How to Make a Process Flow Chart in Excel

Building a flow chart in Excel is a surprisingly powerful way to map out a process, decision path, or workflow right inside a tool you already use every day. Whether you need a simple linear map or a detailed diagram with multiple branches, Excel has the tools to get it done. This tutorial will walk you through the two best methods for creating clear, professional-looking flow charts: using SmartArt for speed and Shapes for complete customization.

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What is a Process Flow Chart, and Why Use Excel?

A process flow chart is a visual diagram that illustrates the sequence of steps and decisions needed to perform a process. Each step is represented by a different shape, and the shapes are connected with arrows to show the flow or direction of the process.

Why use Excel? Well, Excel is available on almost every work computer. This means:

• Most people have it. You don't need any special software.
• It's great for collaboration. You can easily share the file, and your team can open and edit it without issue.
• It keeps things together. You can place your flow chart right next to the data or tables that it relates to, keeping everything within one file.

Common Flow Chart Symbols to Know

Before you start building, it's helpful to know the basic symbols. Using standard shapes makes your flow chart universally understandable.

• Oval (Terminator): This shape represents the start and end points of your process.
• Rectangle (Process): This is the most common shape, marking a specific action or step in the process. Example: "Send invoice to client."
• Diamond (Decision): This indicates a point where a decision must be made. The lines branching out from the diamond usually have labels like "Yes" and "No." Example: "Is payment overdue?"
• Parallelogram (Input/Output): This shape shows where data is being input into or output from the process. Example: "Receive customer order data."
• Arrow (Flowline): This line connects the shapes and shows the direction of the process from one step to the next.

Method 1: Create a Flow Chart with SmartArt (The Fast Way)

If you need to create a simple, straightforward flow chart quickly, Excel's SmartArt feature is your best friend. It automatically arranges and connects shapes for you, saving you a ton of time. This method is ideal for linear processes that don't have complex decision branches.

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Step-by-Step Guide to Using SmartArt

1. Insert a SmartArt Graphic: Open your Excel sheet, go to the Insert tab, and click on SmartArt in the "Illustrations" section.

2. Choose a Process Layout: In the pop-up window, click on the Process category from the list on the left. You'll see several flow chart templates. For a basic flow chart, something like "Basic Process" or "Picture Accent Process" works well. Click your chosen layout and press OK.

3. Add Your Text: Once the SmartArt is on your sheet, a text pane will appear to the left of it. If it doesn't, click the small arrow on the left edge of the SmartArt box to open it up. Simply type your process steps into this pane, hitting Enter to move to the next shape. It’s much faster than clicking into each shape individually.

4. Add or Remove Shapes: If you need more steps, just press Enter in the text pane to create a new one. You can also select a shape in the SmartArt and, under the SmartArt Design tab that appears, click the Add Shape button. To remove a shape, select it and press the Delete key.

5. Customize the Design: With your SmartArt selected, check out the SmartArt Design tab. Here you can:

• Change Colors: Use the "Change Colors" button to apply a pre-made color palette in one click.
• Apply Styles: The "SmartArt Styles" gallery has options to make your chart look more polished, add 3D effects, different borders, and more.

Method 2: Create a Flow Chart with Shapes (For Full Customization)

When your process flow isn’t a straight line or you need total control over every shape and connector, the Shapes tool is the way to go. This method is more manual but gives you the freedom to build exactly what you envision, including branching paths, decision diamonds, and complex loops. It takes a little more patience, but the result is a fully customized, professional diagram.

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Step-by-Step Guide to Using Shapes

Follow these steps to build your flow chart from scratch.

1. Setting Up Your Canvas Before you add any shapes, it helps to prepare your worksheet. Make your work easier by creating an invisible grid:

• Turn Off Gridlines: Go to the View tab and uncheck the Gridlines box. This provides a clean, white background for your diagram.
• (Optional) Snap to Grid: With the gridlines off, objects can float freely. To keep things aligned, Shapes will automatically snap to the cell boundaries, even when they're hidden. This helps keep everything lined up without any effort.

