Google templates removed from Busines Starter plan

[CL1]

I found out last week after switching from G Suite to Google Workspace that I have lost access to features I previously had with G Suite (even though the plans are the same cost per user).  I switched over to the Business Starter plan (same cost per user plan that I had with G Suite) and in doing so lost access to the ability to use custom templates.  When I called and spoke with Google about my issue they told me that the only way I would be able to have access to templates again was if I upgraged my plan (doubling my cost per user) to the Business Standard plan even though this was a feature I was able to use with G suite a month ago.

[StephenHind]

You should still be able to access the original document that was used for the template and then use the Make a Copy feature instead of from the template. Hopefully that helps?

[CL1]

That is what we have moved to since then.  The bigger issue is that google would us double what we are paying to have access to the same features we already had.

[StephenHind]

Yes this affects all plans except Enterprise, so all users not on Enterprise are facing the exact same issue. Google is supposed to be making it obvious, but not obvious enough, apparently.

[b_gorsky1]

Good luck. I fought this battle with Google and it took months until we came to a "compromise." At the end of the day, I was just able to delay the inevitable... big $$$ increases.

[dknightops]

Join me in inundating them with this feature request: https://support.google.com/accessibility/contact/feedback

[ihyzy]

This is such a weird thing to lock behind a higher tier.

[dknightops]

Join me in inundating them with this feature request: https://support.google.com/accessibility/contact/feedback

[dknightops]

@GOOGLE support, you need to reenable this! 

[dknightops]

Help me in inundate them with this feature request: https://support.google.com/accessibility/contact/feedback

[StephenHind]

@dknightops why are you sending feedback via the accessibility contact form? This is not an accessibility issue but a decision made by Google to entice you to upgrade. 

[jonathanflowers]

Has anyone found an actually effective way to complain about this or request as a group it be fixed?  This is affecting us too. It seems like an absolutely atrocious move that is one of the more customer-unfriendly things I've seen a SaaS company do in awhile, and like others here Google Support was no help.  It seems like straight-up extortion, basically demanding twice the fee per user for features we had access to and used for years.  I haven't really seen another SaaS company do this and it feels like Google is just doing it because they assume they are Google and can get away with it.  I'm surprised more people aren't talking about it but it may be because the migration was spaced out over two years

[anthonycmain]

I feel really let down by Google that a feature is not included that has been part of the free version of the service for many years. We've grown to rely on it and its exclusion will have a huge impact on productivity. 

As a business we have no benefit from the upper tears and we are happy to pay for the service we have been receiving, but are really disappointed that this small feature (of which 50% is still present) has been lost.

[amigo-sdt]

I also just discovered this. Really poor form from Google. I don't understand why they would take away features like this!

[falves]

I feel your pain. When our plan was also updated, we couldn't find our custom templates anymore. Initially we thought it was something someone had turned off, but we eventually found out that the feature was now on the next tier, which like many said, costs double.

No one at our company knows how to properly get the templates anymore because they were used to quickly click a button, and now they use old templates.

I think they did this so that companies are forced to upgrade.

[jonathanflowers]

Yea, I think Google's intent here was to basically force companies to pay more, which is just a terrible business move.  It turned us off so bad that we just don't use templates at all anymore, and that has had the effect of getting our company more interested and open to moving towards other solutions besides Google Docs for everything.  Just a very very dumb and obviously bad move by Google

[cryptochrome]

I can understand the frustration from those affected by the change, but assuming ill intent and "forcing companies to pay more" is a bit of a stretch. The smallest Google Workspace plan (Business Starter) is an entry-level plan designed for the tiniest of companies with a basic set of features. We have many customers who don't need templates, and they welcome a cheaper option (like the Starter plan). 

[jonathanflowers]

This seems like an intentionally disingenuous reply.  The issue here isn't how Google has set up its price tiers; it's that this feature was available for *years* under the lowest *paid* tier (previously called "G Suite Basic") of G Suite / Google Workspace, and then suddenly Google decided to take it away and add it to a tier that costs twice as much.  Google may be marketing "Business Starter" as an 'entry-level plan' for 'tiny companies', but the feature set on G Suite basic worked perfectly fine for my growing company for a decade, and even though we lament the loss of the templates feature it still continues to work for us for now.  Saying that customers "welcome a cheaper option" is, frankly, absurd, because this lowest level tier has *always* been available, and used to have the template option! That's what this whole thread is about! 

