How to build a usage rights tracker spreadsheet (free template)

One row per video, not per creator

The most common mistake is one row per creator. A creator might license 3 videos on different dates, for different channels, with different end dates. If they share a row, one of those dates gets lost. Give every licensed video or post its own row, even when it means repeating the creator's name.

The columns that matter

Keep it short enough that people actually fill it in. These columns cover what you need to know before an ad runs:

• Creator handle: who the license is with.
• Video: a name your team will recognize, like "Hook reel v1", plus a link to the file.
• Channels: where paid usage is allowed. Note whether ads may run through the creator's handle, from your own page, or both.
• Start date and end date, typed as YYYY-MM-DD so every tool sorts them the same way. Leave the end date blank only if the license really is perpetual.
• Status: active, or revoked if the deal ended early.
• Days left and alert: filled in by formulas, never typed.

Formulas for days left and alerts

With the end date in column F, days left is the end date minus today: =F2-TODAY(). If your dates are stored as text, wrap them: =DATEVALUE(F2)-TODAY(). Treat the end date as the last day you may run the ad, so 0 days left means today is the final day, not that the license is over.

The alert column turns that number into a word your team can scan: =IF(F2="","Perpetual",IF(L2<0,"EXPIRED",IF(L2<=14,"Ending soon","Active"))), where L is the days-left column. Add conditional formatting so EXPIRED rows turn red and Ending soon rows turn amber.

Fourteen days is a useful warning window: long enough to ask the creator for a renewal while it's still a friendly request.

Habits that keep the sheet true

A tracker is only as good as its last update. A few rules help:

• Add the row the day the contract is signed, before the ad is built.
• One owner per sheet. Shared ownership means no ownership.
• Sort by days left every Monday and act on anything amber.
• When a deal is renewed, change the end date on the same row and note the renewal date.
• Never delete expired rows. Mark them, so you can show what you were licensed to run and when.

What a spreadsheet can't tell you

A tracker tells you when a license ends. It can't tell you which ads are still live on it. The ad your team paused on the end date may have 3 duplicates in other ad sets, a re-cut from last month, and a copy in a regional ad account. Those keep running, and they're where most overruns come from.

For a handful of creators, a weekly manual check of live ads against the sheet is enough. Once you have dozens of licensed videos or several ad accounts, the check needs to run on its own. That's what Lapse does: it imports the template's Licenses tab as a CSV and checks every live Meta ad against it each day.

Common questions

Should I use Google Sheets or Excel?

Either. The template opens in Google Sheets, Excel and Numbers. Pick the one your team already has open every day.

Do I need a separate sheet per client?

For agencies, one sheet per client keeps access simple and stops one client seeing another's deals. Add a client column if you prefer one sheet.

What about licenses with no end date?

Leave the end date blank and make sure the contract really says perpetual. Many "forever" deals turn out to have a limit in the small print.

Can Lapse use my existing spreadsheet?

Yes. Export it as CSV and import it. Messy sheets are fine for the free audit; we tidy them up as part of it.