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Use Google Sheets AI to Build a Treatment Plan Due Date Tracker

For Substance Abuse Counselors ·

Tool:Google Sheets
AI Feature:Help me organize (Gemini) + formula suggestions
Time:15 minutes
Difficulty:Beginner
Google Sheets

What This Does

Google Sheets' built-in AI features help you create and maintain a caseload management spreadsheet, including automatic calculation of 30/60/90-day treatment plan review dates and color-coded deadline alerts, without needing to know complex formulas.

Before You Start

  • You have a Google account and access to Google Sheets (free)
  • You're comfortable entering data in a spreadsheet (no formula knowledge required)
  • You have your current caseload in front of you (client codes/initials, admission dates)

Steps

1. Open a new Google Sheet

  1. Go to sheets.google.com → click Blank spreadsheet
  2. In cell A1, start a header row: Client Code | Admission Date | Level of Care | 30-Day Review | 60-Day Review | 90-Day Review | Days Until Next Review | Status

2. Use the AI sidebar to set up your tracker

  1. In Google Sheets, click Extensions in the top menu → Gemini in Sheets (if available) or look for the star/sparkle icon on the right sidebar
  2. In the Gemini sidebar, type: "I'm building a treatment plan review tracker. Column A is client code, Column B is admission date. Create formulas for columns D, E, F that calculate 30, 60, and 90 days from the admission date. Column G should show days until the next upcoming review date."
  3. Gemini will suggest the formulas. click to insert them

What you should see: Formula suggestions in the sidebar that you can click to apply to your sheet.

3. Let Google Sheets suggest the formulas itself

If Gemini sidebar isn't available:

  1. Click on cell D2 (30-day review column)
  2. Type = and start typing a description: =B2+30
  3. For column G (days until next review): =MIN(D2,E2,F2)-TODAY()
  4. The formula shows how many days until the nearest upcoming deadline

4. Add conditional formatting for color alerts

  1. Select your "Days Until Next Review" column (G)
  2. Click Format → Conditional formatting
  3. Set up rules: If value < 7 → Red fill. If value < 14 → Yellow fill. If value ≥ 14 → Green fill
  4. Click Done

What you should see: Cells turn red as review deadlines approach.

Real Example

Scenario: You have 22 clients and keep missing treatment plan review deadlines because you're tracking them in your head.

Setup: 10 minutes entering your caseload with admission dates

Result: A color-coded dashboard showing you at a glance which clients have reviews due this week (red), next week (yellow), and in the clear (green). Check it every Monday morning.

Tips

  • Use client initials or case numbers only. keep this sheet on a personal drive and don't include identifying information beyond what your facility allows in a non-secured spreadsheet
  • Once the formulas are in Row 2, copy them down to all your client rows. hover over the cell corner and drag down
  • Share the sheet with your supervisor to make caseload review conversations faster

Tool interfaces change, if a button has moved, look for similar AI/magic/smart options in the same menu area.