And not only that, but also hidden within this pricing plan change was Google getting rid of the free tier, which sounds like an even better fit for what you are describing than the G Suite Basic plan was (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/20/technology/google-gsuite-small-business-fee.html)

[cryptochrome]

Not sure why I should be disingenious. You seem very angry and project that anger onto people who are just trying to give you an explanation of the status quo. I said very clearly that I understand the frustration when a feature is being removed, but comparing G Suite Basic to Workspace Starter just won't cut it. They are different tiers. Under the new product scheme (Google Workspace), the lowest tier does not contain templates. Your path forward, if you need templates, is to either upgrade to a higher tier or move to a different product that gives you templates at a similar price to the Business Starter tier. 

[StephenHind]

@cryptochrome people are angry because they have  had a feature they have used for over a decade taken away from them: that's really bad practice by anyone but even worse for Google one of the richest companies in the world.  

"but comparing G Suite Basic to Workspace Starter just won't cut it. They are different tiers"

Maybe you don't realise how this sounds to anyone and it's simply incorrect.  You can't say they are different tiers when G Suite no longer exists and Google is forcing everyone on to Google Workspace - Google should have grandfathered in the features for those who already had them, but it didn't and went for a money grab instead.

"move to a different product that gives you templates at a similar price to the Business Starter tier"

I'm not sure why you're suggesting this when it's impossible: there aren't any tiers that are similarly priced that offer templates, only the next tier up, Business Standard, which is double the cost.  I'm not sure what you're trying to suggest as there is no other tier to move to - did you accidentally make an incorrect suggestion?

@jonathanflowers in the interest of helpfulness Google isn't going to change path on this one but you can partially "replicate" the templates feature using links and a Google Site:

1. Make a Google Site for all your templates
2. Link to the Google Docs you want to use as templates and change the URL of the doc: replace the 
   /edit
   on the end of the URL to 
   /copy
   and this forces a copy of the doc rather than opening it to edit.

This isn't giving you all the features but the mail ability to find and make new docs from templates it can do for you.

[cryptochrome]

When I said "different product" I was referring to something like Microsoft 365, not something within the Google Workspace realm. 

[StephenHind]

@cryptochrome those who've used Google Workspace/G Suite/Google Apps/GMail for your Domain for over a decade are pretty unlikely to do that, so I'm not sure how that's a helpful suggestion.

[cryptochrome]

I am not sure why you keep being so argumentative. You really need to redirect your anger at somebody else. I am not the one who took away that feature from you, I am just laying out the status quo in simple terms. 

You mentioned that G Suite no longer exists and that is correct. Google has rebranded and refocused the entire product lineup and as it stands now, Business Starter does not contain templates. You can unload your frustration about it here and that's fine, but the point of the matter is that you have no other options than to move on - either to a higher tier, or to a different vendor. And that's all I really said. Nothing about it is disingenuous or ill intent. 

[StephenHind]

@cryptochrome I'm sorry you've misinterpreted my response: it's not angry in any way; it's simply highlighting the holes in your argument. We have several Google Workspace domains and use either Business Standard or Enterprise, so there's literally no issue for us.  We are, however, a Google Cloud Partner and Google Workspace Reseller so have to face the anger and annoyance of our customers that Google has done this to.  Your response of "put up and shut up, or leave" isn't helpful for anyone, especially when most of these users will have been using Google and  Docs Templates for multiple years, hence why I included something helpful of a way to replicate templates.

I am not frustrated at all but Google needs called out on this and Google's position is indefensible, no matter how hard you try.  We can see similar stances and changes made by Google being backtracked on (e.g. the removal of Data Regions, which got reinstated as customers chose the product to be GDPR compliant) and this feature should be the same.

You're response sounds like I'm a newbie and I don't know what's going on but, as mentioned already, we've been using it before it was publicly available and before Google Docs was even a thing. I'm simply adding my voice for those little guys who've had the rug pulled from under their feet and no one, you included, can see it's not unfair for Google to have done this to its long-time customers.

