Free Issue Tracker Template (Excel & Google Sheets)

We've put together the best issue tracker template possible, and in this article, we explain how to use it.

QA testing isn't easy.

Issue tracking and bug reporting are integral parts of every QA workflow.

As a product manager, dev leader, or agency owner, you need your QA processes to be as smooth and efficient as possible.

For that, you need strong issue tracker templates and tools so that no bugs get overlooked.

Because bug tracking is at the core of what we do at Marker.io, we know how to make this efficient and effective for every dev project.

With the right template, your job gets even easier.

Let's dive in!

What is an issue tracker template?

An issue tracker template is a pre-built document or spreadsheet you use to log, categorize, and follow up on problems as they come in – bugs, feature requests, or anything else that needs a fix. Instead of building a system from scratch, you start with the most important fields – like issue status, priority, and who's responsible – and adapt them to your team's workflow.

Most teams using an issue tracker template are doing so forr one of two reasons:

1. They're not ready to invest in dedicated software yet.
2. They want a lightweight backup alongside their existing tools.

Either way, a good template keeps issues visible instead of buried in a Slack thread or a forgotten email.

Issue Tracker Template

[IMAGE: Example issue tracker template containing Title, Summary, Status, Priority, Issue type, and more.]

In this issue tracking template, you'll find the following sections:

• Title: Summarize the nature of the issue.
• Summary/issue description: Provide more detail. As the reporter, including what you expected to happen vs. what actually happened.
• Status: Not started, in progress, resolved, etc.
• Priority: Indicate how critical the issue is.
• Severity: How great an impact the issue has on your website or system’s core functionality.
• Issue type: Bug, feature request, enhancement… (feel free to customize this!)
• System: Operating system (OS) being used at the time.
• Browser: What browser was the reporter using when the issue/bug happened?
• Metadata/environment info: Extra information on the environment (e.g., screen size, zoom level, and other info).
• URL: On what page of the website or app did the issue occur?
• Screenshot: Crucial so QA teams/engineers can see what the problem is. If you can, add a session replay and/or video recording.
• Console logs: Logs of any JavaScript error accessible through developer tools.
• Reporter: Who's reporting the issue?
• Date / due date: Date of the report or due date.

We go into each of these in more detail below.

Download your free issue tracker template today (we've put this into Google Sheets and Excel):

Google Sheets issue tracker template ->

Excel issue tracker template ->

How to use this issue tracker template

Here's how to fill in this issue tracking template, step-by-step.

For every bug report, we highly recommend using a dedicated bug tracker.

Alternatively, use a project management tool with bug-tracking features, such as Trello, Jira, Asana, GitHub, or GitLab, and implement a consistent, standardized approach.

And if you want your reports to land straight into your favorite project management tools, use Marker.io.

With Marker.io, you can collect live website feedback from team members, clients, and users during (and after) software development.

Start a 15-day free trial to see how well it works with your issue tracker. Pricing starts at $39/mo.

Now, let's see how to use our issue management template!

Title

Keep it short and as specific as possible.

It's a shorter version of the next section, a more detailed summary.

A vague example to avoid: "When I click this link/button, it doesn't work, why doesn't it work, please fix it ASAP!" It's too vague, too aggressive, and too wordy.

A better example: "CART - Broken link/button." The issue is located and succinctly explained, and it focuses on the specific problem.

Short and specific titles make it easier for developers to find, and fix, problems quickly.

Summary

Unless everything's been captured in the title, it helps to add a bit more detail. Aim to do this in as few words as possible.

A weak example: "I was trying to add content to the site/app the other day, and it didn't work when I clicked the button. I forget where I was trying to do this, but it didn't work."

A stronger example: "On [DATE], I tried to upload images to the site via the CMS. It didn't work when I clicked 'upload images' in WordPress."

Status

Keeps your team, and the reporter or clients, informed on the status of the bug and when to expect it to be resolved.

We recommend the basics:

• Not started
• In progress
• Resolved

Priority

Priority is how urgent it is that you fix a bug or issue on your website, app, or software.

Assigning priority usually comes down to the dev lead or product manager. In most cases, the choice is:

• High
• Medium
• Low

Pro tip: for end users, it's difficult to determine bug priority or severity. But if it severely affects functionality and user experience, it's critical.

