Google Sheets Due Date Tracker Template (Free Download)

Five statuses: Complete, No Date, OVERDUE, Urgent (1-3 days), Due Soon (4-7 days), On Track (8+ days).

Tab 2: Dashboard. Summary formulas that pull from the Tracker tab:

Total items. Complete count. On Track count. Due Soon count. Urgent count. Overdue count. Most overdue item (name and days). Completion rate percentage.

Plus a QUERY-based list showing only overdue and urgent items, sorted by priority.

Conditional Formatting (Pre-Configured)

The template comes with these formatting rules already applied:

OVERDUE rows: red background, white text. Urgent rows: orange background. Due Soon rows: yellow background. On Track rows: white (default). Complete rows: light green background, gray text.

When you open the sheet, it looks like a traffic light. Red means act now. Orange means act today. Yellow means plan for this week. Green means done.

How to Use It

Step 1: Make a Copy

Click the template link. Go to File > Make a copy. Name it whatever you want. The copy is yours to edit freely.

Step 2: Enter Your Data

Start in the Tracker tab, row 2. Enter your items, categories, assignees, and due dates. The formulas in columns F and G auto-calculate immediately.

Use the Priority column dropdown (High, Medium, Low) to set importance. Use the Category column to group items (you can customize the dropdown values).

Step 3: Mark Items Complete

When something is done, enter today's date in the "Date Completed" column. The row turns green. The status changes to "Complete." The dashboard updates automatically.

Step 4: Check the Dashboard

The Dashboard tab gives you a snapshot. How many items are overdue? What is your completion rate? Which items need attention right now? All calculated automatically.

Customizing the Template

Change the Due Soon Window

The default "Due Soon" window is 4-7 days. To change it to 5-14 days, modify the Status formula:

Replace DATEDIF(TODAY(),D2,"D")<=3 with your urgent threshold and DATEDIF(TODAY(),D2,"D")<=7 with your "due soon" threshold.

Add Custom Categories

Click on the Category column. Go to Data > Data validation. Edit the list to add your own categories. Invoices, Projects, Renewals, Maintenance, whatever fits your workflow.

Add More Columns

Need a "Cost" column? A "Client" column? A "Link" column? Just insert a column and the existing formulas will still work. The formulas reference specific columns by letter, not by position.

Use Case Examples

Invoice tracking: Item = invoice number. Category = client name. Due Date = payment deadline. Date Completed = date payment received. The dashboard shows total outstanding invoices at a glance.

Rent collection: Item = unit number. Category = property. Due Date = 1st of the month. Date Completed = date paid. Exactly the pattern used in our rent tracking spreadsheet template.

Project management: Item = task name. Category = project. Assigned To = team member. Due Date = deadline. Track project completion rates and spot bottlenecks.

Contract renewals: Item = contract name. Category = vendor type. Due Date = renewal date. Get 7-day advance warnings before auto-renewals kick in.

Maintenance tracking: Item = repair description. Category = location. Priority = urgency. Due Date = target completion. Same pattern as our maintenance tracker template.

Adding Email Alerts

The template tracks due dates visually. But you still have to open it to see the colors. To add automatic email alerts when items become overdue, you have two options:

Option 1: Apps Script (Free)

I covered this in detail in how to set up due date reminders. The short version: paste a script into Extensions > Apps Script, set a daily trigger, and get an email every morning listing overdue and upcoming items.

Works well but requires occasional maintenance. Scripts break when columns change.

Option 2: Monitoring Tool (Paid, Zero Maintenance)

For critical tracking where a missed alert costs real money, connect your sheet to a monitoring tool. RentGuard checks your Google Sheet daily and sends text + email alerts when items are overdue. No code to maintain. $15/month.

Download the Template

The template is available as part of our free spreadsheet template collection. It includes the Tracker tab, Dashboard tab, all formulas, conditional formatting, and data validation dropdowns pre-configured.

Make a copy, replace the sample data with yours, and you are tracking due dates in under 2 minutes. No formulas to write. No formatting to configure. Just enter your data and go.

For more spreadsheet templates and formulas, check out Google Sheets formulas, overdue alert setup, and spreadsheet automation for small business.