Curious about how to effectively manage your projects with Google Sheets? Look no further! Google Sheets is a powerful spreadsheet software that can be seamlessly integrated into your project management process. But hold on for a moment! Just because Google Sheets can handle massive amounts of data for free doesn’t mean it can solve all your problems. In this article, we will explore the benefits of project management with Google Sheets, its limitations, and a better alternative. Let’s get started!
What is Project Management with Google Sheets?
Google Sheets is a free online spreadsheet program, just like most other Google applications. And unless you’ve been living under a rock, we’re pretty sure you’re familiar with the Google Sheets interface. It’s essentially a large spreadsheet, similar to Excel! Want to know the differences between the two? Check out our Google Sheets vs Excel guide and our article on project management with Excel.
Using Google Sheets for project management is the preferred solution for professionals who want to create open-source datasets, perform basic data analysis, and solve other mind-boggling mathematical problems. You can even manually create a Google Sheets calendar! Google Sheets offers many features for project management, such as basic templates for project calendars, plans, tracking tools, etc. It also has a Gantt chart feature to track project start dates, task durations, and end dates, as well as charts like bar charts, stacked bar charts, line charts, etc. for visualization. It also offers conditional formatting, data validation, pivot tables for advanced data analysis, and real-time sharing and collaboration capabilities.
And most importantly, Google Sheets seamlessly integrates with other Google project management tools such as Slides, Docs, and Gmail. So once you’re in the Google workspace, Google is your oyster. Bonus: Learn more about project management with Google.
The 3 Advantages of Project Management with Google Sheets
A spreadsheet is a powerful tool, and with Google Sheets, you’re about to significantly boost your productivity! Here are what we believe to be the top three advantages of using Google Sheets for project management.
1. Ease of Use
Google Sheets is simply delightful for DIY enthusiasts. As long as you’re familiar with the spreadsheet format, you’ll quickly master Google Sheets. But Google doesn’t stop there. It also provides templates for a range of personal and professional projects. Still think you’ll get stuck? You can always “Google” it! Google’s detailed online guides and the vibrant user community will always be there to help.
2. Effortless Collaboration
Google Sheets is a great place to collaborate on data. It can easily accommodate up to 100 users simultaneously, while the owner of the spreadsheet retains the rights to modify access. Even if a user doesn’t have a Google account or is outside your network, Google Sheets will display them as “Anonymous exotic animal name“. What a convenient way to enrich your knowledge of fauna!
3. Free Software
No one would love Google Sheets as much if it were behind a paywall. Of course, you may need to pay for Google Drive storage if you exceed the personal 15 GB limit. However, until that moment, the entire Google workspace is free for everyone!
Don’t know how to use Google Sheets for project management? Let these templates take care of it for you.
10 Google Sheets Project Management Templates
Speed up your project management with Google Sheets using these simple templates.
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Monthly Expense Tracking Template: Every penny counts, but not if you don’t keep clear records of your expenses. Simplify your life with this handy monthly expense tracking template on Google Sheets. Download this Google Sheets monthly expense tracking template to create a pricing list for your team!
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Project Charter Template: The project charter is a fundamental document for any new business. Make sure you have the right details with this project charter template on Google Sheets. Download this Google Sheets project charter template.
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Project Plan Template: Don’t fill multiple notebooks with your grand project plans. Here’s a comprehensive project plan template that covers almost everything you need. Download this Google Sheets project management template.
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Simple Gantt Chart Template: Gantt charts can be a great way to visually track your project’s progress. This simple Gantt chart template is a good starting point if you’re new to Gantt charts.
Download this simple Gantt chart template. -
Event Planning Gantt Chart Template: Planning an event can be stressful! Use this event planning Gantt chart template on Google Sheets to manage all aspects of your event!
Download this event planning Gantt chart template on Google Sheets. -
Project Tracking Dashboard Template: It’s important to have a place where you can see your entire project at a glance. This Google Sheets project tracking dashboard allows you to see every part of your project in one view.
Download this project tracking dashboard template on Google Sheets. -
Daily Schedule Template: Having a daily schedule can help your team stay on track. This Google Sheets daily schedule template makes planning your day a breeze.
Download this daily schedule template on Google Sheets. -
Construction Gantt Chart Template: If you manage a construction team, using a Gantt chart to manage your projects is an excellent option.
