fiveanddime Product Tutorials About Open the app
Step 2 of 5

Deploy your backend

"Backend" sounds technical, but here's what it really is: the script that came with your template needs to be turned into a public URL the app can talk to. Google does the work; you click through a few prompts. About 90 seconds once you know where the buttons are.

What you're actually doing Your spreadsheet has a piece of code attached called Apps Script. We're going to tell Google "publish this code as a Web App," which gives it a permanent URL. Your phone (or laptop) will talk to that URL whenever you ring a sale or pull your catalog. The code runs in your Google account; nothing is hosted by us.
Wait 5 minutes before starting this step When you copied the template in Step 1, Google began provisioning the script behind the scenes, and this takes a few minutes to fully complete. If you race ahead and try to deploy too soon, you'll hit an "Access blocked: Authorization Error, the OAuth client was not fully created yet" message. Pour a coffee, then come back. If you do see that error, wait another 5-10 minutes and try Deploy again; it almost always resolves on its own.
2.1

Open the Apps Script editor

In your spreadsheet, click Extensions in the menu bar, then Apps Script. A new tab opens with the script editor. All the code you need is already there; it came with the template.

Spreadsheet menu open at Extensions with Apps Script highlighted
Extensions → Apps Script. A new tab opens with the script editor.
2.2

Click Deploy → New deployment

In the script editor, look for the Deploy button at the top right of the page. Click it, then choose New deployment.

Apps Script editor with the Deploy dropdown open showing New deployment
Click Deploy (top right), then New deployment.
2.3

Choose Web app

A "New deployment" dialog opens. Click the gear icon (⚙) on the left and choose Web app from the list. Then fill in the right side:

New deployment dialog with Web app type selected, Description fiveanddime backend, Execute as Me, Who has access Anyone
The "New deployment" dialog filled in: Type = Web app, Description set, Execute as Me, Who has access Anyone. Click the blue Deploy button at the bottom right when ready.
Why "Anyone" access is OK Apps Script Web Apps don't have password protection. Instead, they're protected by the URL itself, which is 80+ random characters and effectively unguessable. Treat the URL like a password (don't post it publicly). If you ever suspect it's leaked, you can redeploy with a new version to get a new URL. There's also an optional API_SECRET setting that adds a shared-secret check on top, covered in the Settings tutorial if you want it.
2.4

Click Deploy, and authorize (six screens)

Click the blue Deploy button at the bottom of the dialog. Because this is the first time you've run this script, Google needs your permission for it to access your spreadsheet. You'll click through six screens (a couple are the same Google screen captured before-and-after you expand or scroll). The first run looks scariest, and the rest of this step walks through exactly what each screen is doing. Every screen below is expected; nothing is broken.

Why so many screens, and why do they look scary?

You've probably seen this style of warning before. Windows pops up "this app is from an unknown developer" the first time you run a program you downloaded from the internet. iPhones ask you to "trust this app" the first time you install something outside the App Store. Same kind of warning, same kind of workaround, same reason: Google can't tell which homemade scripts are safe, so they show this caution before any non-Google script runs in your account. Yours is fine because you're the one putting it in your own account by following this tutorial.

The wording is more dramatic than the actual risk. Google's verification process is built for big companies publishing apps to the world, not for individual makers selling small tools to each other. There's no way for the seller to make the warning go away on your copy, because verification is tied to the copy on your own account, not to ours.

You'll see this same warning the first time other features need a new permission (the daily backup, label PDFs, QR codes). Same flow each time, then never again for that feature. The first time feels weirdest; by the third, you'll click through in 10 seconds.

The authorization flow

Prefer to watch? The whole authorization flow in real time. The screenshots below cover the same steps if you'd rather scroll.
Authorization required prompt in the Apps Script editor with an Authorize Access button
Screen 1. Apps Script telling you the script needs to be authorized. Click Authorize Access.
Google hasn't verified this app warning screen, collapsed
Screen 2. "Google hasn't verified this app." This is the scary-looking one and it's expected. Click the small Advanced link at the bottom to expand it.
Same screen with Advanced expanded showing a Go to (project name) (unsafe) link
Screen 3. Same screen, now expanded. Click the Go to (name) (unsafe) link near the bottom. The name is your script's project name (likely "fiveanddime" or "Backend" depending on the template version). The word "unsafe" looks alarming, but it's Google's blanket label for any script that hasn't gone through their formal company-review process. It's the same word that would appear next to every homemade Google Sheets script on the internet, not a specific red flag about this one.
Sign in to fiveanddime confirmation screen with a Continue button
Screen 4. A confirmation that you're signing in to fiveanddime. Click Continue.
See what fiveanddime can access, top of the permissions list with a Select All option
Screen 5 (top). "See what fiveanddime can access." This is the actual list of what the app can do: read and write your fiveanddime spreadsheet, save daily backups to a folder in your Drive, send email on your behalf when a custom order is ready for pickup, and a handful of related operations. The script can't see anything outside this list (your photos, your email inbox, your other Drives, your bank). Tap Select All at the top, then scroll down.
Same permissions list scrolled to the bottom with a Continue button
Screen 5 (bottom). Same screen, scrolled. Click Continue. Google then deploys your script and shows the success screen below.
2.5

Copy the Web App URL

Once Google says "Deployment successfully created," you'll see a long URL labeled Web App. Click the copy icon next to it (or select + Ctrl/Cmd-C). Save it somewhere; you'll need to paste it in Step 4. If you lose it later, open the script editor again, click Deploy → Manage deployments, and the URL is right there.

Deployment success screen with the Web App URL and a Copy button
Click the copy icon next to the Web App URL (the lower of the two Copy buttons) and save it somewhere safe.
2.6

Register your backend URL with your license

One last small step before installing the app. Open the link below (or the "Register your backend" link from your welcome email — the license key is already filled in for you on that one):

https://fiveanddime.tools/connect/

If you arrived via the welcome email link, your license key is already in the form. If you came in cold, paste it in (looks like FD-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX). Then paste the Web App URL you just copied into the second field. Tap Submit.

You'll see a confirmation message. This tells the licensing service which backend belongs to your license, so the next step (installing the app and validating your license) can auto-find your backend without any URL pasting.

Why a separate page and not in the app?

Browser-side registration is easier than punching a long URL into your phone. Once registered, the app fetches the connection automatically when you validate your license; you never have to type or copy-paste the Web App URL into the app itself.

Checkpoint You have a long Web App URL on your clipboard (or saved in a note), and you've registered it with your license at fiveanddime.tools/connect/. The hardest part of setup is now behind you.