Goals spreadsheet: see how to create one and download our free template

A goals spreadsheet is a tool used in personal or business management that helps create and monitor the processes needed to reach one or more predetermined targets.

It can be built by hand, on paper or in systems such as Google Sheets, Excel and management software. The more professional the strategic planning tool, the greater the control and the better the monitoring.

So it is natural for companies to choose solutions that provide data to enrich the objectives spreadsheet and, in this way, make it easier to align the whole team in pursuit of the best results.

In practice, creating this spreadsheet takes effort and deep knowledge of the company’s activities. That is how you can build a model customized for the business.

As you can imagine, there are countless ways to build a document like this, but some characteristics are essential in any model you choose. See below what they are!

Main characteristics of a goals spreadsheet

One of the main characteristics of a goals spreadsheet is objectivity. Every step and target must be clear and defined. That way, you can identify data that signals you are on the right track.

Without objectivity, it is impossible to implement performance indicators or make the adjustments needed to align action with expectation.

Another point, also tied to this one, is having measurable, quantitative and direct goals.

Finally, another characteristic of the spreadsheet that cannot be ignored is the deadline: the period of each process and, above all, of the final target must be defined in any goals model.

Also watch this video (in Portuguese) to understand the difference between goals and objectives:

Now that you know what a goals spreadsheet is, let’s see why it is so important for your business!

Why use a goals spreadsheet

Goals and objectives lead a company to success, serving as a north star to follow. When that is missing, any result achieved is considered good enough.

For a business that sells 100 units of its product this month, selling 105 the next month looks like great progress. But if there is a growth goal of 10% per month, that result no longer looks so satisfying.

The goals and objectives spreadsheet is important not only for charting sales growth, but for following day-to-day progress in every process of the business. That way, the manager has complete and accurate information at hand.

With a sales goals spreadsheet, for example, it is important to be able to answer questions like these:

• Which salesperson has the best sales performance?
• In which periods of the month does the company close the most sales?
• How long does it take to convert an interested person into a customer?
• How are sales distributed over the year?

The same kind of question can be adapted to other areas of the business. To do that, you just need to build the ideal goals, objectives and indicators spreadsheet for your company.

In fact, these are only some of the questions that can be answered with the data in a goal monitoring spreadsheet.

Do you see the potential your company has in hand when it collects such valuable information?

It is no accident that this is one of the most indispensable tools for a company’s success in the market. After all, whoever does not know where they are going ends up getting nowhere.

See also: Goal tracking software: is it worth investing in?

Want more tips on how to track your business goals? Then download this free infographic: INFOGRAPHIC, How to use KPIs to track results and engage your teamopens in a new tab

How do you create a goals and objectives spreadsheet?

For a long time, control over a company’s objectives was done manually, based only on results collected at the end of the month. But that form of control greatly limits access to information.

The good news is that creating a goal tracking spreadsheet is very simple and can be done by the company’s own manager. All you need is a spreadsheet application (such as Excel) or Google Sheets to organize all the information.

If you want to put this into practice in your company, just follow the step-by-step guide we developed to create a goals spreadsheet!

It is worth noting that we use the sales department as an example, but you can adapt the layout to other areas.

1. Create your spreadsheet in Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers

The first step to creating your spreadsheet is simply to open the program you chose and create a file for the model. After that, you can start organizing all the information in the following fields:

• monthly budgeted goal: it can be split by days or weeks;
• goal achieved: it should sit next to the budgeted goal so you can evaluate how far it was met;
• salesperson performance: you can create specific fields to evaluate the performance of each of the company’s employees;
• summaries and charts: all of this information can be organized more clearly as percentages or charts.

2. Organize the necessary data

The spreadsheet data needs to be organized to make the information easier to interpret. So the ideal is to create a tab for each month of the year and build a dashboard that summarizes the whole year.

3. Collect the information

After the goal monitoring spreadsheet is created, the information collection stage begins, which is, or should be, a constant routine for the manager.

All information about completed sales should be entered daily so that the data generated is accurate and up to date.

But is there not an easier way to track your goals?

Learn more: How to set sales goals for your sales teamopens in a new tab.

If you want a ready-to-use tool, go to this link and download it for free right now: SPREADSHEET: Performance indicator trackingopens in a new tab

Besides the goals template [FREE!], you can also find other spreadsheets in Siteware’s free materials that go beyond this topic. Here are some of them:

• Complete Spreadsheet: Business Budgetopens in a new tab
• Automated Spreadsheet: OKR Methodologyopens in a new tab
• Automated Spreadsheet: Variable Compensationopens in a new tab

As you have probably noticed, even with a ready-made model, building a goals spreadsheet is not exactly simple, is it?

What is more, capturing and analyzing data manually is a considerable risk for your strategic planning. Technology can be a great option to minimize errors and optimize your whole team’s time. See below how that is possible!

Goal tracking software: even more accurate information

Although it is a big step forward from manual controls, a goal tracking spreadsheet is still limited to manual entry of all data. It is also prone to formula errors or corrupted files.

For companies that want even greater command over their goals and objectives, you can use software built for that purpose.

That is because digital solutions can automate processes and make controls even more practical, aligning the whole company around the objectives set.

Siteware developed indicator softwareopens in a new tab that centralizes all of your business’s performance management, cascading strategy, connecting projects and executing your action plans. Above all, it helps collect valuable data!

With a good business management system, you track corporate performance in a connected way, and you monitor and centralize strategic, tactical and operational indicators, which makes decision-making easier and helps you build realistic goals.

One of the best systems on the market is Stratwsopens in a new tab, management software that helps you organize your routine better, manage and engage your team, and keep the focus on results.