Free · Excel & Google Sheets
Free Vendor & Contractor Document Tracker Template
A free spreadsheet for the documents you collect from contractors and suppliers: insurance certificates, accreditations, risk assessments and signed agreements. Each row gets a request-by date, a status colour and an "on file" flag, so you ask for the renewed document before the old one lapses.
In the file
5 sheets · 139 KB · opens in Excel, Google Sheets and LibreOffice
- Start here
- Documents
- Dashboard
- Import to ExpiryEdge
- Lists
Prefer a plain list? The CSV (1 KB) has the same columns and example rows, without formulas or colours.
Preview
The tracker sheet, with example rows
This is the colour logic the spreadsheet uses. Move the date to see which rows turn amber or red next.
contractor-document-tracker.xlsx
| Contractor | Document | Expiry date | Request-by date | Days left | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Example – Sample Electrical Ltd | Public liability insurance | 20 Oct 2026 | 20 Sep 2026 | 22 | Due ≤30 days |
| Example – Sample Electrical Ltd | Trade accreditation / registration | 30 Nov 2026 | 31 Oct 2026 | 63 | Due ≤90 days |
| Example – Sample Scaffolding Co | Employers' liability insurance | 15 Sep 2026 | 16 Aug 2026 | -13 | Expired |
| Example – Sample Scaffolding Co | Risk assessment & method statement | 1 Jun 2027 | 2 May 2027 | 246 | OK |
| Example – Sample Cleaning Services | Signed contract / agreement | 30 Jun 2027 | 1 May 2027 | 275 | OK |
| Example – Sample Security Ltd | Staff licence / card list | 10 Dec 2026 | 26 Oct 2026 | 73 | Due ≤90 days |
1 expired, 1 due ≤30 days, 2 due ≤90 days, 2 OK. The example dates are fixed, so as real time passes more of them turn amber and red: that is the formula working.
How to use it in 3 steps
Set your document list
On the Lists sheet, keep the documents you actually require from contractors and add your own.
One row per contractor per document
Copy the expiry date from the document. For documents without an expiry (a method statement, a policy), set your own review date.
Request before the date
The request-by date is expiry minus lead time. Use "On file?" to mark what you have asked for.
What’s inside
- Start here
- How to use it in three steps, the colour key and what every column means.
- Documents
- Contractor documents (one row per contractor per document). Filters, dropdowns, frozen header and status colours, with formulas filled down 500 rows.
- Dashboard
- Counts by status and the next 10 dates, as of today.
- Import to ExpiryEdge
- The same rows in the ExpiryEdge bulk-import columns, filled by formula.
- Lists
- The options behind every dropdown. Add your own.
Open it in Google Sheets
There is no shared Google copy to request access to. You import the same file, so you own your copy from the start.
Download the .xlsx
Use the button above. It saves straight to your computer.
Import it into a blank Google Sheet
Open Google Sheets, create a blank spreadsheet, then choose File › Import › Upload and pick the file. Select "Replace spreadsheet".
Check the dates
Formulas, dropdowns and status colours carry over. If your Google account uses a different locale, dates show in that format, which is fine: they are real dates underneath.
Columns explained
Type in the input columns. Calculated columns fill themselves. Columns marked required are the ones the import sheet needs.
| Column | What to enter | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Contractor | Company or sole trader name. | Input · required |
| Trade / service | What they do for you. | Input |
| Document | Pick from the list; add your own on the Lists sheet. | Input · required |
| Reference | Policy, card or registration number. | Input |
| Issued | Issue date on the document. | Input |
| Expiry date | Expiry date on the document, or your own review date for documents that do not expire. | Input · required |
| Lead time (days) | How many days before the date you want to start acting. Leave blank for 30. | Input |
| Request-by date | Calculated. Ask for the renewed document before this. | Calculated |
| Days left | Calculated. Days until the date; negative once it has passed. | Calculated |
| Status | Calculated. Expired, Due ≤30 days, Due ≤90 days or OK. | Calculated |
| On file? | Do you hold a current copy? | Input |
| Contractor email | Where to send the request. | Input |
| Internal owner email | Who should be reminded. Becomes notification_email on import. | Input |
| Priority | Low, Medium or High. Matches the ExpiryEdge priority field. | Input |
| Document link | Link to the certificate or document in your shared drive. | Input |
| Notes | Anything the next person needs to know. | Input |
When a spreadsheet stops being enough
For a handful of dates and one careful owner, this template is all you need. These are the signs it has become the wrong tool.
Sign 1
More than one person owns the dates
When several people add rows, dates get typed as text, copies drift apart and nobody is sure which file is current.
Sign 2
Reminders depend on someone opening the file
The status turns red whether or not anyone is looking. If the person who checks it is on leave, the date passes quietly.
Sign 3
You need to prove what happened
An audit, insurer or inspector may ask who was told, when, and where the certificate is. A spreadsheet does not keep that history.
When you would rather not remember
What this looks like when it runs itself
The same row, tracked for you: an owner, reminders at 90, 60, 30 and 7 days by email, SMS, WhatsApp, Slack or Teams, the document on file and a log of who did what. The "Import to ExpiryEdge" sheet in this template is already laid out for Bulk Import, so moving across is one upload.
Try it with your own dates, free for 14 days, no cardExpiryEdge · Tracked item
Public liability certificate · Sample Electrical Ltd
ValidOwner
Site manager
Expires
20 Oct 2027
Reminders before expiry
90d
60d
30d
7d
Due
Contractor document tracker: questions, answered
It depends on the work, your sector and your contract terms. Common ones are liability insurance certificates, trade registrations or accreditations, risk assessments and method statements, and a signed agreement. Your insurer or health and safety adviser can tell you what your cover assumes.
The insurance tracker is built around policies: limits, premiums, additional insured. This one is built around contractors and every document you hold for them, of which insurance is one. Use whichever matches how you work.
Yes. Open a blank Google Sheet, choose File › Import › Upload, pick the .xlsx and select "Replace spreadsheet". The formulas use only functions that Google Sheets, Excel and LibreOffice all support (no FILTER, SORT or XLOOKUP), so the status colours, dropdowns and dashboard carry over. The Excel table styling becomes a plain range with filters.
No. A spreadsheet only changes when someone opens it, so the colours are only as good as your habit of checking. Put a weekly calendar slot on it, or move the documents into a tool that sends the reminders for you.
It is the same rows laid out in the ExpiryEdge bulk-import columns (name, expiry_date, type and so on), filled in by formula. You can ignore it. If you ever move the list into ExpiryEdge, upload the file in Bulk Import and pick that sheet, or save the sheet as CSV. Nothing is sent anywhere by the file itself.
It is free to download, use, change and share inside your organisation. There is no sign-up and no email needed: the download starts when you click.
A free template, not legal advice. It tracks the dates you enter; it does not decide which rules apply to you. Check requirements against the official source for your situation.