owner who is currently drowning in paper receipts and disorganized emails.

📹 Watch the video above to learn more!

What is the Invisible App Method?

The Invisible App method involves creating highly specialized, automated workflows inside Google Sheets and ‘renting’ access to them as a managed service. Instead of selling a template for a one-time fee of $20 on Etsy, you are positioning yourself as a solution provider for specific industries like HVAC companies, boutique bakeries, or independent landscaping firms. You build a custom dashboard that tracks their inventory, schedules their staff, or calculates their project margins, and they pay you a monthly subscription to keep it running smoothly.

Think of it as ‘Logic-as-a-Service.’ You aren’t just giving them a spreadsheet; you’re giving them a business operating system that lives in the cloud. Because it’s built on Google Workspace, it’s familiar to them, works on their phones, and requires zero installation. The ‘invisible’ part comes from the fact that most of the heavy lifting happens in the background via automation, making a simple sheet feel like a high-end custom application.

Why Local Businesses Crave This Simplicity

Why would a business pay $500 a month for a spreadsheet when they could try to build it themselves? The answer is simple: they won’t, and they can’t. Most small business owners are experts at their craft—whether that’s fixing pipes or baking sourdough—but they are terrified of digital organization. They’ve tried expensive, bloated industry software that costs $3,000 a year and is too complicated to use, so they retreat back to pen and paper.

Your Google Sheet solution is the ‘Goldilocks’ zone. It’s customized exactly to their workflow, it doesn’t have 500 buttons they don’t need, and it solves their specific headache. When you show a contractor a single sheet that automatically sends a professional PDF invoice to their client the moment they check a box, you aren’t showing them a spreadsheet—you’re showing them five hours of their life back every week. That is worth far more than $500 to them.

How to Build Your First Rental Asset

1. Identify the ‘Messy Middle’

   Look for businesses that have 3-10 employees. These businesses are too big to manage everything in their heads but too small to afford enterprise software. Ask a local shop owner: ‘What is the one task you have to do every day that involves moving data from one place to another?’ That’s your goldmine.

2. Build the Core Logic

   Use Google Sheets to create the database. Use Data Validation to create dropdown menus and Conditional Formatting to highlight urgent tasks. The goal is to make the sheet ‘break-proof’ so the client can only enter data where you want them to. Use QUERY and VLOOKUP functions to pull data into a clean ‘Dashboard’ tab that shows them their most important numbers at a glance.

3. Level Up with AppSheet

   This is the secret sauce. Use Google AppSheet (which is included in many Google Workspace plans) to turn your spreadsheet into a mobile app without writing a single line of code. This allows the business owner’s field technicians to input data via their smartphones, which then syncs instantly back to your master Google Sheet. Now, you’ve officially moved from ‘spreadsheet guy’ to ‘software provider.’

4. Automate the Boring Stuff

   Connect your sheet to Zapier or Make.com. Set up an automation so that when a new row is added (like a completed job), an email is automatically sent to the customer or a row is added to their QuickBooks. These automations are what justify the recurring monthly fee because you are actively managing the ‘plumbing’ of their business data.

5. The ‘Managed Service’ Pitch

   Don’t sell the sheet; sell the uptime. Tell the client: ‘For $500 a month, I provide the system, I handle all the updates, I ensure your data is backed up, and I’m on call if anything needs tweaking.’ You are essentially their fractional Chief Technology Officer.

Realistic Earnings Potential

Let’s talk numbers. This isn’t a ‘get rich tomorrow’ scheme, but it scales incredibly well. A typical ‘Invisible App’ rental ranges from $300 to $800 per month depending on the complexity of the automations. If you land just five clients at a conservative $500/month, you are at $2,500 in monthly recurring revenue (MRR). Most of my students reach their first $1,000/month within 60 to 90 days of starting their outreach.

The best part? Once the system is built and the automations are set, your actual work time drops to about 1-2 hours per month per client for maintenance and support. This results in an effective hourly rate that would make a corporate lawyer jealous. Your initial investment is primarily time—roughly 20-30 hours to master the tools and build your first ‘base’ template that you can then clone for other clients in the same industry.

Essential Tools for Your Invisible App Stack

• Google Workspace: The foundation for your sheets and AppSheet deployment.
• AppSheet: To turn your spreadsheets into professional-looking mobile and desktop apps.
• Zapier or Make.com: To connect your sheets to thousands of other apps (email, SMS, accounting).
• Stripe: For setting up the recurring monthly subscription billing for your clients.
• Loom: To record short ‘how-to’ videos for your clients so they never have to ask you the same question twice.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Over-Engineering the Solution

Don’t try to build a Swiss Army knife. If the client needs to track inventory, only build an inventory tracker. Adding features they didn’t ask for just makes the system harder to use and more likely to break, which increases your support burden.

Selling a One-Time Product

Never sell the sheet for a flat fee. If you do, you’ll constantly be on the ‘client hunt’ treadmill. The value is in the ongoing management and the fact that you are there to fix it if Google changes something. Always stick to the subscription model.

Ignoring Mobile Use

Business happens on the move. If your solution only works on a 27-inch desktop monitor, it’s useless to a plumber or a site manager. Always use AppSheet to ensure your ‘Invisible App’ is thumb-friendly and works in the field.

Your Next Move

The fastest way to start is to look at your own past work experience. What was the ‘messy’ spreadsheet everyone at your old job hated? Rebuild it, make it beautiful, and then find three businesses in that same industry and offer them a 14-day free trial. Your only goal today is to identify one specific industry and one specific headache you can solve with a row and a column.