Training Matrix in SharePoint or Google Sheets

The structure does not change: workers, assigned requirements, real expiry dates, missing vs not required, evidence links. Collaboration is the only new variable.

SharePoint (Excel Online) — make one workbook win

1. Store a single workbook in a known library path — not in personal OneDrive copies
2. Name it without FINAL_v3; version history is the audit trail
3. Restrict edit permission to the matrix owner and a small backup list
4. Give wider read access to managers who only need to check status
5. Lock or protect structure if your process allows — open-edit grids drift

Link evidence to SharePoint folders with a naming convention such as surname-requirement-expiry. A matrix of dates without files still fails the first gate query.

Google Sheets — same rules, different pitfalls

• Use one shared Sheet owned by a company account, not a leaver’s personal Gmail
• Enter dates as proper date values; UK teams should agree DD/MM/YYYY display
• Use conditional formatting on TODAY() for expired and due-soon — not hand colour
• Avoid “Make a copy” culture; copies become competing truths
• Export a CSV backup on a schedule if the Sheet is your only system

Minimum columns that survive collaboration

When a shared sheet is the wrong tool

• More than a handful of people edit weekly
• Reminders only fire if someone opens the file
• Subcontractor packs arrive as email attachments every Monday
• You need permissions tighter than “anyone with the link”
• Status colours disagree with the dates after a busy week

FieldClear imports the Excel or CSV you already keep — including exports from Sheets — then calculates current, expiring, expired and missing without another shared workbook. Start from the free template if you are rebuilding the sheet first.