Free snag list template in Excel, with dropdowns and a summary sheet
A free snag list template in Excel format, built the way a working register needs to be: one row per snag, dropdowns for status and priority, rows that change colour as work is done and a summary sheet that counts what each contractor still owes you. No email address, no sign up.
By Blu Mint Digital. 6 minute read. Last reviewed .
Download the template
Excel workbook, 23 KB. Opens in Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers and LibreOffice.
Free to use, copy and adapt for your own jobs and clients. If you would rather fill in a paper sheet on site, the printable snag list template has the same core columns on one landscape page.
What is in the file
- Snag list: the register itself, with a project header (property, address, inspector, date, who it is issued to and the revision) and 300 formatted rows. The header row repeats on every printed page and the sheet prints landscape, one page wide.
- Summary: counts by status, an overdue count, a priority by status grid, and a contractor table. Type a contractor’s name and it shows how many of their items are open, in progress, resolved and closed.
- How to use: the short version of this page, so the file still makes sense when it is forwarded to someone else.
- Lists: the dropdown values. Edit the categories here to match the trades on your job.
The snag list format, column by column
These are the same fifteen columns, in the same order, as the CSV issue register that the Site Audit app exports. That is deliberate. A list started in this spreadsheet and a list exported from the app line up column for column, so you can compare or combine them without remapping anything.
| Column | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| No. | Numbers itself once the row has a title. Never renumber between revisions, or every email that says "item 14" becomes ambiguous. |
| Title | A few words a site manager can scan: "Door binds on frame". |
| Description | What is wrong and what a finished repair looks like. One defect per row. |
| Location | Enough for a stranger to walk to it: room, wall, position. |
| Floor | For multi-storey work. Leave blank on a single-level job. |
| Category | Dropdown of common trades and areas. You can type your own. |
| Priority | High, Medium or Low. |
| Status | Open, In Progress, Resolved or Closed. The row colour follows it. |
| Assigned To | The person chasing the item, if that is not the contractor. |
| Contractor | The trade or company expected to fix it. The summary counts by this. |
| Due Date | Shows red once it has passed while the item is still open. |
| Created / Resolved | When the snag was raised and when it was fixed. |
| Resolution Notes | What was done, who checked it and anything still to watch. |
| Photos | Photo file names or numbers, so each photo can be matched to its row. |
The description column is where most snag lists go wrong. “Paint poor” gets a return visit and a phone call. “Paint run on skirting, 300mm left of door, sand and recoat” gets fixed. The guide to writing a snagging report has more examples.
Using it on a real job
- Save a copy per property or project and fill in the header before the walk.
- Walk the same route through every room and add rows in that order, so the list reads like the building.
- Set Contractor and Due Date as you go, while the cause is still obvious.
- Before sending, filter Status to Open and check every row would make sense to someone who was not there.
- Save a PDF of what you issued, and change the Revision in the header each time you send an update.
- On the return visit, update Status and Resolution Notes rather than deleting fixed rows. The closed rows are your record.
To send each contractor only their items, filter the Contractor column and print or save that view as a PDF. The Excel defect register summary guide covers pivot tables and weekly reporting if you want to go further.
Google Sheets and phones
The file works in Google Sheets: upload it to Drive and open it, and the dropdowns, colours and summary formulas carry over. That is the easiest way to share one list with a builder who wants to update statuses themselves.
On a phone, a fifteen column spreadsheet is hard work. You can do it, but you will spend the walk scrolling sideways, and you cannot attach a photo to a row. Most people end up taking photos on the walk and typing the spreadsheet up afterwards, which is where the evening goes.
Where a spreadsheet falls short
A snag list without photos generates questions. A spreadsheet can hold a photo reference, but the photo itself lives somewhere else, and the link between the two is a file name someone has to keep straight. Once a list passes about thirty items, that link is usually what breaks.
Site Audit keeps the photos on the snag itself, with captions and markup, and turns the same columns into a PDF report you can send from site. The free version covers one project with unlimited snags and photos. Pro, a one-time purchase, adds unlimited projects and the CSV export that produces exactly this column layout. See the free snagging app or compare the spreadsheet and app workflows.