How to Create a Workflow Chart in Excel

Mapping out a business process is the fastest way to untangle a complicated project, onboard a new team member, or find bottlenecks in your daily operations. You can search for a specialized diagramming tool, or you can just use the powerhouse you already have: Excel. This article will show you two effective methods for creating a clear and professional workflow chart directly in an Excel spreadsheet.

Why Bother with Workflow Charts in Excel?

Let's be honest, Excel isn't a dedicated diagramming app like Visio or Lucidchart. But for a huge number of tasks, it's more than good enough, and it has some serious advantages:

• It's Already There: Nearly every business professional has access to Excel. You don’t need to get approval for new software, create a new account, or learn a brand new interface.
• Familiarity: You and your colleagues already know your way around an Excel workbook. It feels familiar, making it less intimidating to start building your chart.
• Convenience: You can embed your workflow chart on a new sheet right next to the data it’s related to. It keeps everything in one self-contained, easy-to-share file.

For most day-to-day business processes, creating a workflow chart in Excel strikes the perfect balance between functionality and convenience.

Step 1: Plan Your Workflow Before You Build

The number one mistake people make is jumping straight into Excel and starting to drop shapes onto the grid. A little planning goes a long way and will save you from a messy, disorganized chart later on. Grab a pen and paper or open a simple text document first.

Define Your Start and End Points

Every workflow has a beginning and an end. What specific action kicks off the process? What is the final, successful outcome? Defining these gives your chart clear boundaries. For example:

• Start: Customer submits a support ticket.
• End: Customer's issue is resolved and the ticket is closed.

List All the Steps and Decisions

Brainstorm every single action and question that happens between the start and end points. Don't worry about formatting yet, just get it all down. Write down the sequence as it happens.

For example, in a content publishing process:

1. [Start] Idea is proposed
2. Draft is written
3. Draft is submitted to editor
4. [Decision] Does the draft meet standards?
5. → If No: Revisions are requested
6. → If Yes: Draft is sent to design
7. Article is published
8. [End]

Pay special attention to those "Decision" points where the path can split, as these will be crucial for creating an accurate chart.

Know the Key Symbols

Using standard flowchart symbols makes your diagram universally understood. Here are the most common ones you'll need:

• The Oval (or Terminator): This represents the start and end points of your process.
• The Rectangle (or Process): This is the workhorse of your chart. It represents a specific task, action, or step. Example: "Publish a Blog Post."
• The Diamond (or Decision): This marks a point where a decision must be made, which determines the next step. It almost always results in two paths out: "Yes" and "No."
• The Arrow (or Connector): This shows the flow of direction between steps. It's the glue that holds your workflow together.
• The Parallelogram (Data): This shape indicates an input or output, such as "Collect Customer Data" or "Export Report."

Now that you have a plan, it's time to actually build the chart in Excel.

Method 1: Creating a Workflow Chart with SmartArt (Fast and Simple)

If you have a fairly simple, linear process without a lot of complicated branching, Excel's SmartArt feature is the quickest way to create a great-looking workflow diagram.

Step 1: Insert a SmartArt Graphic

Navigate to the Insert tab on the Ribbon, and in the Illustrations section, click on SmartArt.

A dialog box will appear. For workflow charts, the best categories to look under are Process and Hierarchy. Find a layout that generally matches the flow you're trying to describe. A simple "Basic Process" is often a perfect starting point.

Step 2: Add Your Steps Using the Text Pane

Once you select your SmartArt graphic, it will appear on your sheet along with a Text Pane on the left. This is the easiest way to add your content. Simply type your process steps into this pane, and the text will automatically populate inside the corresponding shapes in the diagram and resize to fit.

To add a new step, just press Enter in the text pane. To subordinate a step (create a bullet point under a main step), press Tab.

Step 3: Customize Your SmartArt Workflow

With your graphic selected, two new tabs will appear on the Ribbon: SmartArt Design and Format.

