A brand deal tracker is a spreadsheet with one row per sponsorship that follows the deal from first contact to the day the money clears: who the brand and paying entity are, what you owe and by when, which rights the brand holds and until what date, whether the post was labelled, and what has been invoiced and paid. Build it with the columns below, use a fixed list of status names so filtering works, and drive reminders from date columns for approvals, posting, invoice due dates, usage expiry and exclusivity end.
What the tracker has to answer
A good tracker answers four questions in seconds, on any day: what is due from me this week, what money am I owed and how late is it, which brands still hold rights to my content, and which product categories am I currently barred from. If a column does not help answer one of those, it probably belongs in the deal's folder rather than the sheet.
Keep the scope to brand work. Creator-to-creator collaborations have different fields, such as shared assets and cross-promotion results, and are covered by the collaboration tracking sheet. Reconciling platform payouts belongs in a separate earnings sheet like the one in our earnings tracker template.
Column spec
Create one column for each row of this table, in roughly this order, and freeze the first two so the brand name stays visible as you scroll. Enter dates as year-month-day so they sort correctly in any spreadsheet.
| Column | What to enter | Format | Why it earns its place |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deal ID | A short code you also use in folder names and invoice references | Text, unique per row | Links the row to the contract, brief and emails without retyping names |
| Brand and paying entity | The brand name and the legal entity that will pay, if different | Two text columns | Agencies often sign and pay on a brand's behalf |
| Contact and verified-by | The person dealing with you, and how you confirmed they work there | Text | Forces the scam check before anything is signed |
| Source | Inbound email, marketplace, agency, referral or your own pitch | Drop-down list | Shows which channels bring the deals you actually close |
| Stage and stage date | One status from the list below and the date it last changed | Drop-down plus date | Lets you sort stalled deals to the top |
| Next action and due | The single next step and when it is due | Text plus date | Turns the sheet into a to-do list |
| Deliverables and platforms | Each piece of content and where it will be posted | Text, one line per item | The scope you invoice against |
| Draft, approval and post dates | When drafts are due, when the brand must respond, when content goes live | Three dates | Missed approval deadlines are where schedules slip |
| Revision rounds | Rounds included and rounds used | Two numbers | Evidence for charging for extra rounds |
| Usage type and end date | Organic reposting, paid ads or whitelisting, with the licence end date | Drop-down plus date | Drives the usage-expiry reminder |
| Exclusivity category and end date | The category definition, named competitors and the date exclusivity ends | Text plus date | Drives the conflict check before every new deal |
| Disclosure and live links | The label used, the platform tool used, and the URL of each live post | Text plus links | Proof that each post was labelled if anyone later asks |
| Fee and currency | The agreed cash fee and currency code | Number plus code | The figure everything else reconciles to |
| Gifted value | The market value of any product or service received as payment | Number | Non-cash payment may be income for tax purposes |
| Invoice number, date and due date | One row per invoice if a deal has a deposit and a balance | Text plus two dates | Feeds the overdue flag |
| Paid date and amount received | What actually arrived, after any transfer fees | Date plus number | Shows short payments and fee leakage |
| Folder link | Where the contract, brief, approvals and payment confirmations live | Link | Makes the sheet an index to your records |
The gifted value column reflects how some tax authorities see barter. The ATO's guidance on what income to include says goods, services or benefits received as full or part payment for what your business provides are included as income at their market value. Check the rule where you live with a registered tax agent.
Status definitions
Put these names in a drop-down so nobody types a variant. Move a deal forward only when the exit condition is met.
| Status | Use it when | Move on when |
|---|---|---|
| Lead | An enquiry or pitch exists but nothing is confirmed | You have verified the sender and the brand |
| Quoted | You have sent an itemised quote | The brand replies with acceptance or changes |
| Negotiating | Scope, usage, exclusivity or fee is being traded | Both sides confirm a written recap |
| Contracting | A draft agreement is being reviewed or redlined | Both parties have signed |
| In production | You are planning, shooting or editing | The first draft is delivered |
| In review | The brand holds a draft for approval | Written approval arrives, or the deemed-approval date passes |
| Scheduled | Approved content has a confirmed posting date | Every deliverable is live |
| Live | Content is published and labelled | Any report the brand is owed has been sent |
| Invoiced | An invoice has been sent and its receipt confirmed | Payment arrives, or the due date passes |
| Overdue | The due date has passed without full payment | Payment arrives or you start a formal claim |
| Paid | The full amount has cleared | Usage and exclusivity dates have passed |
| Closed | No obligations remain on either side | Archive the row with its folder |
| Declined | You or the brand walked away, with a reason noted | Keep for pattern-spotting, then archive |
Notice that Paid is not the end. A deal stays open while the brand still holds a usage licence or an exclusivity window, because those dates still constrain what you can do.
Reminder rules
Keep your lead times in a small settings tab, one cell each, so you can change them once and every formula follows. A simple days-left helper column works in Google Sheets and Excel: =IF(N2="","",N2-TODAY()), where N2 is the usage end date. Add conditional formatting that colours the cell when the result falls within your chosen lead time.
- Usage expiry: flag the row early enough to offer a renewal, or to check that paid ads using your content actually stop on the end date.
- Exclusivity end: flag the date it lapses so you can pitch competing brands, and filter on this column before accepting any new brief.
- Approval deadline: chase the brand the day a response is due, and record when a deemed-approval clause kicks in.
- Posting date: confirm the scheduled post and the disclosure label the day before it goes live.
- Disclosure check: after posting, open each live link and confirm the label and platform tool are showing; note the date checked.
- Invoice due: check shortly before the due date that the invoice is processed, and switch the status to Overdue the day after it passes.
- Removal obligations: if the contract requires you to archive or delete content after a term, flag that date too.
- Reporting: if you owe the brand a results report, flag the date and attach screenshots from platform insights.
The overdue flag feeds the chase sequence set out in how influencers get paid for brand deals, and the exclusivity filter is the first step of the conflict audit in the brand exclusivity clause checklist.
Records you have to keep anyway
The tracker is an index, and the folder link column points to the documents tax authorities expect you to keep. The ATO's overview of record-keeping rules says most business records must be kept for 5 years, in English or easily converted to English, and stored so they cannot be altered or damaged. HMRC's guidance on how long to keep your records sets at least 5 years after the 31 January submission deadline for the relevant tax year for the self-employed. The IRS page on how long to keep records ties retention to the period of limitations for each return and says to keep records for 3 years where none of its listed exceptions apply.
- The signed contract and any written variations.
- The brief and the approval emails for each deliverable.
- Every invoice you issued and the matching payment confirmation.
- Receipts for expenses you claim against the deal.
- Evidence of the market value of gifted products, such as a retail listing captured when the item arrived.
- Screenshots of each live post showing the disclosure.
Never overwrite a past row to reflect a change; add a dated note instead, so the history stays intact.
Using the tracker before you say yes
- Filter the exclusivity columns for the new brand's category and its competitors.
- Check the scheduled column for the weeks the brand wants, before you agree a posting date.
- Fill in the verified-by column for the new contact using the checks in fake brand deal scams.
- Look at how earlier deals from the same source ended; a source whose deals often go overdue is a reason to ask for a deposit.
- Once terms are agreed, copy the recap into the row, then check it against the signed influencer contract.
Limitations
A spreadsheet only works if it is updated the same day things change; it is a record of what you entered, not a substitute for the contract, which always governs. The tracker also holds personal information about brand contacts, so restrict who can open it and remove access when an assistant or manager leaves. Record-keeping periods above come from official pages checked on 1 October 2026 and can have exceptions; ask a registered tax agent or accountant what applies to your business.