Google Sheet burndown chart: build it in Google Sheets

A Google Sheet burndown chart compares planned and actual remaining work on the same dates. Build a dated summary from your task export, then chart its two remaining-work columns. Keep effort spent beside the chart so completed work and time consumed remain separate measures.

Choose what the chart will count

This example credits each task's original estimated hours when the task is accepted as complete. The actual line therefore means unfinished baseline work, not a fresh estimate of hours needed to finish. Logged time does not reduce that line.

Freeze the scope and estimates at the start. Agree who accepts completion and whether reporting uses end-of-day dates. If tasks can reopen, retain dated status snapshots; a single current completion date cannot reconstruct those reversals. For staff availability behind the schedule, use a separate resource utilization sheet.

1. Arrange the task export

An illustrative US consulting company plans a client implementation for October 19 through October 22, 2026. October 18 is the opening baseline. In a tab named Tasks, put these headers in A1:E1 and the tasks in rows 2 through 5. Logged hours are cumulative through October 22.

Use real spreadsheet dates, not text labels; enter =DATE(2026,10,19) if necessary. Leave an unfinished task's actual finish blank. Validate unique task IDs and confirm every baseline task has an estimate and planned finish before calculating.

The baseline total in B6 is =SUM(B2:B5), which returns 40 hours. E6 uses =SUM(E2:E5), returning 38 logged hours. Obtain logged hours from the time export for the same tasks and cutoff; a blank time record means unconfirmed reporting until someone checks it.

2. Calculate remaining work by date

Create a Burndown tab with A1:D1 labeled Date, Planned remaining, Actual remaining, and Gap. Fill A2:A6 with October 18 through October 22, 2026. Put the reporting cutoff in F2 using =DATE(2026,10,22).

In B2, subtract estimates of tasks scheduled to finish on or before the row's date:

=SUM(Tasks!$B$2:$B$5)-SUMIFS(Tasks!$B$2:$B$5,Tasks!$C$2:$C$5,"<="&$A2,Tasks!$C$2:$C$5,"<>")

In C2, use actual completion dates instead. Future dates return NA() so the chart does not present future completion as recorded progress:

=IF($A2>$F$2,NA(),SUM(Tasks!$B$2:$B$5)-SUMIFS(Tasks!$B$2:$B$5,Tasks!$D$2:$D$5,"<="&$A2,Tasks!$D$2:$D$5,"<>"))

The date test and nonblank test must both hold. Google's SUMIFS documentation describes summing values against multiple criteria. Excluding blanks prevents unfinished tasks from receiving completion credit.

In D2, enter the gap formula, then copy B2:D2 through row 6:

=C2-B2

The resulting summary is:

A positive gap means more baseline work remains than planned. On October 20, planned completion is 8 + 12 = 20 hours, but only T1's 8 hours are accepted. Remaining work is therefore 40 - 20 = 20 planned hours and 40 - 8 = 32 actual hours.

3. Insert the line chart

Select A1:C6 and choose Insert > Chart. In the chart editor's Setup tab, choose Line chart. Google documents selecting the source cells and changing the chart type in its chart creation instructions.

Use Date as the horizontal axis and the other columns as the two series, with row 1 supplying their names. Label the vertical axis Remaining baseline hours and set its minimum to zero. Google's line chart guide explains the date-label and numeric-series layout and available axis settings.

Keep both series on the same axis. A revenue waterfall chart in Google Sheets answers a different question: which changes connect an opening and closing amount. Here the reader needs progress over time.

Covirage is not affiliated with Google.

4. Prove the endpoint and review effort

At the cutoff, accepted baseline work is 8 + 12 + 4 = 24 hours. The reconciliation is:

Opening baseline = Accepted baseline work + Unfinished baseline work

40 = 24 + 16 hours

Logged time reconciles separately: accepted tasks used 9 + 14 + 5 = 28 hours, while unfinished validation used 10 hours. Together they explain all 38 recorded hours. Accepted tasks exceeded their 24-hour estimate by 28 - 24 = 4 hours.

The company has used 38 / 40 = 95% of its original effort budget and completed 24 / 40 = 60% of estimated work. These percentages are exact; no rounding is required. Neither says validation needs another 16 hours. Ask its owner for a current remaining-effort estimate before testing staffing or deadline changes with Google Sheets sensitivity analysis.

Where it goes wrong

• Subtracting time spent. Logged effort can exceed the estimate while work remains unfinished. Completion credit must follow the chosen acceptance rule.
• Counting missing dates. A blank completion date is unfinished work. Retain the nonblank criterion and resolve text-formatted dates before interpreting the chart.
• Changing the baseline silently. Revised estimates or added tasks change the scope being measured. Preserve the original and label approved revisions.
• Reconstructing history from current status. Reopened tasks and deleted rows can rewrite earlier points. Preserve dated snapshots when these changes occur.

Compare progress and effort on your own file in Covirage

Bring your task workbook or Google Sheet with baseline estimates, completion dates, and logged effort. Covirage maps the columns, its tools compute and check the supplied figures, and the external AI model explains the differences with every figure traced to its rows. Create a free Covirage account in about a minute, then set up your business and bring a sample of your own data.

See project cost control for the broader review of project effort and spending.