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Google Sheets Gantt chart

Google Sheets Gantt chart template

Edit a sample annual report plan in Ganttile, then export its task table to Google Sheets. Add Gantt bars in Sheets using the formatting steps below.

The first three weeks of an annual report plan in Ganttile, by day: the brief, then figures, stories and photos gathered in parallel, with the design template starting alongside

5 phases
21 tasks
4 milestones
29 dependencies
About 14 weeks
Updated October 11, 2026

How to export the task table to Google Sheets

The export contains the tasks and dates from an annual report plan. It does not include Gantt bars or dependency arrows. You can add bars in Sheets with conditional formatting after importing the table.

Preview or copy the plan. Choose See template in action to browse the sample. Choose Use template to edit your own copy in Ganttile, which is free with no card or trial.
Include the columns you need. In your own copy, open the chart's columns menu and turn on End time. A start date and end date make it easier to build the date grid in Sheets. The public preview exports Start and Days instead.
Download the workbook. Choose Export, then Excel. The .xlsx contains the columns currently showing on the chart.
Open it in Sheets. Choose File, Import, Upload and select the .xlsx. Create a new spreadsheet or insert a sheet to keep existing work.
Check the dates. They export as date cells. If the day and month display in the wrong order, change the number format to suit your locale.

What arrives in the sheet?

Each task becomes a row, with bold phase rows above their tasks and a frozen header. The sample has these columns:

Column	What it holds
Task name	Each task with its owner at the front, under the bold row for its phase.
Start	A date cell, so sorting, filtering and date formulas work on it.
Days	How long the bar is, as a number. In your own copy the column is called Duration.
End time, when enabled	The task end date. Turn this column on in your own copy before exporting if you want to build Gantt bars in Sheets.
Estimate	The hours of work in the task, which is a different thing from the length of the bar.

To add bars, put week or day columns to the right of the table and colour cells whose dates fall between each task's start and end. The Google Sheets conditional formatting guide explains the setup.

Dependency arrows do not transfer. For example, the export does not preserve the link that makes printing wait for the approved proof. You would need to maintain that relationship yourself in Sheets.

The sample annual report plan

The sample gives a small organisation about fourteen weeks to gather content, write and design an annual report, obtain approvals and publish it. Its timings are starting points to replace with your team's availability and supplier deadlines.

Phase	Weeks	What happens
Plan and gather	1 to 4	The brief, then the figures, the stories and the photos collected side by side. Ends on All content in.
Writing	4 to 6	The narrative drafted as soon as the figures and stories arrive, the foreword, then one edit that checks every number. Ends on Copy locked.
Design	3 to 11	The page template early, the layout once the copy is locked and the photos are in, a proofread and the corrections.
Approvals	4 to 11	The auditor signing off the figures, drawn as a wait, and the board reading the proof.
Print and publish	5 to 14	The printer booked early, printing as a wait, the web version, the copies posted. Ends on Annual report published.

Roles such as Comms, Finance and Designer appear at the start of task names, so they remain visible in the exported table. Replace them with the people doing the work.

Adapt the plan before exporting

Confirm the external waits. Ask the auditor and printer for their turnarounds, then adjust the two Wait bars.
Assign the work. Replace role labels with names and check for overlapping tasks assigned to the same person.
Remove work you do not need. For an online-only report, remove printing and posting, then check the dependencies leading to publication.
Set the publication date. Check whether the remaining work fits before it. Confirm any changed deadlines with the people responsible.

You can also adapt the structure for a prospectus, grant report or catalogue. Keep only the approvals and external waits that apply.

Allow time for the auditor and printer

The sample allows a month for the auditor and two weeks for printing. Both appear as Wait bars without effort estimates: elapsed time is different from hours of your team's work.

Layout depends on the locked copy, collected content and page template. Board approval depends on the proofread and audit, and printing depends on the approved proof. These are the sample's assumptions; change the links if your approval process differs.

To explore a delay, turn on Auto schedule in your copy and extend the auditor's wait. Review which linked dates move and whether the new publication date is acceptable.

Decide where to maintain the plan

The export goes one way. Ganttile exports an .xlsx but does not import spreadsheets, so edits in Sheets do not return to the chart.

Maintain dates in Ganttile if you want dependencies to help reschedule work. Export a fresh snapshot when someone needs a spreadsheet.
Maintain the plan in Sheets if your team needs custom budget columns, formulas or spreadsheet-based reporting. Update dates and relationships there.

Agree which copy is current if you share both. For colleagues using Excel, the Excel Gantt chart template explains the same export with an office-move example.