Severity

As severity refers to how great an impact a bug or issue is having on your website or product, it is very closely connected to priority. However, while severity looks primarily at the technical impact, priority takes into account the business impact.

Generally, you grade severity from critical, or blocker, to low severity.

Issue type

A quick record of the issue type is also useful when you’re prioritizing the different reports.

Critical bugs, for example, will usually go first, while items like "feature request" and "enhancement" can be kept for later.

System

System data is also essential for devs who need to understand and recreate bugs.

Mac and Windows operate differently and have different shortcuts, and a website will behave completely differently on iOS or Android.

Pro tip: Marker.io automatically collects this data for you, too. No need to fill it in!

Browser

While most browsers use more or less the same specs and settings nowadays, it's always good to try to reproduce a bug with the same browser as the tester.

So, include this information in your reports! Browser info is automatically recorded with Marker.io, too.

Environment info

In order to fix a problem, you first need to understand it so it can be replicated. You can't do that without environment info, such as:

• Browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari…)
• Operating system (OS) and version (Mac, Windows…)
• Device (smartphone, laptop, desktop, and the specific make/model)
• Screen size
• Viewport
• Zoom level

Environment info, including the OS and loads of other technical data, is automatically logged in Marker.io.

URL

Naturally, you need to know the specific URL where a bug occurred. Identifying the right page helps devs resolve issues faster. The URL is also logged in Marker.io.

Screenshot

Bug reports with screenshots are easier to action and fix. The right website annotation tool can help ensure bugs get resolved quickly.

And if you use Marker.io, screenshots come attached automatically with every issue, and your reporters can annotate them with arrows, shapes, even emojis.

Pro tip: if a screenshot is worth a thousand words, what's a video worth? Marker.io records user sessions, attached to bugs.

Console logs

Console logs show developers what JavaScript errors are occurring on specific web pages. Naturally, Marker.io automatically collects console logs.

Reporter

It helps to know who's reported the issue and where ownership sits, especially when collecting reports from clients and end users. With Marker.io, the reporter's name and email are automatically logged with every issue. You can even set it up to alert them when an issue they reported has been resolved – keeping communication simple.

Date

Make sure the date of the bug report is recorded. This helps when, for example, a third-party service has incidents on the day.

Alternatively, as a project manager, you can set a due date.

Using this issue tracker template in Excel

If you'd rather work in a spreadsheet than a dedicated tool, this issue tracker Excel template gives you the same fields as a ready-to-use workbook.

Excel issue tracker template ->

Here's how to set it up:

• Download the template using the Excel link above, then open it in Excel or Google Sheets.
• Rename the tabs if you're tracking issues across more than one project or website.
• Set up dropdowns for Status, Priority, and Issue type so your team enters consistent values instead of free text.
• Freeze the header row so column names stay visible as your issue log grows.
• Add conditional formatting to flag high-priority or overdue issues at a glance.

Excel works fine for a handful of issues a week. Once you're juggling reports from multiple reporters across several projects, though, you'll likely hit the limitations covered below: no automatic screenshots, no environment data, a lot of manual copy-pasting into your project management tool, and a lot of effort to plan ahead.

Issue tracker vs. incident tracker template

An incident tracker template looks similar at first glance, but it's built for a slightly different job: logging major disruptions, like an outage or a security event, rather than day-to-day bugs and feature requests.

The two overlap in structure. Both need a status field, a priority and/or severity level, and an owner. Where they differ is in scope and urgency. Incident tracking usually adds fields for detection time, resolution time, and impact (how many users or systems were affected), since incidents get reported to stakeholders, unlike the majority of routine issues or tasks.

If you're mostly logging website bugs and QA feedback, the issue tracker template above is all you need. If you are tracking outages or security incidents, adapt the same template by adding an impact column, or start from a dedicated incident tracker template instead.

More issue tracker template variations

Not every team needs the same template. Here are a few related template variations worth knowing about, what each template features, and when to use them.

Issue log template

An issue log template is usually simpler than a full tracker, often just a running list with an ID, description, date, and status. It suits smaller projects where you don't need separate priority or severity fields, just a record of what came up and whether it's resolved.

