Comping Spreadsheet Template (UK): The Ready-Made Tracker Compers Actually Use

▍Comping Spreadsheet Template (UK): The Ready-Made Tracker Compers Actually Use

This is the comping spreadsheet template that 90% of UK compers eventually converge on, after a few weeks of trial and error. It's not fancy. It's nine columns, four formulas, two colour rules and one tab — and it'll handle 20-30 entries a day without breaking a sweat. If you want to build one from scratch instead of copying the finished thing, our sister post creating a comping spreadsheet from scratch walks through every cell, formula and screenshot description step-by-step. This post gives you the finished template to copy.

▍What this template is (and isn't)

This is a free comping spreadsheet template for Google Sheets, Excel and Numbers. It tracks the four things that actually matter: what you entered, when it closes, whether you won, and how much the prize was worth. Everything else is optional.

It isn't a magic system that wins competitions for you. The best comping spreadsheet in the world won't help if you don't enter consistently — for that read comping routine and time management. What this template does is give you back the 10-20 minutes a day most beginner compers waste on "have I entered this one already?" and "when does that hamper one close?". That time goes back into entries, which is the only thing that genuinely moves your win rate.

▍The ready-made template: column structure

Here's the full column structure. Copy the table headings into row 1 of a new Google Sheet, freeze the first row (View → Freeze → 1 row) and you've got a working tracker.

That's the minimum viable spreadsheet. Nine columns, no formulas more complex than subtraction, and the only manual maintenance is moving rows to "Not won" once the closing date has passed by a couple of weeks.

Optional columns for power users

If you're entering more than 50 comps a week or you want to start analysing your patterns, add these:

Resist the urge to add 20 columns on day one. The tracker that survives is the one you can update in 30 seconds per entry, not the one with 14 calculated fields that you abandon in week three.

▍The four formulas that earn their keep

Most compers only need four formulas. Drop them into a Statistics tab at the bottom of your spreadsheet and you've got real-time analytics on your hobby.

1. Days left until closing

In column F, row 2:

=IF(ISBLANK(E2), "", E2-TODAY())

Drag this down the column. The IF(ISBLANK…) wrapper stops it filling empty rows with negative numbers from cell 1900. Pair it with conditional formatting (next section) and you've got an instant urgency view.

2. Total entries this month

In your Statistics tab:

=COUNTIFS(Tracker!D:D, ">="&DATE(2026,5,1), Tracker!D:D, "<="&DATE(2026,5,31))

Replace the month numbers each month, or use EOMONTH(TODAY(), 0) for a rolling current-month count. Most successful UK compers settle around 600-900 entries a month (20-30 a day × 30 days).

3. Win rate (percentage)

The formula every comper wants and almost nobody calculates correctly:

=COUNTIF(G:G, "Won") / COUNTIFS(G:G, "<>Pending", G:G, "<>Entered")

Format the cell as a percentage. The trick is to divide wins by settled entries only — counting entries that are still pending or open will make your win rate look fake-low. A healthy committed UK comper sits around 0.5-2% (1 win per 50-200 settled entries). If yours is closer to 0.1%, look at which sources you're using — see maximising your chances of winning.

4. Total prize value won (£)

=SUMIFS(I:I, G:G, "Won")

The number that surprises every new comper. Add it up over a year and the £15 vouchers and beauty bundles tend to total a few hundred pounds even for casual compers. Committed compers regularly top £1,000-£3,000 in declared prize value annually.

▍Conditional formatting: the closing-date alert system

This is the single most important formatting rule and most beginners skip it.

Goal: make competitions that close soon visually scream at you, so you can't miss them.

In Google Sheets, select column F (Days left) → Format → Conditional formatting → Custom formula. Add four rules in this order (top rule wins):

Now open your tracker each morning, sort by column F ascending, and the entire "what to do today" question answers itself. Anything red or orange gets actioned first.

For the Status column (G), add three more rules: green fill for Won, light grey for Not won, white/default for Entered and Pending. Now your tracker is visually scannable at 60mph.

▍Google Sheets vs Excel vs Apple Numbers

The three platforms compers actually use, with honest pros and cons.

Google Sheets — recommended for 90% of compers

Pros: free, syncs across phone, tablet and laptop automatically, version history catches mistakes, the mobile app is genuinely usable, sharing with a comping partner is one click. The closing-date conditional formatting works identically on web and mobile.

Cons: needs internet (offline mode is fiddly), slows down past about 5,000 rows of data, conditional formatting rules can break when you copy-paste sections.

Verdict: this is the right choice for new compers, mobile-first compers, and anyone who shares a tracker with a partner.

Microsoft Excel — for spreadsheet veterans

Pros: works offline, handles much larger datasets, more powerful pivot tables and Power Query if you want to get fancy, conditional formatting is more flexible. If you already pay for Microsoft 365, no extra cost.

Cons: paid (unless you use the free web version, which is basically just Sheets with a different skin), mobile app is clunkier than Sheets, sharing requires OneDrive faff.

Verdict: choose Excel if you're already an Excel power user and the muscle memory matters. Otherwise the Sheets-vs-Excel decision is a wash.

Apple Numbers — for Apple-only households

Pros: pretty, free on Apple devices, syncs over iCloud, the date pickers and dropdowns look nicer than either competitor.

Cons: formulas are slightly different syntax (COUNTIF works but some array formulas don't), interoperability with non-Apple users is awful, fewer comping templates published in Numbers format.

Verdict: only choose Numbers if everyone in your household is on Apple devices and you'll never need to share with a Windows comping friend.

For a comparison of the wider tooling around your spreadsheet — auto-fill extensions, email aliases, browser bookmarklets — see essential comping tools and resources and comping supplies and equipment.

