How to open it
Excel: open the downloaded file directly. The formulas calculate on open. Google Sheets: File, then Import, then Upload, and choose the file. Leave "Convert text to numbers, dates, and formulas" ticked so the status column works.
Replace the example rows with your own. To add a row, copy the last one down so its formulas come with it.
The formulas
Days left is =DAYS(C2,TODAY()): the days from today until the expiry date, negative once it has passed. Status wraps the same calculation in two IFs. EXPIRED if the date has passed, DUE SOON inside 30 days, otherwise OK. Change the 30 to match how much notice you need.
Add conditional formatting to the status column, red for EXPIRED and amber for DUE SOON, and the sheet reads at a glance.
Where a spreadsheet stops working
The formulas only run when someone opens the file. A spreadsheet cannot email anyone, so every lapse in a spreadsheet-run system happens on a day nobody looked. That is the one thing no template can fix.
When you get there, ExpiryLedger imports this same file as it is. The column names already match its importer, so nothing needs retyping, and from then on the reminders go out on their own.
Common questions
- Is the template really free? Do I need to give an email?
- Free, and no email. It is a plain CSV file that downloads directly.
- Everything opened in one column. What went wrong?
- Some regional Excel settings expect semicolons rather than commas. Use Data, then From Text/CSV, and choose comma as the delimiter. Google Sheets detects it automatically.
- Can I import it into ExpiryLedger later?
- Yes. The headers match the importer, so the file loads as it is. The two formula columns are ignored, because ExpiryLedger works out status itself.
- Why CSV rather than an .xlsx file?
- CSV opens in Excel and Google Sheets alike, with nothing to enable and no macros. Save it as .xlsx once it is open if you want to keep the formatting you add.
Next year, don't work it out by hand
ExpiryLedger remembers every date and emails you — and whoever holds the document — before it matters. Free for 25 items, no card.
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