How to Create a Progress Tracker in Excel (3 Handy Ways)

We have a dataset with a list of people and the percentage of their Task Completed. We’ll add progress bar to track their progress.

Method 1 – Using Conditional Formatting to Create a Progress Tracker

Steps:

Select the range C5:C12. Cells C5 and C12 are the first and last cells of the column Task Completed.
Go to Conditional Formatting from the Home tab.
Select New Rule.

From Select a Rule Type, select Format all cells based on their values.
Select Data Bar from Format Style.

For Minimum, select Number as Type and insert 0 as the Value.
For Maximum, select Number as Type and insert 1 as the Value.
For Color, choose the color you want the progress bar to be.
Put Solid Border in Border.
For Bar Direction, select Left to Right.
Click on OK.

You will have get a progress tracker as in the screenshot below.

Method 2 – Inserting a Bar Chart to Create a Progress Tracker in Excel

Steps:

Select the range B5:C12.
Go to the Insert tab, select Insert Column or Bar Chart, and choose Stacked Bar.

A chart will appear.
Double-Click on the Vertical Axis to go to Format Axis options.

From Axis Options, check the Categories in Reverse Order box.

Double-Click on the Data Series to go to the Format Data Series options.
Change the Gap Width to 90%.

Go to the chart and click on Chart Elements.
Check the Data Labels box.
Change the color of the bars to your preferences.

You will get a progress tracker like in the screenshot below.

Method 3 – Utilizing Checkboxes and a Circle Chart to Create a Progress Tracker

Suppose you have a dataset with a weekly to-do task. We’ll create a progress tracker for the tasks.

Steps:

Create a new column for the checkboxes.
Select cell C5 and go to the Developer tab and click on Insert.

Cell C5 is the first cell of the Check Box column.

Choose Check Box (in Form Control).
Drag the Fill Handle down to the remaining cells of the column.

Add another column to assign the result of the checkboxes.
Right-Click on the check box in cell C5 and select Format Controls.

Go to the Control tab in the Format Control box.
Insert the cell reference $D$5 in the Cell link.

Cell D5 will return logic TRUE as the check box is checked. Also, cell D5 is right next to C5 in the same row.

Click on OK.

Assign every other check box to the next cell in the row.
Select cell F6 and insert the following formula.

=COUNTIF(D5:D12,TRUE)/COUNTIF(B5:B12,"*")

Cell F6 is the cell indicating the Task Completed percentage. We use the COUNTIF function to count the number of tasks completed and the total number of tasks.

Select cell G6 and insert the following formula.

=1-F6

Cell G6 is the cell indicating the Task Remaining percentage.

Select the range F4:G6.
Go to Insert tab, choose Insert Pie or Doughnut Chart and pick Doughnut.

Double-Click on the Data Series to go to the Format Data Series option.
From Series Options, change the Doughnut Hole Size to 50%.

Click on the Data Point for the Task Completed and change the color to your choice.
Change the color for the Data Point of Task Remaining.