• On the SmartArt Design tab, you can:

The biggest limitation of SmartArt is its rigidity. It works great for structured, straightforward processes but becomes awkward when you need to illustrate complex decision trees with many interconnected paths.

Method 2: Building a Custom Workflow Chart with Shapes (Total Control)

For more detailed or non-linear workflows, building your chart manually with shapes gives you complete freedom and control. It takes a little more time, but the results are far more flexible.

Step 1: Insert Your First Shape

Go to the Insert tab, click on Shapes, and find the Flowchart section. Select the shape you need (e.g., the Oval/Terminator for your start point).

Your cursor will turn into a crosshair. Click and drag on your spreadsheet to draw the shape to your desired size.

Step 2: Add and Format Text

Simply click on the shape and start typing. Your text will appear inside. You can then use the standard font formatting options on the Home tab to change the font, size, color, and alignment, just like any other text in Excel.

Step 3: Add More Shapes and Align Them

Continue adding and labeling shapes (Rectangles for processes, Diamonds for decisions, etc.) according to your plan from Step 1. As you move shapes around, you'll see helpful smart guides (red dotted lines) appear to help you align them with each other for a cleaner look.

For precise alignment, select multiple shapes by holding the Ctrl key and clicking on them. Then go to the Shape Format tab, click Align, and choose an option like Align Top or Distribute Horizontally.

Step 4: Connect Everything with Lines and Arrows

This is the most critical part. Go back to Insert > Shapes and choose a connector line or arrow. When you hover over one of your existing shapes, you'll see small grey dots appear on its edges. These are connection points.

Click and drag from a connection point on one shape to a connection point on another. By using these points, your connectors will "stick" to the shapes, so if you move a shape later, the arrow will move with it.

Pro Tip: To add text to a connector line (like "Yes" or "No" labels coming off a Decision diamond), insert a Text Box (Insert > Text Box) with no fill and no outline. Position it right on the line.

Step 5: Styling and Customizing Your Shapes

With a shape selected, use the Shape Format tab to polish its appearance. In the Shape Styles section, you can quickly change the fill color, outline weight and color, and even add effects like shadows to make your diagram pop.

Best Practices for Easy-to-Read Workflow Charts

A good workflow chart isn't just accurate, it’s also easy to understand with just a glance. Follow these principles to ensure your diagram is both clear and effective.

• Work from Top-to-Bottom or Left-to-Right: Maintain a consistent, logical flow across the entire diagram. Don't make the user's eye jump all over the page.
• Be Consistent with Shapes and Colors: Use the same shape for the same function every single time. Try using one fill color for all process steps and another for all decision points to create visual consistency.
• Use Clear, Succinct Language: Start labels with action verbs (e.g., “Submit Expense Report,” not “Expense Report Submission Process”). Avoid technical jargon wherever possible.
• Properly Label Decision Paths: Every connector leaving a decision (diamond shape) should have a clear label (e.g., Yes, No, Approved, Rejected). There should be no ambiguity about which path to follow.
• Don’t Cross Connector Lines: A messy workflow chart often has arrows crisscrossing everywhere. If your diagram is getting cluttered, reposition your shapes to keep the paths clean and separate. There's almost always a cleaner layout.

Final Thoughts

Building a workflow chart in Excel, whether with the quick SmartArt method or the customizable Shapes tool, is a fantastic way to organize, communicate, and standardize your business procedures. By visualizing the process, you make it easier for your whole team to understand their role and identify opportunities for improvement.

We've found that once teams start mapping out their workflows in tools like Salesforce, HubSpot, or Shopify, their next goal is often automating the reporting around those processes. Manually pulling data to build reports and see if a workflow is effective can feel like a step backward after all that hard work. That's why we created Graphed. We connect to your marketing and sales tools directly, so you can just ask a question in plain English and instantly get a live, automated dashboard, saving you hours of manual busywork.