▍Sharing your spreadsheet with a comping partner

A surprising number of UK compers run shared spreadsheets with a partner, sibling or comping friend. The mechanics are simple in Google Sheets:

1. Click Share (top right) → enter their email
2. Set permission to Editor if they'll add entries, Viewer if they're just curious
3. Tick Notify people so they get the link
4. Add a Who entered column to your template (initials work fine — "M" and "S")

A few etiquette rules that prevent fights:

• Agree the column structure upfront. Don't let one partner silently add a new column on Tuesday that breaks the other's mobile view.
• Use one row per entry, even for shared comps. If you both enter independently, both rows go in. The status column will tell you who claims any win.
• Decide who claims joint wins before you start. Surprisingly contentious topic. Half-and-half by prize value is the usual answer.
• Back up monthly. File → Download → Excel (.xlsx) and save to your own drive. Shared spreadsheets occasionally get deleted by accident.

▍Mobile use: making the template work on your phone

Most modern comping happens on a phone, so the template needs to work there too. A few tweaks:

• Pin column A so you can always see the comp name when you scroll right (Google Sheets app: long-press the column letter → Freeze)
• Use dropdown validation for columns B, C and G — typing on a phone keyboard is slow, tapping a dropdown is fast
• Hide columns J-O on mobile if you're using the power-user version — the basic 9-column template fits a phone screen better
• Add a Google Sheets app shortcut to your home screen so you can tap it in 1 second when you're entering a comp

If you find yourself fighting the spreadsheet on mobile, that's the moment to think about Sweepzy's mobile-first competition tracker — designed for thumb-typing on the bus, not for a desktop keyboard.

▍When a spreadsheet stops being enough

Honest section. Spreadsheets are brilliant up to about 50 active entries. Past that, three things break:

1. Mobile editing gets painful. Pinching to find the row for "Boots beauty calendar" while standing at a bus stop is the moment most compers quit.
2. Closing-date reminders only work if you remember to open the sheet. A spreadsheet can't push a notification to your phone at 9pm the day before a deadline. You have to remember to check. Plenty of compers lose £200+ vouchers this way.
3. You start missing duplicate entries. Past 50-100 active comps, scrolling to check "did I already enter this Tesco one" stops being viable. People enter twice, get disqualified, and learn the hard way that a search function isn't enough.

This is the point where most committed compers move to a dedicated tool. Sweepzy's free competition tracker handles unlimited entries, pushes deadline reminders to your phone, auto-detects duplicates by comp name and URL, and gives you analytics that would take an hour a month to build in Excel. Free forever — create a free Sweepzy account and you can import your spreadsheet on day one.

That said: don't switch tools before you need to. If you're at 10-20 entries a day and the spreadsheet feels fine, leave it alone. The template above will do everything you need.

▍Maintenance routine: keeping the template usable long-term

The trackers that die are the ones with no maintenance routine. The trackers that thrive have one.

Daily (2 minutes): Add new comps you entered today. Update column G for any wins or losses you heard about. Sort by column F to see what's closing tomorrow.

Weekly (10 minutes): Move any "Not won" rows older than 4 weeks to an Archive tab (or delete — your call). Check column F for any closing-soon entries you somehow missed. Update the Statistics tab if you've added new formulas.

Monthly (15 minutes): Recalculate your win rate. Look at the Source column (B) — which sources are producing wins? Which are pure noise? Drop the noise. Review the Time spent column (L) if you're using it — are creative competitions (slogans, photos) actually worth the hours?

Quarterly (30 minutes): Back up to Excel format. Re-evaluate your column structure — anything you never use? Delete it. Anything you keep wishing was there? Add it. The template should evolve with your comping.

For a deeper take on the routine side, see comping routine and time management and the master ultimate guide to comping.

▍Common spreadsheet template mistakes

The five mistakes that consistently kill compers' spreadsheets:

1. Over-engineering on day one. 30 columns, 12 formulas, four tabs, abandoned in week three. Start with the 9-column basic template. Add complexity only when you genuinely miss the feature.
2. No backup. Google Sheets does have version history, but it doesn't help if you accidentally share with the wrong person and they delete the lot. Export to Excel once a month.
3. Forgetting the closing-date alert. This is the single most valuable feature of a comping spreadsheet. If you don't have conditional formatting on column F, you're using a spreadsheet as an expensive notepad.
4. Not deduplicating sources. Compers often log Instagram comps under "Instagram", "IG", "insta", "social" and "FB/IG". Now your COUNTIF analytics are nonsense. Use dropdown validation to enforce one spelling per source.
5. Mixing entered and won entries in the same view. Eventually your tracker becomes 90% old losses and 10% active entries. Either filter aggressively or split into Active / Archive tabs. A cluttered tracker stops getting opened.

For more on the discipline side, how to track competition entries covers the broader tracking question — pen and paper, apps, spreadsheets, and when each makes sense.

▍Where to go from here

Three paths:

• Stay on the template. It'll see you through your first six months of comping comfortably. Copy the table above, add the four formulas, set up the four conditional-formatting rules. Done.
• Build it yourself from scratch. If you prefer to understand every cell, follow our companion post creating a comping spreadsheet — a step-by-step tutorial from a blank Google Sheet to the working tracker, with formula explanations.
• Skip the spreadsheet entirely. If you're already at 50+ entries or you know you'll never maintain a manual tracker, jump straight to Sweepzy's free tracker tool — same data structure, but mobile-first with push reminders.

Whichever path you pick, the goal is the same: spend less time admin-ing your hobby and more time entering competitions. The right tracker — spreadsheet or app — should fade into the background. If you're thinking about your tracker more than the comps you're entering, something's wrong.

Ready to stop losing entries in your inbox? Start tracking entries free with Sweepzy and import your spreadsheet on day one. No credit card. Free forever plan with unlimited entries.