The Tiller shortcoming: a stale Sheet has too many possible causes
When a Tiller Sheet stops updating, “sync again” is not one action. You first need to identify the Sheet’s fill service, then separate a bank refresh problem from a Tiller fill problem and a spreadsheet problem.
Institution refresh
The bank or aggregator may require consent, credentials, or MFA before new data is available.
Tiller refresh
Balances and cleared transactions can become available at different times.
Fill service
Direct Fills and Sidebar Fills have different controls, schedules, and troubleshooting paths.
Sheet structure
Renamed tabs, changed headers, or broken validation can prevent a successful write.
Tiller vs. Montley for automatic Sheet updates
Tiller has improved automatic delivery with Direct Fills. Montley’s distinction is a smaller system: Plaid, durable sync work, the selected Google Sheet, and a scheduled recovery pass.
What Montley’s recovery pass does
Every 15 minutes, Montley re-enqueues queued work whose task disappeared, reclaims interrupted work after its worker lease expires, and creates catch-up jobs for otherwise healthy connections that have not synced in 12 hours.
It does not repeatedly retry a connection that needs user action. When a bank requires new consent or MFA, Montley surfaces a reconnect action instead.
Why a Tiller Sheet may still go stale
Tiller’s current Google Sheets product includes two fill services. Knowing which one you have is the first troubleshooting step.
Current default
Direct Fills
- No Fill button.
- Writes after new bank data becomes available.
- Activity Logs show fill errors.
- Bank refresh or reauthentication may still be manual.
Legacy service
Sidebar Fills
- Includes Fill Available Updates.
- Auto Fill runs while the add-on remains signed in.
- The authenticated session can expire or time out.
- Tiller recommends upgrading eligible Sheets.
Both services still depend on the bank making cleared transaction data available. Tiller notes that balances and transactions update independently, and pending purchases may take two or three days to clear.
If you stay with Tiller, diagnose before filling again
Match the symptom to the layer that probably failed. This avoids repeatedly pressing Fill when the real issue is upstream or inside the Sheet.
| What you see | Likely layer | Next check |
|---|---|---|
| No Fill button appears | The Sheet probably uses Direct Fills | Check the Tiller Console and Activity Logs |
| Fill is available but does nothing | The bank refresh or add-on session may be stale | Refresh the institution, sign into Money Feeds, then fill |
| Only one bank is stale | That institution may require authentication | Refresh or reconnect that institution |
| Balances changed but transactions did not | Balances and transactions update independently | Check cleared transactions and connection status |
| Missing tab or header error | The spreadsheet structure changed | Repair the Transactions tab and required headers |
Check the spreadsheet structure
The tab must still be named Transactions, row 1 must remain the header row, and required names such as Date, Description, Amount, Account, Account #, and Institution must remain intact.
Choose based on how much sync machinery you want to manage
Stop treating Fill as a maintenance routine.
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Common questions
Does Tiller Direct Fills already remove the Fill button?+
Yes. Newer Google Sheets use Direct Fills and do not have a Fill button. Direct Fills solves part of the problem, but bank authentication, delayed cleared transactions, Activity Log errors, and Sheet structure can still require manual attention.
Why would I switch if Direct Fills works for me?+
You may not need to. Montley is most compelling when you want a simpler Plaid-to-Sheet product, automatic recovery for missed sync work, Sheet-scoped collaboration, and no long-term archive of transaction rows in another database.
Can Montley prevent every manual reconnect?+
No. No aggregator can bypass a bank that requires credentials, consent, or MFA. Montley automates routine delivery and shows a reconnect action when the bank truly needs the connection owner.
How often does Tiller update a Google Sheet?+
Eligible institutions generally refresh about once per day. Direct Fills writes after data becomes available. Sidebar Auto Fill runs approximately every six hours while the add-on remains authenticated.
Will another Tiller fill restore a deleted row?+
Do not rely on it for Google Sheets. Make a safety copy and use Google Sheets version history, or contact Tiller support if the missing range is unclear.
Sources
- Tiller: Using the Money Feeds add-on for Google Sheets
- Tiller: How often new data is added
- Tiller: Direct Fills for Google Sheets
- Tiller: Google Sheets troubleshooting
- Tiller: Editing the Transactions Sheet
Research note: Product behavior was reviewed against Tiller’s published documentation on August 23, 2026. Tiller is a trademark of its respective owner. Montley is not affiliated with or endorsed by Tiller.
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