Bug tracker template

A bug tracker template narrows the focus to software defects specifically, rather than general feedback or feature requests. It's the closest relative to the template on this page. The main difference is usually a field for steps to reproduce the bug, since that's critical for developers fixing code rather than website content.

IT issue tracking template

An IT issue tracking template is built for internal support tickets rather than product bugs, things like hardware requests, access issues, or software installs. It typically adds a requester's department and a response-time target, since internal IT teams are often measured on how fast they respond.

Issue tracker dashboard template

An issue tracker dashboard template adds a summary view on top of your existing log, usually a chart or two showing open issues by status and priority. It's worth building once your issue count grows past what you can scan in a single list, typically when you're reporting progress to stakeholders who don't need every row, just the overall picture.

Project management templates are outdated – but there's a better solution

Sure, you can use one of our free templates. In fact, we even recommend it for smaller teams or freelancers. Dedicated project tools like Jira, Notion, or Smartsheet work well too, especially if your team's already using one for other work.

But a word of caution.

Whether you use Google Sheets or Excel, these are all difficult formats for clients and tedious to work with for a QA team or developers.

It's too easy to forget details and technical metadata.

All clients want are websites, apps, or software that works.

So, if you're still using an outdated tracking system, you're making everyone's life harder.

Plus, QA, product, or project leaders will, in most cases, need to transfer all of that information into a PM tool so that it can be actioned!

Fortunately, there's a better alternative: Marker.io.

Here are some of the advantages of using Marker.io compared to Google Sheets or Excel for bug tracking and issue reporting:

2-way sync with PM tools

Collecting feedback is usually a time-consuming headache for devs and agencies.

With Marker.io and our 2-way sync solution, those countless hours of work are a thing of the past.

Feedback goes straight to your PM tool. Whenever an issue is marked as "Done", it will automatically be "Resolved" in Marker.io.

Plus, the person who sent the report will receive an email notification, too.

Check it out:

Visual annotations and session replay

Fixing a bug involves reproducing the scenario where and when the bug occurred.

However, reproducing every scenario is challenging, even with all the technical metadata that comes with bug reports.

Fortunately, Marker.io's toolkit includes screenshots, visual annotations, and even session replay for that reason.

Visually annotated screenshots are much easier than going through multiple links or downloading attached images from emails.

And with session replay, you'll be able to watch up to the last 2.5 minutes of activity before the report was submitted, too.

All of this goes straight into your PM tool!

Data-rich bug reports

Most clients and end-users aren't technically savvy.

Receiving actionable data isn't easy. Users and clients don't know what devs need to fix bugs or how to collect these details:

• What specific URL were they on at the time
• Environment (browser, OS, and screen size) and console logs so devs can reproduce the bugs
• Metadata, etc.

Plus, if you're using Excel, you need to add a new column for every single technical detail of the report.

Not a problem anymore with Marker.io! Whenever a client or user clicks the "Report" button, this data is automatically collected and sent off to your PM tool with the rest of the report.

Wrapping up...

We hope you've found this issue tracker template helpful and can easily integrate it into your QA workflows. Simply copy or download one of the formats that are easiest for you: Google Sheets or Excel.

Download your free issue tracker template today:

Google Sheets issue tracker template ->

Excel issue tracker template ->

Make your job easier and use a dedicated website feedback tool: Marker.io.

Collect live website feedback from team members, clients, and users.

Start a 15-day free trial to see how well it works with your issue tracker.

Issue tracker template FAQs

How do you create an issue tracker?

Start with the core fields: title, description, status, priority, and owner. Add sections for environment details or reproduction steps if you're tracking website or software bugs specifically. Then choose a format – a spreadsheet if your team is small, or dedicated software if you're collecting reports from clients or non-technical users.

What's the best way to track issues?

There's no single best way to track issues; it depends on your team size and how technical your reporters are. For small, technical teams, a shared spreadsheet like the template on this page works well. For teams collecting bug reports from non-technical clients or end users, dedicated bug tracking software that captures environment info and screenshots automatically saves the most time.

Can I create an issue tracker in Excel?

Yes. Download the Excel template above, then follow the setup steps in the Excel section: rename tabs per project, add dropdowns for Status and Priority, and freeze the header row. It works well for a handful of issues a week; larger volumes usually call for dedicated software instead.