2. Inserting Your First Shape Navigate to the Insert tab and click Shapes. Scroll down the dropdown menu until you see the Flowchart section. Here you’ll find all the standard symbols.

To start, click the Terminator shape (the oval) and your cursor will turn into a crosshair. Click and drag on your worksheet to draw the shape. This will be your "Start" point.

3. Adding and Formatting Text With your new shape selected, just start typing "Start." Excel will automatically place the text inside the shape. You can format this text just like you would in a cell - use the options on the Home tab to change the font, size, color, and alignment (middle-center usually looks best). For more detailed options, right-click the shape and choose Edit Text or Format Shape.

4. Adding and Connecting Shapes Now, let's add the next step. Go to Insert > Shapes > Flowchart and select the Process shape (rectangle). Draw it below your start shape. Add your text, such as "Step 1: Gather data."

To connect them:

1. Go back to Insert > Shapes and choose an arrow connector from the "Lines" section.
2. Hover your cursor over your "Start" shape. You'll see small grey dots, or anchor points, appear on its border.
3. Click on an anchor point on the "Start" shape and drag the line down to an anchor point on the "Step 1" shape. Let go of the mouse.

The connector is now "glued" to both shapes. This is the magic part people often miss! Now, if you move either shape, the connector will stretch and stay attached. Continue adding shapes (processes, decisions, etc.) and connecting them with arrows to map your entire process.

5. Formatting and Styling Your Chart A consistent look is key to a professional flow chart.

• Shape Styles: Select a shape and the Shape Format tab appears. You can use "Shape Fill" to change the colors, "Shape Outline" for the border thickness and color, and "Shape Effects" for shadows or other nice touches.
• Format Painter: To quickly apply a style to multiple shapes, style one shape exactly how you want it, then double-click the Format Painter (on the Home tab) and click on all the other shapes to copy the style instantly.
• Connector Styles: Click on a connector line. Under the Shape Format tab, use "Shape Outline" to change its color, weight (thickness), or add arrowheads.

Tips for a Professional-Looking Flow Chart

Follow a few simple design rules to take your flow chart from good to great.

Align and Distribute Your Shapes

Don't just eyeball it! Use Excel's alignment tools for perfect precision. Select multiple shapes by holding down the Ctrl key while clicking them. Then, go to the Shape Format tab, click the Align dropdown, and choose an option like:

• Align Center: To line them up vertically.
• Distribute Vertically: To ensure equal spacing between them.

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Group Shapes Together

Once your flow chart is complete, you can group all the individual shapes and connectors into one single object. Select all the elements of your chart (pro-tip: Go to Home > Find & Select > Select Objects, then click and drag a box around your entire chart). With everything selected, go to Shape Format > Group > Group. Now, you can move, resize, or copy the entire chart as a single item.

Keep It Consistent

Stick to a clear and simple color scheme. For example, use one color for all process steps and a different color for all decision points. Use the same font size and style throughout the chart to keep it clean and easy to read. Less is more!

Final Thoughts

Whether you choose the rapid, automated approach with SmartArt for simple processes or the hands-on control of Shapes for detailed workflows, Excel is a surprisingly capable tool for creating flow charts. By mastering these two methods, you can quickly visualize your ideas, document processes, and communicate complex plans with clarity and professionalism.

Creating flow charts is a great way to map out business processes and bring clarity to your operation. But when it's time to visualize and analyze the actual data that flows through those processes - like customer sign-ups from your flow chart or sales revenue by channel - the manual work can become a bottleneck. We built Graphed for exactly that moment. It connects directly with your tools like Google Analytics, Shopify, and Salesforce and allows you to create real-time dashboards just by asking questions in plain English. This way, you can see how your processes are actually performing without spending hours wrangling data.