[cryptochrome]

Your tone.... and you are telling me you are not angry. First you call me disingenuous, now you claim I respond with "put up and shut up, or leave", then you claim I misinterpreted you. You also read stuff between the lines that I never said (or even thought), like the notion you were a newbie. 

You are triggered because I don't share your opinion, that's what's going on here. I in fact just laid out what options are available (higher tier or different vendor) and that upsets you so much that you keep on bickering about it like there is no tomorrow. You are escalating this exchange continually. You should really calm down and relax, and maybe read again what I actually wrote, without speculating what I could have meant (but didn't say). 

Just for the record: We are a Google Cloud partner ourselves and I know more than well enough that customers are upset about this, but being upset isn't going to help any customer. All I am saying is it is time to move on because they have no other option. 

We should cut it here because this "exchange" is leading nowhere. I am not interested in your accusation games. 

[StephenHind]

@cryptochrome there's no tone in text: if you hear any that's something you've added on your end. I have never once called you disingenuous: that was someone else; not me. Yes you interpreted my response as angry: it is not; this may come from the tone you feel that's there but isn't.

You said: "the point of the matter is that you have no other options" - that is equivalent to "put up". You said: "you have no other options than to move on" - that is equivalent to "shut up". You said: "I was referring to something like Microsoft 365, not something within the Google Workspace realm" - this is equivalent to "or leave".  None of these are actuations, they are simply paraphrasing what you said.

I'm not triggered at all: you responded with an unhelpful answer, which I called you out on, and it appears to have triggered you; sorry that was not my intention at all, I just wanted to highlight the issue of those who have been let down as you didn't appear to understand why the complaint is raised. It's not bickering: it's trying to explain the situation to you that you don't appear to appreciate.

Clearly you're not sat next to me as I am completely calm and relaxed: again if you think otherwise this is something in your imagination. As you can see from what I quoted of you I have not speculated about what you.

Google will only know the extent of the issue if people talk about it: your suggestion of not talking about it is not letting Google know the full extent of the issue.  This is the forum for discussing these issues, so it's only natural to expect this kind of discussion to take place.

[Ant77]

I have a just purchased a small company that I'm trying to turn around and we rely heavily on templated work. Templates are one thing that help me streamline the business to turn it around. We aint ENTERPRISE, cryptoman

[cryptochrome]

Just out of curiosity, what kind of templates are we talking about here? Templates in Google Docs, e. g. the template library?

[StephenHind]

@cryptochrome yes: it's not available in Business Starter (has to be the weirdest thing to remove from an edition).

[proxim]

Absolutely. It costs Google nothing to make these available - they're just symbolic links, to files you've already created. Pulling this feature is about actively introducing inconvneience, into google users lives, in the interests of sucking more blood out of them.

I'd say it's probably one of the most useful features for customers in the Business Starter community, which is exactly why I think Google has removed them at gunpoint, and now forcing us all to jump onto horrendously more expensive plans, with all sorts of features we don't need, in order to sustain this most basic of abilities.

It is time for us all to start being honest about what Google has became: another Microsoft, another Oracle, another Apple, another threat to the every day persons' sense of justice.

[proxim]

Totally agree, this was such a shock to us we almost moved off Google entirely. Such an exploitative business practice. We totally relied on templates for our business, then Google pulled them all away, and suddenly said we had to pay tens of thousands of dollars more per year just to keep using them.

It's digital extortion and Google has proven it is a faceless, unethical, money making machine who only cares about profit for its stakeholders.

Google, you used to be cool.

But you are no longer. I think it happened around the time you removed the 'Do no evil' clause from your constitution. Funny that, isn't it?

[mustafacc]

I was wondering what happened to our custom templates feature.. disappointing move from Google to lock existing features that we paid for behind a higher-tier subscription. I hope for better and cheaper alternatives🙂

[falves]

What are the alternatives? Please do share 😊

[Ant77]

If I was to upgrade to Enterprise, would my mountain of templates come back or would I have to invest another week in building them?