Lead management
Lead Tracking Sheet Template for Excel and Google Sheets (Free CSV Download)
A free lead tracking spreadsheet with the 12 columns that matter, a formula for overdue follow-ups, a CSV download and when to move to a CRM.
A spreadsheet is a perfectly good way to start tracking leads, if it has the right columns and someone opens it every morning. This guide gives you a template with the twelve columns that matter, a download you can open in Excel or Google Sheets, the formulas that flag overdue follow-ups, and the signs that it is time to move the sheet into a CRM.
A lead sheet works while it has one owner per lead, a dated next step and a daily review; when dates pass unnoticed, it has outgrown the sheet.
The 12 columns a lead tracking sheet needs
More columns do not make a better tracker. Each of these answers a question you will ask every week.
- Name and Company: who it is.
- Phone and Email: how to reach them. Keep the phone in one format, with country code.
- Source: where the lead came from, such as Website, Referral, IndiaMART or Google Ads.
- Service interest: what they asked about.
- Stage: New, Contacted, Qualified, Proposal, Won or Lost.
- Temperature: Hot, Warm or Cold, so you know whom to call first.
- Owner: one person responsible for the next move.
- Next follow-up date: the most important column in the sheet.
- Last contact date: shows how long a lead has been untouched.
- Notes: what was said and agreed, in a line or two.
Practical tipKeep Stage to six or fewer values and use a drop-down list, so that filters and counts stay clean.
Download the template
The file below has the columns in the order above, with the first row as the header, and one example row to delete. Open it in Excel, or import it into Google Sheets with File, then Import. Download the lead tracking template (CSV).
Headers named Name, Company, Phone, Email, Source, Stage, Temperature and Owner are recognised when you import a CSV into WTS CRM, so the same file can move into a CRM later. Columns it does not recognise, such as the follow-up date and notes, stay in your sheet, so book those follow-ups again after the import.
Formulas that flag overdue follow-ups
Assuming Next follow-up is in column J, add a helper column called Status with a formula such as =IF(J2="","No date",IF(J2<TODAY(),"Overdue",IF(J2=TODAY(),"Due today","Upcoming"))). Copy it down, filter the column to Overdue and Due today every morning, and colour those rows with conditional formatting.
For days since last contact, use =TODAY()-K2, where K is Last contact. Sort it from largest to smallest to see which leads are going cold.
A daily routine that makes the sheet work
The template only helps if you use it at the same time each day.
- Open the sheet first thing and filter to Overdue and Due today.
- After each call, update Stage, Notes, Last contact and the next date before moving on.
- Give every live lead a next follow-up date. A blank date is a lead you are about to lose.
- Once a week, filter to Proposal and check that each one has a date this week.
- Move Won and Lost leads to a separate tab so the main sheet stays short.
When the sheet has outgrown itself
Spreadsheets break in predictable ways: dates pass and nothing happens, several people edit different copies, nobody can tell who owns a lead, and a win has to be retyped into an invoice. If two or more of those sound familiar, see when to move from Excel to a CRM.
In WTS CRM you can import this same sheet (CSV or XLSX) with invalid rows and duplicate phone numbers flagged in a preview before anything is saved. Then lead follow-ups are queued and emailed each morning, instead of depending on a filter you remember to apply. Keep Excel for analysis; use the CRM for the daily work.
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers
How do I create a lead tracking sheet in Excel?
Create a header row with columns for name, contact details, source, stage, owner, next follow-up date and notes, add a drop-down for stage, and a formula that flags overdue dates. The template in this guide has the columns ready.
What is the best lead tracker in Google Sheets?
A sheet with a dated next step, a single owner per lead, drop-downs for stage and temperature, and conditional formatting for overdue follow-ups. Import the CSV template with File, then Import.
Can I import this sheet into a CRM later?
Yes. The name, company, phone, email, source, stage, temperature and owner headers are recognised on import, and the preview flags invalid rows and duplicate phone numbers before anything is saved. Follow-up dates and notes are not imported, so book the follow-ups again afterwards.
How many leads can a spreadsheet handle?
The file can hold thousands of rows, but the habit breaks earlier: once several people share it or follow-up dates pile up, it stops telling you what to do next.