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Excel is one of those tools everyone just expects you to use. It’s already on your desktop, your team knows their way around it, and most of the time, someone before you was already using it to track projects. So, you open a new spreadsheet, start plugging in tasks, and keep using it out of habit.
But just because Excel is familiar, doesn’t mean it’s the best tool for project management. Excel can handle the basics, but once your projects get bigger or your team starts growing, it gets harder to keep everything organized. You spend more time updating cells, double-checking versions, and trying to keep everyone on the same page. Eventually, it starts to feel less like a solution and more like a workaround.
In this post, I walk you through where Excel shines, where it lacks, and what finally made me switch to Teamwork.com, a tool that’s built for project management.
How to use Excel in project management
You can use Excel in project management to plan, track, and monitor every part of your project. Here’s how:
Create a project plan: Start by listing your tasks, deadlines, and who’s responsible for what.
Build a timeline: Use Excel’s rows and columns to map out your schedule. Add start and end dates to stay on track.
Track progress: Add status columns (like “Not Started,” “In Progress,” “Done”) and use color coding to keep things visual.
Manage resources: Keep tabs on team workloads, budgets, and availability in one sheet.
Use formulas and filters: Automate calculations and quickly sort or find what you need.
Visualize data: Insert charts to see how everything fits together.
My 3 favorite Excel features for project management
Excel wasn’t built for project management, but that hasn’t stopped most of us from using it that way. For the right kind of project, especially in the early stages, it can be useful. Here are three features I’ve leaned on when managing projects in Excel:
Conditional formatting: Need to flag overdue tasks or highlight something that’s over budget? Conditional formatting has your back. You can set it up so cells change color automatically when certain conditions are met, like a looming deadline or a number that’s creeping too high. It’s a simple trick, but super effective when you want your data to speak up.
Gantt charts workarounds: Excel doesn’t come with Gantt charts, but you can build your own (or borrow a template) to map out timelines and task dependencies. It takes a bit of manual effort, but it gives you a basic visual overview of what needs to happen when. This is great if you’re juggling a lot of moving parts.
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Pivot tables: If you’ve ever looked at a massive spreadsheet and thought “I need to make sense of this fast,” pivot tables are a lifesaver. They help you organize and summarize data by category—like tracking hours by team members, spotting patterns, or breaking down tasks—in just a few clicks. Once you get the hang of them, pivot tables are magic.
How to create a project management tracker in Excel
Building a project tracker in Excel is easier than you might think. With just a few columns and a bit of structure, you can create a simple but effective tool to monitor your progress. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you get started:
Set up your columns: Start by creating columns for the key details: Task Name, Owner, Start Date, Due Date, Status, and Priority. You can add more later, but this gives you a solid foundation. Think of each row as one task in your project. Keep it clear—you'll thank yourself later.
List your tasks: Under each column, start filling in your tasks. Be specific with task names and assign them to team members if needed. Include due dates to stay on top of timelines. This becomes your working project list.
Use data validation for consistency: To make your tracker easier to update, use drop-down lists for columns like "Status" or "Priority." This keeps the data clean and avoids typos. In Excel, you can do this with the Data Validation tool under the “Data” tab. It’s a small trick that makes a big difference.
Apply conditional formatting: Make your tracker more visual by using color codes. For example, red for “Overdue,” green for “Complete,” and yellow for “In Progress.” Excel’s conditional formatting tool lets you highlight cells automatically based on their values. This helps you immediately spot risks or delays. A little color can go a long way.
Add filters or freeze panes: Once your tracker grows, it’s helpful to freeze the header row so you can scroll without losing track of your columns. You can also use filters to sort tasks by priority, owner, or status. These features make your spreadsheet much easier to navigate. Simple tools, powerful results.
3 benefits of using Excel for project management
Excel might not be built for project management, but it definitely comes with some solid perks. Whether you’re managing a small task list or juggling multiple timelines, Excel offers features to help you stay organized. Let’s break down some of the top benefits of using Excel to manage your projects:
Easy to use: Most people already know the basics of Excel, so there’s little to no learning curve. You can jump right in and start building your project tracker in minutes. No need to learn a whole new tool. That saves time and keeps things simple for your whole team.
Customizable: Need a custom status column? Or a color-coded priority system? With Excel, you can personalize every part of your sheet to match how your team works. That means your project tracker works the way you need it to.
Helps you stay organized: Track everything in one place, from tasks, to project budgets, to team info. Excel makes it easier to manage moving parts. You can quickly see what’s on schedule and what’s falling behind. It makes the project more manageable.
3 limitations of using Excel in project management
Excel can be a helpful starting point, but it does have some limitations—especially when your projects grow beyond a few tasks or team members. Here are three common challenges with Excel and how to solve them:
It’s hard to collaborate: In Excel, teamwork means emailing files back and forth or juggling different versions that can easily get overwritten. Teamwork.com solves this with a real-time Workload Planner, where everyone sees the latest information live. Comments, file attachments, and notifications help the team stay aligned without sending spreadsheets around. Plus, you can also see who has the right skills for the job. This helps you choose the best person for each task, which leads to better results and smoother projects.
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There’s no built-in task management: Sure, you can track tasks manually in Excel, but there’s no automatic reminders or status updates when things shift. Teamwork.com offers task lists, milestones, dependencies, and automated notifications so nothing slips through the cracks. Your team gets nudged when deadlines are approaching or tasks move forward, without any manual updating.
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It doesn’t scale well: As your project gets more complex, with more tasks, team members, and deadlines, Excel can become a burden that slows things down—it can’t handle that much data. Instead, Teamwork.com grows with your needs. You can use Gantt charts to visualize project timelines, workload reports to understand who’s over or under capacity, project dashboards to get high-level views, and time tracking to monitor hours spent. It handles complexity elegantly, giving you clarity and control, even as your project scales.
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Try a new way of managing projects with Teamwork.com
If you’ve been managing your projects in Excel, you already know the hustle. Manually updating rows, searching for the latest version, and trying to keep everything aligned across your team can quickly turn into a full-time job. That’s where Teamwork.com comes in. It takes everything you wish Excel could do, and makes it simple, connected, and enjoyable to use.
With Teamwork.com, you can plan your projects, assign work, track time, manage budgets, and collaborate with your team all in one place. No more bouncing between spreadsheets or chasing status updates through email. You get instant visibility into what’s happening across every project, powerful features designed for client work, and smart features like Gantt charts, workload management, and real-time dashboards. It’s built to grow with your team and help you deliver great work without the spreadsheet stress.
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