Free Renewal Tracking Spreadsheet Template

What's in the template

The Renewals sheet has these columns:

• Item: what it is, for example "City business license" or "Forklift certification".
• Type: license, permit, certification, contract, subscription, insurance policy, certificate of insurance, registration, inspection, warranty or other (a drop-down list).
• Group: the location, department or client it belongs to, so each person can filter to their own items.
• Person or asset: the employee, vehicle or piece of equipment, where it applies.
• Issuer or vendor, and the license, policy or contract number.
• Expiration or renewal date.
• Notice or action deadline: for contracts that renew automatically, the last day to cancel or renegotiate.
• First reminder (days before): how much time the renewal needs.
• Owner and Backup.
• Annual cost.
• Document on file? (Yes or No).
• Days left to act: counts down to the earlier of the deadline and the expiration date, by formula.
• Status: Overdue (red), Due soon (amber) or OK, by formula, based on the reminder days you set.
• Notes.

A How to use sheet explains each step. Three example rows show a license, a certification and an auto-renewing contract; delete them when you start.

How to use it well

• Add everything, from every department and location. A complete list matters more than a perfect one. See how to build a license and permit inventory.
• Name an owner and a backup for every row.
• Set the reminder days from how long each renewal really takes. See how far ahead to set renewal reminders.
• Filter Status to Overdue and Due soon once a week, and follow up with each owner.
• Keep one copy. Store the file where everyone who needs it can open it, and don't let copies multiply.
• Update it at every renewal: new dates, new document, same row.

The limits of any spreadsheet

A spreadsheet is a list, not a system:

• it doesn't remind anyone: someone has to open it and look;
• it keeps no history of who changed what, or of past renewals;
• documents live somewhere else;
• it's easy to sort one column without the others, overwrite a row or work from an old copy;
• giving each location or client its own view means more copies.

Signs you've outgrown it, and how to move without losing data, are in how to move renewal tracking off spreadsheets. There's also a side-by-side in RenewalTracker vs spreadsheets.

From this template to RenewalTracker

The template's columns map easily to RenewalTracker's fields: RenewalTracker imports items from Excel, and setup assistance is included if you want help. Every row then gets automated email reminders to its owner, its documents attached and its full history. Download the template below, or start a free trial with the list you already have.