Download this construction Gantt chart template on Google Sheets. -
Website Traffic Tracking Template: If you manage a website, staying up to date with your site’s traffic and analytics is important. This Google Sheets website traffic template displays your website traffic in an easy-to-understand dashboard.
Download this website traffic tracking dashboard template on Google Sheets. -
CRM Template: This project management template allows you to easily organize and update your company contacts.
Download this Google Sheets CRM template.
Whether with templates or not, Google Sheets is truly awesome. However, it still has a lot to learn. While it may suffice for your personal and passion projects, managing large-scale professional projects is a whole different game. And that’s where Google Sheets falls short.
Limitations of Google Sheets as a Project Management Tool (with Solutions)
No matter what you do, Google can’t extend its sheets to cover all your project management needs. But don’t worry. ClickUp, the world’s top-rated project management software, is here to fill the gaps in Google Sheets project management. Why? Simply because your project can’t settle for spreadsheets alone.
Here’s what Google Sheets can’t do and how ClickUp addresses these limitations.
1. Task Assignment Functionality
Sure, you can use Google Sheets cells and rows to perform basic data operations and project planning. However, after that… not much else. I mean, who’s going to execute the plan if you can’t assign tasks to people from the Google spreadsheet?
You only have two ways to solve this problem:
- Manually assign tasks (through individual interaction), OR
- Use another project task management software.
And if you ask me, that’s one step too many.
ClickUp Solutions: Tasks, Subtasks, and Assigned Comments
ClickUp doesn’t just dream. It works as hard as you do. Ready to take action? Just click the “+” sign in your ClickUp workspace and launch a task. In your task, you can add a description, subtasks, checklists, and task dependencies. Then simply assign tasks to the relevant people (or teams) and let them take it from there. Try ClickUp’s task management template to manage your tasks! Each task has its own comments section for task-specific conversations. You can also mention someone in a comment and turn it into an actionable task. It’s a fruitful conversation!
2. Complicated Dashboard Creation
A dashboard is like a scoreboard for your project. Without it, how will you know how far you’ve come? However, it’s easier to create a physical dashboard than to jump through the hoops on the Google Sheets dashboard!
You’ll have to build the entire backend data for the dashboard and update it manually. And even then, the problem of getting people to update the progress of their tasks persists.
Once again, Google Sheets – 0, ClickUp – 1.
ClickUp Solutions: Dashboards and Sprint Widgets
ClickUp’s dashboards display all the key project metrics at a glance. From your progress towards achieving your goals to the total time spent, you can see it all on your dashboard. And if you’re managing an Agile project, you’re in luck. Use the dashboard space to embed Sprint Widgets such as:
- Velocity Chart: to track team capacity.
- Progress Chart: to visualize completed work.
- Burndown Chart: to visualize remaining work.
- Cumulative Flow Diagram: to track project bottlenecks.
Try ClickUp’s Agile project management template! This template will help you plan your sprints, plan upcoming tasks, and track the progress of each feature. With this template, you can quickly identify any process issues or delays and adjust accordingly. Manage your backlog, prioritize tasks, and ensure everyone is working together to meet deadlines. Get started with ClickUp’s Agile project management.
3. Manual Task Updates
Do your team members often dance to celebrate the completion of a task? Hey, no judgment. We think it’s a perfectly healthy way to say “it’s done!” But in case you want a slightly more… traditional option, Google Sheets doesn’t offer one. And without these updates, it’s impossible to know where the project stands.
Once again, you’ll have to do it manually. Or…
ClickUp Solution: Custom Task Statuses
ClickUp’s custom task statuses are a complete solution. Not only can you update the status of tasks as you go, but you can also design these statuses to fit any complex projects. For example, if you’re an HR manager handling the hiring process, you can label your tasks with custom statuses like “Applied,” “Interviewed,” “Hired,” etc. You can choose from ClickUp’s ready-made templates or create your own customized workflow.
4. Limited Space for Detailed Documentation
At some point, even the most experienced spreadsheet native will feel a bit lost in Google Sheets. Because sometimes, you need more than rows and columns for your ideas. When that happens, you’ll feel like the characters in Westworld… all stuck in the maze. But here’s the thing: no need to start typing in a new Google document. Just try ClickUp.
ClickUp Solutions: Docs, Notepad, and Mind Maps
Write to your heart’s content in ClickUp’s Docs. Create detailed documents containing raw ideas or fully fleshed out plans with writer-friendly powerful features. You get:
- Rich text editing for beautifully formatted documents.
