While accounting may be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of spreadsheet software, there are many more possibilities beyond that. So, what are other practical ways you can use Google Sheets? Read on to find out.
1. Track Your Spending With Google Sheets
You don’t need to be an accountant to track your spending in spreadsheet software. Using Google sheets, you can build a monthly tracker to help you keep tabs on your spending and establish a baseline for your budget.
Better yet, you don’t need to learn a ton of complex formulas or functions to get the job done. Using just three columns—place, category, and amount—you can enter your transactions daily and get a total for the month. The SUM function will help you add your grand total as follows:
Type =SUM() into the desired cell. Put the column range between the brackets—for example, =SUM(C:C) . Hit Enter on your keyboard.
And adding category totals is a cinch with SUMIF.
Type =SUMIF() into a cell. Place your category column range in the brackets, followed by a comma. Type the name of a category in quotation marks, followed by another column. Add the amount column range—it will look like this =SUMIF(B:B, “groceries”,C:C), with your sheet’s column ranges instead. Hit Enter on your keyboard.
Using these two functions, you can create the perfect template to help you get to the bottom of where your money is going.
2. Keep a To-Do List in Google Sheets
Whether it’s a continuous checklist or you’re planning a catch-up day, Google Sheets is an excellent place for your to-do list. But you don’t need to reinvent the wheel if you just want to get going. Among the software’s template gallery, you’ll find a prebuilt solution.
To find it, head over to your Google Sheets homepage. At the top of your screen, you’ll notice a panel where you can choose to Start a new spreadsheet or browse a handful of templates.
If you don’t see it there, click Template gallery in the top-left corner, and you’ll find it under Personal. Once you click in, it’s ready to go.
3. Collaborate on Projects in Google Sheets
Choosing the right project management tool for you and your team can be challenging, especially when it comes to budget. If you’re not ready to invest, you can build a functional project collaboration board in Google Sheets that works just as well, minus some of the bells and whistles—but who needs them?
Some examples of columns you can include are:
Task name —to identify assignments. Due date —to communicate deadlines. Priority —to show if a task is urgent—or not. Status —to quickly let others know where an assignment stands. Notes —to share the scope, thoughts, and ideas around an assignment. Owner —to assign a task to yourself and others, letting your team know who’s on it.
It takes a little initial planning to set up a project board in Google Sheets, but beyond the benefit of saving money, your coworkers may already know the basics of spreadsheet software, so there’s less explaining for you to do.
4. Build a Content Calendar in Google Sheets
There’s also no shortage of choice when picking content calendar tools. Really, it can be overwhelming to compare features—useful and not. If you’re still trying to choose a favorite, you can create a custom content calendar in Google Sheets that will suit all your needs—other than actually posting it, but most social channels have some scheduler built into them.
Here, you can map out your posts within columns, much like prompts, such as:
Account —where you want it to go. Status —what stage the post is in. Copy —the text you’d like to include. Image —the picture you want to upload. Date —when you want to post it. Notes —additional thoughts and ideas on the post and the work that goes into it. Owner —who is responsible for the content. Links —where to find the post later.
Like the status buttons in ClickUp and other project management software, you can also use a combination of Data validation and Conditional formatting to make your progress updates clickable. Here’s how:
Select a cell in your Status column. Go to Data in the top menu, then Data validation . For Criteria , use List of items , and enter the words you’d like to use, separated by a comma. Hit Save . With your dropdown still selected, go to the Format menu at the top of your screen and click Conditional formatting . Under Format rule in the sidebar, choose Format cell if… and Text contains . Enter the status name and select the background color you want to associate with it. Hit Done and repeat steps 5-7 with the rest of your statuses.
While many content calendar software is available, why not tailor your calendar to your needs by building one in sheets? Better yet, it’s free with no paywalls.
5. Keep a CRM in Google Sheets
Another software that can get a bit overcomplicated and pricey is CRM. You can build your own based on your current sales or service processes in Google Sheets. Some columns to include are client name, phone number, email, date contacted, status, and notes.
Before you start building your CRM in Google Sheets, you’ll also want to consider some columns that are unique to your business and sales cycle, such as the desired product or service, the problem you’re trying to solve for the client, or who owns the account.
You may decide you’re content with your Google Sheets CRM, but even if you move to another software later, many allow you to import data from spreadsheets.
6. Set and Track Your Goals in Google Sheets
It’s one thing to have goals. It’s another to set them. You can use Google Sheets to do that by:
Writing it out—what do you want to do? Getting specific—how will you know when you’re there? Determining your objectives—what will you do to get there? Giving it a timeline—how long do you want it to take? Measuring it—how can you track your goal daily?
Create a simple sheet with columns for your goal statements, specifics, objectives, and timelines. Add another for progress.
Below your goals, create a table with the days of the week as rows and your daily objectives as columns—for example, reading 20 minutes a day, going for a 30-minute walk, etc. Track your activity daily and update your progress weekly.
Stay on Top of Your Workload With Google Sheets
You don’t need to invest in pricey software to stay on top of your workload. With some planning and creativity, you can build the perfect solution in Google Sheets. Best of all, you can easily share them with your friends and coworkers to team up on tasks and projects.
