When Embratur decided to move to Google Workspace in 2023, the decision was partly financial: The platform was roughly 10 times more affordable than alternatives. But the real transformation began when the team discovered AppSheet, included with its Google Workspace Enterprise Plus license.

"We couldn't build our new system with just three developers, especially since we have other development needs," says João Barros, the head of AppSheet development at Embratur, despite having an administration background  rather than IT. This highlights AppSheet's power in enabling non-technical users to build sophisticated enterprise applications.

The team designed "Hermes," a comprehensive budget management system that handles everything from strategic planning to final payments. Built using AppSheet's no-code platform, Hermes removes manual processes and automates data validation across Embratur's many financial workflows.

"AppSheet bridged the technical development side and the finance business side," Barros says. "It lets our finance team understand what's happening behind the system, and the developers understand the flow and the budget concepts. It's helped bring the two functions closer together."

The development took a year and a half, a timeline that would have been impossible with traditional coding approaches. "With just three developers, the Hermes project would have taken us years using Java or C. AppSheet enabled us to complete it in 18 months," says Gabriel de Jesus, budget supervisor at Embratur. "It shows the potential of no- or low-code development to drive  real productivity gains."

Hermes now controls every aspect of Embratur's budget. "From a management standpoint, from planning all the way to payment, there's the creation of the action plan, program budgeting, budget execution, liquidation, payment analysis, and travel requests," de Jesus says. "Hermes handles the entire financial and budget management of Embratur."

The system also requires authorization for all commitments and validates project balances before allowing any expenditure. "Everything is tightly controlled: You must commit funds before issuing an order, you can't issue a service order above that commitment, and you can't request payment above the order value," Jorge explains. This automated validation has eliminated budgetary errors that previously occurred when departments worked from separate spreadsheets.

The system handles Embratur's unique operational complexity, including international projects with foreign currency exchanges and tax implications. Built-in contingency funds automatically adjust for currency fluctuations, a capability the organization previously had no way to track or manage.

"For the first time, at year-end, I'll be able to share with the president exactly how much income tax we paid," de Jesus says. "This kind of analysis could even form a discussion with Brazil's Federal Revenue Service, because it is an example of Brazil investing in Brazil."

With Google Workspace supporting collaboration and AppSheet automating business critical operations, tasks that previously took weeks now happen in minutes, and data-led insights that were previously unattainable are now standard. "Today, I can tell our director: 'We have this much money available in our reserve for the month that has not yet been committed,'" Jorge says. "These strategic decisions were impossible before building Hermes with Google Workspace."

Budget reporting for federal auditors, which previously required weeks of manual compilation, also happens in real time. "Today, every budget commitment that's initiated is already categorized. If I need a budget statement filtered by code, I simply run a query and get the summed total instantly," de Jesus says.

The system provides complete audit trails for the organization's budget. "Moving forward, only authorized projects exist. If there's any question — even regarding who entered a line in the system — AppSheet gives us the user, the timestamp, and the approver," de Jesus adds.

The success with Hermes encouraged broader AppSheet adoption across Embratur. The team built "Embracar," an internal transportation app that works like Uber for staff travel. Using Google Maps API integration through Apps Script, the system converts complex Brazilian addresses into coordinates and provides automated navigation for drivers.