- Flexible sharing options to secure your documents.
- Import options in PDF, Markdown, and HTML formats.
- Nested pages for easy organization.
Maybe you don’t always need to write a masterpiece. Sometimes a quick note will do. Don’t bother searching for a pen and paper the next time you’re in the midst of a creative flow. Just use ClickUp’s Notepad. Click the “four dots” symbol in your workspace and start taking notes. It gives you all the rich text editing options that the rest of ClickUp offers, in bite-sized form.
And with ClickUp’s powerful search feature, you can easily find your old notes. Finally, for ideas still in development, you can use ClickUp’s Mind Maps. Create simple event chains or complex networks of thoughts and ideas, all while keeping up with the pace of a workday with ClickUp’s intuitive Mind Maps.
5. No Time Tracking
Do you hear the clock ticking closer to the deadline? Not in Google Sheets. Because it doesn’t track time! Whether you bill your clients by the hour or simply want to track project work hours to measure efficiency, Google Sheets can’t help you. While you can set time limits, you’ll need another tool to see if you’re staying within those limits. Unless you use…
ClickUp Solution: Native Time Tracking
Wasting valuable time on your project? Not with us! Because ClickUp’s native Timer follows you wherever you go. Enable the ClickUp Time Tracking app to add a timer icon above each task in your workspace. Whenever you start a task, simply press Start to record the time it takes to complete. And since it’s a Global Timer, you can track time on our web app, pause it, and resume time tracking on our desktop or mobile app!
ClickUp collects time spent information to generate detailed usage reports that you can use to reward and improve your team’s performance. If you’re already using third-party time tracking software, sync it into your ClickUp workspace through one of our many integrations for Time Doctor, Clockify, Pomodoro Timer, and more!
6. Limited Integrations
Google Workspace is a universe of its own. Need a chart? Choose from the dozens of varieties it offers. Looking for an illustration? Google Sheets can help. However, at some point, you’ll need more. More tools. More functions. Google will do its best to satisfy you with its numerous extensions. They’re great, no doubt. But they’re just extensions. Not complete software capable of complex tasks.
ClickUp Solution: Integrations
At ClickUp, we’re proud to cater to all project management needs. That’s why we offer a multitude of incredible integrations. Merge your Slack conversations, Loom screen recordings, and more with your ClickUp workspace. Here’s a list of some of the most popular integration options in ClickUp:
- GitHub
- Toggl
- OneDrive
- Outlook
- Google Calendar
- Zendesk
- Calendly
And the list goes on!
7. Limited Mobile App Features
Some things just aren’t made for the screens of mobile phones, like selfies on a bad hair day or spreadsheets on the Google Sheets mobile app. Good luck accessing your data on a small phone screen when you’re in a car or on the subway. Squint, scroll, repeat.
It must be acknowledged that Google has done a lot to make its app quite lightweight without compromising basic features. But it still remains a shadow of its desktop version. And we have a major #FOMO feeling. Luckily, the uncompromising solution for working on the go is:
ClickUp Solution: Mobile Apps
ClickUp’s mobile app is both lightweight and comprehensive. In fact, you won’t miss anything from the desktop version. It’s equally efficient on Android and iOS platforms and fully optimized for your mobile device. It’s the complete productivity tool!
ClickUp wouldn’t be a complete project management tool with just this many features, right?
Here are a few of our other favorite features:
- Automation: Choose from 50+ ClickUp ways to automate repetitive tasks.
- Pulse: Track your team’s activity throughout the day.
- Gantt Chart View: Build a complete project timeline.
- Profiles: Monitor your team members’ past, present, and future tasks.
- ClickUp Views: Manage your project through multiple views such as task list, board, and more.
- Time Estimates: Calculate project end dates based on task time estimates.
Embark on the Future of Project Management
Google Sheets is like training wheels for beginners. It’s the foundation for basic data management and lays the groundwork for complex planning. But you can’t go too far with training wheels, can you? If you want to become a superstar project manager, you’ll need the power of a robust tool, and that’s what ClickUp offers. Harness the superior task management, communication, and Agile project management features of ClickUp to race towards the finish line. Still in doubt? Simply try ClickUp for free and manage your projects and communicate effectively with stakeholders at the speed of light.
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