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Last updated: March 18, 2026
A destination is your BigQuery connection — it tells Detrics which GCP project and dataset to write data to. You set it up once, then create as many transfers as you need pointing to it.

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Prerequisites

Before creating a destination, you need:
  • A Google Cloud Platform (GCP) account
  • A GCP project with the BigQuery API enabled
  • Permission to manage IAM roles in the project (to grant Detrics access)
If you don’t have a GCP project yet, create one at console.cloud.google.com. BigQuery is automatically available in every GCP project — just make sure the BigQuery API is enabled in APIs & Services.

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Creating a Destination

  1. In the Detrics web app, go to Data Warehouse → Destinations
  2. Click New Destination
  3. Fill in the details:

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Destination Name

A label for your reference (e.g., “Production Warehouse”, “Client Analytics”, “Dev/Testing”). This is only visible in Detrics, not in BigQuery.

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GCP Project ID

The project ID from your Google Cloud Console. You can find this on the GCP Dashboard or in the project selector dropdown. It looks like my-company-analytics or project-id-123456.
Use the Project ID, not the Project Name or Project Number. The Project ID is the lowercase identifier, usually visible under the project name in the GCP console.

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Dataset Name

The BigQuery dataset where Detrics will create tables. Use lowercase letters, numbers, and underscores (e.g., marketing_data, warehouse_prod). If the dataset doesn’t exist, Detrics will create it automatically. If it already exists, Detrics will add tables to it — existing tables are not affected.

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Data Location

The geographic region where your data is physically stored. This is permanent and cannot be changed after the dataset is created.
LocationTypeDescription
USMulti-regionData stored across multiple US data centers
EUMulti-regionData stored across multiple EU data centers
us-east1, us-central1, etc.Single regionData stored in a specific US region
europe-west1, europe-west2, etc.Single regionData stored in a specific EU region
asia-east1, asia-southeast1, etc.Single regionData stored in a specific Asia region
For most users, US or EU multi-region is the best choice. Multi-region gives you higher availability and doesn’t restrict which regions can query the data. Choose a specific region only if you have data residency requirements.

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Timezone

The timezone used by all transfers on this destination. The timezone is used for:
  • Interpreting schedule times (e.g., “6:00 AM” in which timezone)
  • Date boundary calculations

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Granting Access to Detrics

After creating the destination, Detrics displays a service account email that needs access to your GCP project. This service account is what Detrics uses to create datasets, tables, and load data.

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Required IAM Roles

Grant the Detrics service account these two roles:
RolePurpose
BigQuery UserCreate datasets, create tables, insert data, run queries, and manage load jobs

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How to Grant Access

  1. Go to Google Cloud Console → IAM & Admin → IAM
  2. Make sure you’ve selected the correct project in the top dropdown
  3. Click Grant Access
  4. In the New principals field, paste the Detrics service account email shown on your destination page
  5. In the Select a role dropdown, search for and select BigQuery User
  6. Click Save

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Sending Instructions to a Teammate

If you don’t have GCP admin access, click Send Instructions on the destination page. This generates an email with:
  • The exact service account email to add
  • Step-by-step instructions for granting access
  • The specific roles needed
You can send this to your GCP administrator or DevOps team.

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Testing the Connection

After granting access, test the connection:
  1. Go to your destination’s detail page
  2. Click Test Connection
  3. Detrics runs a series of checks:
    • Can access the project — Verifies the service account has basic access
    • Can create a dataset — Checks dataset creation permissions (or verifies the existing dataset)
    • Can create tables — Verifies table creation within the dataset
    • Can insert data — Confirms data loading works
    • Can query data — Validates read access
If any check fails, you’ll see a specific error message. The most common issue is missing IAM roles — see Troubleshooting for solutions. Once the test passes, your destination is ready. The status badge changes to Connected.

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Managing Destinations

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Editing a Destination

You can update the destination’s name and timezone at any time. The GCP project ID, dataset name, and data location cannot be changed after creation (these are BigQuery constraints).

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Multiple Destinations

You can create multiple destinations for different purposes:
  • Production vs. staging — Test changes in a staging dataset before pointing transfers at production
  • Regional separation — Keep EU client data in an EU dataset and US client data in a US dataset
  • Team separation — Different teams or departments with their own datasets

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Sharing a Destination

You can share a destination with other members of your Detrics workspace. Shared users can create transfers using the destination but cannot modify the destination settings. Go to the destination detail page and click Share to manage access.

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Deleting a Destination

Deleting a destination in Detrics does not delete the BigQuery dataset or any data. It only removes the connection from Detrics. Any transfers using the destination will stop syncing.